David Goyer Rumored to be Developing 'Krypton' TV Series

We've already got a Batman prequel TV series in Gotham, and considering how much of a ratings success it has been there's no surprise Warner Bros. may be looking for more. Bleeding Cool is reporting that DC guru and Man of Steel writer David Goyer is involved in a new TV series titled Krypton. Guess who that's about?

There isn't much in the way of details; actually, there are no details except to say that Goyer is attached somehow. Just going by the title we can assume it will be another story of Superman's origin, except it will be set on his home planet of Krypton and presumably not feature the Man of Steel at all since he shouldn't even be born at that time. But would it be surprising it the show followed his parents and others in the House of El? Goyer wrote the Man of Steel script which gave us a look at Kryptonian society, and it was one of the best parts of the film in my opinion. It may be he's got bigger ideas that there won't be time to explore in Superman's upcoming movies.

So we'll see if this rumor turns out to be true. Bleeding Cool was spot-on in their stories about a Supergirl TV show, not to mention their reporting on an X-men series. Goyer is currently serving as exec-producer on NBC's Constantine.

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Is Warner Bros. Planning a Legion of Superheroes Movie?

Marvel took a gamble by going to the stars with Guardians of the Galaxy, and it was a risk that paid off in spades. It's the top-grossing film of the year, and now Warner Bros. may be trying to get a piece of that action. A rumor surfacing at Latino Review says the studio may be looking to bring DC's cosmic Legion of Superheroes to the big screen.

Warner Bros. is said to be “quietly sending out the DC comic book ‘Legion of Super-Heroes’ to screenwriters & their reps” to see who can come up with the best "take" on the material for a feature film. So it's probably too early to say a movie is in the works so much as Warner Bros. wants to see what they can possibly do with some of the most confusing material in DC Comics history. The Legion of Superheroes were created in 1958 as part of Adventure Comics, and basically they are a massive team of young heroes in the 30th century who were inspired by Superman's teen exploits. They've been rebooted and relaunched a bunch of times and the team has a loyal, if not exactly huge, fan following.

But other than being largely set in space there aren't a whole lot of similarities to Guardians of the Galaxy. Time travel factors heavily with the LOSH, and their characters, at least in my opinion, aren't all that complex which is why they have names like Karate Kid, Element Lad, and Sun Boy. They're heroes in the truest sense of the word.

We'll see if this rumor holds water. It seems a bit odd for Warner Bros. to be looking at a complicated film like this so early into building their cinematic universe.

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First Official Look at Henry Cavill in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'

With Comic-Con only weeks away the expectation was that Warner Bros. (and likely Marvel) would on to their major reveals until they were in front of the rabid Hall H masses. That has turned out not to be the case, however, and Zack Snyder has decided to get a jump a on the competition by releasing the first official image of Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The image comes courtesy of USA Today, and it's appropriately dark and gloomy image of Superman, fitting the harsher world out there that he's facing. In fact it very much resembles the brooding atmosphere of Frank Miller's seminal Batman story, The Dark Knight Returns, from which elements of the film have been based. Snyder spoke a little bit about the decision to bring in Batman so early, saying...

Snyder: "I was in no rush to put Batman in the movie, but on the other hand it seemed organic the way our story was unfolding to start to feather him in."

He adds that  "it's cooler to see a crusty old Batman beating the snot out of guys." rather than depicting a more youthful Bruce Wayne, and suggests the "V" rather than "Vs" in the film's title is a way to keep it from being a straight showdown between the two heroes. It's a questionable theory since everyone reads it as "versus", but that was Snyder's thinking behind the decision.

While there's been a great deal of consternation about his recurring involvement in the DC Universe movies, he's also set to direct Justice League in the future, there's no denying that Snyder is an avid comic book fan with a genuine enthusiasm....

Snyder: "You can talk all you want about other superhero movies, but it's Batman and Superman, let's just be honest. I don't know how you get bigger than that."

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will have to be pretty big as it's currently slated to go up against Captain America 3 on May 6th 2016. 

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'Gravity' "Alternate" Scene Features a Superman Cameo

Alfonso Cuaron's incredible, multiple Oscar-winning film Gravity deserved all of the accolades it received, but it could have been a much shorter movie if there was one simple change, like adding Superman into the mix. A new video, obviously inspired by April Fool's Day, presents a very different opening to the deep space film, one that would change the entire course of the story. Actually, it would solve all of Sandra Bullock's problems pretty quickly if Superman was around to clean up the mess she was in.

Do yourself a favor and watch it all the way until the very end, too. That Clark Kent is such a stinker.

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Review: 'The Lego Movie' Starring Chris Pratt, Morgan Freeman, and Will Ferrell

What's so special about The LEGO Movie? It's just another movie based on a toy designed to move units at Wal-Mart or something, right? What makes it any different or better than G.I. Joe? Or Transformers? True enough that there may be a few more LEGO Bat-Wings flying off the shelves in the coming weeks, but it's only because The LEGO Movie taps into the childlike imagination and awe that LEGO was always meant to inspire. By embracing the potential in literally building untold worlds where characters from other universes can interact in one epic adventure, the film captures the magic of diving into the toy box and letting your imagination run wild with possibility.

Hilarious and insanely packed with vivid, ever-moving parts done in the classic LEGO style, the film benefits from the presence of co-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, whose Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs boasted similar visual wonders. But it's the intelligence and humor in their script that forms the firmest of building blocks, appealing to kids and nostalgic adults alike. We're introduced to Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt), a normal everyday LEGO builder who is willfully, wholeheartedly part of the generic machine. As part of a massive team he keeps this LEGO city awash in new, unimpressive buildings; bops to the bland but maddeningly infectious pop song "Everything is Awesome" (you'll never get it out of your head!), and wants nothing more than to be a part of the crowd. But Emmett is nobody, a total "blank slate" with so little personality that few even know he exists.

That changes when he stumbles upon the Piece of Resistance, an all-powerful object that could prevent the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from destroying everything with his super weapon, the Kragl (one of many plays on words better seen than explained). Discovered by the rebellious and sexy Wildstyle (Elizabeth Banks), Emmett is transported beyond his home realm and into a number of colorful universes that will make great toy sets in the future...if they aren't already. The god-like Vitruvius (voiced by Morgan Freeman, naturally) believes Emmet is a Master Builder; a chosen one who can put an end to Lord Business' reign of terror. But first Emmet, who has never had an original thought in his head, must learn to put his fears aside and prove he can be the hero the universe demands him to be. Joining him on the journey are literally dozens of pop culture icons, and it's safe to say this is the one place where you can see Batman (Will Arnett), Superman (Channing Tatum) and the Ninja Turtles fighting side-by-side with Shaquille O'Neal, Gandalf, and Dumbledore. Even if the threadbare plot is merely an excuse to put all of these characters together, it's so cool that it doesn't really matter.

The introductory scenes zip along at a rapid pace but it picks up into a full-on sprint once the adventure begins, to the point where it's tough to keep track of what is going on. Animated with digital/stop-motion brilliance by Animal Logic, each frame is constantly buzzing with hundreds of characters at once, and they all seem to be doing something you want to pay attention to. It gets a little overwhelming, but it's nothing a second viewing won't cure. And you will definitely want to see The LEGO movie at least one more time in order to take in the massively detailed world and catch every single sight gag. It's refreshing to see a film like this that seems like it can go absolutely anywhere and have literally anything happen, depending solely on the creativity and imagination of the filmmakers. And through it all, the film manages to be a surprisingly effective, even emotional story about embracing one's uniqueness.

Problems only arise when the film gets away from the LEGO universe to impart some labored wisdom in a Meta context that just feels jarring. If the point is that toys are meant to be played with rather than locked away (or heaven forbid, kept in their original packaging), then the rest of the film makes that point abundantly clear just as the Toy Story movies do. The final act reveal doesn't quite work, even though it makes perfect sense, because it sacrifices fun for a message we don't need hammered home.

The LEGO Movie has clicked into place the building blocks for a new, wholly imaginative franchise that can appeal to audiences of any age, and has no limits on where it can go next.

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DVD Review: 'Justice League: War'

So here we go, since I watch a ton of cartoons and am a known OG comic reader I thought I’d hold the Punch Drunk Critics readers down and watch this Justice League War. Now see it was kind of hard for me to watch this without any bias since I pretty much think the New 52 and the new Origin of Justice League in which this movie is based is full of wacktacularness. That being said I’ve liked most of the DC movies a lot even Flashpoint Paradox so I thought I could be surprised, but sadly I am surprised in the worst way.  Justice League War is so full of wack that I was shocked by the amount as it grew when watching it and then continuing to think about it.

Justice League War is about the first time the major superheroes in the DC universe come together and forms the Justice League.  The story starts us off in Gotham with Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) giving chase to a shadowy figure that just kidnapped a woman of the street. The public and GL included think it’s The Batman since at this point in time Batman is just an urban legend.  GL is proven wrong when Batman comes out and saves the woman; Batman kicks the baddie, plus sons GL in the process. What we get from here in the first half is a buddy-cop relationship like K and J from Men in Black. Please note Hal Jordan is a complete and utter idiot in this version along with being overly arrogant. Batman is basically just Batman here. Their investigation in Gotham leads them to having to meet Superman for the first time in a not so peaceful way. 

What we get next is some vignettes of the other characters like Victor Stone playing football while his dad is off studying a device at S.T.A.R. Labs delivered by the Flash; Wonder Woman’s first trip to Washington with Steve Trevor; and the bonus of annoyingly bad Billy Batson being a fan of Stone.  Now here’s the thing: the production on this animated home release is pretty good. The animation is very solid along with pacing and staging of all the scenes. The real problem here is the story and the characterization of the main characters and the antagonist. Bear with even though I’m pretty public with my dislike of the whole post New 52 versions of DC Comics’ characters.

Here’s the thing it’s very hard to like any of the heroes in this story. Wonder Woman’s characterization is pretty sad, she’s mostly like let me smash this and stab that with my sword while screaming. She doesn’t seem heroic, honorable, a messenger of peace or a princess at all. Superman is just a meat-head jock type of guy. He doesn’t seem that inspiring or really threatening other than he can lift stuff and fly. Then we have poor Billy Batson and alter ego that is SHAZAM. He’s like every bad kid in a movie but in the end they never have you like the kid he’s just a little asshole who becomes that little asshole in a grownup body. There are no real arcs for many of these characters.

That being said there are a few good things in this. Barry Allen Flash is pretty likeable; he is just a very true classic interpretation of the character that you can root for in this story.  Another thing that was good is Victor Stone's arc to becoming Cyborg. We get the whole dynamic with his father and motivations for being in the situation he is in and how he becomes a hero. All of this was in comic version of the story but for me it is handling way better than it was in the original version.  One more thing that I didn’t like is how Darkseid us used and also how violently sensationalistic they are with showing all these battles. I don’t really think it helps anything in telling the story at all but you might just think I’m a fanboy prude.

Now the one thing that really stands out on this release is all the special features. The documentary on the career of Jim Lee (the modern comics GOAT in penciling) was really well done at covering his career and his impact on comics. For serious comic readers a lot of nice tidbits of history of Wildstorm is all through this. The Deconstructing Justice League feature with the director and Jim Lee discussing the comic version and the movie along with what was changed was quite enlightening and interesting. It might not be that fun to watch for those that don’t really care about the making of a cartoon or comic but if you are though man this is the real movie.  Now the last one that is the storyboard comparison to final animation is just pure creative nerd stuff. I loved it but I kind of draw for a living so it’s right up my alley.

So here it is, I don’t just  think Justice League War is not only the worst of these Warner bros animation DC comics home releases to date it’s the worst animated story they’ve done since modern DC superhero cartoon era started with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. Even though it looks nice everything else is so mishandled that it's quite confusing. It has you questioning who else is getting involved in their creative process from picking the material to adapt to just constructing the story. Like let’s be honest here, Warner Bros. Animation has been dropping pure hit after hit since 1992 and now this. I hope this is just a minor blip on the timeline and not a foreshadowing of things to come from this continuing partnership. 

Oh and Aquaman got played out he didn't get a shot in the movie. 

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Superman and Batman Get Their Own 'The LEGO Movie' Posters

Before they ever go toe-to-toe in Batman vs. Superman, the two iconic DC heroes will first meet in The LEGO Movie. Call me crazy, but I think they may be a lot more fun as toys than as grizzled, dark 'n brooding foes. Warner Bros. has released two new posters, one featuring Supes and the word "Superness", the other with Bats giving off some "Batitude".

Channing Tatum will be voicing Superman with Will Arnett as the voice of Batman, joining Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Liam Neeson, Alison Brie, Morgan Freeman, Elizabeth Banks, Charlie Day, and many more. Directed by 21 Jump Street's Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the film centers on an ordinary Lego figure who is mistaken for someone extraordinary, and is recruited into an epic quest to stop an evil villain, voiced by Ferrell.

The LEGO Movie opens February 7th.

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Amy Adams Doesn't Want a Love Triangle in 'Batman vs. Superman'

Now that Gal Gadot is confirmed for Batman vs. Superman, will it be Lois Lane vs. Wonder Woman for the heart of the Man of Steel? In the current run of DC Comics, Superman and Wonder Woman are a super-powered romantic couple and there's always a chance the films go in the same direction. One person who wouldn't be in favor of that is Amy Adams, who plays Lois Lane and would be tossed in the middle of a love triangle she probably wouldn't win.  In a conversation with Superhero Hype she commented on what the addition of Wonder Woman could mean....

Adams: "Am I interested? I don’t know. I mean, we’ll see. I hope that I can be involved with a woman on screen where we’re not in a love triangle. That would be fun. Maybe where we team up together and we work as teammates instead of adversaries."

Some rumors have Wonder Woman debuting on the arm of Bruce Wayne, which has to drive some crazy that much of the conversation has been about which guy she'll be with.  David Goyer and Zack Snyder could go any number of ways with this, but in the end Adams probably doesn't have anything to fear. If the plan is to give Wonder Woman her own solo franchise at some point then latching her to another hero probably wouldn't work, although I would expect Lois Lane to be a little bit worried about having a tall, sexy, and extremely powerful Amazon princess hanging around.

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Has Zack Snyder found his Nightwing for 'Superman vs. Batman?

Warner Bros has no comment at the moment but TheWrap is reporting that several sources have told them Adam Driver, from the HBO series Girls, is the front runner to play the grown up Dick Grayson aka Nightwing in the Man of Steel sequel. The casting sheet apparently called for a a young John Hawkes...not where I would go for Nightwing but I'm sure they know a bit more than I. Adam Driver, who apparently is pretty popular, had tons of pictures out there but I went ahead and picked the buffest to kind of give us an idea. Physically, it seems, he'll be able to stand next to Affleck and Cavill on screen and while his look isn't right from central casting I think he could bring the dark side that Nightwing is supposed to have. Honestly I'm just stoked they're including the adult Robin, Nightwing's always been cool but lately...especially after Injustice his stock has greatly grown in my eyes. I do have one concern with this, it's not the casting really but more the inclusion of Nightwing. This coming on the heels of the casting for Batman's love interest really makes you wonder how much this is Man of Steel 2, I know Batman's a fan favorite but don't sell Snyder and Cavill's Kal-El short, Man of Steel was the start of a truly great Superman so give him his due, don't make him stand in the shadow of the Caped Crusader, he's had his time.

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First Trailer for Animated 'Justice League: War'

As Warner Bros. continues to build their live-action DC superhero franchise thanks to the success of Man of Steel, their animated division is about to release its 18th film centered on Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the rest of the Justice League. One of the big announcements to emerge at Comic-Con was for Justice League: War, based on the popular Justice League: Origin storyline by superstar the superstar duo of artist Jim Lee and writer Geoff Johns, and now we're getting a peek at the trailer.

Justice League: War features the voices of Alan Tudyk as Superman, Michelle Monaghan as Wonder Woman, Jason O'Mara as Batman, Sean Astin as Shazam, and more in a story that has an early version of the Justice League pulled together to battle the threat of Darkseid. The film is directed by Jay Oliva, who worked on Man of Steel and directed the two-part animated adaptation of The Dark Night Returns, so he knows his stuff. The animation is somewhat different than in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, but they're all still way too bulky.

Justice League: War will hit DVD and Blu-Ray next year.

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David Goyer Says Superman Should Be Able to Kill; Teases 'Justice League' Gig

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel was just what Warner Bros. hoped it would be as the springboard to their future superhero films. Earning over $660M worldwide, the film still had its share of detractors, mostly in regards to the conclusion. The "controversial" ending *SPOILER* saw Henry Cavill's Superman forced to kill his nemesis General Zod when put in a life-or-death situation. The act caused quite an uproar amongst those who believe Superman never kills under any circumstance, and those who feel the opposite. The conversation spread to those within the comic book industry, and it only picked up when it was revealed that Christopher Nolan wasn't a fan of it at first. While speaking at the BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture, screenwriter David Goyer defended this decision, and I'll be honest he pretty much echoes my thoughts on the issue.

"We were pretty sure that was going to be controversial. It’s not like we were deluding ourselves, and we weren’t just doing it to be cool. We felt, in the case of Zod, we wanted to put the character in an impossible situation and make an impossible choice.

This is one area, and I’ve written comic books as well and this is where I disagree with some of my fellow comic book writers – ‘Superman doesn’t kill’. It’s a rule that exists outside of the narrative and I just don’t believe in rules like that. I believe when you’re writing film or television, you can’t rely on a crutch or rule that exists outside of the narrative of the film.

So the situation was, Zod says ‘I’m not going to stop until you kill me or I kill you.’ The reality is no prison on the planet could hold him and in our film Superman can’t fly to the moon, and we didn’t want to come up with that crutch."

Ignoring the fact that Superman has killed before, Goyer's point is extremely clear and makes perfect sense. Why should he be subject to an arbitrary rule that has nothing to do with his film? People seem to think that this Superman must be identical to the one we've been reading for decades, but this isn't that Superman. This is Clark Kent as he's becoming Superman, still figuring out who he wants to be and how far he'll go when pushed to the brink. And there seems to be some sort of confusion that just because Superman was forced to kill this time that it somehow means he wanted to kill. As if he's suddenly now this bloodthirsty Superman who will probably snap Batman's neck in the first five minutes of the sequel. I would say those people are playing a game of "Missing the Point Entirely", and don't seem to understand how this makes him a richer, more complex character.

Anyway, Goyer was also asked by THR about Justice League, and if he would be writing the script, as was the rumor some months ago. His response was "Might be, can't say.", meaning he probably won't say anything until Superman vs. Batman is all wrapped up.

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Zack Snyder Meeting with Frank Miller About 'Superman vs. Batman' Movie

Comic book fanboys nearly peed themselves with the Comic-Con announcement of a Batman vs. Superman story for Man of Steel 2, but they went into geek orbit when the booming voice of Harry Lennix read an ominous quote from Frank Miller's seminal 1986 Batman story, The Dark Knight Returns. Having adapted two of Miller's graphic novels to the big screen in 300 and 300: Rise of an Empire, it should come as no surprise to learn that Zack Snyder is eager to pick the writer's brain one more time.

A report from The Independent (via Bleeding Cool) says Miller will "be meeting up with Zach [sic] in the next few days to go over the plans for the Superman film so things should be clearer after that." Miller apparently had no idea about the untitled movie's announcement, and definitely wasn't aware that it would be inspired by TDKR, so chances are this little get together could just be friendly conversation between colleagues. But given their past history, and the success they've had as a team, one has to consider the possibility that Snyder will want Miller to take a more active role.

It's important to note that the film is merely inspired by TDKR, not based on it as some have assumed. The story has an aging Bruce Wayne taking up the mantle of Batman one more time to save a dystopian version of Gotham City, with Superman working with the government to bring him down. It's completely a Batman-centered tale, and Snyder's film will be focused mainly on Superman. It's a proper Man of Steel sequel in that respect, with Batman introduced as a supporting character and a temporary rival. It's for that reason we likely won't see the film titled Superman vs. Batman as some predict, because it suggests equal billing.

Whatever the film will be titled, it's expected to open in 2015.

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Comic-Con: Batman and Superman Team-Up Film to Be Announced

There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the Warner Bros. panel happening today at Comic-Con, and it's all surrounding the announcement of a Batman and Superman team-up film for 2015. The rumor has been floating around for weeks that they may consider doing a "World's Finest" film, which would pair DC's two greatest heroes together, as a sort of lead-in to a potential Justice League movie. Here's how LA Times reveals the news...

“Man of Steel” director Zack Snyder is expected to reunite with screenwriter David S. Goyer and star Henry Cavill for the new film. It’s unlikely Christian Bale will step back into the bat suit, as the actor has indicated publicly that he has moved on from his days as Bruce Wayne.

“Man of Steel” producer and “Dark Knight” trilogy director Christopher Nolan is expected by some to produce the project, but the exact nature of his involvement is unclear.

It sounds as if this would essentially be Man of Steel 2, which makes perfect sense if WB wants to build their superhero universe. More on this as it develops.

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Christopher Nolan Wasn't Always A Fan Of The 'Man of Steel' Ending, But So What?

In case you haven't noticed, Man of Steel has started a war of opposing viewpoints on just how successful Zack Snyder's relaunch really was. Certainly it's already winning the box office battle, and has spurred Warner Bros. to get moving on a sequel in short order, but that hasn't kept the critics from pointing out its flaws. One particular bone of contention has been with the film's climactic battle between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon), and the actions the hero is forced to take. In case you haven't guessed, there will be spoilers beyond this point, so proceed at your own risk....

In the final battle, Superman is put in a position where he's forced to kill Zod by snapping his neck like a twig. It's a devastating moment, and we see the impact it has on Superman immediately. But at the same time it left many feeling as if we had just seen something wildly out of character, because Superman supposedly never kills. I don't buy that for a second, and others would argue that Superman has killed Zod and other aliens such as Doomsday(I know he can resurrect himself but that changes nothing) in the past, but still it has led to some heated discussions. In the latest episode of the Empire Podcast, Snyder and screenwriter David Goyer talked about that decision, and revealed that none other than Christopher Nolan was initially one of the scene's most vocal detractors...

Goyer: Killing Zod was a big thing and Chris Nolan, originally, said there’s no way you can do this. That was a change - originally Zod got sucked into the Phantom Zone along with the others and I just felt it was unsatisfying and so did Zack. We started questioning - we talked to some of the people at DC Comics and said, “Do you think there is ever a way that Superman would kill someone?” And at first they said “No way, no way,” and we said, “but what if he didn’t have a choice?” Originally Chris didn’t even want to let us try to write it and Zack and I said, “We think we can figure out a way that youll buy it.”

Snyder went on to add that he felt Superman's "no killing" rule had never been fully explained, and that there needed to be a catalyzing moment for him to come up with such a stance...


Snyder: I guess for me - and in the original version of the script he just got zapped into the Phantom Zone David and I had long talks about it and Chris and I talked long about it and it was like, “I really think we should kill Zod and I really think Superman should kill him. And the why of it was, for me, that if it’s truly an origin story, his aversion to killing is unexplained. It’s just in his DNA. I felt like we needed him to do something, just like him putting on the glasses or going to the Daily Planet or any of the other things that you’re sort of seeing for the first time that you realize will then become his thing. I felt like, if we can find a way of making it impossible for him - like Kobayashi Maru, totally no way out - I felt like that could also make you go, “Okay, this is the why of him not killing ever again, right?” He’s basically obliterated his entire people and his culture and he is responsible for it and he’s just like, “How could I kill ever again?”

Although Nolan was against it, Snyder and Goyer did manage to convince him and the folks at DC Comics of their idea...


Goyer: “I came up with this idea of heat vision and these people about to die, and I wrote the scene, gave it to Chris, and he said, 'Okay you've convinced me.' ”

I've seen some people acting as if Nolan's initial reluctance somehow proves that the scene never should have happened, but that doesn't make any sense. He's no more an authority on Superman than anybody else, and if it isn't obvious by now, there are many different camps with their own ideas who the last son of Krypton is. Leaving behind the fact that Golden Age Superman was more than willing to kill, and that more modern versions have killed other powerful beings in the past, what Man of Steel is doing is presenting a character who has yet to figure out who he wants to be. That's kind of the entire point of it, right? So this Superman now has a death on his hands, and part of his continued evolution will be seeing how that affects him, because he's likely to be put in a similar life-or-death situation again very soon.

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Why I'm Not About That 'Man of Steel' Life

So Man of Steel came out and made a gang of money this weekend. Like a hundred and twenty-five million or still, this movie has seemed to become the most divisive movie of the year so far. With its certified rotten critic score on Rotten Tomatoes and with a lot of super vocal fans on social media loving it or hating it and arguing back and forth the division is clear. See, I was asked to write this piece because I hate Man of Steel.  Now, to preface I've been vocal to many people that I’m pretty much done with the superhero movie, 2012 burnt me out on the genre. Like, real talk, after Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises what else is there to say now? Well, for me, at a minimum all the 3D spectacle and bombast has become played out. I want a bit more, something else to explore.  So the following are my reasons for not liking Man of Steel, from a personal point of view.

I don’t really understand what this movie is trying to say or maybe I do and I just can’t buy the cynical nature of it. I really don’t understand the need to darken up Superman or to make it more “real” which to me is pretty stupid because we have literally nothing in reality to base what it would be like to have a Superman in our world or even any alien for that matter. Is it really necessary for Superman to fight General Zod and smash through the city of Metropolis and not once care or try to protect the people of the city from the fight. Now there was some of that in the earlier Smallville set piece but even then it felt like an afterthought when he saved a single solider. Superman seemed to not go out of his way to protect people once he put the costume on.  Which I feel totally goes against what we know about the character of Superman. He’s a protector first and a warrior second.

Another issue is whether Superman ever really makes a decision for himself? His choices seemed to be put upon him. Now, I think that works in the heroic journeys where the hero is a kid but Superman is a 33 year old man. He’s seen the world from what we can tell, yet he never once drives the story. His two fathers make all of the hard choices for him. We never see Superman make a leading decision; he’s responsive to everything that happens to him. My father told me not to save him. My birth father told me I have to be this heroic symbol. My birth father told me I have to stop Zod. With all the comparison to Nolan’s Batman people are forgetting one thing in that Bruce Wayne chose all of his actions, from learning to be a ninja, to dressing as a bat, from using fear, to taking the rap, all the way to spying on the city to catch joker and so on. 

This Superman does make one choice and it’s that choice which is getting all of the attention, his decision to murder Zod. Now I could get extra geeky and say why that’s wrong on a character level (and then someone will drop Superman #22 on me which, by the way broke the character also) and that it doesn't fit Superman. To me, that act wasn’t earned. It felt like the filmmakers put him in that place so that he has to kill Zod. Superman then just screams and gets over it. That’s it? So that’s where we go to get people to like Superman again? Why take a character that serves to be something we can aspire to and bring him down to that level. You have a character that can do anything and you can’t find a way for him to stop Zod without murdering him? Really though for me that was just the icing on the cake, I thought that Superman killing all of the Kryptonian babies was a worse act entirely that last push over the edge with killing Zod means that this isn’t a Superman for me. I didn’t grow up liking Superman, actually as small child Superman the Motion Picture made me not like Superman at all. I didn’t like Superman until 1996 with a perfect storm of the miniseries Kingdom Come and the premiere of Superman: The Animated Series on the WB. The two stories, one of a rookie Superman and another of a Superman who left because the heroes didn’t care about city they protected and instead took extreme measures, really got me to enjoy the character from a new point of view.  I found his ability to hold back and always find a way and see the good in everyone refreshing.

 I really have no want to watch a "BADASS" Superman. I know it’s something that others want but to me, that's just boring. Everything is “badass” now for some reason that is used to equate an evolution or sophistication. It’s doesn't add any sophistication or evolution and is pretty juvenile, not to mention that it doesn’t send the right message to children. I’m not going to lie I want Superman to punch something too, but I just wished what we got was a little lighter and hopeful.  It’s interesting to me that as Marvel is crafting movies from their catalogue of characters they are choosing characters who are less dark and less cynical in their comic roots and everyone loves it.  They took characters made to fit into our world with stories that get really dark and decided to take some of that away and instead make them more mythic. It seems that Warner Bros. and DC have decided to go in the opposite direction with their transition in order to compete. Well, if they want the "badass" crown they can have it cause I’m out.

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