The Official Re-Imagining Clark Kent Thread

[Mr. Earle]

Batman and Robin is DC's best seller because it has the Batman name on it

But its not Bruce Wayne, its Dick Grayson, a happy go lucky Batman with a grimdark Robin. Bruce still gets comics published and they re nowhere near as successful as B&R. Shouldnt that tell you that its down to the writing and its fresh ideas?

Batman and Robin is DC's best seller because it has the Batman name on it and that brand is successful and has been for years.

Superman has Superman's name on it and it used to be successful for years. See my point? Batman and Robin is actually good even if it has barely anything to do with Batman's core.

And everyone knows Bruce will be back.

And yet no one is staying away until he does. Most fans buy it and wish DC would delay Bruce's return because Dickbats is that good.

Why do people want Superman to be a generic Marvelized character? I find the duality between Superman and Clark with Clark being an act but also a personal need and habit of Superman's to be much more complex and interesting that Superman being just another Peter Parker/Matt Murdock type.

How is he anything like that? Currently he is like STAS Clark but with more shyness and awkwardness but nothing like the old times. No other hero is like that.

Staying true to the core is 100% why Batman is still HUGE and getting away from it has crippled Superman.

So they should stay true to the core which was conceived right before WWII and now its the year 2010?

Why do people want Superman to be twisted around and turned into something that is 100% the opposite of his longest and most successful characterization? It would be like turning Cyclops into a drunken frat boy or something.

Its the exact opposite. Golden (or is it Silver or whatever) Age Clark was taking it too far where it was a joke, a sad, depressing character that nobody could ever sympathize with or fall in love with, a fake and undignified persona serving no purpose other than "SUPERMAN COMMENTS ON HUMANITY. ITS SO DEEP YOU GUYS!"

Modern Clark is shy and awkward enough to avoid suspicion and yet he's a smartass, strong willed and dignified person. He was raised to be a good guy and that's what he should be: a good guy, not a clown. The iconic good and down to earth guy that will win you because he takes the high road even in the most difficult situations.
Clark's humble nature and origin (Smallville) is one of the character's charms and one of the many reasons why he clashes with Lois, often with hilarious results. Your version of Clark is a sad pushover that is painful to watch.

And the new Johns origin is just Silver Age concepts grafted onto Byrne's character. It makes no one happy and just disappoints both sides.

I think he's trying to do what Morrison did with Batman. Combine all the best elements of the character into a single modern version.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

I do not want Byrne's version 100% gone because I didn't like it when they completely got rid of the Pre-Crisis version.

So, that is what Daybreak_st is trying to tell you with:

"2) why can't this be solved by using an amalagam of what's worked over his entire 70 year history, taking the strongest elements from various generations? "

Personally, for the reasons Daybreak summed up I think the Kents should also be alive, as that is a good outlet for emotion on film.

I also agree with both him and you, when he says he wants Superman writen better too. That is in agreement with much of what you have said about not wanting him to be redneck. Then they should not write him as such, but Clark still has to be a valuable character the audience puts emotions into.

Likely the way he would like to see Clark portrayed would be the same thing you want to see. He says Clark is the actual person, you say he is Superman favorite possesion, and his means of having a more normal existence. Well, how are those two so differently shown on film?

Part of the reason Superman comics have not done as well as say Batman is largely due to the Villains Batman has.

Too often, for whatever reason, Superman Villains are nerfed. Making it too easy to defeat them.

Often they are not given enough emotional depth either the way Batman Villains are.

 

[Daybreak_st]

Thanks Supermike, i think you summed up things pretty well. It seems like this is becoming a senseless debate about words.

I don't know what anyone else actually means when they say "clark is real" or "superman is real". What i mean is this ( i hope everyone is paying attention):

1. Clark Kent is who he grew up as despite being an alien, it's how he was raised. He'd have a similar sense of humor to his parents, maybe even some mannerisms he learned from them, pretty much he learned everything about humans from them and his humble background. So even later in metropolis, even though he's "mild mannered", i think his personality as developed since youth would come out. He'd make some silly jokes, or laugh at jimmy antics or have a crush on lois. That's really him and his personality showing thru. Toned down, yes, probably pretty quite (that is what mild mannered is right?), but would he put on an elaboratly goofy act everyday around people he calls friends, thus alienating them, no he wouldn't.

As superman he is strong and confident. He's friendly and has charisma. No he's not some boyscout but he does have a strong moral code he refuses to violate, he has the immense will to never give up or back down, that's his true superpower, he simply will never quit (i.e. the never ending battle). It is the clark kent raised in smallville with strong moral convictions unhindered by the need to hide what he's fully capable of. It's clark embracing his kryptonian side and using all he has, his knowledge, heart, his talents and will, and morals that emerges as Superman in order to live up to his full potential and help humanity.

That's my view. call it what you will, "who's the mask, who's not" whatever, the above is how i see superman. Period. Label if you will, but i'm starting to think labels are pointless.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Thanks Supermike, i think you summed up things pretty well. It seems like this is becoming a senseless debate about words.

I don't know what anyone else actually means when they say "clark is real" or "superman is real". What i mean is this ( i hope everyone is paying attention):

1. Clark Kent is who he grew up as despite being an alien, it's how he was raised. He'd have a similar sense of humor to his parents, maybe even some mannerisms he learned from them, pretty much he learned everything about humans from them and his humble background. So even later in metropolis, even though he's "mild mannered", i think his personality as developed since youth would come out. He'd make some silly jokes, or laugh at jimmy antics or have a crush on lois. That's really him and his personality showing thru. Toned down, yes, probably pretty quite (that is what mild mannered is right?), but would he put on an elaboratly goofy act everyday around people he calls friends, thus alienating them, no he wouldn't.

As superman he is strong and confident. He's friendly and has charisma. No he's not some boyscout but he does have a strong moral code he refuses to violate, he has the immense will to never give up or back down, that's his true superpower, he simply will never quit (i.e. the never ending battle). It is the clark kent raised in smallville with strong moral convictions unhindered by the need to hide what he's fully capable of. It's clark embracing his kryptonian side and using all he has, his knowledge, heart, his talents and will, and morals that emerges as Superman in order to live up to his full potential and help humanity.

That's my view. call it what you will, "who's the mask, who's not" whatever, the above is how i see superman. Period. Label if you will, but i'm starting to think labels are pointless.

Bravo to you sir!

 

[Kurosawa]

Thanks Supermike, i think you summed up things pretty well. It seems like this is becoming a senseless debate about words.

I don't know what anyone else actually means when they say "clark is real" or "superman is real". What i mean is this ( i hope everyone is paying attention):

1. Clark Kent is who he grew up as despite being an alien, it's how he was raised. He'd have a similar sense of humor to his parents, maybe even some mannerisms he learned from them, pretty much he learned everything about humans from them and his humble background. So even later in metropolis, even though he's "mild mannered", i think his personality as developed since youth would come out. He'd make some silly jokes, or laugh at jimmy antics or have a crush on lois. That's really him and his personality showing thru. Toned down, yes, probably pretty quite (that is what mild mannered is right?), but would he put on an elaboratly goofy act everyday around people he calls friends, thus alienating them, no he wouldn't.

As superman he is strong and confident. He's friendly and has charisma. No he's not some boyscout but he does have a strong moral code he refuses to violate, he has the immense will to never give up or back down, that's his true superpower, he simply will never quit (i.e. the never ending battle). It is the clark kent raised in smallville with strong moral convictions unhindered by the need to hide what he's fully capable of. It's clark embracing his kryptonian side and using all he has, his knowledge, heart, his talents and will, and morals that emerges as Superman in order to live up to his full potential and help humanity.

That's my view. call it what you will, "who's the mask, who's not" whatever, the above is how i see superman. Period. Label if you will, but i'm starting to think labels are pointless.

I still and always will see it a bit differently, although at least we agree the dorky farm boy boyscout bit is weak. I like a more traditional take on the whole Clark/Superman persona...but to be honest it's best left a little ambiguous. You don't see page after page of Peter Parker/Spiderman true persona discussion, that's for certain. It's a part of what makes Superman so fascinating to so many people.

 

[Kurosawa]

But its not Bruce Wayne, its Dick Grayson, a happy go lucky Batman with a grimdark Robin. Bruce still gets comics published and they re nowhere near as successful as B&R. Shouldnt that tell you that its down to the writing and its fresh ideas?
Superman has Superman's name on it and it used to be successful for years. See my point? Batman and Robin is actually good even if it has barely anything to do with Batman's core.
And yet no one is staying away until he does. Most fans buy it and wish DC would delay Bruce's return because Dickbats is that good.
How is he anything like that? Currently he is like STAS Clark but with more shyness and awkwardness but nothing like the old times. No other hero is like that.
So they should stay true to the core which was conceived right before WWII and now its the year 2010?
Its the exact opposite. Golden (or is it Silver or whatever) Age Clark was taking it too far where it was a joke, a sad, depressing character that nobody could ever sympathize with or fall in love with, a fake and undignified persona serving no purpose other than "SUPERMAN COMMENTS ON HUMANITY. ITS SO DEEP YOU GUYS!"

Modern Clark is shy and awkward enough to avoid suspicion and yet he's a smartass, strong willed and dignified person. He was raised to be a good guy and that's what he should be: a good guy, not a clown. The iconic good and down to earth guy that will win you because he takes the high road even in the most difficult situations.
Clark's humble nature and origin (Smallville) is one of the character's charms and one of the many reasons why he clashes with Lois, often with hilarious results. Your version of Clark is a sad pushover that is painful to watch.
I think he's trying to do what Morrison did with Batman. Combine all the best elements of the character into a single modern version.

My last post stated my position and I don't wanna drag this out any longer but lol @ "Dickbats"

 

[Asgard]

Lol. I have no idea why you guys are arguing over this.

Basically you guys want the same things.

- Powerful Superman who has a commanding presense. Loves being Superman and enjoys saving or helping people. Not afraid to kick ass when he needs to.

- a Clark Kent who isnt a bumbling fool but also not a authoritative presence. Kinda like the guy thats sort of in the background at the office that everyone respects. He's reserved but not exactly shy. Not afraid to speak his mind.

Im pretty sure you guys would almost universally agree to these aspects of Superman/Clark Kent, but then everything gets bogged down by arguing over who's the real personality and who's the disguise.

I dont even see the movie even addressing this issue at all.

 

[SuperDaniel]

Thanks Supermike, i think you summed up things pretty well. It seems like this is becoming a senseless debate about words.

I don't know what anyone else actually means when they say "clark is real" or "superman is real". What i mean is this ( i hope everyone is paying attention):

1. Clark Kent is who he grew up as despite being an alien, it's how he was raised. He'd have a similar sense of humor to his parents, maybe even some mannerisms he learned from them, pretty much he learned everything about humans from them and his humble background. So even later in metropolis, even though he's "mild mannered", i think his personality as developed since youth would come out. He'd make some silly jokes, or laugh at jimmy antics or have a crush on lois. That's really him and his personality showing thru. Toned down, yes, probably pretty quite (that is what mild mannered is right?), but would he put on an elaboratly goofy act everyday around people he calls friends, thus alienating them, no he wouldn't.

As superman he is strong and confident. He's friendly and has charisma. No he's not some boyscout but he does have a strong moral code he refuses to violate, he has the immense will to never give up or back down, that's his true superpower, he simply will never quit (i.e. the never ending battle). It is the clark kent raised in smallville with strong moral convictions unhindered by the need to hide what he's fully capable of. It's clark embracing his kryptonian side and using all he has, his knowledge, heart, his talents and will, and morals that emerges as Superman in order to live up to his full potential and help humanity.

That's my view. call it what you will, "who's the mask, who's not" whatever, the above is how i see superman. Period. Label if you will, but i'm starting to think labels are pointless.

Don`t worry, pal. You get it. He doesn`t. End of story.

He probably wants Superman not to fly in the next movie because he has a hard on Siegel & Shuster.

 

[Webhead2006]

Regardless of your personal feelings about the show both Lois and Clark and Smallville appeal to a massive audience that isn't simply made up of fanboys but the general populace. It gives them a character to relate to that they can enjoy watching. And i for one loved the animated series, Bruce Timm, gets superman at least on some level, not as well as batman tho. Also i've recently watched season one of the superboy show and a few episodes of season 2 and the acting was aweful. Period. I liked it as a kid but as an adult, it is aweful. I can post some clips if you want but just saying i liked it in its time but i in no way think it's superior to something like smallville, despite smallville's obvious flaws.



I get what your saying here but not every modern depiction of the character has this, just look at the panels from Birthright i posted earlier to see. Also showing a better version of superman doesn't automatically mean jettisoning the solid clark kent. it just means, writing a better superman.





I dare you to list the number of people you know personally under the age of 20 who regularly buy comics? I'm a regular at my local store and kids simply don't but comics much anymore. I didn't say they don't read anymore just not buying comics, and manga is a different thing in itself, a lot of the pokemon generation likes the japanese style, thus they also get manga. I also have friend at work who has little interests in superheroes but enjoys manga and anime. It's honestly a different crowd. Comics use to be geared toward kids and that's where the popularity lay. Once that changed, also around 1985, it became more of an adult medium. I know few adults who start picking up comics once they grow up. Most simply continue the habit they had as youngsters. As a fan of the earliest version of the character i'm assuming you fall into this category. How many of your contemporaries still buy comics today?

the simple answer is a lot of people out grew the habit or were too busy to keep up with it as they aged. And comics have failed to attract a new younger generation with a few execeptions. That's why comic popularity as a whole has waned not just superman.



So for every person to truly grow up their parents need to die? Say what I'm sorry but i don't buy it. Plenty of adults have fully formed personalities and great relationships with their parents. The kents are just fine being alive. It doesn't make him superboy. He doesn't have to run to them with every proplem he has but they sure don't need to be killed off to make him a man.

Also that's exactly what happens to every superhero. You say you want him "special" and "unique". Killing of his parents is the biggest superhero cliche this side of wearing spandex! Having his parents still alive and serving as a sounding board works well in live action. We don't get word balloons or a narrator to spell out exactly how he's affected by what going on. He needs someone to talk to so we as an audience will care. Live action is different from a comic. SR was aweful when it came to its portrayl of superman as he barely spoke. The old movies were fine for their day but if not for nostalgia glasses i don't think they'd still be viewed in such high regard. A lot of it was campy. You try that formula again with a modern audience and i'm pretty sure it wouldn't fly.

I don't define being a man as being a one diminsional tough guy ala john wayne who never shows emotions. I think the general audience would agree with me. That worked in cinema in the 1920s -80s but today's modern audience favors a thinking man's hero. the tough talking guy doesn't cut it anymore. Superman can a solid manly character without bullying people around. I think today's audience enjoys more complex heroes that show various aspects of their personality and a variety of emotions.



I agree, but that has everything to do with how he's written in each individual story. It's that simple. Just write the character well, you don't have to back and retcon him again.

The audience related to Superman for 50+ years because the character represents wish fulfillment and the idea that we can be more than what people perceive us to be.

Doesn't every superhero ? Seriously what you're describing is spiderman to a T. He's the nerdy guy who gets powers now the world's his oyster or so he thinks at the begining. Every superhero is about wish fulfillment! Ok maybe not Batman, but pretty much anyone with powers. At least that's how i always viewed them. It's no secret i love me some superheroes t:.

You make valid points but what i'm saying 1) look at it from a filmaking perspective, how do we get the audience to care about the character, and invest their emotions in him and 2) why can't this be solved by using an amalagam of what's worked over his entire 70 year history, taking the strongest elements from various generations?

You said alot of good stuff here. And to the last point that is what i keep saying would be the best move to take. Look at the character as a hole. Take the best stories, character traits, viual cues from the whole history and combine them all together to make a well rounded out superman character and film.

 

[Daybreak_st]

Thanks guys. I think most of us do agree on what we want to see. I agree i'm tired of arguing over words. We know what we want so lets get back to posting cool pics and whatnot of how we want clark portrayed in the movie shall we?

 

[Webhead2006]

Totally but since we got no details on whats what yet this is all we got lol. Hopefully we will see a much different clark kent and superman persona's then the past has done.

Superman:

Clark kent:

 

[Daybreak_st]

Totally but since we got no details on whats what yet this is all we got lol. Hopefully we will see a much different clark kent and superman persona's then the past has done.

Clark kent:

Clark "To the moon alice!"

 

[Daybreak_st]

Instead of starting a new thread i'm curious how you guys want clark's early relationship with lana portrayed, not saying it will be an important part of the film but i think writers need to have a solid idea of his background so any future projects can incorporate these ideas without seeming force.

Do you prefer A) Lana as clark's best friend growing up, who learns his secret early on, but never dates seriously (ala Secret Origins), B) Lana is clark's first girlfriend/bestfriend and she doesn't learn his secret until they're about to graduate, after learning she's taken back and is distant from clark only to return later on (ala for all seasons) or C) she's clark's first crush, the girl he pines after but never gets, (ala the movies and early seasons of smallville)?

I know there are other variations but most fall into this basic template. I personally like A) the best as it gives writers the chance to do something interesting with clark growing up and some to keep his secret. Any thoughts?

 

[Webhead2006]

i would take B myself. But A is also good.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Could you elaborate on how Secret Origins handles Lana? Its the new canon origin so it should count more than anything else. Doesnt sound so good to me.

Anyway, as i've always said, if i were the director i'd spend some time on Clark's origin. And Clark's origin doesnt involve training with ninjas (he doesnt need to), but his early life in Smallville and how he was raised, how he dealt with his powers and alien nature and so forth.

So i would definitely include Clark's social life as a teenager, but i'd make him more like (i cant believe i'm going to say this) Smallville's Clark instead of Donner's loser Clark. Therefore i would include Lana and make her his first big love, the girl he had a crush on for a long time before he actually got her.
And when he does, they date seriously and he tells her his secret (having powers but not knowing what to do with them yet). But for some reason they break up and he is forced to move on. Reasons for this could be:
1) "Clark i'm holding you back, you should fulfill your destiny"
2) Clark needs to get out of Smallville, go to college, do bigger stuff but she wants to stay there.
3) Clark starts his first adventures and Lana cant take worrying for him or having to lie for him.

Since i'd have them love each other, I'll go with the first reason for a break up. Clark would definitely hesitate to leave Lana and start a new life all alone.

I'd definitely use Lana as a foil Lois, making her everything that Lois isnt. Lana should be sweater, simpler, softer, etc, when we all know that Lois is nothing like that. Here (i love this video):
[YT]mmyYft56HpE[/YT]
Going from Lana to Lois would signify that Clark has moved on and that even though things arent what they used to be (village to city, student to reporter, simple life to saving millions, Lana to Lois), Clark is OK with that.

All in all, i'd go with a sweeter approach to Lana and everything about Smallville. Smallville is Clark's happy and beautiful past, the one that made him the man he is now, the reason why when Lois calls him "Smallville" with a taunt, he takes no offense but rather he feels proud like: "if only you've been there you wouldnt say that".
Clark's life is sweater than Bruce's and yet the Donnerverse is sadder than even the Millerverse. I dont want to see a loser Clark ever again. Its one thing to hide your powers, and another to be the laughing stock everywhere you go.

 

[SuperMike335!!]

Instead of starting a new thread i'm curious how you guys want clark's early relationship with lana portrayed, not saying it will be an important part of the film but i think writers need to have a solid idea of his background so any future projects can incorporate these ideas without seeming force.

Do you prefer A) Lana as clark's best friend growing up, who learns his secret early on, but never dates seriously (ala Secret Origins), B) Lana is clark's first girlfriend/bestfriend and she doesn't learn his secret until they're about to graduate, after learning she's taken back and is distant from clark only to return later on (ala for all seasons) or C) she's clark's first crush, the girl he pines after but never gets, (ala the movies and early seasons of smallville)?

I know there are other variations but most fall into this basic template. I personally like A) the best as it gives writers the chance to do something interesting with clark growing up and some to keep his secret. Any thoughts?

I like option B.

 

[Daybreak_st]

Nice replies guys. If you've read the thread about supporting characters i started a few days ago you know my take on lana. It's a kind of a combination, but a lot is take from the animated series. primarily i'd like to bring lana into the sequel, and i think depending on how you handle her past with clark it will influence their later interaction. Here goes:

Lana Lang:

Lana was Clark’s best friend growing up other than Pete Ross. Even though Clark was a star athlete in high school he never really got close to the other players, he was always deeper, and studious. Pete, Lana and Clark were always close, but especially as they got older, Lana and Clark grew closer. Even though they were close they never dated, each choosing to date other people rather than risk their friendship. It always bothered Lana, but she would just brush it off and keep going.

After graduation Clark leaves Smallville, only leaving a letter for Lana to read. It tells her how much she’s meant to him and that he’ll always care for her, he apologizes for being so distant but that her friendship has been really important to him. He encourages her to follow her dreams wherever they take her. She takes Clark’s advice and studies clothing design in college. After graduation she works for a few companies making a name for herself. Recently she’s moved to metropolis to further her career by starting her own business. It’s here when she discovers that Clark is also in metropolis.

Lana is also very attractive in a girl-next-door kind of way. This is not smallville’s lana, she isn’t angst ridden, or upset with clark for lying to her for years. This Lana, has a very quirky but fun personality, she loves life, has fun; she taught Clark to love and embrace life. She’s a poet and artist. I think Rachelle Lefevre or Isla Fisher would be my top choices.

A possible love triangle could involve Lana, Lois and Clark/Superman. Lana is in love with Clark and can’t believe she let him go without ever telling him how much he meant to her. She hasn’t seen him in 7 years, since he left smallville. Now she lives in metropolis and sees an article he wrote and tries to re-establish contact. (This may all function better in a second movie, it might get lost or bog down the story in the first film.) She has already figured out that he’s superman and is incredibly proud of him using his abilities to help people. She even suspects that back in Smallville he may have been using his power discreetly (it explains so many odd occurrences from their youth).

Her friendship has been very meaningful to Clark over the years and he hopes to continue it, however his focus is very different now. His new outlook is more about responsibility and he’s very professional, so Lois’ professional nature, strong personality that sometimes challenges his own viewpoint is more appealing than the free spirited artistic nature of Lana.


Lana is a successful woman but at her heart a country girl who wants to settle down with a good guy, and according to her, “they don’t come any better than Clark Kent”. As far as the love triangle goes it should actually make sense. It shouldn’t be obvious at first that Clark will choose Lois, their relationship should grow as the movies progress, maybe by the third movie their feelings come to fruition, similar to Lois and Clark (though Clark shouldn’t be too infatuated with Lois even if he does have feelings for her) and Smallville (they’ve done a good job showing a gradual progression to their relationship rather than a “love at first sight” situation.) These are not teenagers, they are not angst ridden, these are fully functioning, intelligent adults. They should come across that way

 

[Mr. Earle]

i'd like to bring lana into the sequel,

As for the rest of your post, i dont like how Clark let her go in high school and then all of a sudden she's there to get between him and Lois. To me Lana is part of Clark's past, not present.

 

[Daybreak_st]

I can see that, but i'd love to bring her in later on. I have stuff in the writers workshop that explains what happened in high school, here it is (in the context of what i'm going for it works), plus i like an adult love triangle vs a lot of teenage angst as seen in smallville, especially with Isla Fisher or Rachelle Lefevre would bring a lot to the role. Plus it happens in the comics all the time, lana is now the guardian for supergirl, she's even taken the secrect id of linda lang. Anyway here's the scene from my imaginary movie:

Scenes:

The movie begins in Smallville Kansas. Some sporting event is just finishing up. We get our first look at Clark Kent and Lana Lang. They are both in their freshmen or sophomore year in high school. Clark is a star athlete, excelling in the classroom and on the field. The interaction we see is brief but establishes that these two are close, best friends, much more akin to Clark’s relationship with Chloe rather than Lana, from smallville the tv show. There may even be a budding romance between the two, but it hasn’t come to fruition b/c they both think it might jeopardize their friendship (although neither one knows what the other is thinking). Lana asks Clark why he’s recently begun wearing glasses. He says he’s been having headaches from eye strain recently and thinks the glasses will help. [Here we’re establishing why clark kent would be wearing glasses, also that his powers have been growing gradually up to this point and haven’t fully emerged yet.]

Clark hears an ear-piercing sound, lana asks what’s wrong, he’s like, “what is that? Can you hear that”. Lana has no idea what he’s talking about. Then the sound goes away and clark feels fine. He dismisses it and heads for home.

Pulling up to the farm in his dad’s pickup truck, clark hears the piercing sound again. He realizes it’s coming from the barn. Slowly making his way to the barn he notices that the cellar in the barn is open, the underground location of the ship that brought him to earth. “Dad is that you?” he asks as he cautiously approaches. A medium built man stands over the ship as it glows as the sounds continue emanating from it. The man turns around to acknowledge Clark. His eyes glow a greenish color. We begin seeing things from his perspective. It looks like a display screen of some sort and after cycling through trying to identity what clark is, it matches his dna signature as a potential kryptonian (30%). “What are you doing in here?” clark demands.

The scenes switches to inside the Kent home. Jonathan and Martha are preparing for dinner. You see them as a real family, good character stuff here. They’re talking about Clark, their life, maybe doubts or concerns they have. They are startled by the sound of a loud crash outside and are horrored to see Johnathan’s truck in flames, even more shocked as they watch Clark emerge from the ruble.

Clark tells them to run as the robot leaps out of the barn and lands on the remains of the truck, then lunges at Clark. Martha screams. Just as the robot has Clark pinned and is about to initiate a probe of some sort, a shotgun blasts it back. Jonathan tells Clark to stay down and keeps firing at the robot. After taking a few direct shots to the head and chest the robot identifies Jonathan as a threat that must be terminated. As it prepares to leap toward Jonathan, Clark grabs it and punches it several times, showing an increase in strength and further damaging the robot. Clark hears the robot’s reading of “60% Kryptonian”, it startles him enough to hesitate in his assault. The robot knocks him a good 30 feet away landing in the cornfield, and turns to resume its attack on Jonathan. The handle of the shot gun shatters as it hits the robot’s head. Unhindered by Jonathans’ attack the robot prepares to kill him with its razor sharp talons.

Everything slows down as we begin seeing the situation from Clark perspective. He’s starting to pick himself up in the cornfield but can see the danger his father is in. He starts to run as fast as he can and just before impact with the robot he takes flight for the first time, with the robot in tow.

The robot struggles to break Clark’s grip and even slashes him with is talons, which have no effect on Clark. From its viewport the reading rapidly increases from 60% to 70%, 80%, 90% then as Clark’s eyes begin to glow with his anger, the reading displays %100 Kryptonian as it is incinerated by Clark’s heat vision.

(The idea is that Clark’s body has been super-charging for years as a teenager but nothing has triggered his abilities to “ignite” until now they have been running in a “passive” mode thus the peak human performance. If he was an adult when he landed his body would have displayed abilities much sooner, although perhaps in a weaker state b/c of absorbing less sunlight)

Clark remains hovering with the lifeless robot in his arms until he hears Martha scream “JOHNATHAN!!!” Clark turns to look back at the farm with shock. We see a full frame of his face wearing a worried expression. He wakes up in the present, visibly startled by the dream/memory from his past.

Plot Synopsis:

The entire first act is a dream sequence in which he remembers the first time his powers really flared up.

It is revealed that the past events took place when clark was around 16 years old. After the death of his father and the emergence of his powers he became more removed from the social scene, he quits all of the varsity teams (most people including his buddy Pete Ross believe its b/c of Jonathan’s death and clark’s increased responsibilities around the farm). While he was a freshmen (or sophmore in high school; the first scene in the movie) he had an all-star record from the JV team and was already a starter on the varsity level for several sports. Clark became heavily involved in journalism, being keenly interested in uncovering the truth about his origin, the world around him, and his mysterious attacker, clark also develops a love for writing. Even though he can’t always talk to other people about his experiences or feelings, his journal gives him a new since of freedom.

During his final few years in high school clark spends an increasing amount of time studying astronomy and has a keen mind for science. He also tries to continue to develop and learn control over his abilities. He has on occasion used his abilities in a discreet way to help others, whether it was a fire, natural disaster or accident. This is a Clark Kent very different from the smallville tv show version, he doesn’t hate being different or his abilities, he’s fascinated by them, he loves flying and trying new things, his only regret is that his father never got to see him do any of these things. His dad always said he was special, he thinks, he didn’t know how right he was. After graduation clark left smallville behind and has been traveling the world, trying to find his place in it. He has been studying journalism abroad and reporting for various papers around the world as a freelance journalist. His true motivation however is to discover the truth about his heritage, where did he come from? Who sent him here? What was that mysterious robot that he battled at the barn? Why hadn’t his ship activated until then and never again afterward?

Shortly before the events surrounding Jonathan’s death, a romance was starting to bud between the two. Lana is almost ready to tell Clark how she feels and she’s pretty sure he feels the same way. However on that day she decided to follow Clark home and caught the tail end of the battle seeing Clark fly back down to care for his father. She is in shock, doesn’t know what to think or what it means. She is more distant from Clark after this, as he has already withdrawn from a lot of people. She wants to be there for him but is so confused she doesn’t know what to do.

 

[Daybreak_st]

Before she has the chance to really reconcile he's left smallville. AFter reading his letter she moves on with her life as well. Then it picks up in my earlier lana post. I get that not everyone wants to see adult lana but it just works for the context of my story. Otherwise i'd go with option a where she knows his secret since they were kids. But that's just me.

 

[Mr. Earle]

Why is there a robot in the farm? If the movie is going to be about Superman, why put action in his early years in smallville for no reason?

 

[Kurosawa]

Clark as an athlete was one of Byrne's most obvious slaps in the face to Jerry Siegel. Just disgusting and disrespectful. Wow, Clark is the star quarterback and THEN he gets to be a god? And we're supposed to identify with him how exactly?

I never minded the Lois vs Lana deal, I just don't want Lana knowing Clark is Superman ever, and I don't like her as a Lois clone. I don't think she's vital unless they're using a Superboy or Smallville type scenario.

 

[Daybreak_st]

Why is there a robot in the farm? If the movie is going to be about Superman, why put action in his early years in smallville for no reason?

It's just my little vision. But it has everything to do with what i wrote in the writers section. I think it's an interesting take on what happens when his power first emerge with such a stressful climatic battle, and what causes the swift change in his personality from very outgoing regular fun guy clark kent to becoming more focused on finding out the truth about his origin and spurs his globtrotting on. His interests in uncovering the truth is spurred on by a desire to find out more about himself and what not.

I also think a battle at the begining would interesting action piece early on. Kicking the movie off like star trek. I'd prefer to wait to reveal the krypton stuff when clark discovers the fortress (you've seen my posts on this over in the fortress thread). I understand where you're coming from though, i've struggled with whether to do an action scene like this or something more traditional. I chose this because i wanted to setup some interesting things with the brainiac probe as it serves the story later on. Only way to do that was to show it at near the begining of the film.

This is just my little vision. Feel free to post your ideas i mean that's what forum is for. This is just mine.


Kuro, i know what you're saying about the clark athlete thing. My thought for this was that his powers didn't emerge yet, he was just in really good shape and he played JV sports around 14 and 15. so he's the regular athletic kid. Then around 16 the events that i describe above happened. He drops all the sports as they seem insignificant now and he's more focused on finding out the truth about what he is. so between 16-18 he becomes more removed from the social scene, spends his time doing research on astonomy, and harnessing his powers. I'd like to develop his scientific nature as well. Once he graduates he starts traveling the world.

Again guys i'm not forcing anybody to like this version, this is just what i came up with for my own little idea for a superman reboot. Only reason i posted all that here was to try to explain my stance on lana.

 

[Daybreak_st]

i apologize for the long posts, promise i'm not trying to turn this into the writers workshop thread.

 

[Daybreak_st]

Why is there a robot in the farm? If the movie is going to be about Superman, why put action in his early years in smallville for no reason?

Here's the stuff from the writers workshop:

http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=18064426&postcount=2084

and also this, don't remember where or if i posted it anywhere:

After this scene Clark discovers that the remains of the Brainiac drone/probe are missing. Later we discover that a young rouge scientist working for Star Labs has the remains. In studying it he determines that the alloy is not from earth and discovers a host of other things that point to it having extraterrestrial origin. The scientist is able to reverse engineer the advanced technology and uses this knowledge to advance his own personal agenda.

The rouge scientist is Lex Luthor. He uses the knowledge he gains to create several technological breakthroughs and founds LexCorp. He has an antagonistic relationship with star labs after this.

This all happens in the ten year period between the opening scene in the movie and Clark finally appearing as superman. All of this isn’t necessarily shown on screen but is implied.

What we do see at some point is that Lex has a room that still holds the robot. At some point he’s explaining everything to someone maybe Lois or Clark or both, then he points out how the metal like material the robot is composed of is harder than any substance known to man. He then asks then to look closer. He points out what appears to be the imprint of a human hand on the robot’s arm (were Clark grabbed it).
Lois looks surprised. “Now what kind of a person would be strong enough to do that?” Lex poses the question (maybe Lois and Clark are both there). “Superman?” Lois mumbles to herself. “As you can see the hand print isn’t that of a full grown man but possibly a teenager. It appears our ‘Man of Steel’ has been here longer than any of us knew….Hmm…I wonder what he was doing all that time before he came to metropolis…don’t you, Lois?”


LexCorp leads the world in cutting edge technology and military applications of this technology. Lex creates Metallo with a synthetic version of the metal on the Brainiac probe. When superman confronts Metallo he notices the similarity in his design to the robot and wonder if they are somehow connected.

Also near the end of the film the probe reactivates, perhaps after Clark leaves the room in the scene where Lex describes everything. It says, "Kryptonian identified, initiating homing beacon". The movie ends in the far reaches of space as a lone ship cruises along, suddenly coming to life as it receives the beacon. Brainiac is coming to earth. The end.


Again like or dislike it's fine with me i do appreciate the feedback though from people i know are superman fans, helps me figure out what may or may not work. so thanks guys. And sorry for posting this stuff in this thread.