Five more months! That’s all we have left until Man of Steel finally hits theaters. I have been anticipating this movie for such a long time. Superman has always had a special place in my heart, I loved the original Reeves movies and I was a fan of the animated series in the 90's.
I remember reading about Superman’s comeback to big screen since the 90’s when Tim Burton was attached, but I was sorely disappointed when Superman Returns failed to ignite any kind of spark for the big blue Boy Scout. Instead, I found that Superman Returns proved to be an effective nighttime sleep aid.
With expectations at an all-time high for Man of Steel, I’ve been thinking about it a lot, to the point where I was even dreaming about it. Yes, I’m aware of how that sounds, but it wasn’t actually a dream, it was a nightmare! Based on the trailers and the photos we’ve been getting from Man of Steel, I’ve already somehow put together a picture in my head of how the movie will go down. I will finally get to see how the real world will deal with a super-powered being among them and even worse, one who wants to completely take over.
Imagine this guy taking over Earth
When you step back and think about it, there haven’t really been any movies that have dove deep and tackled this far-fetched (but still possible!) idea. Superman II sort of addressed this, but in a not so serious manner. General Zod came in and took over the Earth in days, along with his cohorts, Ursa and Non, but c’mon, the trio were sitting in the white house with their feet up completely bored out their minds, wondering what to do next. I really don’t think a malevolent being (or beings) would sit back and be completely bored with the world.
Other movies have also addressed the super-powered being on Earth and the public’s reaction, such as Watchmen, X-Men and others, but always in a passing manner.
What I always wondered is what would happen, if either an alien being with god-like powers, or a superhuman decided to just impose his will upon Earth? How would the public deal with that horrifying realization?
In my nightmare, Zod was actually invading Earth, and yes, it was the Michael Shannon version with the black uniform. I remember my dream having that perpetual impending sense of doom vibe, it was terrifying! Zod was literally taking over the world, he had come here, unaware and uninformed of Earth, with god-like powers at his disposal, an evil tyrannical demeanor and alien equipment. He was single-handedly stomping the military and what made it even scarier is that he had come to my neck of the woods. This is where it gets weird, I was in my house fearing the worst but hoping that somehow I could stop him, my dog had escaped out to where Zod was destroying things and I had to go and get him. Now, I know how that sounds, but when it feels real, man, it’s terrifying. I woke up shortly after, wondering, "What the eff did I just dream about? that was insane"
I’ve read some articles on how our military actually has contingency plans for an alien invasion. Suppose, a freak accident turns a human being into an absolute telekinetic monster, or an experiment turns a once good person into a superman-like being who then in turn abuses his powers to turn the world into what he wants.
Thanks to physics, a superman-like being would be impossible, but I believe there are things in this universe that are unexplainable by our current understanding of science.
Imagine something like General Zod arriving on Earth to take it over, what would we as a collective species do? Fight to survive? Give up and accept subjugation and enslavement? Be exterminated? Such ideas are the stuff of nightmares.
I predict the Man of Steel will answer such questions. Will we be ready for a super-powered being such as Superman? How horrifying will Zod’s invasion be? I want to see how the real world would react to something like this and I’m glad the writers will inject some of realism into this movie.
I know one thing for sure; my butt will be planted on that seat to watch Man of Steel come June of this year.