The Story.

[Rodrigo90]

I want this scene partly just to refute Aunt May's inaccurate perception of Superman that propagates his presumably infallible life.

I have a low IQ, so please rephrase that

 

[Lead Cenobite]

In the first Spider-Man movie, she says to Peter "You do too much. You're not Superman, you know."

 

[Rodrigo90]

In the first Spider-Man movie, she says to Peter "You do too much. You're not Superman, you know."

Ah, right t:

 

[Kal-El.9859]

poor Pete

 

[Boy Scout]

In the first Spider-Man movie, she says to Peter "You do too much. You're not Superman, you know."

Actually, I think that was the third one.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

Actually, I think that was the third one.

It's the first. I just checked.

 

[dabilee01]

Actually, I think that was the third one.

pretty sure it was the first one.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145487/quotes

 

[Boy Scout]

It's the first. I just checked.

pretty sure it was the first one.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145487/quotes

Was it really? Huh. Shows how much I know. Sorry about that, I should've checked first.

 

[Asgard]

Was it really? Huh. Shows how much I know. Sorry about that, I should've checked first.

Dont worry about it. The Spidey movies arent worth wasting your time fact checking.

 

[Boy Scout]

Dont worry about it. The Spidey movies arent worth wasting your time fact checking.

They're okay. They never made much of an impression on me.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

It always annoyed me that they even ended the trailer with that stupid Superman line...

But on that note, I agree with herolee, I also hope we see how much emotional difficulty it causes Clark that he CAN'T do everything.

My friends are always argueing that Superman isn't cool cause he can do everything, he has too many powers, he's too unbreakable.

They just won't listen when I try and tell them that this is precisely why it is HARDER for him than other heroes.

They have much more capacity to accept that there was 'nothing they could do' about a lot of things. They don't have the power, it's out of their hands.

I mean, you don't see Spiderman reading about a tornado in another city and berating himself for not having been there to save people... He COULDN'T have known, and wouldn't have been able to help much anyway.

Superman on the other hand, would have known. He hears every single disaster, but try as he might he still can't save everyone. Because while he's dealing with that tornado, a mudslide could have just taken out a whole village.

And it kills him inside because of how unfair it is. That he has the POWER to stop something like that, but can't get to it in time. He can't do everything. That all those people have to die, and it's on HIM sometimes to CHOOSE which disaster to go after.

Can you even imagine dealing with that? What would you do? Flip a coin? Try and do the math and figure out what disaster averted would save the most lives? Go for the place with more women and children? The place with less first aid and rescue teams available?

I really really hope that at some point in this franchise, someone makes that point.

Because it's one of the biggest reasons why I love the Man of Steel. He makes decisions no one else in the world has to do, and no one man should ever be expected to.

 

[Herolee10]

It always annoyed me that they even ended the trailer with that stupid Superman line...

But on that note, I agree with herolee, I also hope we see how much emotional difficulty it causes Clark that he CAN'T do everything.

My friends are always argueing that Superman isn't cool cause he can do everything, he has too many powers, he's too unbreakable.

They just won't listen when I try and tell them that this is precisely why it is HARDER for him than other heroes.

They have much more capacity to accept that there was 'nothing they could do' about a lot of things. They don't have the power, it's out of their hands.

I mean, you don't see Spiderman reading about a tornado in another city and berating himself for ot having been there so save people... He COULDN'T have known, and wouldn't have been able to help much anyway.

Superman on the other hand, would have known. He hears every single disaster, but try as he might he still can't save everyone. Because while he's dealing with that tornado, a mudslide could have just taken out a whole village.

And it kills him inside because of how unfair it is. That he has the POWER to stop something like that, but can't get to it in time. He can't do everything. That all those people have to die, and it's on HIM sometimes to CHOOSE which disaster to go after.

Can you even imagine dealing with that? What would you do? Flip a coin? Try and do the math and figure out what disaster averted would save the most lives? Go for the place with more women and children? The place with less first aid and rescue teams available?

I really really hope that at some point in this franchise, someone makes that point.

Because it's one of the biggest reasons why I love the Man of Steel. He makes decisions no one else in the world has to do, and no one should ever be expected to.

Agreed; heck, unlike most heroes that I know of, at least they're capable of having a off button so that they can rest without thinking about the troubles of the word. I can't say that this would be the same for Superman since with his super hearing, especially during the period where he's getting used to it, he could very well hear the troubles of the world all the time.

Try going to sleep only to hear someone screaming for help, or waking up towards hearing someone's heartbeat taking it's last note due to that person dying through unnatural means.

And when a person realizes the scope of that and combines it with Superman's own desire to have a normal life of his own at times..it does create a good sense of drama, especially since Superman would somewhat at war with himself, because unlike Peter Parker, he wouldn't be like.."Crap, I don't want to do this anymore. It's too hard on my life with no benefits"....since Superman wants to the right thing, but in the same time he wants to have that normal life, but knowing superman's character, he'd rather sacrifice his chance for happiness than to let someone else die on his watch if he could have stopped it.


All in all, I really do hope that this film shows that it's not easy being Superman.

 

[Rodrigo90]

I love that moment in Superman For All Seasons, where Clark goes to see the pastor about the tornado hitting Smallville. Where he tries to find an snswer and comfort to the situation he and everybody else was in...is it possible for one man to stop all disasters?

Now think on it...Clark was raised as a human, despite his powers, he has the mind of us humans. He was raised with values and morals, coupled together with the responsibility to do what's right with his powers, it's a heavy burden to bare.

Superman is a policeman, a fireman, a paramedic and a politician rolled into one.Out of every hero, he has the biggest responsibility of them all. Can you imagine what that would do to a person's mind? So it's enough to break even the Man of Steel.

Me in my life, I've wanted to a fireman, a dreamer . A family friend, Norman, he was a fireman, and one story I heard was enough to stop my dream there and then. He still has nightmares to this day. Years ago, he attempted to rescue 3 children from their burning bedroom, but they couldn't. He said he would never forget the sounds of their crys for help, and the screaming of agony. He would never forget taking their bodies out of the house, seeing the devastated parents watching on. He felt guilty because he thought he didn't do enough. He then received 5 years of therapy, but he never quited his job.

Sorry if that upseting to read, but I just want you to appreciate the full responsibility of what we go through everyday without knowing it. And to make my point about Superman. He has to witness something like that and more everyday. He has to feel the guilt and horror at knowing that and more. But can he afford fall apart like we fragile humans do? No! He has the mind of us humans, and yet he deals with so much without crumbling...because like Norman, he has a responsibility to uphold for the greater good, putting others before himself, no matter what pain you experience in life, you fight back and never give in. Superman is the representation of what us humans can do and be if we tried. So we try like him, and he tries like us.

 

[Boy Scout]

These last few posts have been nothing short of pure win.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Me in my life, I've wanted to a fireman, a dreamer . A family friend, Norman, he was a fireman, and one story I heard was enough to stop my dream there and then. He still has nightmares to this day. Years ago, he attempted to rescue 3 children from their burning bedroom, but they couldn't. He said he would never forget the sounds of their crys for help, and the screaming of agony. He would never forget taking their bodies out of the house, seeing the devastated parents watching on. He felt guilty because he thought he didn't do enough. He then received 5 years of therapy, but he never quited his job.

Sorry if that upseting to read, but I just want you to appreciate the full responsibility of what we go through everyday without knowing it. And to make my point about Superman. He has to witness something like that and more everyday. He has to feel the guilt and horror at knowing that and more. But can he afford fall apart like we fragile humans do? No! He has the mind of us humans, and yet he deals with so much without crumbling...because like Norman, he has a responsibility to uphold for the greater good, putting others before himself, no matter what pain you experience in life, you fight back and never give in. Superman is the representation of what us humans can do and be if we tried. So we try like him, and he tries like us.

I'm actually crying right now, at work (though I cry at charity commercials, so that's not saying too much)

That is exactly how I feel about Superman, and what he means to me. And exactly what I think about when people say he's got it too easy - idiots! How the hell is that easy?

And what makes it even harder is that some of the things he fails to stop, some of the people he failed to save aren't even killed by natural disasters out of anyone's hands.

When I was trying to write an MOS script back along, I had in my mind a scene in which Clark is in Africa and tried to help after a bomb was set off. He manages to save a few people, but in the middle of some rubble he spots a little girl, lifeless, killed by the blast. As he lifts her limp body free from the rubble, he sees a piece of the exploded bomb - just enough to recognise the luthorcorp logo.

Superman has a terrible time dealing with all the things he can't do when it comes to NATURAL disasters, let alone what is caused by the selfish greed and power hungry nature of Lex Luthor. A man who doesn't have to deal with getting his hands dirty. Who can hide behind the scenes and never once face the consequences of the pain he's causing or the lives his actions are responsible for taking. Just soaking up the rewards of it.

I think a moment like that would really help to understand why Superman would hate Lex so much. Why he'd be so passionate about bringing him and other corrupt people like him down.

 

[Rodrigo90]

I'm actually crying right now, at work (though I cry at charity commercials, so that's not saying too much)

That is exactly how I feel about Superman, and what he means to me. And exactly what I think about when people say he's got it too easy - idiots! How the hell is that easy?

And what makes it even harder is that some of the things he fails to stop, some of the people he failed to save aren't even killed by natural disasters out of anyone's hands.

When I was trying to write an MOS script back along, I had in my mind a scene in which Clark is in Africa and tried to help after a bomb was set off. He manages to save a few people, but in the middle of some rubble he spots a little girl, lifeless, killed by the blast. As he lifts her limp body free from the rubble, he sees a piece of the exploded bomb - just enough to recognise the luthorcorp logo.

Superman has a terrible time dealing with all the things he can't do when it comes to NATURAL disasters, let alone what is caused by the selfish greed and power hungry nature of Lex Luthor. A man who doesn't have to deal with getting his hands dirty. Who can hide behind the scenes and never once face the consequences of the pain he's causing or the lives his actions are responsible for taking. Just soaking up the rewards of it.

I think a moment like that would really help to understand why Superman would hate Lex so much. Why he'd be so passionate about bringing him and other corrupt people like him down.

I agree.

The reason people don't understand Superman is because of his powers. They think because he's the most powerful on Earth, he doesn't feel as we do.

People don't understand, Superman may be the Man of Steel physically, but mentally, he's not. They never take the time to understand or comprehend Superman's humanity, his responsibility. How difficult it truly is...but to them, it's all about the powers. They think just because he has all these powers, NOTHING truly affects him. What?! he's indifferent to his own feelings and others? Yup, ignorant idiots pee me off too

Lex is the dark side of human nature, while Superman is the light. Like I said, they are both the representations of how we as a race can be. Superman is the good side of us humans rolled into one. He's honest, kind, caring. His power can be measured if we humans aspired to be like him. Where as Lex, he represents the evil in us. A representation if we humans got to the top, we would do the worst to eachother, cause that's a nature we unfortunately have too.

Superman is the good we can become, and Lex is the evil we can become.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I agree.

The reason people don't understand Superman is because of his powers. They think because he's the most powerful on Earth, he doesn't feel as we do.

People don't understand, Superman may be the Man of Steel physically, but mentally, he's not. They never take the time to understand or comprehend Superman's humanity, his responsibility. How difficult it truly is...but to them, it's all about the powers. They think just because he has all these powers, NOTHING truly affects him. What?! he's indifferent to his own feelings and others? Yup, ignorant idiots pee me off too

I think it's just because the average person in the GA just doesn't think about it enough to see that.

Even TDK, as much as it's messages and 'intelligence' get discussed by critics and on forums like ours, if you asked the average person to speak about it they'd probably just say 'I dunno, but the Joker was soooo COOL man, he acted all psycho like, and he put that pencil in the guys eye!'

And it's that kind of person who actually believes being Superman is just too easy cause nothing can hurt you...

Because of course emotions can't be painful or difficult

Lex is the dark side of human nature, while Superman is the light. Like I said, they are both the representations of how we as a race can be. Superman is the good side of us humans rolled into one. He's honest, kind, caring. His power can be measured if we humans aspired to be like him. Where as Lex, he represents the evil in us. A representation if we humans got to the top, we would do the worst to eachother, cause that's a nature we unfortunately have too.

Superman is the good we can become, and Lex is the evil we can become.

100% agreed.

And it's the simplicity of that dynamic that makes Superman my favourite superhero of all time and Lex Luthor my favourite villain.

 

[Dr.]

The reason people don't understand Superman is because of his powers. They think because he's the most powerful on Earth, he doesn't feel as we do.

People don't understand, Superman may be the Man of Steel physically, but mentally, he's not. They never take the time to understand or comprehend Superman's humanity, his responsibility. How difficult it truly is...but to them, it's all about the powers. They think just because he has all these powers, NOTHING truly affects him. What?! he's indifferent to his own feelings and others? Yup, ignorant idiots pee me off too

Well... I don't think that's entirely the fault of the audience. The impression they've gotten ultimately comes from the material that's offered.

Now, many of us would agree that the basic mythos has the potential to explore those types of interesting moral dilemmas – the stuff of philosophy (not to mention gripping drama). And maybe we can point to a few comics that actually do this. The problem is, the general public is mostly familiar with Superman-lite – a character who’s often depicted as family friendly. Indeed, even some expert fans would argue that it’s inappropriate for Supes to tackle the heavier issues and “darker” themes. So, not surprising, the more familiar lite version is subjected to a bit of ridicule because some very obvious questions just aren’t addressed. “Hey, if Supes can lift up the Moon or fly faster than light, how come he doesn’t…?”

I’m of the view that you explicitly address these questions. In the first place, I think it would make for good stories. In the second place, if the writer doesn’t do this, the hypercritical and smart-alecky audiences will – which just feeds the “Supes isn’t realistic/relevant” criticism.

 

[Rodrigo90]

I agree with that. Hopefully the movie will address and solve those problems

 

[Lighthouse]

Well... I don't think that's entirely the fault of the audience. The impression they've gotten ultimately comes from the material that's offered.

Now, many of us would agree that the basic mythos has the potential to explore those types of interesting moral dilemmas – the stuff of philosophy (not to mention gripping drama). And maybe we can point to a few comics that actually do this. The problem is, the general public is mostly familiar with Superman-lite – a character who’s often depicted as family friendly. Indeed, even some expert fans would argue that it’s inappropriate for Supes to tackle the heavier issues and “darker” themes. So, not surprising, the more familiar lite version is subjected to a bit of ridicule because some very obvious questions just aren’t addressed. “Hey, if Supes can lift up the Moon or fly faster than light, how come he doesn’t…?”

I’m of the view that you explicitly address these questions. In the first place, I think it would make for good stories. In the second place, if the writer doesn’t do this, the hypercritical and smart-alecky audiences will – which just feeds the “Supes isn’t realistic/relevant” criticism.

I've actually started to wonder if exploring Superman's humanity is the wrong way to go. I've felt like a lot of writers have been trying to explore the burdens of having these big powers and how tough that is, but I'm starting to think that this just doesn't work with Superman. This is territory that has already been explored with much better effect by Spider-Man. Instead of exploring "why is Superman good", I think they should just go with "Superman is good. Period." Just embrace the iconic status that Superman is a very nice man with godlike powers. No soul-searching Superman. No "what does it mean to be a man with these powers". I think Superman works much better exploring themes like in AC #775 like why is truth and justice still relevant.

 

[Herolee10]

I don't know; I mean the problem that I had with previous films was that they didn't really show much of his humanity and emphasized more on his godliness.

I think the goal here should be to get audiences to care about the character again; heck, they were even able to show a more human side to a character like Thor.

But like you said, I don't think there's a need to show so much as to why Superman's good, since I just chalk that up to his innate goodness and good upbringing, but rather...just diving into how he ends up balancing his responsibilities while trying to live a normal life to the best of his abilities...the sacrifices that he makes; the things that he wants in life (family, companionship, etc).

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Does anyone think their likely to be taking much from Last Son?

I've just bought it, haven't read it yet, but just flicking through I could see how it could be quite appropriate

I'll post more on the matter when i've read it (might be a few days due to work) but has anyone else read it?

 

[Kal-El.9859]

that would be awesome if they did

 

[KRIM]

If it was anything like that, we'd have seen it on the set pics. It's one thing I'm worried about; seeing so little action outside.

 

[Herolee10]

If it was anything like that, we'd have seen it on the set pics. It's one thing I'm worried about; seeing so little action outside.

Agreed; heck, I'm definitely not expecting much explosions taking place outside of a studio since it wasn't recorded or mentioned that people saw huge explosions setting off in Chicago during their time there.