Defining Superman's Powers In A Reboot

[markstrange]

Visually I think that Superman Returns did a great job. Visually I think that in a returns sequel they should amp it up and through it some fight scenes and it would be awesome. Visually.

But everything else about the movie reeked of crap.

 

[GlasgowBat]

I hate to disagree, but we saw Batman at his full potential on BB and it barely made more than 200 million. And SR had quite a good story but lack of action and made 200 million. IMO the highest both characters can make at the BO is 250 - 300 million. But no Spider - man and probably Iron - Man numbers.

i'd just like to bring this post to everyone's attention.

 

[dark_b]

a lot of people didnt know that TDK will make so much money.

whats your point?

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I agree. You can bring up tons of my posts and read simular things.

 

[dark_b]

yeah everyone is now smart like they knew that this will happen.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I gotta say, I hated Superman Returns just as much as the next guy but to suggest that Singer's characterization of Supes as depressing and forced to serve is the flaw in the film is incredibly, and I mean this in the least offensive way possible, shortsighted. Superman left for a reason. He had to make the love of his life forget about him because without him humanity would be in too much danger. He had to sacrifice his happiness for that of everyone else on Earth. Couple that with the fact that upon his finally coming to terms with this and returning to Earth to do his duty he discovers that the woman he loves and hurts for has written a Pulitzer prize winning article aboutb how she doesn't need him and the fact that she's with another man and has a child and you've got a damn good reason for Superman to be resentful. Maybe Singer saw Superman 2 and actually realized how wrong it is for people to just assume that Superman is supposed to be there with a big smile every time he has to give up something like, say, the love of his life because people are in danger... because his dad told him that was his purpose. Singer took what was there and made it realistic. And if you think all of this ignores Superman history or mythos or what-have-you, maybe you should pick up Kingdom Come or at least read it again if you already read it.

For someone who hates the movie, I am REALLY surprised by how much you 'get it.' Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying the people who didnt like it didnt get it, but god damn, this guy hs hit the nail on the head about why and how Superman left in SR, and has put it into better word than I have been able to in the last 2 or so years.

GREAT post.

 

[manofsteel4life]

Thanks for the info. I agree that the shots of Neo flying were limited, but the effects were amazing nonetheless. It's too bad they couldn't work on SR, not that the FX team for SR did a bad job.

Anyways, I found a clip on Youtube that shows Superman flying in Matrix style. The clip is short, but just watching this makes me think hmmm, what if...

i agree.....that's how imo...the camera angles should be......but not how neo looks when he speeds up

 

[Zephyr Alexian]

^That looks great, but the natural physics of his cape movement aren't properly represented.

SR's flight scenes were pretty good, but with resources that Singer had available to him (the hangar in Sydney, wire models, etc. . . ), we could've seen a lot more incredible flight shots.

One that I enjoyed was a shot over the water where Superman is flying and the camera slowly pans from the back of his head down to his cape. It was incorporated nicely, and I had never seen that type of angle in a Superman film before.

The part in the plane rescue sequence where Superman grabs the wing is a phenomenal shot also. Great stuff. However, with the technology available today, I'd like to see more flights with curvature. Point A to Point B stuff is great, but I want to see some things that defy the boundaries of gravity in a new sense.

 

[COMPO]

how strong should Superman be? I mean with the Donner movies Superman was unbelievably powerful, with his rebuilding the great wall of china with his mind or turning back time.

With the reboot should they tone down how strong Superman is? Make him powerful but not all powerful?

 

[Nathan]

Well, those weren't really feats of strength. Just total idiotic nonsense. I don't mind him being as strong as in Superman Returns, where he could lift and island.

 

[KobiKai]

I don't really mind how strong he is but IMO if you basically carry a plane to safety, at least show it took effort. Using wrestling terms he needs to sell the move

 

[GreenKToo]

I think he should still be very powerful, just not planet moving or continent moving powerful.
He should be able to pickup objects like ships, trains, passenger planes, etc, but not much more than that.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I thought his strength levels in SR were perfect, Superman has moved planets in the comics, even as recently as the Our Worlds At War storyline, which was 2001/2002 I think. So SR got it just about spot on for the big screen IMO.

 

[KobiKai]

I thought his strength levels in SR were perfect, Superman has moved planets in the comics, even as recently as the Our Worlds At War storyline, which was 2001/2002 I think. So SR got it just about spot on for the big screen IMO.

If he can move planets or continents then where's his threat going to come from? This has been a problem for years now with Superman, people want realism in their hero's with defined powers and flaws.
A boy scout who doesn't put himself in to any danger is outdated and unwanted, Superman can either evolve or be the first big causality of the modern era. If the world doesn't need Superman then he'll have to find a way to fit in

 

[nocomics]

I agree the strength he showed in SR is about where he needs to be imo. They showed off most of his powers in SR,and hopefully they will use all his abilties in the next one...
Like the one guy said he also needs to 'sell' the moves to the audience,and I think when he lifted that island he sold that one imo...I just hope they use all his abilities and not just his physical abilities,needs to use the main ability,his mind.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

If he can move planets or continents then where's his threat going to come from? This has been a problem for years now with Superman, people want realism in their hero's with defined powers and flaws.
A boy scout who doesn't put himself in to any danger is outdated and unwanted, Superman can either evolve or be the first big causality of the modern era. If the world doesn't need Superman then he'll have to find a way to fit in

His threat levels come from villains like Brainiac, Metallo, Darkseid, Mongul, Preus, Gog, Ruin, Parasite, Doomsday etc, etc, villains who are all equally or more powerful than him. Havent you ever read a Superman comic? He gets battered by a villain every issue, yet his powers are extreme in the comics.

 

[KobiKai]

His threat levels come from villains like Brainiac, Metallo, Darkseid, Mongul, Preus, Gog, Ruin, Parasite, Doomsday etc, etc, villains who are all equally or more powerful than him. Havent you ever read a Superman comic? He gets battered by a villain every issue, yet his powers are extreme in the comics.

Think of it in the mind of a normal person, apart from Lex, Doomsday & Zod the other names mean nothing. Truthfully if you were going to name a villain for a movie every one of them would be thrown out as sounding either childish or plainly dumb.
The comic will not translate into a successful film these days and IMO the character needs to evolve.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Think of it in the mind of a normal person, apart from Lex, Doomsday & Zod the other names mean nothing. Truthfully if you were going to name a villain for a movie every one of them would be thrown out as sounding either childish or plainly dumb.
The comic will not translate into a successful film these days and IMO the character needs to evolve.

Gotta disgagree, I dont see how the character can evolve beyond its essentials, Superman cant be radically changed, he just cant. Also, If people can accept villain names like Green Goblin, Doctor Doom, Dr Octopus, Sabretooth, and countless others, i dont see why Superman's villains would be seen as childish or plain dumb like you suggest.

People want to see something new in a Superman movie, the likes of Brainiac, Metallo, Darkseid, Parasite, Mongul, etc could provide that for them.

 

[KobiKai]

Mongul is out for a start, can you imagine the crap they'd get from the different groups

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Mongul is out for a start, can you imagine the crap they'd get from the different groups

Well yes, I dont think he should be used for a 1st movie in the franchise, but for sequels, why not?

 

[November Rain]

what's the point of having a hero who can throw a city worth of KRYPTONITE (imagine what he could do if it was normal and didn't have kryptonite jabbed into his side) FROM THE GROUND INTO SPACE

it's crazy, he should be more grounded to be relatable or at least threatened without the K word physically by something earthbound.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^IMO, NOTHING made by humans should be capable of hurting Superman, I hate it in the comics when some machine or genetically engineered mutant/human can hurt Superman, as I think it is ridiculous.

Only other Aliens with advance physiology or technology should be able to hurt him without K IMO.

One exception I dont mind is Metallo, sure he can hurt Superman, but without Kryptonite, he would never be able to properly defeat Superman, which is how it should be IMO.

 

[KobiKai]

Well yes, I dont think he should be used for a 1st movie in the franchise, but for sequels, why not?

I was thinking that it sounds like mongol which in these over the top pc days would basically guarentee trouble

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I was thinking that it sounds like mongol which in these over the top pc days would basically guarentee trouble

Personally, I doubt it, but with the way pc is these days, you never know.

 

[dark_b]

if he is to powerfull then it will be like in dragonball Z and GT. to much.
a fight is not possible in the city. plus the villain would need to punch him so hard that he would need to land on the other side of the world to even hurt him.