Superman Reboot Writers Workshop

[Jaspertian1105]

I wish they could make something like superman - doomsday, with a couple of changes i think it work, i don't think we will see doomsday in this next movie but i really hope we can see him someday, TIH proved that doomsday would look great on screen.

 

[MaceB]

This is more of an outline of the type of action scene(s) i'd like to see. The fight is already in progress between Brainiac and Superman.

Brainiac lunges toward Superman and hits him square under the chin, sending him flying up through 10 floors and on for another half a mile before he crashes into the street, carving a deep trench in the pavement where he lands.

Superman slowly rises, spitting out blood.

Superman shouts a warning to people to get off the street. Brainiac lands nearby. He picks up a car and tosses it. Superman rushes to save a woman that is caught in the crossfire and deflects the car away from her at the last second.
He wisks her to the safety of a nearby alley, turns, and gets hit by Brainiac again. It knocks the man of steel through two highrises and on farther.

STREET LEVEL: A MILE AWAY.
a busy street, people are going about their business, buying at shops, driving, walking, etc.

A strange whistling sound fills the air.

It grows louder. People look around curious.

Someone finally looks up and points, ''look, up in the sky''. People scatter and flee.

Superman's body lands in the middle of the busy street and slides on into a service station parking lot where a gasoline truck is unloading. Momentum carries him on into the tractor trailer and his body crushes it like a tin can.

Fuel starts pouring out of the crushed trailer and it flows down the street.

The driver of the truck and others nearby flee for their lives.

A few seconds later the fuel reaches a discarded cigarette and it ignites.

The fire reaches the trailer and it explodes into a huge fireball engulfing nearby cars and buildings in flames.

A dazed Superman rises to his feet and uses his superbreath on the fire.

Civilians scatter for cover, and news crews start arriving on scene to catch the event on film.

Personally, I'd love for something like this to happen, but it brings up a plausible problem. If Superman really were to go the darker more serious route, then WB would have to address the possible devastation and mass death that a superhero/supervillain fight would inevitably cause. It'd be so cool to see Superman being hit through buildings and all... but that would have to lead to lots and lots of deaths. I hope they don't pussyfoot around this one. TDK showed us that it's okay for people to die in a comic book movie... as long as its done right.

 

[GreenKToo]

Personally, I'd love for something like this to happen, but it brings up a plausible problem. If Superman really were to go the darker more serious route, then WB would have to address the possible devastation and mass death that a superhero/supervillain fight would inevitably cause. It'd be so cool to see Superman being hit through buildings and all... but that would have to lead to lots and lots of deaths. I hope they don't pussyfoot around this one. TDK showed us that it's okay for people to die in a comic book movie... as long as its done right.

The Dark they refer to could possibly be just that. Innocent People die in real life sometimes when police are trying to capture or stop criminals. How much more so would it happen in a fight between two superpowered beings. Even if one tried to protect innocents, he couldnt protect them all.

 

[manofsteel4life]

The Dark they refer to could possibly be just that. Innocent People die in real life sometimes when police are trying to capture or stop criminals. How much more so would it happen in a fight between two superpowered beings. Even if one tried to protect innocents, he couldnt protect them all.

exactly.....why cant some understand that? That's exactly what wb means on the "dark" statement

 

[HR-PUFF&STUFF]

the only way to make superman dark is to take away his humanity. if superman becomes apathetic you could have people die around him because he feels no reason to save them.

 

[I.Bulk]

My view is that the fans should have a bit of a say in the story, not too much of course because things could get stupid. But a director who looks at the boards and then tries to put it in the movie would be pretty cool, then everyone's happy! Doing this can also put the right amount of "dark" without making the story like Watchmen which is going to the point of nihilism.

 

[The Guard]

The way to make Superman dark is to show MORE humanity. To have him want to succumb to his human moral quandries and his weaknesses and insecurities.

 

[Mikelus]

exactly.....why cant some understand that? That's exactly what wb means on the "dark" statement

Unfortunately, some people need something to whine about.

 

[Slusho]

Ever since I've seen S:TAS, I have these ideas for a trilogy in my head:

Film 1: Villains Luthor (who is pulling the strings) and Metallo

At the end of the movie, after Metallo is defeated, we see Luthor alone in his office at LexCorp. He suddenly starts talking, we think with himself, but suddenly a mechanical voice answers and we see three lights glowing on a big monitor on a wall that forms a triangle....Brainiac

Film 2: Villains Brainiac and Zod

It is explained that Brainiac came to Earth when Kal-El arrived. Luthor found it and founded his company with the alien knowledge. But now, Brainiac turns against Luthor and finally reveals his true goal: to send a signal to his creator, Zod, so he can finally get revenge on Kal-El for the actions of Jor-El, who made him leave Krypton because Jor-El found proof for Zods criminal actions. When Zod lands on Earth, we find out that he was on a planet and learned a lot from its King.
After an epic battle, Zod suddenly starts laughing although he is severly hurt. He says:" Don't feel to safe, Kal-El. HE is coming."
and the credits start rolling

Film 3: Villain Darkseid (Invasion from Apokolips)


It is just an rough outline and quite a few changes are made to the characters, which some could find terrible,
but it would finally be an epic story with more alien story parts

 

[BigBlue1055]

My idea for the "Reboot" film stem from Lex Luthor: Man of Steel. I really want to see someone do justice to a character who I feel is one of the most dynamic and realistic villians in the comic-verse.

So you have Lex. Lex views Superman as the greatest threat to humanity, not because he's an alien-menace, but because in his opinion, he does not inspire people, he does the exact opposite, he is the end of human motivation. What can a human being strive to do that Superman can't already do one thousand times better?

Then you add in the LuthorCorp sponsored hero of Hope. Now in the treatment I have in my head, Hope is being replaced with Metallo. John Corben honestly believes himself to be the new, darker, ends justify the means hero (maybe even throw ina few references to "that dude from Gotham") that the people want.

So while Superman has been gone, Lex has taken up the mantle as Metropolis's favorite son, and the city has moved on. (I would've even included Lois's "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman" article) His technology has made Metropolis the most advanced city in the world, and his Superhero Metallo keeps the city streets clean. Again, borrow from Lex Luthor:Man of Steel, and have the Toy Man create some huge disaster where lots of civilians are lost, Metallo goes to bring him in, and is ready to kill him when Superman stops him. This leads to a big battle between Metallo and Superman, which Supes ultimately wins.

Next, we have to have the scene where Superman is hovering outside Lex's window silently staring at him as Lex talks. As Lex talks, he gets angrier and angrier as the silence continues. Lex plays his trump card, and opens up Metallo's chest, dropping Superman from the sky. Lex then suits up in his BATTLESUIT (you gotta have it), Superman is lying on the street, attempting to recover when Lex (in his battlesuit) jumps out of the window, right at the feet of Superman.

He pulls him up to his feet, and holds him by his throat, spits in his face and then throws him threw a building. As he continues to lay the beat down to Superman, he mocks him, quoting Lois Lane's article "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman". He talks about how he is the one who runs the world now. How many rebels he's helped in other countries, how the military wouldn't exist without LuthorCorp technology, and how he hired the Toy Man to kill all of those people to make everyone see that Metallo was truly now the Champion of Metropolis. (Of course, unknown to Lex, Daily Planet intern Jimmy Olsen is catching this entire rant on his cell phone video recorder).

So blah blah blah, big fight, Superman heat visions lead plates over Luthor's kryptonite knuckles and finally starts to get the upperhand, peice by peice knocking the suit off of him. All the while, Luthor is screaming at him, "I'm the real Super-Man, alien! I'm the real Super-Man!" Finally Luthor drops. And Superman takes him to the authorities.

Cut to 2 months later, Lex is in a cell. Mumbling to himself, "I am Super-Man". He looks out his cell and sees the same firey red glow of Superman's eyes, the same as when they had their confrontation in Lex's office. Lex sees this, "No! Leave me alone Alien! Leave me alone!" Superman, flies up to his cell, and slides in 1000's of death certificates who died from Lex's and Metallo's actions, looks at him, and says "I sometimes wonder if you're even human." Lex crumbles over the slips of papers, crying, mumbling, "I'm a man, I swear I'm a man."

Then a nice little cut scene of Superman working along side Metropolis's survivors to rebuild the city, brick by brick. End with Lois starting to pen a story "Why the World Needs Superman".

-End movie-

Whatcha think?

 

[The Guard]

Edited.

 

[Anita18]

I offered this question in the "reintroduction" thread, but I'm really interested in what people have to say, so I decided to make a new thread explicitly for this purpose.

Even though I'm a huge fan of Batman, I fully believe that Superman deserves a film on the caliber of Dark Knight - an adult, thought-provoking movie that reflects issues in our own present society. In my view, that's what makes the Nolan Batman films realistic. Not the ability for the viewer to relate to the characters on screen, but the ability for the viewer to relate to the issues they face.

On the surface, the most obvious theme in TDK is chaos vs. order, but I've picked out quite a few more which are more subtle, yet play a prominent role and affect the plot in their own way. There's manipulation, which I'd argue has a larger reach than the chao/order theme. There's power, heroism, trust, idealism, societal norms/freaks, identity, and insanity. Oh, and dogs.

All of these themes wouldn't necessarily be obviously part of what we think of as a Batman story, but they certainly added layers to the movie.

As for Superman, there are many ways to go about a Superman story, so which theme(s) would you guys like emphasized?

I've only thought about this for a few minutes, but I think I'd be really interested in seeing how they tackle the following:

• Trust - how can the world accept Superman immediately as a Good Samaritan when he simply just shows up one day as an all-powerful being with no explanation?
• Humanity - what makes Superman (an alien not of this planet) more human than say, Lex Luthor, who's actually a human Earthling?
• Nature/Nurture - Superman does what he does because of how he was raised, not because of his blood.
• Immigration/Alienation - Probably goes along with humanity, but this is probably the most obvious theme they'd go with.

 

[Cain]

I agree with the mentioned as well as altruism, media influence (the planet), egotism (Lex), loneliness (Supes), hope (from both sets of parents, to this being what the world views Superman as once he's an established hero), fear and confusion (no doubt the city's initial reaction to Supes in a modern world).

 

[The Sage]

In addition...

Xenaphobia - In addition to egoism, Lex's hatred of Superman stemming from humanity putting their faith in an alien.

Dependency - Could Superman's presence on Earth be harmful, with people expecting him to save them all of the time?

Optimism - Is it something to truly believe in, or is it the shield of the foolish?

 

[BATZARRO WWD]

Adequacy: Can anything Superman does be truly right in a world full of variables and relativity? Just what does it mean to "do good"?

 

[Nirvana]

I definitely want to see the Immigration/Alienation theme. That was probably one of my favorite aspects of Superman Returns.

 

[El Payaso]

I'd explore Superman's feelings about being that person everybody looks for help, being an alien amongst humans, being in love with a human woman he can't have, yearning for a normal life he cannot have, risking his life for this planet.

You know, everything Superman Returns explored.

 

[Gilpesh]

You know, everything Superman Returns explored.

With a dash of the theme of punching bad guys real hard...

 

[dark_b]

I'd explore Superman's feelings about being that person everybody looks for help, being an alien amongst humans, being in love with a human woman he can't have, yearning for a normal life he cannot have, risking his life for this planet.

You know, everything Superman Returns explored.

i think this one would only work when superman is in the public more months.
i just can not understand that people would be so dumb to ask someone for help when they know him only 1 month. and he can fly. an alien that can fly.

 

[I Am The Knight]

Superman should be used as an allegory for human potential, so I'd go with the Humanity, Nature/Nurture as central themes for the film. And throw in a little Discrimination/Alienation for good measure.

 

[El Payaso]

i think this one would only work when superman is in the public more months.
i just can not understand that people would be so dumb to ask someone for help when they know him only 1 month. and he can fly. an alien that can fly.

Free help from a super guy?Humans would need to know him for 2 minutes and not personally to start asking endlessly for help.

That said, yes. People are that dumb and much more.


But a theme I have never seen and I'd love to see it is an origin movie with people being actually afraid of this alien that can potentially destroy them.

 

[I Am The Knight]

i think this one would only work when superman is in the public more months.
i just can not understand that people would be so dumb to ask someone for help when they know him only 1 month. and he can fly. an alien that can fly.

If they are dumb/fearful/needy enough to ask for help from an invisible entity...

 

[Steelsheen]

great thread Anita

i agree with a lot of the suggestions so far. but here's a challenge that uniquely Superman's:

Servant vs Sovereign= Superman saves people. thats what he does. but what happens when it reaches a point when people regard him as a perennial guardian angel to the point that he becomes God-like to them? the guy that they are willing to let rule over them because after all, this is a person who only had their best interest in mind all the time. or do they treat him as the servant who cleans up after their mess, the guy who is always at their beck and call. is this an honor or a burden? how does Superman feel about being considered a God or a lowly servant? should he take the power so willingly given or should he step back and let Humanity run its own life? lots of conflicting elements there for Supes. and in terms of storytelling, it casts light about who we are as a species, about fate vs faith and many others.

 

[dark_b]

Free help from a super guy?Humans would need to know him for 2 minutes and not personally to start asking endlessly for help.

That said, yes. People are that dumb and much more.


But a theme I have never seen and I'd love to see it is an origin movie with people being actually afraid of this alien that can potentially destroy them.

i would love to see this. this was never in a superman movie.

 

[deathshead2]

I wantto see the theme of punching bad giys in the face, and slamming them into buildings. Thats a theme Superman hasn't had in awhile.