How should Superman fight?

[SatEL]

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

Personally I think with the nature of his powers and how powerful he is, Superman as a character lends himself to slo-mo on film, I actually EXPECT there to be plenty of slo-mo scene's during the action.

Bullet time has become overused and boring, I would live an inventive way for Supes to be shown throwing down.

[Zack Snyder]

I think Superman should have a general punching style for most of his villains. However I would like Kryptonian specific moves, that tie in with his flight/heat/freeze breath abilities for more of the outlander villains (Darkseid for example).

It would be interesting if he would freeze a villain, then uppercut. Or if he would whip around him in a circle, the force of his flight knocking the villain off balance. Stuff like that would work in combination forms.

[Ultraman Nexus]

I agree about the combo thing. Most x-character can beat up Superman justifications basically depend on him using one power at a time.

[Zack Snyder]

Originally Posted by Ultraman Nexus

I agree about the combo thing. Most x-character can beat up Superman justifications basically depend on him using one power at a time.

Superman: Next Level

[FVD]

I wouldn't want to see Superman using Martial Arts period! That honour oughta be saved for Batman!

The STAS and JL(U) are perfect references for Supes to engage in combat with a little DBZ thrown in for good measure. I too think he oughta be more of the brawling type. I'd love to see some super piledriver like move coming down like a bullet from kingdom come!

[Asgard]

They need to show Superman drop kicking someone. Like fly down at a 20 degree angle and plant his boot in someone's face.

[The Question]

He's incredibly powerful and has pretty much no formal combat training, at least until he joins the League and meets up with suoer powered trained fighters like J'onn and Diana, and that's usually a very dangerous combination. So I would imagine that his fighting style would be very, very defensive, capitalizing on his speed and ability to take a hit, unless it was against someone who he simply had to unload on. That is, if he's aiming to not kill anybody.

[batman44]

I see Superman as a brawler. Maybe using a mix of boxing and wrestling like moves.

[X Knight]

Superman should fight using arial kung fu, and he should carry a blaststaff cuz that's part of his Kryptonian heritage........and............oh...........wait.. ..........

[KaptainKrypton]

This is actually an extremely interesting question. I don't want Superman to fight like a completely trained martial artist. I would like to see something creative and swiftly brutal that is unique like the Keysi Fighting Method scenes were for Nolan's Batfilms. The method of combat for superhumans is going to be different from two regular dudes just duking it out. Chiefly, this is due to the weapons at their disposal. I'd like to see some of the ferocity seen in the second Terminator film when the Terminators first lock horns in the mall. Jockeying for position mixed with tests of strength and a creative use of environment with some raw combat displayed that really demonstrates why these guys are bad mothers and why these guys are physically in another league from guys like Spider-Man and Batman.

There was a faint glimmer of what I mean in Superman IV during the lunar battle. Superman threw a muay-thai knee strike from the plum that didn't seem forced, but rather a natural defense against a guy who really needed a manicure.

It doesn't need to be overly stylized like Watchmen or Matrix or whatever. Rather, I'd like something visceral like in the Bourne films. Without blatant overkill, I'd love to see things sped up at points to demonstrate what the look of a true superhuman battle displays at full speed (think of The Flash doing work on a heavy bag, except that it hits back). I mean, think about it. If you have two superhumans fighting at full blast while trading shots, it's going to sound like the loudest machine war you've EVER imagined.

Also, the sound needs to be amped up to display the intense volume of the hits. If the hits sound anything near a realistic human fight, they get an F-grade from me. I want my comic book onomatopoeia really displayed for once. It's why I enjoy the fights in Superman II to this very day. Every punch sounded ten times harder than anything in a real fight. I don't want another Matrix replay. I want the best comic-book battles we've never seen on screen before.

I also agree with one of the earlier posters about staying away from the "one-punch" nonsense. I want to see those big hits, for sure. On the other hand, I'd like to see what it's like when two godlike bulls rumble in the proverbial China shop.

[terry78]

He basically should not fight like Batman. Bats' entire thing is that his moves are like a waltz almost in the way he's trained. Superman grew up in Kansas as a regular joe, and he would fight like a regular joe, until he pretty much learns from the ground up how to attack and counter.

[Asgard]

How hair pulling and windmill punches with eye closed tight?

[Denny67]

Originally Posted by GhostPoet

They should just take a look at Justice League Unlimited for examples of how Superman should fight.

^

This

Here is a good one:

[Eze]

Originally Posted by batman44

I see Superman as a brawler. Maybe using a mix of boxing and wrestling like moves.

Me too.

[FVD]

I'd like to see a few one punch maneuvers thrown in at random but I also don't want to see a flurry of quick punches/kicks like seeing Goku fighting Frieza for example. Would love to see a helluva lot of grapple attacks and city damage would be catastrophic too. I'm sure the wow factor would go into overdrive in so long as it don't look too fake either!!!

[Daybreak_st]

Just watched the new Superman/Captain Marvel animated film. They both go toe to toe with Black Adam. That fight should be referenced for how Superman fights in the new film, very dynamic. They actually have Black Adam throwing a few kicks in there and it looks good so if Superman did that and it looked as good i wouldn't complain.

[JBElliott]

Originally Posted by dark_b

no martial arts.no matrix fighting style.

Ditto. Superman isn't about precision or timing or that kind of thing. Superman is about force and power. That said, he shouldn't be brutal, at least not until he's really pressed. There's got the be some sense of restraint to illustrate just how powerful he is and just how good a hero he is.

[Thundercrack85]

It would depend on his backstory, how old he is and who he is fighting. Some incarnations of Superman / Clark are quite worldly, so it wouldn't be very surprising if he picked up some martial arts by the time he's a reporter in Metropolis.

This does raise some interesting questions though. Especially if he were to take on other Kryptonians. Zod being a career soldier would presumably be well trained in hand to hand combat.

[daywalker2007]

superman doesn't really need any fighting style.

he will look awesome doing any sort of simply punch to the face or chest and the other guy flying back into a building.

no need for any martial arts.
i want to see flying punches, and I want to see superman take off from a start position and then fly into someone, much like how he does in Superman 3, the junkyard battle.

just watch the junkyard battle to see how you can film a fight.

[Jochimus]

Personally I'd probably handle it like he's never had to fight in his life - unwieldly and inexperienced at first, but gradually getting the hang of it. It'd help to have an earlier scene of Clark or Superman at the Ace O'Clubs and have one of Bibbo's old fights playing on the tube, then later on when it comes down to the climactic bare-knuckles super-brawling, he makes like Bibbo with the entire city getting ringside seats. Y'know, the old "set it up/pay it off" bit.

[Superman_20]

superman should fight like a gladiator, he has strength and is invulnerable so he should not fight like a martial artist, but like a street fighter, like a combination between chuck liddell punching and kimbo slice brutality and chain punching... none of that choppy one single punch, but brutal rapid-fire chain punching sort of like donnie yen in this scene but without the martial arts skill of course but aggressive and animalistic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMuWmjye-LQ

and sort of like channing tatum fought in fighting

[FooYu]

Originally Posted by Hound55

Raw singular power blows, look competely untrained (yet have a raw deliberate efficiency to his technique, because he's never had to know how to fight with efficiency due to possessing boundless power). Single shots without a thought for maintaining balance for a second shot.

Uses powers he has at his disposal, rather than your typical combat style. i.e. Fly into spear tackle. Relies more on speed and reaction for combination attacks (when they occur) rather than an efficent fighting style which would lead to natural combinations.

agreed 100% He should't hven anu martial arts training because he doesnt need it.

[Superman_20]

Originally Posted by FooYu

agreed 100% He should't hven anu martial arts training because he doesnt need it.

he doesn't need it but he did not start out with any powers as a kid, so i wouldn't be opposed to that he knows some, just a little flare, but brutal, effective and fast, more like a mix of the speed of wing chun but the aggressiveness of kuntao but that it looks untrained and aggressive, like an animal but that he flows, one punch to the next, not one punch... half hour later the 2nd... etc.... etc

[GhostPoet]

Like I said...they should take a look at Justice League Unlimited...and just go with how Superman fights in that series. It really shows off all his powers.

[That-Guy]

He should fight Dolemite style.

He takes a swing at a guy and the dude get knocked out before his fist even makes contact because he's THAT awesome.