Superman Returns

for me it's because he's unrelateable. he's an alien who can't be destroyed unless you find the crap that exists on another planet which is his sole weakness.

characters like batman and spiderman are more intriguing to me. they can be beaten...so if they choose to protect/defend/whatever, they do so with the risk that they could be killed. they're human. they're dorky...or insecure. the focus on their true identities in those comics was far more interesting than anything i saw from superman.

 

Also, Spider-man is THE Silver Age Comic book character. People that grew up in the 60s and later tend to be bigger fans of Spider-man that Superman.

Superman was/is the most well known Super hero of all time, he created the genre, but I think is actual popularity in term of fans of his comic was passed up long ago by Spider-man.

 

For some reason, I've always gravitated to Superman and DC.

 

i like bill's description in vol. 2.

 

This is what always fascinated me. Like Bill said in Kill Bill, Superman was the real guy while Clark Kent was the secret identity.

Fascinating stuff.

 

All I know is the new Superman looks like a dork.

And from the previews it's a remake of the old movie - same music etc. It looked horrible.

 

You know, I've heard there is some awesome action in this new Superman movie, I think I scene I heard described that they showed at some convention or something goes like this:

Minor Spoiler

A Jumbo Jet is about the crash into a baseball stadium in Metropolis. Superman stops it at the last second when he comes to a soft stop on homeplate.

 

Not true for Superman. He can suffocate....just as long as it's not in space, sort of.

 

I thought the Trailers look incredible.

True, I'm a huge Brando fan and it gives me the chills to hear his voice and narration, but the movie looks interesting.

 

I completely agree. We saw the new trailer before V for Vendetta (which is an aboslutely awesome movie) and both of us were saying how stupid it looks. I really felt that they needed to go in a new direction with Superman because the look and outfit and everything is so dated. I don't know how they could do it but you would think someone could come up with an idea.

 

Actually it’s a continuation of the series, it ignores part 3 and 4 and picks up after part 2

 

they shoulda used the smallville guy.

 

The first two Superman movies are classics - everything about them was perfect. Not to mention I hate anything where the action is computer-generated fake crap, like Spiderman, the new Star Wars, etc.

 

The actor playing Clark Kent in "Superman Returns" doesn't fit in my opinion. This guy just doesn't look the part - I would even settle for Tom Welling (the guy off of Smallville). Tom Welling, who isn't all that great of an actor, at least look like what I imagine Clark Kent to look like.

 

I'd say the first Superman is a classic. The second went nuts with weird pulled-it-out-of-my-ass powers.

The new one isn't a remake, BTW. And personally I think it's awesome that they relate to the old music. Changing the costume too much would be a mistake as well, because too many people are used to the classic, icon look. The X-Men could do it, but, well, they were always wearing different sh*t anyway.


As for the character...it works best with (like most things) strong writing. The strength of Superman, character wise, is his relationship with other 'humans', how he struggles with himself as 'human' or alien, and how he relates to his human upbringing and attempt to fit in. It can work, and has worked.

You could go two ways with it:

1. Very character driven, hitting on the points above.
or
2. Epic and grand, with larger than life situations and really elaborate crisis/villains.

A good writer can combine the two.

Superman's been around for this long for a reason...but it has to be done right.

 

Superman doesn't necessarily have to be unrelatable. He often finds all of his powers to be completely useless for certain situations (nailing Luthor, saving his father, winning love as Clark, etc.)

Godlike powers are the ultimate fantasy... I think much of the apathy and/or animosity towards Superman is due to people's own failings and the realization that if given unchecked power themselves, they would rather rule the earth than selflessly protect it. Notice, just about anyone who slams Superman calls him a square or a boyscout, as if it's something to be looked down upon... It's the same reason why games like Grand Theft Auto are so popular.

 

Did you know they filmed them both together? I didn't realize that until I watched the extras on the first DVD. They showed auditions and they actually had people acting out scenes from the second movie while auditioning for the first (or for both, I guess).

I suppose that's cool that they're using the old music, but only because that music is so great. It actually might bug me a little though, like they're using that music to prop up a lesser version of a movie.

 

that's weird.. 'cuz the trailer gives the impression it's going to tell the superman story from the beginning.. it shows clips of superman when he's a kid and when he first discovers his powers..

 

I've never been a big fan of Superman, for the same reason that other people already mentioned. He's just too powerful.

Sure he can have problems like the rest of us, like finding love, etc., but that's just life. Ultimately if some bad guy fires a missle at him while he isn't looking, he still comes away relatively unscathed, and that takes away a lot of the fun.

With Spiderman or Batman, you always have the impression that they're physically vulnerable.

I'll still see it, though, and I'm kind of excited about it.