The Official Choose A Director Thread

[Nixon]

Is Krypton really a planet that Superman doesn't know? I mean, in most every iteration of the character he eventually gets to go to Krypton and to meet and interact with his birth parents. Movie Superman, for example, spent a little more than a decade in the Fortress of Solitude learning about Krypton from a simulacrum of Jor-El, one he seemed to considered much more than a mere computer program. I can't help but think that Krypton and his birth family are more than mere abstractions for him, that they're real flesh and blood. he's John and Martha Kent's son, but he's also Jor-El and Lara's too. And I think that's why we can't just write off Kal-El the Last Son of Krypton any more than we can Superman the Superhero or Clark Kent the mild-mannered reporter from Smallville. Each is an essential component of the whole.

But is being the Last Son of Krypton the driving force behind Superman's feelings of alienation? A little, but I think a lot of it is something else. I don't think Superman feels alone because he's the only Kryptonian but rather, because of what being Kryptonian means on Earth: that he's kinda, sorta a god. He's the ultimate go-to-guy, the saviour who's always on call, the man who sacrifices his normal life so that everybody else can have their normal life. I think that not getting to have a regular life is what makes Superman feels somewhat out of touch from regular people.

The problem with this sort of thing is that it too easily and too often gets dealth with badly and, quickly comes across as mopey. Dealt with right and it's grand and tragic and just plain awesome.

 

[Arach Knight]

That comment I bolded kind of gets under my skin.

My family just recently told my little sister that we adopted her and I know she has a longing to know about her real parents. We recognized that unfortunately she might seek out her real father one day.

I dated a girl who was adopted and I can tell you that she felt the same way.

These are very real feelings for people so you might want to not make such stupid comments again

Well I guess my comments are just stupid then. I was raised by my mother and my common law adoptive father, who I only knew as being my father from the time I was about 1 and a half, till I was 15 years old. When I found out that another person was my genetic contributor...I never once sought him out. And I never want to. He was not there to do anything for me, but the man I love and still call father, has always and will always be there for me. That is why I see him and only him as my father. Not some lone stranger I have never met.

So maybe you outta mind your own stupid and presumptuous comments. I speak from personal experience and not just some postulation. I can yield to the idea that not all people in my position feel as I do, but in your efforts to champion others and invalidate me, you have only appeared foolish by not offering me the same benefit of the doubt that you said I was not giving to others in my position. Sorry for your ex and sorry for your sis, but they are not the only ones with an adopted heritage...

 

[Nixon]

I never said anything about my sister giving up on her family or thinking of herself as anything other than my sister and parents daughter.
I certainly never said anything in regards to Superman mourning Krypton, or giving up on his Earth family or the people on it.

Without commenting specifically on your family because, frankly, it's nowhere near my place to comment on that, I've always wondered why it has to be an either/or thing with birth parents and adopted parents.

I mean, in the case of Superman, the answer to the question of "whose son is he?" is very clearly "both."

 

[Superark]

Well I guess my comments are just stupid then. I was raised by my mother and my common law adoptive father, who I only knew as being my father from the time I was about 1 and a half, till I was 15 years old. When I found out that another person was my genetic contributor...I never once sought him out. And I never want to. He was not there to do anything for me, but the man I love and still call father, has always and will always be there for me. That is why I see him and only him as my father. Not some lone stranger I have never met.

So maybe you outta mind your own stupid and presumptuous comments. I speak from personal experience and not just some postulation. I can yield to the idea that not all people in my position feel as I do, but in your efforts to champion others and invalidate me, you have only appeared foolish by not offering me the same benefit of the doubt that you said I was not giving to others in my position. Sorry for your ex and sorry for your sis, but they are not the only ones with an adopted heritage...

That may be your position to not want to seek them out and that's fair. There are many people just like you who rightfully feel that way. I pointed that out in a post of mine and said everyone is different. In your post you said nothing to acknowledge others who would rightfully feel different and your words were that the idea for to wanna seek parents they never knew "made zero sense" Those were your words. I took exception to that.

 

[NeoRanger]

Love it how people presume to understand characters based on their own experiences and issues. Isn't that how SR came to be?

Superman doesn't long for Krypton, because he actually wants to trade Earth for it. This is a man that feels disconnected from the rest of the freakin' planet. Always and forever. That's why Krypton is a factor for him.

Did you punch tractors when you were three, Arach Knight?

 

[Arach Knight]

well sperark you are at liberty to take exception, but had you read my post, I juxtaposed Superman with the novel Face On The Milk Cartin. So my interpretation is obvious and now personal.

 

[Superark]

Trust me Arach Knight, I read your post

 

[Arach Knight]

As for the movie, I am no entirely against an origin story, if they can make it matter and make it under thirty minutes. on a side note, I dont buy into a supes thay feels disassociated with earth.

 

[Showtime]

Guess what? None of this has to do with the topic at hand. Get back on topic.

 

[Arach Knight]

Also, most modern stories from the silver age on, have shown to do human things like eat and sleep because he is so enamored by his adoptive homeworld. that doesnt sound disassociated.

 

[sf2]

i wanna see the "friendly" competition between lois & clark.
i wanna to see how superman fight and win the people confidence and belief in him.
i wanna see how lois trying to have "superman & clark kent" as her lover.

 

[stargazer]

It is a very common problem in a lot of modern Superman stories. Many writers find him unwritable because of his power (not enough villains who can actually threaten him). So what a lot of writers do is turn to this "psychology of Superman" theme that really has gotten old.

-Explore his relationship to humans as a Kryptonian
-Explore his Christ like attributes
-Explore his loneliness as the last of his kind

There are a bunch of sub themes like that, that just make Superman a bore to read these days. That role is sufficiently filled by J'onn the Martian Manhunter. He actually saw his family and homeworld die. Therefore, it makes sense. Also, even though J'onn can shapeshift and pretend to be human, in the end, his true form is not human. Even his adopted form (a hybrid of his true self and a humanoid form) is distinctly different. In fact, that was something that was touched on when J'onn switched outfits and started roaming around as his true self. Why on earth do we need Superman to have the same themes explored when

A)He was not even a month old when Krypton exploded. Therefore he has no genuine mental or emotioanl attachment to it, other than as an idea.

B)His true form is identical to that of a human (so much so that he can even copulate with humans).

C)Superman was raised from infancy to adulthood, by humans, whom he looks similar to.

To me, the idea of this guy longing for a homeworld he never saw and parents he never knew, makes zero sense. In Smallville...Clark feeling lonely makes partial sense. He was the only person on earth who was the way he was (at least for the first several seasons during the kryptonite mutation era). But in the comics, he has encountered so many other beings from other worlds and with fantastic powers, that he can't feel alone. ****, the guy has two cousins with him. J'onn has nobody at all, yet you'd swear that Clark somehow suffered more by the whiny position he often has in the books. I just hate it.

Superman is such an awesoem character, but I feel like he is only that way during the major events or titles that bring him together with other characters (Superman/Batman, Justice League etc). But his lone book...I mean how often can he feel bad for a world he never knew. It's like that book and movie, Face on the Milk Carton. Her genetic parents found her, she had siblings she never knew she had. Her whole genetic family looked just like her. Red hair etc. But at the end of the day, she didn't associate with them. She ran away often and wanted to go back to her real parents. The people who raised her. The people that may not have looked exactly like her, but they were the people she came to know and love. Because no matter how genetics ties her with these other people...she doesn't know them. She wasn't raised by them, so they are not home.

Superman is no different. His home is earth. He is an earth person. He is human, even if genetics say otherwise. So why have writer after writer, bore us to death with more drivel on Krypton and his loneliness. Superman isn't lonely because he is the only Kryptonian. That's just the ******** wool that has been pulled over our eyes for the past however many years since he was slain by Doomsday. I certainly don't want to see more of that in the film. Forget another origin story. Forget Krypton. Focus on how Superman has moved beyond being the Last Son of Krypton. Move on to how he has become the (Hu)Man of Steel.

Superman is an alien. He is a god who thinks he is a man. He feels like a human. He is a man of two worlds.

And I think he being The Last Son of Krypton is an essential and very interesting part of him. And it should be explored. It adds more depth and enriches the character.

Is Krypton really a planet that Superman doesn't know? I mean, in most every iteration of the character he eventually gets to go to Krypton and to meet and interact with his birth parents. Movie Superman, for example, spent a little more than a decade in the Fortress of Solitude learning about Krypton from a simulacrum of Jor-El, one he seemed to considered much more than a mere computer program. I can't help but think that Krypton and his birth family are more than mere abstractions for him, that they're real flesh and blood. he's John and Martha Kent's son, but he's also Jor-El and Lara's too. And I think that's why we can't just write off Kal-El the Last Son of Krypton any more than we can Superman the Superhero or Clark Kent the mild-mannered reporter from Smallville. Each is an essential component of the whole.

But is being the Last Son of Krypton the driving force behind Superman's feelings of alienation? A little, but I think a lot of it is something else. I don't think Superman feels alone because he's the only Kryptonian but rather, because of what being Kryptonian means on Earth: that he's kinda, sorta a god. He's the ultimate go-to-guy, the saviour who's always on call, the man who sacrifices his normal life so that everybody else can have their normal life. I think that not getting to have a regular life is what makes Superman feels somewhat out of touch from regular people.

The problem with this sort of thing is that it too easily and too often gets dealth with badly and, quickly comes across as mopey. Dealt with right and it's grand and tragic and just plain awesome.

Fantastic post, nixon. I just want to add that when Superman gets to know about his alien heritage, interacts with his biological parents, and learns why they had to send him away, he bonds with them in some way.

In general, great posts, Christmas and superark.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I would cheer if I hear the next director say:

"I love and Respect what Richard Donner and Mario Puzo did with Superman but my version of Superman has no connection to their film..."

 

[daywalker2007]

the next director needs to make sure we get some stunning shots in space, maybe have Superman rescue some Nasa space shuttle like he did in Superman IV, except this time do it properly!

would love to see that in Imax

 

[JamalYIgle]

I. So why have writer after writer, bore us to death with more drivel on Krypton and his loneliness. Superman isn't lonely because he is the only Kryptonian.

Actually it's an important part of his story and essential to telling Superman's story. He's not human, he's never going to be human and he may want to relate to them but he will always be separate from them. To leave those things out takes a fundamental core element of Superman's character. I don't get why you would want to limit the dramatic potential of his character by taking that out.

 

[Showtime]

:Jamaled:

 

[DavidTyler]

:Jamaled:

That avatar is really disturbing.

and .... JAMALED?

I'm creating a new one... calling it:

:BaROCKED:

 

[DavidTyler]

I'd like to hear from any future director of a Superman film that he's going to consult the fan base and use Timm/Dini as consultants on the mythos and the film.

 

[Nixon]

So, with Watchmen being really kinda terrible and not exactly setting the box office on fire, does the calculus that would or wouldn't put Snyder in the director's chair for a new Superman movie change?

 

[Daredevil_2003]

The most important thing I wanna hear from a future Superman director is that they'll be focusing on the epic grandeur of the character. There will be high drama, intense action and fights...ya know, the stuff that was seriously lacking in Returns. That film was mopey, but it's biggest problem was the lack of excitement, IMO. I can deal with Somberman as long as he kicks some ass in the picture.

 

[Nixon]

Superman is an alien. He is a god who thinks he is a man. He feels like a human. He is a man of two worlds.

And I think he being The Last Son of Krypton is an essential and very interesting part of him. And it should be explored. It adds more depth and enriches the character.

Bang on, this is. This is something they're looking at (again) in the New Krypton story that's going on right now in the Super-books. It's not the superpowers that makes Superman unique in the universe, but rather the synthesis of his Kryptonian heritage and Midwestern upbringing that makes him such.

I see Superman as a man of two worlds and possessed of three core facets: 1) Superman: The Man of Steel, 2) Kal-El: The Last Son of Krypton, and 3) Clark Kent: Mild-Mannered Reporter from Smallville.

Like you said, each facet adds depth and enriches the character. Lose one and you've lost some of that depth and richness.

 

[BestGirl]

:Jamaled:

What does this mean?

 

[Nixon]

That Jamal Ingle has dropped some knowledge on you.

 

[BestGirl]

So, with Watchmen being really kinda terrible and not exactly setting the box office on fire, does the calculus that would or wouldn't put Snyder in the director's chair for a new Superman movie change?

Well it would be strange if a Watchmen disappointment were to make it more likely for Snyder to helm Superman, but he probably wasn't ever going to get the job anyway.

 

[NeoRanger]

Superman is not a man.
Superman is not a god.

Why the hell do people love going to either end of the spectrum?