The Official Re-Imagining Clark Kent Thread

[Daybreak_st]

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DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE QUOTE BOX, BUT MY COMMENTS START BELOW THIS LINE.
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Good points all around.
However, Lex didn't want to just kill Supes, he wanted to pay him back for everything Supes had already did to him. Remember, SR was a continuation of Superman II, disregarding III and IV. Complicated.

I also agree about that last scene in the movie. I don't see Supes as being some vengeful person. I can see him putting the bully in his place and teaching him lesson, but I never figured out why Supes would inflict as much pain as he did (by allowing the man to punch him) when he himself had just experienced his first bout of pain as a normal human. It was a little too much camp for me, and reflected Richard Lester's influence on the movie instead of Donner's
More than anything, the inconsistencies in the movie come from Donner getting canned, and Lester taking over.

Yeah you make some good points, i didn't think about lex not wanting him dead. Nice discussion.

I may have missed it but how would you want clark portrayed in the new movie (if there is one)?

 

[not_a_victim]

Yeah you make some good points, i didn't think about lex not wanting him dead. Nice discussion.

I may have missed it but how would you want clark portrayed in the new movie (if there is one)?

Well, I love Reeve's performance. While it was over the top as Clark, it really brought home the difference in the two.
I want a Clark that does come off as an outsider, just not to the level that Reeve took it to. Don't get me wrong, Reeve's Clark will always be my favorite (unless the new guy knocks it out of the park).
However, I absolutely do not want Dean Cain's Clark. I know the show was presented differently, and Cain was only doing as directed, but I don't want a cool, confident, popular Clark.
Clark Kent serves several purposes for Kal-El.
1. No one wants to be his friend. This is so Supes can spend his free time being Supes. If everyone wanted to hang with Clark after work and on weekends, he wouldn't get anything done as Supes.
2. Clark being a reporter puts him "where the action is".
3. Clark is SO seemingly innocuous, he could not possibly be Supes in disguise. Cain's Clark simply looked like Supes modeling for JC Penneys.
More than anything, Clark is the dissonace to Supes, all superheroes have it, it is just greatly exagerrated in Supes' case.
I mean, Bruce Wayne comes of as a cocky, spoiled billionaire, and we all know that is not the "real" Bruce Wayne, at least, not traditionally.
I want a slightly goofy, glasses crooked, tie askew, slouching, eyes downcast, mushmouthed, left-out-of-group-lunches-at-work Clark.
Routh almost, almost got it. There was just something about it that didn't quite gel for me, though, and I have never been able to put a finger on it. I think it mostly comes down to Routh's voice wasn't different enough from Clark to Supes, but I still feel it was missing something...

 

[Webhead2006]

i just dont want to see a totally geeky/goofy clark kent, i wouldnt mind a bit of cain/welling's clark but is a bit of a loner, but does have friends at the planet with jimmy, lois, cat, etc....

 

[Kurosawa]

This is changing the subject a bit but I thought this was hilariously ironic considering the questions in this thread surrounding the worth of what Siegel and Shuster brought to the table. This video was put up today on CNN's website.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2010/02/23/elam.superman.comic.cnn?hpt=C2

Kurosawa, I thought you might get a kick out of that.

Everyone that loves comics, superheroes, or Americana owes those two an incredible amount of respect...and DC/WB owes their families more than that.

That sale is a good thing for comics.

 

[not_a_victim]

Everyone that loves comics, superheroes, or Americana owes those two an incredible amount of respect...and DC/WB owes their families more than that.

That sale is a good thing for comics.

The "anonymous buyer" was Jerry Seinfeld.

 

[Webhead2006]

it was? he is a huge supes fan if i recall.

 

[not_a_victim]

it was? he is a huge supes fan if i recall.

Yes to both.
The word was Nic Cage was trying to get a winning bid in, but with all his financial troubles, he backed off. Cage is an even bigger Supes fan, naming his younges son Kal-El.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea i heard that and pretty cool for jerry.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

The "anonymous buyer" was Jerry Seinfeld.

Isn't there a superman statue in every episode of his TV show?

Jerry is a hardcore fan.

Anyone think he could go out of his element for Jor-El?

Heck, I would like to see him get some supporting role of some kind, even a cameo.

 

[RetroNaz]

Yes to both.
The word was Nic Cage was trying to get a winning bid in, but with all his financial troubles, he backed off. Cage is an even bigger Supes fan, naming his younges son Kal-El.

lol poor kid.

 

[Daybreak_st]

I love the ripping of the shirt to see the symbol, but I wouldn't want to see it done as if Clark has the entire suit under his clothes. I'd like to see that part of the suit is kept somewhere else which leads me to this question...

Does anyone think that Clark should have his own office so that he can be able to change in private? Or maybe an unused or hidden room in the Daily Planet that he can keep certain things in?

You make a really interesting point. I wonder if him not wearing his suit beneath would work? Pete wore his costume in spidey so i don't think the audience has a problem with it. But i have wondered about his cape and boots, how they can be hidden by his regular clothes. As for a place to change, i'm sure the comic has used the broom closet quite a bit. I'd give clark a cubicle or regular desk if he's new but if established maybe he'd get his own office. Not sure how realistic it was but i loved the DP in Lois and Clark, it had so much personality to it. I'd love to see something like that on the big screen.

 

[Kurosawa]

You make a really interesting point. I wonder if him not wearing his suit beneath would work? Pete wore his costume in spidey so i don't think the audience has a problem with it. But i have wondered about his cape and boots, how they can be hidden by his regular clothes. As for a place to change, i'm sure the comic has used the broom closet quite a bit. I'd give clark a cubicle or regular desk if he's new but if established maybe he'd get his own office. Not sure how realistic it was but i loved the DP in Lois and Clark, it had so much personality to it. I'd love to see something like that on the big screen.

Store Room in the comics usually. It's just a suspension of disbelief thing for how he has the costume...most likely he would compress it into a tiny square and keep in in a pocket then put it on at super-speed, but the whole shirt rip thing is just iconic and symbolic...that under the veil of normalcy and humility there is a godly being.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

You couldn`t be more wrong. The character lost popularity because in the movies, the incarnation people know the most, he was portrayed like you said, Superman as a god and Clark as a complete disguise, and nobody could relate or care for him. The numbers speak for itself. Spider-man, Batman did millions. Look at SR. Who cares for what Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster did? The character had many creators over the years. If it was up to them, he would never have flown, Lex would still be a stupid scientist wanting to rule the world, he would be fighting nazis and all. Characters change and grow with time, become better to fit the social circunstances of the times.

The only reason the movies would have caused Superman to lose popularity is because they started sucking. Superman and Superman II were both hits, critically and commercially, tyvm.

As others have pointed out in this thread, Batman does the whole "Bruce is the disguise, Batman is the real person." Nobody ever gives the character crap over it. You might say that he's only playboy Bruce when he's working, but what about when he's socializing? And also consider how many people really know who he is. In the movies, it's Alfred, Rachel, who's dead, and Lucius Fox, but he has to pretend Fox doesn't know. So what does Bruce do, hang out with Alfred in his every free moment so he can be himself?

But enough of defending Clark as a disguise. I have my own ideas for the new movie. Personally, I'd like something more complex than one is the disguise, the other is real. What if Clark really is mild mannered and introverted? And when he's using his powers and saving people, it gives him the confidence to be the Superman we know? So it's not a disguise in that case, his personality really changes depending on who he is at the time.

 

[Webhead2006]

I cant wait to see what they come up with for the clark kent character this go around.

 

[BestGirl]

You make a really interesting point. I wonder if him not wearing his suit beneath would work? Pete wore his costume in spidey so i don't think the audience has a problem with it. But i have wondered about his cape and boots, how they can be hidden by his regular clothes. As for a place to change, i'm sure the comic has used the broom closet quite a bit. I'd give clark a cubicle or regular desk if he's new but if established maybe he'd get his own office. Not sure how realistic it was but i loved the DP in Lois and Clark, it had so much personality to it. I'd love to see something like that on the big screen.

If Superman can move at super speed he could probably just store his cape and boots at home and change there.

 

[Webhead2006]

it is an interesting thing to talk about what to do with costume and its storage. I would be curious to see if they have a reason in the film.

 

[Eros]

Well, I love Reeve's performance. While it was over the top as Clark, it really brought home the difference in the two.
I want a Clark that does come off as an outsider, just not to the level that Reeve took it to. Don't get me wrong, Reeve's Clark will always be my favorite (unless the new guy knocks it out of the park).
However, I absolutely do not want Dean Cain's Clark. I know the show was presented differently, and Cain was only doing as directed, but I don't want a cool, confident, popular Clark.
Clark Kent serves several purposes for Kal-El.
1. No one wants to be his friend. This is so Supes can spend his free time being Supes. If everyone wanted to hang with Clark after work and on weekends, he wouldn't get anything done as Supes.
2. Clark being a reporter puts him "where the action is".
3. Clark is SO seemingly innocuous, he could not possibly be Supes in disguise. Cain's Clark simply looked like Supes modeling for JC Penneys.
More than anything, Clark is the dissonace to Supes, all superheroes have it, it is just greatly exagerrated in Supes' case.
I mean, Bruce Wayne comes of as a cocky, spoiled billionaire, and we all know that is not the "real" Bruce Wayne, at least, not traditionally.
I want a slightly goofy, glasses crooked, tie askew, slouching, eyes downcast, mushmouthed, left-out-of-group-lunches-at-work Clark.
Routh almost, almost got it. There was just something about it that didn't quite gel for me, though, and I have never been able to put a finger on it. I think it mostly comes down to Routh's voice wasn't different enough from Clark to Supes, but I still feel it was missing something...

The Version of clark kent you want, couldnt get a job at any newspaper on this planet. Timid,cowardly,quiet,passive agrassive, and unassertive people dont get highered as reporters, not even in fiction anymore. For clark to be a reporter or get hired as one, he needs to have a go getter attuide. He could be a somewhat clumsy go getter, but he needs to make Perry and Lois believe that he actually a freaking reporter, and that he gives a damn about his job.

 

[Webhead2006]

i really would love to see the whole reporter aspect of the character used alot better this time around.

 

[not_a_victim]

The Version of clark kent you want, couldnt get a job at any newspaper on this planet. Timid,cowardly,quiet,passive agrassive, and unassertive people dont get highered as reporters, not even in fiction anymore. For clark to be a reporter or get hired as one, he needs to have a go getter attuide. He could be a somewhat clumsy go getter, but he needs to make Perry and Lois believe that he actually a freaking reporter, and that he gives a damn about his job.

Alwyas beign able to report on Superman's activities and heroics is what gets Clark the job. Superman gets to the action, handles the situation, then "Clark" writes the story on it. Plus, he's not a television reporter, so he is never in front of the camera, he is simply a by-line above the story.

 

[not_a_victim]

i really would love to see the whole reporter aspect of the character used alot better this time around.

I've often thought about this: if Clark was on the plane launching the shuttle in SR, how would he have made his way out of the plane to initiate a rescue?

 

[ChickenScratch]

Alwyas beign able to report on Superman's activities and heroics is what gets Clark the job. Superman gets to the action, handles the situation, then "Clark" writes the story on it. Plus, he's not a television reporter, so he is never in front of the camera, he is simply a by-line above the story.

Eros is right. Mild mannered people don't work in newspapers. I've worked in publishing since college, almost 10 years now. You don't just land a job at a major paper or any newspaper and when you do get a job you are the pariah of the newsroom for years and given crap assignments to cover.

In fact to get a writing job you have to be the opposite, you have to be an alpha and be able to make yourself stand out as the best. I was working at my magazine a year before I graduated college and I didn't even have a desk, I had a pile of stuff in a corner of a conference room, I sat on the carpet and worked with my laptop across my legs.

 

[Kurosawa]

The Version of clark kent you want, couldnt get a job at any newspaper on this planet. Timid,cowardly,quiet,passive agrassive, and unassertive people dont get highered as reporters, not even in fiction anymore. For clark to be a reporter or get hired as one, he needs to have a go getter attuide. He could be a somewhat clumsy go getter, but he needs to make Perry and Lois believe that he actually a freaking reporter, and that he gives a damn about his job.

1) He could when he comes in with the biggest news story ever

2) It's a FANTASY, not a documentary about Journalism. **** realism.

 

[SrsBsns]

1) He could when he comes in with the biggest news story ever

2) It's a FANTASY, not a documentary about Journalism. **** realism.

So, you say "**** realism" even though it would be MUCH more plausible that a hardworking and damn good journalist would get a job with THE Daily Planet over a quiet, bumbling nerd?

I'm not saying Clark has to be some over confident guy, but it's not hard to make him a confident, yet sometimes a little clumsy and naive person.

 

[Kurosawa]

So, you say "**** realism" even though it would be MUCH more plausible that a hardworking and damn good journalist would get a job with THE Daily Planet over a quiet, bumbling nerd?

I'm not saying Clark has to be some over confident guy, but it's not hard to make him a confident, yet sometimes a little clumsy and naive person.

There is a huge difference between classic Clark from the comics and Chris Reeve's Clark. He was never a bumbling klutz in the early comics, and rarely if ever afterwards. Especially in the Siegel and Shuster stories, Clark was direct and competent in his reporting, interviews and writing, both accepting assignments from Taylor or White or bringing in his own stories and pushing his own causes using the press. Mild mannered Clark is not Chris Reeve's Inspector Clouseau act. He'd feign cowardice or play sick or have Clark get knocked away to switch to Superman, but he has always had to do that.

 

[Webhead2006]

sure the film is a fantasy but it would be nice to have certain things based on real life things to make it a bit more believeable and all that.