Everyone has their favorite superhero. And there are many debates over which superhero is objectively the best. But when it comes to who is the most iconic? There’s no doubt that the answer is Superman. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joel Schuster in 1938, Superman has appeared in comics, cartoons, TV shows, and movies. For nearly a century, he has dazzled comic book readers and audiences with his heroic feats. He’s faster than a speeding bullet and stronger than a locomotive. Superman can do anything. There are no limits for what the Man of Steel can do…. That is, except with his own film franchise.
It’s not exactly a secret that Superman hasn’t had the best of luck as a film franchise. Superman: The Movie, released in 1978 directed by Richard Donner, remains a landmark for the superhero genre. The sequel Superman II, while not quite as good, is still a solid follow up. (The Donner Cut is way better). But Superman III & IV were so awful that they killed the franchise. They were basically the franchise’s kryptonite.
Since then, there have been multiple attempts to reboot the franchise on the big screen. In the 90s, Kevin Smith worked on a script based on Superman Lives, where Superman is resurrected from his fateful fight with Doomsday. The film was gonna be directed by Tim Burton and starring Nicholas Cage in the role of Kal’El/Superman. But the film went over budget and was scrapped. (For more information on that train wreck, check out the documentary The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? Directed by Jon Schnepp and Produced by Holly Payne, featuring interviews with Tim Burton, Kevin Smith, and Jon Peters. It’s worth watching for any Superman fan).
In 2006, X-Men director Bryan Singer attempted to use his comic book movie cred to revive Superman with Superman Returns. It was both a reboot, and a sequel to Superman II (1980). So it was basically like the 2018 Halloween. It was a follow up to the classic movie everyone loved, and ignored all the unnecessary sequels. It had all the right pieces. It had a great cast with Brandon Routh as Clark Kent/Superman, who looked and sounded exactly like Christopher Reeve. And Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, who was even more menacing than Gene Hackman (though knowing what we know now about Kevin Spacey, it’s easy to see why). Unfortunately, the movie was a boring, depressing mess that failed to connect with audiences. It was a movie at war with itself, trying to pay homage to the Donner films and be a sequel, while also trying to restart the franchise. Because of this, the movie couldn’t decide what it wanted to be. The audience responded with disinterest and spent their money on more appealing blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
The franchise remained dormant for about seven years. Then in 2013, Zack Snyder attempted to reboot it by making it darker and edgier. Less like the Donner Superman, and more like Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. Though to be fair, it felt like every superhero movie was trying to emulate that formula. And just like all the other attempts from Hollywood to recapture Nolan's lightning, Man of Steel missed what made Nolan's Batman click like it did. Man of Steel had a lot of problems. But one of them was making Superman a brooding figure with a tortured soul. That worked for Nolan's Batman because that's who Batman already was in the comics. But Superman? Superman is the opposite. He's earnest, optimistic, and full of love for all of humanity.
And it's that sincerity that made Superman so hard for audiences to relate with, and why it's been so hard to get him right on the big screen. Even though Batman is a billionaire and Superman is a farm boy, he's still more relatable to audiences because of his morally questionable methods and his simmering rage. Audiences are more willing to relate to a character if they have flaws and grow as people. But Superman? He doesn’t really go through growth in most versions of his story. He’s already perfect. He’s Superman.
How do you make Superman connect with audiences without throwing away what makes him who he is? How do you make audiences give a damn about a superhero who’s too pure to relate to?
James Gunn answers this question with another question. “Why does Superman even need to be relatable? What does it say about our world if a character like Superman is seen as too corny and too wholesome to relate to? Why are we treating this like there’s a problem with Superman, and not a problem with the world?”
James Gunn succeeds in updating Superman for modern day audiences, while also staying true to his character and values. James Gunn understands that Superman was made for these times. In fact, he was made in times like these.
When Superman first debut in Action Comics #1 in 1938, it was a time much like now. There was massive wealth inequality, the rich were getting richer, the majority of people were struggling, fascism was on the rise all over the world, and the entire world way war. Jerry Siegel and Joel Schuster, two Jewish immigrants, wrote Superman as an allegory for immigration. At a time when immigration was deeply controversial. Much like now.
James Gunn includes a not very subtle reference to an actual genocide going on in the Middle East. While he doesn’t use the names “Israel” or “Gaza”, it’s very clear what it’s about. Superman stops a country representing Israel, which is said to be an ally of America, from invading another country that’s like Gaza. This makes Superman controversial around the world. Lois Lane asks him why he would insert himself in the middle of a conflict and betray America’s ally. Superman’s response is “People were going to die.”
It’s really that simple.
Lois Lane later tells Superman that they’re different. She said “I’m a Punk Rock girl. You? You’re not punk rock. You trust everyone. You think everyone you meet is beautiful.” To which Superman replies “Maybe that’s the real punk rock.”
And that’s how James Gunn adapts Superman to the big screen. That’s how he makes Superman cool again.
By reminding us he was always cool.
In a world run by real life Lex Luthors where cruelty is the norm…. Kindness is the real Punk Rock.
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