notalurkerany+ said:
It's funny but I haven't seen yet a Welling Supes manip that has him smiling. All of them show him in a stern, serious pose. I wish I had the time to make one manip that shows him relaxed and smiling. The picture would exude charisma.
Hmm. Smiling shots, eh? Well, here's a few semi-recent ones in character for the helluvit. Anybody feel like maniping 'em, knock yourselves out.
Actually, the whole smiling thing is an interesting point to ponder. In S:TM, Reeve portrayed diametrically opposed personas in order to make the Clark/Superman deception more believable for the audience. It worked very well, even if his Clark was a complete goof ball. Welling's Clark is more like Reeve's Superman, minus the angst of course LOL. Reeve's version of Clark doesn't exist in SV, save for one or two silly instances (Clark putting on his tie crooked in Commencement, or his accident prone moments in Hidden - albeit while human - stubbing his toe, knocking over the statue, etc.) Reeve's Clark smiled a lot. His Superman however was more stern and determined looking, though he did have moments where he smiled. Sound familiar? (Look up)
This might have a lot to do with why many SV fans already see the Superman in Welling's Clark. Quite simply, SV's Clark ACTS like Superman. B8 summed it up nicely...
Brainiac 8 said:
He does pull off that "I'm really an understanding guy, but if you mess with my city I'll punch you into next year" looks doesn't he. Very Supermanly in the Reeve sense. Strong looking, yet kindly.
Supes' is stern and bullheaded, but there's a kindness in the eyes that's comforting. Yeah, there is a certain level of subjectivity to it, but there's definitely something palpable there. And while Welling's expressions run the Superman gamut, the proof is in a completely expressionless face because you still see Superman in the eyes and overall demeanor. The ability to just BE the character w/o making any special effort to "look" the character (through facial expressions, poses or costuming - whatever) is a HUGE part of buying into the fantasy for me...
The latest "fad" now seems to be that fans need to have certain reference points in order to connect the dots. It's a form of reality check. My reality check is right there. ^
Do we need to see an \S/ shield on his chest or him wearing colorful duds to recognize the character? No.
Do we need to see him catching a car (or throwing one) like it was a beach ball to recognize the character? No.
Do we even need to see him flying to recognize the character? NO!
He just is.