I'm just tickled that SUPERMAN STARTS caught on, at least with Showtime.
I understand that people have their preferences, but there's far too much "It has to be this or that to work right" going on here. Pre-Crisis over Post-Crisis, and vice versa, who is the man/disguise stuff, mad scientist/corporate Luthor...I think a lot of that misses the point of the mythology.
A lot of things could work.
The whole "Superman is a mystery" thing, that's all well and good, but in the real world, that becomes somewhat irrelevant. Because yes, people know who Superman is. Maybe HE doesn't know "who" he is, but audiences do, and will, you know? There's no point in pretending he didn't come from Krypton, wasn't raised by the Kents, etc. Because that's what Superman is. Now, that doesn't absolutely have to be SHOWN. But that's still what Superman is.
I agree that we should see Superman's origins in some capacity. This includes where the idea to become "Superman" came from, his past, present and future ties to Smallville, Krypton, Metropolis, and the Earth. Heck, I'd even like to see where Clark Kent's personality and morality came from in terms of psychology. We do not, mind you, need to see it all at once, or in any kind of standard origin format. I.E, a new structure for the origin needs to be found. Something like BATMAN BEGINS could work, and so, I think, could something like V FOR VENDETTA.
A straight origin film could definitely work, and we could very much still see the real Superman in that context. A movie that starts out with Superman existing that touches on the origin could work as well.
People say Superman deserves a "complete" story. Fair enough. I look at stuff like BATMAN BEGINS, and I do not feel Batman's origin was done much justice at all. The ideas behind it were, but the actual details of it? Not so much.
Myself, I went and saw SUPERMAN RETURNS, despite only snippets of origin, and enjoyed it. I'd go see any Superman movie, just...because.
Here's the thing. The reason Superman does what he does is not a one time thing. It's something he should be reaffirming to himself constantly. Therefore, if you want to see what makes Superman tick, it doesn't neccessarily have to be in the sense of "How Superman began".
That said, I really do think most people who care on any level DO know the relevant Superman's origin. Obviously, everyone doesn't. But I also agree that you cannot assume they do, and you cannot ignore the compelling elements of the mythology.
More and more, I like the idea of Superman's origins being revealed bit by bit, film by film, but not in the sense that if you don't get past one film, the basics wouldn't still be there. I am also convinced that Jor-El's story needs to be seen. But bit by bit, over subsequent films, not a one shot deal and then nothing but echoes.
I want to write this, damn it. I've already written it, and I want to write it again. I think we should just have a random "ideas" thread. Not story ideas, just bits and pieces of ideas for people to pick and choose from and craft something amazing.
