I remember I was five years old the first time that I saw Superman. Oddly enough it was in the Max Fleischer cartoon shorts (I say odd because I just turned 22 this year and those things are ancient). I loved those Cartoons they were amazing and at the time I didn't even notice that he wasn't flying. I was just mesmerized by this Character who went around doing so many amazingly "super things". The thing that caught my eye though was the Costume. The cape, the "S", all those colors almost brightly taunting the criminals (as if to say here I am and here I come because you can not do anything about it).
I quickly began to mimic this man down to the letter. I put on the cape, (a bath towel with a safety pin) the "S", (a blue shirt with paper taped to it) blue sweatpants (long johns if I remember correctly) and of course the underwear (which was underwear but sometimes red shorts). I could fly, (jump from one couch to the other) bend steel, (brake cardboard) rip trees out of the ground, (the little baby ones) and anything else my "super" imagination would allow me to do.
Needless to say I was hooked and because of Superman I began to find out more about heroes, i.e. Batman, Green Lantern, Spider-man, Captain America etc. Over the years as a superman Fan I have see many forms of Superman on Screen. From Superman I-IV, the Superboy TV show, Superman TAS, Lois and Clark, Superman Returns, Legion of Superheroes,and Smallville the Man of Steel has seen his ups and downs.
A lot of fans on here are ready for there to be a serious treatment of Superman. I count myself as one of the many who want to see Him in the full range of situations that require him to be "Superman". We don't want the stalker Superman. We don't need to humanize him anymore. We need to see the side of Superman that people rarely see. The god that is walking amongst us.
So many of the Films almost have it right. He is good. He is caring. He is full of compassion. He is humble. He can save a bus full of kids. He can stop that earthquake. His only struggle isn't making a deadline or getting a date with Lois (or anyone). Everyday he has to keep himself in check. He can't get too angry slamming a door because he might collapse the building he is in. He can't fly too fast or too low because he could shatter all the windows in the city. Can't punch this criminal too hard, don't want to shatter all the bones in his body.
Many times in life when something is going wrong we are quick to find scapegoats. Basketball team is losing? Fire the coach. Film series starts off on a sour note? Fire the director. Reboot, Retool, Redo. Unfortunately in the case of reboots sometimes the good can go away with the bad.
I believe in the case of superman Man of Steel people are projecting a lot of frustration onto this movie because of what the last five have done to us collectively as fans. This is not to say I am against change (I am all for it) but I think that it needs to happen by degrees. I have enjoyed, in some way, every single incarnation of Superman I have seen. I hold onto the good and try to forget the bad. I believe that if Bryan Singer had been able to throw in one good 15-20 minute fist fight for Routh at the end of returns, we would have seen a sequel instead of a reboot.
Earlier I mentioned how I mimicked Superman in my youth. It was fun and I'll always cherish those memories. I was able to do that though because I was young, innocent, and painfully unaware of how silly I looked. But isn't that the point?
Isn't it because we want to escape from our day to day routines that we entertain ourselves? Superman allows us to see the best in ourselves because he is the best human.Doesn't the fact that so many people know who Superman is and love him mean attest to that fact?
So getting down to the nitty gritty here. My firm belief is this film is going to be "financially" successful" they need to stick with the iconic suit..at first. What could be more satisfying as a fan than to see the Man of steel's suit expand and change during the plot of the Next three movies. I am more than ok with change but I think they need to do what Marvel is doing with Cap and have a several suits that they utilize. This way the guys and gals like us who follow supes will be satisfied and the audience at large will be able to connect with this new set of movies.
Please Tell me how you feel in the comment box. If you just want a complete 180 on the Man of Steel tell me about lets. Lets hear what both sides has to say. Maybe some of you are more middle of the road on this. Look for or make your own version of what you would like for the suit to be. Anyways, lets have some fun with this while we wait for more updates to hit soon.