Superman Reboot Writers Workshop

[SolidSnakeMGS]

Check my sig for script excerpts from my own sequel version.

I am aiming for a huge battle where Braniac takes over a new AI developed for the Army for unmanned war vehicles and uses it to try and destroy Metropolis and/or Superman.

 

[darkseid26]

this sounds pretty good to me, story seems good.

and that first pic is that brainiac cause it looks awesome .

 

[Showtime]

Very well thought out JB, I really like what you've done with your idea. Bringing Intergang in is a plus and I really like Richard being in charge of The Planet. I usually don't like Doomsday, but I think you worked him in well in your storyline.

You really used the comics interwined into your ideas, you found a way to bring Luthor back into it while be freed of his past criminality. Really looking forward to the Smallville scenes.

 

[Mr. Socko]

I didn't read it(i will later) but awesome pics!

 

[Justice Bringer]

Thanks.

An additional note I forgot to mention, the crystal 'weapon' that Agent Fine plants in the White House (which Lex learned of through Jor-El) is called The Eradicator.

It has the power to eradicate the entire human population off the surface of the planet when unleashed.

And who knows, maybe it could evolve into the comic book character of the same name in future \S/ films...

Luthor simply deactivated it, he didnt destroy it.

 

[Showtime]

Nice addition.

 

[Metropolis_Man]

I like this idea a lot. The idea of Clark having to relocate to Smallville with Lois is great. I like that Doomsday came, but no Superman death, just a big great battle. Very interesting ideas here. Keep with it man!

 

[wellsy]

There is indeed elegance in simplicity.

I like the ideas.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

me too wellsy. Justice you've got some really solid ideas that could work (hopefully Singer's paying attention)

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey J B!

Some interesting ideas, however my biggest reservation is that you are underselling Doomsday massively. First you have Superman beat Doomsday (or drive him off) then you have Doomsday killed by some Deus Ex Machina meteor impact. The raison d'etre for Doomsday is to kill Superman, but you are just treating him like any old punk villain.

If you just want a run of the mill villain for Superman to beat I suggest you use Bizarro instead, in fact Metallo might work best here. Superman Returns seemed to set up the possibility of Bizarro (the blood on the kryptonite shard) and possibly Brainiac (New Krypton crystals).

My second reservation is that Brainiac doesn't seem to be doing too much, now I know fisticuffs ain't exactly Brainiacs thing, but a big scrap versus a horde of Brainiac drones would be cool. Superman could confront Brainiac and after a hard battle defeat the robot, only to have multiple copies arrive...

However, those points aside, I actually liked the rest of your story.

What I might do is replace your Doomsday with perhaps Metallo, have Metallo defeat Superman in their first encounter (ACT 2), then later have Metallo (now 60 ft. tall) fight against the US Military, before a final encounter between Metallo (now 600 ft.) and Superman in ACT 3.

However, Metallo is of course just a distraction cooked up by Brainiac after the defeat of Brainiac's drones by Superman at the end of ACT 1. But I really like the idea of Lex and Superman on the same team (even if Lex would always try and double cross Supes). So I could see the benefit of pitting Lex against Brainiac. Although when Brainiac gets 'defeated' at the end he is able to "download" into Lex, creating Lexiac (for the third movie).

If think this hits the required action 'beats', although I think what we are missing is a strong opening.

ACT 1 (Opening): ?
ACT 1 (Climax): Superman vs. Brainiac Drone and then multiple Brainiac Drones
ACT 2 (Mid): Superman vs. Metallo (6 ft. tall)...Metallo beats Superman
ACT 2 (Climax): Metallo (60 ft. tall) vs. US Military...Metallo crushes military
ACT 3 (Climax): Superman vs. Metallo (600 ft. tall)...Superman defeats Metallo

The third movie (The Death of Superman) would feature Lexiac and Doomsday. Lexiac uses satellites to find Doomsday's prison vessel in space, lock on and summon it to Earth where it crashes, releasing the beast. Lex would continue his mental duel with Brainiac (much like the Supes vs. Clark fight in Superman III) for control over his body. Superman would of course die at the end of the movie.

The last scene could be Superman waking up in some fiery 'hell' asking himself "Where am I?" only to have a deep booming voice (off camera) exclaim "Welcome to Apokalips!" Thus we have Darkseid for Superman Resurrection.

 

[GreenKToo]

I love it, but I would like Doomsday to be more of a threat though. The story is awesome, the suit would be fixed, richard and lois apart, conner kent, and intergang. good stuff.

 

[Dark Sentinel]

ah, i missed the Jason White/Conner Kent bit. interesting...

 

[Justice Bringer]

Hey J B!

Some interesting ideas, however my biggest reservation is that you are underselling Doomsday massively. First you have Superman beat Doomsday (or drive him off) then you have Doomsday killed by some Deus Ex Machina meteor impact. The raison d'etre for Doomsday is to kill Superman, but you are just treating him like any old punk villain

If you just want a run of the mill villain for Superman to beat I suggest you use Bizarro instead, in fact Metallo might work best here. Superman Returns seemed to set up the possibility of Bizarro (the blood on the kryptonite shard) and possibly Brainiac (New Krypton crystals).
..

The thing is Metallo, Bizarro etc all require alot of backstory and development; hence alot of time taken away that needs to be spent on the main villian Brainiac.

Doomsday is just a mindless killing machine, an animal. It's the perfect action villian for these much needed fight sequences while Brainiac functions as the intelligent manipulative enemy.

Secondly, lets not overstate the importance of Doomsday. What is he? Hes a Deus Ex Machina himself, written for the sole purpose as a plot device for killing off Superman.

My second reservation is that Brainiac doesn't seem to be doing too much, now I know fisticuffs ain't exactly Brainiacs thing, but a big scrap versus a horde of Brainiac drones would be cool. Superman could confront Brainiac and after a hard battle defeat the robot, only to have multiple copies arrive..

I considered the clone fighting thing but it seemed too much of a ripoff of Agent Smith in Matrix Reloaded to me. Considering Fine is an FBI Agent-like character as well in this story, it would just be too similiar going the clones route.

I didnt see the point of giving Brainiac a robotic drone army as Doomsday is Brainiac's army. The drone army just seemed a bit too John Peters-esque for my tastes.

The third movie (The Death of Superman) would feature Lexiac and Doomsday. Lexiac uses satellites to find Doomsday's prison vessel in space, lock on and summon it to Earth where it crashes, releasing the beast. Lex would continue his mental duel with Brainiac (much like the Supes vs. Clark fight in Superman III) for control over his body. Superman would of course die at the end of the movie. ..

And this is why I avoided using the storyline of Doomsday killing Superman;

1) The 'Death of Superman' angle has already been explored in Superman Returns. It seemed like redux to make Metropolis go through all the emotions of losing Superman all over again.

2) Doomsday killing Superman is beyond predictable. Superman surviving and pwning Doomsday is something unexpected that audiences can cheer for. I think it would generate too much controversy if Superman killed Doomsday in this film so the meteor attack seemed the perfect way to wipe him out and damage the city as well.

 

[Justice Bringer]

Here's my cast for the film, if you need images for how the characters appear:

Brandon Routh: Superman/Clark Kent

Kate Bosworth: Lois Lane

James Marsden: Richard White

William Fichtner: Milton Fine

Gene Hackman: Morgan Edge

Eva Marie Saint: Martha Kent

Sam Huntington: Jimmy Olsen

Frank Langella: Perry White

Don Cheadle: The President

Tristan Leabu: Jason White

Parkey Posey: Kitty

Kevin Spacey: Lex Luthor


Teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diwHgFbK6uw

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey J B!

The thing is Metallo, Bizarro etc all require alot of backstory and development; hence alot of time taken away that needs to be spent on the main villian Brainiac.

I don't really see that being the case. Actually I'd say Doomsday actually requires more of a set up than the others, or at least more than Bizarro certainly.

Doomsday is just a mindless killing machine, an animal. It's the perfect action villian for these much needed fight sequences while Brainiac functions as the intelligent manipulative enemy.

Bizarro is pretty much mindless, while Metallo perfectly fits the role of henchman.

Secondly, lets not overstate the importance of Doomsday. What is he? Hes a Deus Ex Machina himself, written for the sole purpose as a plot device for killing off Superman.

Exactly, which means you are totally underselling him.

I considered the clone fighting thing but it seemed too much of a ripoff of Agent Smith in Matrix Reloaded to me. Considering Fine is an FBI Agent-like character as well in this story, it would just be too similiar going the clones route.

Not really, firstly that fight was more 'martial arts' based than what I would expect from a Superman fight. Secondly, the matrix fight wasn't against robots, so this time we can show things actually being injured/damaged/destroyed. Thirdly, the matrix fight wasn't fought to a conclusion.

I didnt see the point of giving Brainiac a robotic drone army as Doomsday is Brainiac's army. The drone army just seemed a bit too John Peters-esque for my tastes.

Except that virtually every incarnation of Brainiac has used multiple drones.

And this is why I avoided using the storyline of Doomsday killing Superman;

1) The 'Death of Superman' angle has already been explored in Superman Returns. It seemed like redux to make Metropolis go through all the emotions of losing Superman all over again.

That wasn't the Death of Superman, that was the Injury of Superman.

2) Doomsday killing Superman is beyond predictable.

So was Anakin becoming Darth Vader, but that didn't make it any less compelling.

Superman surviving and pwning Doomsday is something unexpected that audiences can cheer for.

Superman pwning Doomsday simply cheapens Doomsday.

I think it would generate too much controversy if Superman killed Doomsday in this film so the meteor attack seemed the perfect way to wipe him out and damage the city as well.

A controversy easily avoided by simply having Doomsday kill Superman...and it segues nicely into the Apokalips story for the follow up.

 

[BH/HHH]

Brilliantly thought would change a few things myself like but what the hell do I know

 

[Justice Bringer]

Hey J B!



I don't really see that being the case. Actually I'd say Doomsday actually requires more of a set up than the others, or at least more than Bizarro certainly..

Bizarro = Cadmus, cloning, Lex, Superman's relationship/duality with Bizarro, and Bizarro's tragic quest for humanity....too much

Doomsday = Creature from the Phantom Zone, Pure bloody ass kicking action...

Not really, firstly that fight was more 'martial arts' based than what I would expect from a Superman fight. Secondly, the matrix fight wasn't against robots, so this time we can show things actually being injured/damaged/destroyed. Thirdly, the matrix fight wasn't fought to a conclusion...

The Matrix analogy refered to the Brainiac clone proposal. Its just too close to it, especially using his Agent human form. The way I see Brainiac is he would only resort to getting his hands dirty if there were no other options left (hence the final act; Superman VS Brainiac in space on NK)

Except that virtually every incarnation of Brainiac has used multiple drones....

I'm not interested in doing what's already been done. I've also made my version of Brainiac very divergent from the recent Smallville attempt. Theirs was a cloning T2 ripoff (hence it had multiple drones) but I wanted to go a different way.

My biggest deal with Superman fighting an army of robot drones is its just too huge a step from the real world feel of SR. The move towards sci-fi basis needs to be gradual and Superman fighting a robotic army is just overkill.

That wasn't the Death of Superman, that was the Injury of Superman.....

We've already dealt with a world without Superman and then Superman returning.

It really would be pointless redux if we killed off Superman to go through the same thing all over again.

Lois already went through the emotions of believing she lost him. It would be totally emo to do it all again.

So was Anakin becoming Darth Vader, but that didn't make it any less compelling......

I dont think using the SW prequels as comparison proves much, they were exactly received well by fans. But regardless it would feel too much of a ripoff of the last 20 minutes of Superman Returns. This Death storyline was in the failed movie scripts for a decade and Singer adapted it in, in his own way..... its done.

Superman pwning Doomsday simply cheapens Doomsday

Doomsday can't get any cheaper than being the plot device that he is.

A controversy easily avoided by simply having Doomsday kill Superman...and it segues nicely into the Apokalips story for the follow up.

They didnt spend ten years trying to make Superman popular again to movie audiences just to kill him off and get people depressed. It ain't going to happen. It would be a disaster IMO if they ended the film with Superman dead and everyone mourning, not to mention too familiar to the last act of SR.

 

[GreenKToo]

question. Does N.K. being partially made of kryptonite have anything to do with the meteor being able to kill Doomsday?? I mean Doomsday is kryptonarian in your draft right?

 

[Maze]

I like it a lot Justice : smart and exciting .

Only thing i'm not such a fan of Doomsday killed like that.it's too easy imo to get rid of him that way.(and i'm not a fan of the character usually )

Keep up the great work

 

[VenomsMom]

Now maybe the time to bring in Doomsday. The ultimate battle in the sequel. I have been saying this all along. My only problem is whether Singer could handle such a colossal story.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hey J B!

Bizarro = Cadmus, cloning, Lex, Superman's relationship/duality with Bizarro, and Bizarro's tragic quest for humanity....too much

Doomsday = Creature from the Phantom Zone, Pure bloody ass kicking action...

I'm interested to hear what action scenes you propose?

The Matrix analogy refered to the Brainiac clone proposal. Its just too close to it, especially using his Agent human form.

...well I suggested his Robot form.

The way I see Brainiac is he would only resort to getting his hands dirty if there were no other options left (hence the final act; Superman VS Brainiac in space on NK)

The flip side to that is Brainiac should not be capable of being defeated from purely physical damage.

I'm not interested in doing what's already been done. I've also made my version of Brainiac very divergent from the recent Smallville attempt. Theirs was a cloning T2 ripoff (hence it had multiple drones) but I wanted to go a different way.

So Brainiac is just an alien in your movie?

My biggest deal with Superman fighting an army of robot drones is its just too huge a step from the real world feel of SR. The move towards sci-fi basis needs to be gradual and Superman fighting a robotic army is just overkill.

...yeah that "real world feel of SR" worked a charm.

We've already dealt with a world without Superman and then Superman returning.

It was mentioned but the subject was never dealt with, more brushed under the carpet.

It really would be pointless redux if we killed off Superman to go through the same thing all over again.

Its not the same thing, we are actually killing him. Hes not off on some space holiday or a bit sickly in hospital.

Lois already went through the emotions of believing she lost him. It would be totally emo to do it all again.

Why did she go through those emotions when he wasn't dead.

I dont think using the SW prequels as comparison proves much, they were exactly received well by fans.

They were a lot better received by fans than some movies.

But regardless it would feel too much of a ripoff of the last 20 minutes of Superman Returns. This Death storyline was in the failed movie scripts for a decade and Singer adapted it in, in his own way..... its done.

Nonsense. I'm not suggesting we kill him off 20 minutes before the end and drowned the movie in some grief-ridden quagmire or even having a funeral since without any other heroes involvement it would be a waste of time.

Doomsday can't get any cheaper than being the plot device that he is.

Nevertheless you've managed it. t:

They didnt spend ten years trying to make Superman popular again to movie audiences just to kill him off and get people depressed.

If they were worried about depressing people they wouldn't have made Superman Returns!

It ain't going to happen. It would be a disaster IMO if they ended the film with Superman dead and everyone mourning, not to mention too familiar to the last act of SR.

The last scene of the movie has Superman "waking up" in Hell (Apokalips).

 

[GreenKToo]

Upper Krust: I love this, it would set up the 3rd film brilliantly.

The last scene of the movie has Superman "waking up" in Hell (Apokalips).

 

[Showtime]

The "Death of Superman" plot was excitable and marketable in the 90's to go along with the arc in the comics but it has no place on screen at this point. The idea has run it's course, it was the hip story to tackle more than a decade ago but Returns canceled out that plotline with Superman almost dying twice. There is no way WB would touch upon that type of plotpoint again in a Superman movie, because it would be redundant. They have already had complaints of the redunacy of Returns, people complaing there was to much Donner influence and what not.

 

[Diamondhead]

Two super kid "a boy and a girl" fighting over the right to call superman "dad"

The one he had with Lois in superman 2 and the one he had with that hot chick in superman 3


That sequel should be produced by Buena Vista I guess!

 

[VenomsMom]

We cant get any more depressed than what Returns did.