Visualizing A Superman Reboot: Pictures Welcome

[KON - EL]

- More lines for Routh
- Braniac
- New Lois (probably wont ever happen)
- More Action

I didnt like the suit at first but it grew on me. Jason is ok because i think there gonna kill him off anyways lol.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

I think if you write Lois better Bosworth will deliver more to what the fans want.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Okay, plenty of guys have weighed in. Here's a female POV.

I grew up in the 70s in love with the George-Reeves-as-Superman hero. Lois was smart, sassy, and had the bad but convenient habit of getting caught by the bad guys so Superman could come and get her out. That Lois and Clark were mature, self-confident, and good friends. Jimmy was younger but also a friend. Back in the 70s or 80s, I'd read the early comics in compilation form - my folks used to have a book that had reprinted all of the early ones - and this traditional look was always my ideal. Still is, to the point that "Clark" is still my first choice for a boy's name if I ever have one.

Loved it when Superman came to the big screen (I was ~8); I had a huge poster of Christopher Reeve in Superman garb plastered on the ceiling over my bed until I was ten or so. As I grew up, I thought Reeve was a bit odd-looking in some ways to be Superman - he had to bulk up an awful lot for the role - but he was fine. Margot Kidder, when not too melodramatic, was certainly intelligent enough to play Lois. Fell hard for Dean Cain with Teri Hatcher in Lois & Clark, despite initial misgivings because he looked so short and different. Got convinced anything after that would be a travesty, and haven't seen Smallville at all since it's network - but my parents watch it! I've ordered the first season on DVD & will see how that flies <pun intended>.

Okay, the actual movie under review...
I had HUGE misgivings seeing an apparently unmemorable-looking soap opera stud put into the Superman/Clark role. Then again, that was worlds better than letting skanky Nicolas Cage get anywhere near the role, so I tried to keep an open mind. The pre-production pictures had me very worried all the same - lots of posing; not much feeling. Very wooden.

Put off seeing the movie until this weekend (second-run theatre) because I was very worried I'd be disappointed. Didn't want the new movie to destroy the image of my lifelong hero. Big sigh of relief here. Routh is easily a Superman and - most importantly - a Clark you can fall for and believe in. He returns to Earth (arrival reminded me somewhat of Arnold's in the original Terminator) weak, nearly collapsing, and his mom puts him to bed. When he wakes up, we see that his eyes are brown (Routh's natural eye color). I did think this was an error, especially when it happened again later in the movie, but then I got to thinking that it would be neat to use the change in eye color (applied more consistently, and in future films) to represent his energy level/activation: have them get bluer in the movie when he recharges and/or when he uses his powers. When he's totally spent, they're brown. Would have liked more Martha-Clark dialogue.

Spacey, as expected, was fabulous as Lex. Very appropriate. I took his new hardness as the result of five years of resentment while being locked up. You'd think he'd want to toast Superman after that, though, since the latter's not showing up for the appeal is how Lex walked. Parker Posey was great as Lex's dimwit-but-sweet-for-Superman girlfriend. The other bad guys were plenty mean. I don't much care that the new "land" was absurd - it's a comic book movie. We joked that the new land still had Louisiana, but now in the middle rather than on the coast (look at the map in the movie). Scene with Lex brushing his teeth was classic. We need more like that! Need more scenes with Lex meeting Superman and/or Clark too.

Lois - well, Kate Bosworth is fine as a teenybopper or dopey love interest or whatever, but she is way too young and way too much of a lightweight (literally and in her acting) to be Lois, *especially* Lois with a five-year-old kid. She had the kid while she was in high school? She was working at the Daily Planet as part of a high school work-study program? And she was MEAN to Clark, who'd been her good buddy and reporting rival at the Planet for so long. Parker Posey would be fabulous as Lois/mom and had a lot more chemistry with Routh onscreen, so I propose that the next movie have both women return, but in the opposite role. Or put Posey in as Lois and ditch Kate Bosworth entirely - we wouldn't miss her one whit. Yes, it's similar to sticking way-too-young-and-pointless Katie Holmes into the otherwise fabulous Batman movie. Lois needs strength and power and the sense to at least think for a moment before dragging her kid to a the source of the EMP (even if she didn't know until she got there that LEX was the cause of it).

The kid: he had maybe one dopey line ("I *like* him!") and thankfully was OK otherwise. They could have gotten that so wrong, and they didn't. He has the same quiet wisdom as his dad, no? Main difference being that his powers come unconsciously until a certain point as he's growing up, and *then* he's able to start exerting control over them. The early flashbacks established this well. It was good that they cast a boyfriend for Lois who was tall and handsome, with dark hair and nice qualities, to make the love t(ri)angle work and so the kid would look like both men enough to confuse everyone. Go, Cyclops! :->

We were relieved and quite happy that the filmmakers didn't take the cliched route of having Richard be, or turn out to be, a rich jerk. It would have been so easy. Instead, he's a rich nice guy with plenty of appealing attributes. He truly loves both Lois and her son, whether or not it's his son as well. He certainly doubts that it's his son (scene in the kitchen where Richard asks about the "Night with Superman" article) but doesn't seem absolutely sure until the hospital scene. With the kid in the script, the timeline could have been better. If everyone had said early on that Superman was gone for five years, and Lois had snidely commented, "It was closer to six!" then this would explain the kid's age much better. Also, there should have been some backstory as to when/how Richard started editing for the Planet - even gossip in the background in an office scene. Much prefer the "superhuman" boyfriend so the super-jerk, but now what's to be done with him?

"Stalker" scene bothered me a LOT initially, but then I started to see it from Superman's POV: he doesn't think that way. He's been away, he missed her, she apparently didn't miss him. He's trying to find out the truth without giving himself away. He's trying to find out the truth inconspicuously. He flies there, possibly hoping she'll be moping outside as in the earlier movies. She's inside, with Richard & the kid. So he listens. Gets his heart broken yet again. How come he didn't check her heartbeat when she said "no"? Because love is blind (how ironic - with all those vision tricks he can do).

To improve things for the next movie, in short:
1) new Lois: more substantial looking (not boobs, necessarily; just someone a bit bigger and stronger), more experienced looking, a bit older, someone who can seem bitter and/or frustrated yet sympathetic - not just bitter like this one
2) MUCH MORE of Clark, Lex, Superman in vignettes!!! They look great, but we want to see them doing more than standing/flying, and we REALLY want more Clark dialogue! More Martha and Clark!
3) pay more attention within the final version of the movie to timeline and backstory
4) more texture in general: little jokes, comments from extras that feed into the movie, and so forth. There weren't enough sub-plots. Have Lex & others - or Superman - have some technical discussion about masking Kryptonite with lead or with ordinary rock
5) need more on-screen shirt rips/ducks to change costume for S->C and back
6) want to see *more* of Superman and/or Clark, a la the hospital scene ;-> Often? Please? Brandon can bulk up to where he was in this movie, or bulk up a little more - doesn't much matter. Would like to see his back too.
7) needs more humor - from everyone
8) where the heck did Clark sleep during this movie? Does he recharge THAT much as Superman to be able to just float around up in the atmosphere each Metropolis night? Doesn't anyone come across his luggage?


New ideas/setups - don't much care which villains are used, as I haven't read the more recent comics and don't want the movie to collapse into a bloodbath, so use these as a crash zone for the bad guys:
1) for fun (definitely has nothing to do with the franchise otherwise): have a movie-within-a-movie or commercial-casting bit with a whole bunch of Superman hopefuls "auditioning". Get as many as you can... All different versions of the uniform... Sprinkle in the "So, You Want To Be a Superhero?" finalists... Add some camera folks. Have a villain or two among the Supes, have them start chaos, see what ensues... Best if Lois & Clark start out in their midst, and then Clark vanishes to change once the bad guys start up, and then Lois is trying to find the "real" Superman among the crowd of hopefuls... Pan out to the action around her but far enough away that she can't see it.

2) if Lex is in and Parker Posey stays on as Kitty - and we're of the opinion that she'd be a fantastic Lois instead (PLEASE, someone in moviedom, do this! Don't keep Kate!) - then play up on the great interaction she had with Supes after the car incident. Have her come after him, try to ask him out some more, try to get away from Lex without playing double agent. Have a new bimbo vie for Lex's attention; Kitty will have to decide just how much she values her sugar daddy.

3) Give Jimmy a life outside of the Planet - a girlfriend there, or in the next building, so they can get stuck somewhere (together or apart) and have Superman save them. Have Clark sublet from Jimmy, maybe, or crash on his couch while trying to find his own apartment. Clark could be asleep on the couch; Jimmy & gal could come in after an evening out, find him w/ glasses off or askew; they could start speculating; he could wake up & distract them or make excuses (jokes about being Supes' long-lost twin - "Yeah, I get that a lot... Didn't start until college, thankfully.")...

4) Really complicate office politics: have Perry escort Lois' mother to some fancy awards gala or other social event

5) Hide in plain view! A high-end costume party (Halloween? Mardi Gras? Perry's birthday???), with Kitty AND Lois & Clark in attendance. Jimmy has convinced Clark, due to his resemblance to Supes, to dress as Superman (old-style costume!) for the party. Make it fit well, or make it just a bit "off" so it looks homemade. Jimmy & girlfriend can sew it for him... THEN we can have that costume-comparison discussion again! We'd need to see him put on the costume at the apartment, of course ;->

On the way there and at the party itself, have Lois and a few others say they "just don't see it - something's wrong" (perhaps he leaves the glasses on?). Have a costumed, masked Kitty - possibly a bit tipsy - come up to Clark and hit on him as usual. He responds in a gentlemanly fashion, but in a similar enough way to the first movie that she gets suspicious. Don't have a clear idea as to how Kitty and Lois and Jimmy and gal-pal should dress, but perhaps Kitty and Lois could show up in similar or even identical getups - further confusing Clark! If the villains did show up, then at babe-saving time it would get trickier. Bad guys show up (or not) but he obviously couldn't have his "new" costume under this one, and he has to use powers other than flying to stop the bad guys or at least chase them off until after the party.

6) Clark isn't icky, he's cute and dopey. SOME dopey girl at the Planet or on the street has got to notice him sooner or later. Give the poor guy some distractions! Yes, he's mad for Lois, and he spends most of the rest of his time "listening", but sometimes he just needs to be Clark. He didn't grow up ignoring girls; don't do it now. Or at least don't have them ignore him - he can politely blow them off if needed - like while chasing after Lois.


More later, I'm sure. I need sleep now.

Your two posts are better than like 2500 of my own. I bow to your relevance

 

[Speedball]

More Villians.
Maybe Darkseid and Brainiac teaming up. Taking Superman to Apokolips will add MANY reasons for great fight scenes. Apokolips would also look cool as hell on screen.

Keep Jason, but do more with him. Maybe take him to Apokolips by "accident", so he can discover his powers. Have Lex, but don't even make him a villian, make him out to be a guy trying to redeem himself. It always happens in the comics. He'll eventually return to his crazy ways. Kitty's still with him too.

Show more of Krypton, but break away from Donner's version. Make it like the comics, more like an Earth type planet.

More Jimmy. Sam was great, but barely even used. Maybe even give him his own side story in the film that happens during the whole mess of Darkseid and Brainiacs Invasion.

The Invasion could show the US army, and how Superman cooperates with the army and establishes him even more as an American Hero. I know this might "isolate" people, but it's what he has always been and will always be.

 

[DrMylesOBoogie]

As a Superman fan I want Singer arressted and charged for commiting a terrible crime so that he may be sentenced long enough to never get his hands near a Superman film again.

 

[hippie_hunter]

If Zod is used have Superman kill him like he did in the comics. If that is not part of the story, then no Zod at all.

 

[Weadazoid]

More Villians.
Maybe Darkseid and Brainiac teaming up. Taking Superman to Apokolips will add MANY reasons for great fight scenes. Apokolips would also look cool as hell on screen.

Keep Jason, but do more with him. Maybe take him to Apokolips by "accident", so he can discover his powers. Have Lex, but don't even make him a villian, make him out to be a guy trying to redeem himself. It always happens in the comics. He'll eventually return to his crazy ways. Kitty's still with him too.

Show more of Krypton, but break away from Donner's version. Make it like the comics, more like an Earth type planet.

More Jimmy. Sam was great, but barely even used. Maybe even give him his own side story in the film that happens during the whole mess of Darkseid and Brainiacs Invasion.

The Invasion could show the US army, and how Superman cooperates with the army and establishes him even more as an American Hero. I know this might "isolate" people, but it's what he has always been and will always be.

Don't bring Superman to Apokolipse I say bring Apokalipse to Earth if they are going to go with Darkseide... but that is a very big if and probubly to broad and sureal an idea for Singer to encorporate into one of his 'reality' driven melodramas

I am OK for Singer to be back on for a sequal as long as he stays the hell away from Zod. The second Zod shows up in a trailer the WB will lose even more money on the 2nd film then they did on the first cause anyone that was disapointed with the simmilarities between this Superman and the late 70's Superman will be highly disapointed at seeing Zod as a villain again.

 

[whiteAngelus]

A MASSIVE **** OFF FIGHT WITH METALLO, BRAINIAC, AND DARKSEID
brainiac can show krpyton the way it should be and be part of was darkseid the kick ass villian at the end is after anti life equation probably not infomation etc maybe, lex can introduce metallo using kryptonian tech and something from brainiac and i want supers to just have an action fest like he deserves, more mrs kent, more jimmy more SUPERMAN AND VILLIANS and the other characters keep in the mix just dont let us down singer for god sake make us proud- one more f*** up and u in trouble matey

 

[JBElliott]

The sequel should be based on Action Comics #775.

 

[GreenKToo]

manchester black??

 

[The Sage]

The sequel should be based on Action Comics #775.

I'd say Peace On Earth combined with Action Comics # 775. Both tackle ideas and concepts that I feel need to be seen on the big screen.

 

[JBElliott]

That would be a good combination and get at the heart of the character a lot more than Superman Returns did. Plus there's be a lot of Superman doing super stuff and all the action anyone would want!

 

[DrMylesOBoogie]

I may or may not agree after I read the rest of the story. We're only one issue in after all.

 

[Orko Is King]

Great idea! 775 is one of the better Superman stories I've read.

 

[GreenKToo]

kool,i just read it..awesome story.

 

[The Sage]

I may or may not agree after I read the rest of the story. We're only one issue in after all.

It's only one issue.

 

[DrMylesOBoogie]

It's only one issue.

Ah I thought that you were discussing the Johns/Donner story.

Yea Action #775 was a good story but hardly exciting enough for a movie. A big bad and some action in outer space is needed for a Superman film.

 

[M.O.Steel]

what is the story about and can we get some pics?

 

[JBElliott]

Ah I thought that you were discussing the Johns/Donner story.

Yea Action #775 was a good story but hardly exciting enough for a movie. A big bad and some action in outer space is needed for a Superman film.

There's all the action in AC775 you could want, plenty of Elite fighting and the huge Superman v. Elite fight at the end. Plus it nicely highlights the difference between Superman and "heroes" who kill and use overly violent methods in the name of justice and shows perfectly why Superman is the number one superhero of all time.

Sure the story has some holes in it, but those can be closed. It's the perfect story for a movie, great action and a great message.

 

[JBElliott]

what is the story about and can we get some pics?

Go here, here, here , here , here , here or read this:

ACTION COMICS #775 (second printing)
"What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, & the American Way?"

Highly Recommended (10/10)

Action #775

DC Comics
Writer: Joe Kelly
Pencils: Doug Mahnke & Lee Bermejo
Inks: Tom Nguyen, Dexter Vines, Jim Royal, Jose Marzan Jr., Wade von Grawbadger & Wayne Faucher
Colors: Rob Schwager
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Eddie Berganza

Price: $3.75 US/$6.25 CAN
And now for something completely different. The first printing of this comic book was released in January 2001... before Randy and I began The Fourth Rail. However, we were writing reviews for another website at the time, and having recalled making some comments about this book the first time around, I sought out my original review.

So here it is. Bear in mind these comments represent my thoughts at the time. I've also included some additional commentary in italics following the text of the original review.

Son of a *****. I wasn't expecting that.

Within the comic-book industry and among regular comics readers, The Authority comes up as a topic of conversation and interest. It's a super-hero team book unlike just about any other, redefining super-heroes. Joe Kelly examines the Authority in this issue of Action Comics, comparing them to the traditional super-hero icon, Superman. Kelly examines the notion of good deeds, of heroism and morality. And it makes for a fascinating read and one of the best Superman comics to come along in years.

A new kind of super-hero makes its debut. They are members of the Elite, a team of metahumans whose power makes Superman look like Gleek the Space Monkey. And they use that power to right wrongs and change the world, but to Superman's horror, they aren't afraid to kill and seem to care little for anyone who gets in their way. A conflict of ethics and power builds between Superman and the Elite, and Lois fears her husband cannot win this confrontation.

Readers of The Authority simply must read this story. It's easy to get lost in the immense action, innovative examination of the notion of super-powers and the raunchy dialogue and characterization; it's easy to lose sight of the death and blood. Kelly examines the darker side of such characters and circumstances. Authority writers Mark Millar and Warren Ellis have hinted at that darker side, but Kelly really delves into it in detail here.

It makes sense, though, as in Action Comics, the Authority/Elite can be the antagonists, something that really wouldn't quite click in their own title. And to be fair, Kelly isn't saying "the Authority sucks" with this story. That team continues to stand out as a more accurate portrayal of what super-heroes might be like in the Real World. Kelly's point here is not that heroes should be ideal like Superman... simply that they should try. They need to try and live up to something.

The art is surprisingly consistent, given that two pencillers and six inkers were put to work on this issue. Mahnke and Bermejo bring power of the Elite to life, as well as the devastating consequences that arise when that power is put to use. The Bradstreet cover was a clever move as well, as it signals that this is not a typical Superman comic book.

What really makes the conflict and its importance clear to the reader are the little glimpses of everyday society that Kelly provides. Normal people -- from retirees to little kids playing in the street -- talk about the Elite and Superman, and it lends a greater tone of credibility to the incredible events and characters.

The Elite is not the Authority. Well, they are a singular aspect of the Authority, but Kelly's new characters represent so much more. They represent a ethical dilemma. They represent a corrupt system that overlooks justice in the name of righteousness. They represent the real instead of the ideal. And they represent what may be the finest piece of writing Joe Kelly has put together thus far in his career.

Obviously, this story will have a different impact on readers today given the different context in which it is represented. The first printing was released as a one-shot, as a commentary on a new brand of super-hero comic. This second printing serves as a backgrounder on the Elite, as the team is spinning off into its own limited series, Justice League Elite. Furthermore, this story was written before Sept.11, 2001, and more extreme and invasive "security" measures are seen in a different light today.

Is this comic book was powerful today as it was in January 2001? Certainly not. But if one focuses on Kelly's original intent and sets aside the knowledge that these one-shot characters have been transformed into something more lasting, readers can come close to tapping into the same sense of inventiveness and challenging perspective that made this story the focus of so much discussion and praise.

 

[The Sage]

There's all the action in AC775 you could want, plenty of Elite fighting and the huge Superman v. Elite fight at the end. Plus it nicely highlights the difference between Superman and "heroes" who kill and use overly violent methods in the name of justice and shows perfectly why Superman is the number one superhero of all time.

Sure the story has some holes in it, but those can be closed. It's the perfect story for a movie, great action and a great message.

Agreed. What would make it even better is that it could capitalize on the idea of Superman returning to Earth. In his absence, Earth has come to rely on dark methods to dispense justice. Superman shows them why old-fashioned ideals can still be triumphant in this day and time.

 

[M.O.Steel]

Agreed. What would make it even better is that it could capitalize on the idea of Superman returning to Earth. In his absence, Earth has come to rely on dark methods to dispense justice. Superman shows them why old-fashioned ideals can still be triumphant in this day and time.

Which would have worked perfectly in this SR. I mean, it's the name of the movie for crying out loud yet they failed to acknowledge his absence at all.

 

[The Punisher]

That would be pretty cool. You got my vote.

 

[JBElliott]

That would be pretty cool. You got my vote.

Great! Just call Singer and let him know!

 

[GreenKToo]

It sounds very similar to 'Kingdom Come',which I love.