Henry Cavill IS Clark Kent/Superman - Part 3

[misslane38]

But Cavill didn't have it easy BECAUSE he was introduced like a terrorist and a liability. That's why people doubt him and he makes zero attempt to connect with them or talk to them or give an interview that could help soothe the situation. Reeve's Superman endured less challenges with the public because he set himself up well. He revealed himself as a hero and made his intentions and his motivations clear from the get go. He avoided facing the challenges Cavill does because Mario Puzo (one of the greatest writers of all time) scribed him as this benevolent hero.

Superman did give interviews and talk to people. He was first introduced to the world as a "guardian angel" per Lois Lane's article. He gives himself up to the US military and talks to them. He saves one of their own. He wins allies like Colonel Hardy, Captain Farris, and General Swanwick. Both General Swanwick and Senator Finch stand up for Superman in BvS. But, make no mistake, the task ahead of Cavill's Superman was infinitely more challenging than what Reeve's Superman endured.

Why is it abusing power to save Lois from an earthquake? It worked and more lives were saved. If you think it was a deus ex machina, then I agree. I also agree about the memory wipe and Reeve himself was against it but this was the 70's and Hollywood was still very much a boy's club and unaware of treating female characters with the same agency. He beats up a bully who was bullying everyone in a restaurant. LOL Cavill's Superman destroyed a guy's job by destroying that truck. Both were fine and audiences cheered on both instances. Reeve's Superman was probably the strongest live action rendition of the character, he was a god and yet he did simple acts like saving a cat out of a tree for a kid. Why does this matter? It shows humility of a god who can basically kick around humans like bacteria and rule the world, never once thinking he's above us and showing compassion to a little child and an animal. This makes him instantly lovable. This is what Cavill was missing. He was never given scenes like this. That's my whole point.

Cavill is given scenes where he saves his bullies from harm. He saves Pete Ross, he saves Lex Luthor, and he forgives Batman. Cavill saves a girl from a burning building for a desparate family. He cares about a criminal who may die because he's been branded by Batman's symbol. He protects a woman from sexual harassment, saves men from an inferno on an oil rig, he saves his classmates from drowning on a submerged bus, and he saves a soldier falling out of the sky. I feel no sense of compassion for a version of Superman, like Reeve's Superman, who would give up little things like saving cats out of trees just so he could have a girlfriend. That's not the humility of a god. That's selfishness pure and simple. The only additional person that Superman is shown to have saved when he turned back time to save Lois is Lois. He was told he was forbidden to interfere in history, yet he disobeyed this order for the sole purpose of saving Lois Lane. Rather than go back in time to stop the second missile and stop the earthquake, Superman only goes back far enough to save Lois. The only person we see his efforts save is Lois.

Batman goes out and fights villains every day and he's a cynic. You can still be a cynic and try to do your bit to make the world less *****. That's basically what Watchmen is about. The 1978 films is a battle against the cynicism of the world in the 70's. The video actually lays it out quite well into how it takes after the different political spheres and battles them overall. Superman is devoid of hope within himself in the DCEU. And he doesn't talk to Batman, he half heartedly tries and then resorts to physical violence because Snyder promised a Batman v Superman and then figured out the fight would be pointless if Superman simply blurted out "Lex Luthor kidnapped my mom and wants you dead".

Superman is not devoid of hope. He believes that people will see he did nothing wrong in Nairomi. He believes in the power of the press to cure social injustice. He believes that speaking to Finch's committee will make a difference. He believes that Superman is an idea worth preserving because he can endure the nightmares that come with the job. He believes Lex Luthor is worth saving from his own monstrous creation. He believes that if he takes a leap of faith on humanity, then the trust part will come later. He takes that leap, and after humanity "stumbles" and "fall," they join him "in the sun." Snyder does not allow Superman to effectively communicate with Batman because it's the story he wants to tell. He wants to tell a story about how a good man with good intentions seeks to communicate, and how fear and trauma makes that sort of communication and understanding difficult. He wants to tell a story about how sometimes the only way to cut through the hopelessness and the darkness is a moment of clarity: that in order for one to see the light, one must first see the truth of oneself. We see that Superman does not give up on Batman, and that by not giving up on him, there is just enough room for truth and love to cut through all of the darkness.

 

[Tony Gunk]

What? She says "Thank you'" and he smiles to acknowledge her thanks and give her comfort that'll it'll be ok. That's Superman!

To be fair what people would realistically do in situations shouldn't really be an issue with people who are invested in a world where Kal-El let his dad run back into a tornado to get a dog then proceeds to let him die.

 

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