Superman

by

Man of Steel

man of steel

Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon

Grade: B-

Superman is a serious character. The go to criticism of Man of Steel is going to be that Superman is supposed to be lighter, more whimsical. I know this because that criticism had already started from the moment it was announced that Christopher Nolan would serve as a producer. The internet was upset because, as they would say, dark and serious tones work for Batman but not the Last Son of Krypton. The problem is, that’s not true. As I said, Superman is a serious character, every bit as serious as Batman. Superman: The Movie was more parody than anything, a very well made and entertaining one, but a parody nonetheless. Unfortunately that film has essentially defined the character for mainstream audiences. But Superman and Batman are in some ways the flip sides of the same coin. Think about it, they’re both orphans, both abide by an unwavering moral code, and both are alone in this world. The difference is that Batman fights the darkness with a darkness of his own, while Superman fights it with light. He serves as an inspiration to what humanity should aspire to. That doesn’t make him any less serious, just more awe-inspiring.

With that out of the way, Man of Steel has its flaws. The action sequences tend to drag on far too long, namely the climactic battle between Superman and General Zod where two super powered beings punch and throw each other with enough force to destroy skyscrapers, yet do no harm to either of them. Filmmakers don’t seem to understand that this kind of action gets boring really quickly. If your characters can’t get hurt by conventional means than it’s your job to find a way to raise the stakes in a fight. On that note, the collateral damage in this movie is just far too severe. General Zod and his army essentially destroy the entire city of Metropolis. By the end it looks like a post apocalyptic wasteland (though the Daily Planet building naturally seems fine in the very last scene). A conservative estimate of casualties has to lie in the hundreds of thousands. I understand the desire to make this movie epic as Superman Returns was panned for not having enough action, but if the whole point of the story arch is to establish Superman as an ally, and potential savior, of humanity, this is really a failure. There is absolutely no believable way that people of earth would trust this alien after seeing all the destruction him and his fellow Kryptonians caused. They would be terrified of him.

The changes to the Superman mythos I didn’t mind too much for the most part, with one exception. That is the Lois Lane relationship. The allure of Lois Land and Superman is the cat and mouse game, the constant flirting, the deceiving, the impossible conundrum that she thinks Clark Kent is a doofus while being in love with Superman. This is what makes the relationship fun. Here, there’s no banter, just instant love. There is nothing more dramatically boring than instant love.

My last major complaint is that the opening sequence is far too long. We see too much of Krypton. This is not a movie about the demise of another world, it’s about that world’s lone survivor and his adaptation to earth. The overly lengthy segment just feels like director Zack Snyder wanted to show how cool he could make Krypton look. We really didn’t need to see Jor-El flying through the sky on the back of some kind of winged monster as he races to save his son from General Zod. A scene on Krypton needs to be in the movie, but it needs to be quick and to the point. In the words of Grant Morrison, “Doomed Planet, Desperate Scientists, Last Hope…”

I don’t mean to totally shit on this movie though. It got some things right. Superman comes off as an outsider, desperate for acceptance from his new world while still pining for his old one. It feels very much earned when the film forces him to choose where his true loyalties are, and produces probably the best moment of the movie. Henry Cavill is good in the role, though the script forgot to give his character much in the way of personality. There are two essentials to the character of Superman, other than his origin and powers of course, and those are the two facts that he never gives up and he puts the needs of others ahead of himself. Cavill captures this very well. He gets knocked down, he gets back up. He’s overmatched, he keeps fighting. He brings a quiet determination to the role that speaks to an all powerful alien trying to find a way to use his powers to save humanity, and at the same time blend in with them, and live among them.

As an origin film, Man of Steel simultaneously drags on for too long and tries to do too much in a relative short amount of time. Still, there is enough good here that has me hopeful for the sequel. I’m in the camp of superhero fans who are tired of origin stories. We all know who Superman, Batman, and Spiderman are, so forget where they came from. Just tell us a good story about them. Hopefully the inevitable follow up to this movie can move on and just tell a great Superman story.

by

Superman: The Unauthorized Biography by Glen Weldon

Superman The Unauthorized Biography

Grade: B

In some circles it’s not a secret, insight or revelation to suggest that superheroes are our modern day mythology. That idea has been explored, and widely accepted, in the greater geek and nerd cultures. To some, though, it will probably seem silly. These are just stories of men and women running around in capes and tights punching other ridiculously dressed beings. The book Superman: The Unauthorized Biography by Glen Weldon is probably for the latter group. For the initiated it’s more a detailed examination of what we already knew, though still a fun read I should point out. The book, obviously, focuses on Superman, and what superhero has more sacred, and godlike, a feel than him? Superman is essentially Zeus and Jesus and probably a lot of other really important God figures in mythology, that is to say, he’s the God of the superheroes. Weldon traces the evolution of Kal-El throughout his 80-plus years, from his socialist, working-class days of protecting the poor from the corrupt rich of his early days, to his stern, but loving Republican father figure that he’s usually perceived as today. Superman is exactly what we need him to be, whenever we need him to be it. The book is essentially a decade by decade examination of the character, and doesn’t just stick to the comic pages. Every incarnation of pop-culture Superman is represented, including the obvious like newspaper comic strips, television, radio and feature film, but also goes into some detail about how the Last Son of Krypton has been merchandised within an inch of his life over the years.

Accepting that Superman has not been the same boring boy scout figure his entire existence, Weldon boils down the two things that are constant, two traits that make Superman, well, Superman:
“1. He puts the needs of others over those of himself.
2. He never gives up.”

These are pretty simple ideas, easy tenets to base a superhero on, but they are utterly unshakeable, with a few notable exceptions over the years that Weldon is eager to point out. With that in mind, as his powers change from an incredibly strong guy who can jump really far to an indestructible demigod to a weird electromagnetic being and back again, Superman changes with each generation. Sometimes he’s moody, sometimes he’s boring, sometimes he’s square and sometimes he’s just kind of a dick. During the depression he stuck up for the working class Joe, while during the Second World War he turned into an uber-patriot, in fact that’s when the phrase “Truth justice and the American way” came about. That catchphrase was deliberately created by the radio show in order to sell patriotism to a fearful audience. The fact is Superman is the most time tested superhero because he has the ability to be what we can’t be, will, in all likelihood, never be. He is who we aspire to be, “…he is not the hero with whom we identify; he is the hero in whom we believe.” This idea comes in the first few pages and Weldon sticks with this thesis throughout the book, as America changes so too does the Ma of Steel. Sometimes crass, sometimes preachy, sometimes hopelessly out of touch, Superman is the ideal we all strive for, as do his fictional peers.

In Superman, Weldon details what’s going on behind the scenes at DC comics throughout the years in order to add life to the book. This makes it an excellent companion piece of sorts to Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, as many of the same writers and artists are given a look. Where Weldon stumbles at times is when he can’t seem to decide whether he wants to be snarky about the Big Blue Boy Scout or not. His knowledge is detailed but he seems to get more enjoyment from making fun of the character than he does celebrating him. It’s okay to be unsentimental about a topic like this and just give a rather straightforward history, but Weldon often seems to only enjoy Superman as a concept rather than a literary figure, except of course when Grant Morrison is writing him.

Superman is often considered a boring character, one who is just too powerful, too good, too white-washed. This book won’t change that perception, but it will give insight to those who know him only through mainstream pop-culture. For those of us who already know why Superman matters, it mostly serves as a fun journey through his existence and an excellent source of trivia fodder. This book doesn’t bring a whole lot new to the table, nor will it likely bring any new fans, but it stands as a solid addition to the Superman cannon and another worthy footnote in The Man of Tomorrow’s life. It’s not a permanent biography, as the character will exist far longer than any of us, enduring is sort of his thing, but a firm reminder of why a fictional alien, an immigrant, captures the ideals of a free world so much better than anything in reality ever could.


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