Set pics and a brief comment by
Zack Snyder in an interview with Carson Daly have people wondering if Clark Kent will be without his trademark glasses in the upcoming Superman reboot,
Man of Steel.
While tradition dictates that Clark will have glasses we have yet to see a picture of Henry Cavill sporting a pair. But there is the slight possibility that he wont wear them and the question is, can it work?
Now the idea of Supermans alter ego Clark Kent using glasses to conceal his true identity is pretty ridiculous, but this is the make believe world of comics, and if we want the escapism from reality it provides, then some suspension of disbelief is required. I for one can accept that Superman puts on a pair of glasses and nobody realises that mild mannered Clark Kent and the Man of Steel are one in the same. Of course the glasses are only part of the disguise. As Clark he also puts on an act, in some versions hes a bumbling oaf (
Superman the Movie, All Star Superman), where he acts almost like a cartoon character or one of the three stooges. He would often clumsily bump into people and things (while simultaneously saving their lives). Hed also stumble on his words and stutter. In Superman Birthright he was just a quiet guy who no one really takes notice of because he appears so meek and boring that he disappears into the background (theres a momemnt where the cleaner turns off the light even though Clark is still working because he didnt notice he was there!). Other times he appears as a confident man who is a darned good reporter (Superman the Animated series, The Adventures of Superman) and also a very tough individual admittedly this is probably the worst of all the disguises as theres not that much distinction between the two characters. To be honest the one interpretation that got it right was
Superman Returns (yes Singer did get some stuff right). Clark Kent was quiet, shy, and klutzy, although not to the point of being over the top like he was in
Superman the Movie.
If you were to forgo the glasses the character could use prostehtics, fake beards etc. but that would be a tad too extreme. If there is one man who could figure out a way to make us believe Clark Kent isnt Superman without the use of glasses its Christopher Nolan. His Batman films have taken the comic book genre to a whole new level of realism (well as realistic as it can get with a man fighting crime in a rubber batsuit). When David Goyer wrote the script and approached Nolan with the idea he stated that he had figured out how to make a Superman film work even Nolan admitted he was intrigued with Goyers take:
He basically told me, I have this thought about how you would approach Superman, Nolan recalled. I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story Ive never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way.
Until an official photo is released we have no idea if the glasses will be part of the disguse or not. One possible theory is that Superman wont reveal his disguise until the end of the movie as he wont have a need for it until that point (e.g. Superman Earth One). One thing is for sure though, with Nolan, Goyer and Snyder involved chances are we will finally get the Superman movie that weve been wanting. But until we see a picture, a trailer or the film itself the debate will continue. So what do you think can it work without the glasses?
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