Hey there!
See? I told you I'd post again soon!
Well, this here post is about Superman. Yep. I got opinions just like everyone else.
So, I went to see "Man of Steel" yesterday.
And, while it's a perfectly fine movie about a super powered man saving the Earth from an alien invasion, it's not Superman. At least not the one I know. Not the one that has been published in comics for the last 75 years. And not really even resembling any of the other media depictions of the character either. So, while this certainly isn't your father's Superman, it's no Superman we've ever seen before. Sadly.
These days it's all about the re-boot. Change it all up. Make it new and different. Dark and edgy. Push the envelope. Well, bravo. You pushed it so far it fell off the desk and turned into something almost unrecognizable.
I am going to start discussing points of the movie now. So if you haven't seen it, and you don't want it spoiled, now's your chance to leave.
Ok. I can nitpick. I hated the costume from the minute it leaked. I despise the fact that Warner Bros. made DC comics let Hollywood dictate the New 52 look for Superman as well. And why discard the spit-curl in his hair?
But that's all superficial. My real problem is with Superman's character... or lack thereof. Who the hell is he? We never really find out. This movie is too busy blowing crap up and destroying both Smallville and Metropolis to care about character development. Ok, we see Clark, or whoever he's pretending to be, save about a dozen guys from an oil rig that is in the process of exploding. (Who does Zack Snyder think he is? Michael Bay?) That's, I guess, enough to let us know that he has great powers and will sacrifice himself for the safety of others. Sure he does a few things like this through his childhood, too, but all we see him do is whine about it. You'd think with Kevin Costner AND Russel Crowe as Dads, he'd have a little more character.
But that's the problem. We never actually meet Clark. He never gets a chance to BE Clark. It's been said, I'm sorry I can't remember who said it, that with Batman, Bruce Wayne is the mask, but with Superman, Clark Kent puts on the suit to help people, but he takes it off to live his life. Superman is his mask.
That's not the only thing that bothered me. I'm going on about character here, and Superman's character is one of great moral fiber. In 75 years Superman has killed once in the comics and once on film. In John Byrne's run, after his "Man of Steel" reboot, Superman was "forced" to kill Zod and crew with kryptonite. After which, because of his grief, he went on a self-imposed exile into space.
In the movie "Superman II," he saps the powers of Zod and crew and they fall into an abyss. We assume they died. In this new movie Superman apparently feels there is no other way to deal with General Zod, so he snaps his neck.
When I saw this I had to stop myself from getting up and walking out of the theater. I have done that only once before. Halfway through "Batman and Robin." I'm sure you can't blame me for that.
This scene really offended me. Here are a few reasons why:
As a rule, Superman does not kill.
This is a character created to be the best possible version of a man. A man that does everything he possibly can to help. Like a doctor, his first rule is 'do no harm.' Even before Stan Lee gave us Peter Parker's mantra: "With great power comes great responsibility," Superman was there, living this creed. Superman is supposed to be what we aspire to. We can't be him. Ever. But we want to. and that is what drives us. If he becomes no better than we are, then where are we? If we can't have fictional characters that have a greater moral standing, what the hell have we become?
Superman does not kill.
If you are a writer, and you feel the need to "update" or fundamentally change a character... especially a character that is an icon... excuse me.. THE icon... then you should do one of two things: create a new character, or stop writing all together... it's not your thing.
The fact that almost every character in mainstream comics has undergone a radical change recently is a sign of laziness in the writers. Not to mention the fact that quite a bit of the crap coming out these days is barely more than "fan fiction." You don't need to kill your character to make it interesting. You don't need to radically change the fundamental nature of a character to draw an audience. You need to write a good story. If you can't do that, find a new job.
SUPERMAN DOES NOT KILL.
And he's not supposed to be so shiny.
Full disclosure: Scott vehemently disagrees with me on this. He loved the movie, loved the scene, and thinks this is among his favorite superhero movies. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.
What's your's?
-Rickman
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