"It may be useful to remember that Christian faith is ultimately dependent upon what actually happened rather than upon the views of historians."
- I. Howard Marshall
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Skye Jethani has a neat piece at Out of Ur today reflecting on Leadership Lessons from Superman's Underpants. You should read the whole thing because it's interesting and neat. But I want to pontificate on a point only tangential to his aims.
Commenting on the fanboy rage erupting in the discovery that the new Superman reboot will depict the Man of Steel sans those iconic red undies -- he won't be nekkid, of course, he'll just have the blue jumpsuit that's underneath them -- Jethani writes:
[W]hen Warner Brothers handed the responsibility for penning a new Superman script to Christopher Nolan and David Goyer, the same team behind Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, they wanted to bring the same realism to the Man of Steel they had brought to the Caped Crusader. But the Superman character, unlike Batman, is utterly unrealistic. He’s an alien who can fly, repel bullets, and fire lasers from his eyes. If we are to accept all of that, is it really too much to ask a modern audience to believe Superman would wear red underwear over his pants?First, I think it's a good thing that Nolan and Goyer are taking over the Superman reigns. Their storytelling chops, cinematic instincts, and mythological depth can give the Superman mythos the gravitas it deserves.
But I honestly think one of the worst things that can happen is if they turn Superman into a brooding, gray-toned Dark Knight-esque mope-athon. The problem with the Superman reboot of a few year's ago was not that it tried to stay colorful and maintain the iconic Superman look/feel, it's that it failed as a movie. It was stupid, campy, poorly acted, and misfired on all cylinders of internal logic. But it did not fail because it wasn't gritty and "realistic." It was a terrible script and was handled by a hamfisted director.
I like the Nolan Batman movies a lot. The second one in particular is a towering cinematic achievement. But as a comic book fan, I still think Spider-Man 2 is the best *comic book movie* of all time. (Although this year's Captain America really wowed me.) To repeat and clarify: I think Nolan's Batman films are better than Raimi's Spider-Man films. The Dark Knight is clearly a better movie than Spider-Man 2. But if I want a movie that captures the wonder, the sparkle, the adventure, the razzmatazz of the days this ten year old couldn't wait to get Batman, Spider-Man, and Superman with his allowance from the spinner rack at Carl's Grocery Store in McAllen, Texas, Spider-Man 2 wins hands down.
And it didn't hurt that it was written by award-winning literary novelist Michael Chabon and directed with frenetic genius by Sam Raimi.
So, you see, Superman reboot honchos, you don't have to turn Superman into an emo kid with seasonal affective disorder or give him a bastard child to hand-wring over or even, God forbid, ditch the red undies, to make a good Superman movie that people will love. You just have to have talented people who will be able to capture the spirit of the Superman mythos. It better have color; it better have life; it better totally buy into the ridiculousness of the Superman premise; it better honor the standard backstory; it better move, baby. If you botch this again, we will hatess you forever, preciousss.
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Comments on "A Geeky Rant on the Upcoming Superman Reboot (and Comic Book Movies)":
2. Jared
- 09/14/2011 8:56 am CDT
Joseph, good thoughts. I read in Jethani's article that the DC comic reboot was the impetus for losing the red trunks as well, but I also know they were toying with doing this to Superman going back a few years. I remember when Kevin Smith was brought on to write a script and Nicolas Cage was approached to play Supes. And when the last movie came out there were plenty saying they should have taken the Dark Knight approach instead.
One thing I like about Superman is his invincibility -- kryptonite notwithstanding -- and I wish Superman movies would ahve the courage to just make him an all-out conquering hero, nearly omnipotent. That would be really interesting, I think. What would it look like for a good man to have all that power? I think Hollywood people have trouble with that. It's why they had to soil Aragorn a bit and mess with Peter and Caspian.
But we saw a good movie recently with a good guy basically just kicking butt and taking names -- Taken. I would love to see a Superman movie where he just barrels his way through villains, finds clever ways (of his own) to get out of kryptonite dangers (instead of having to be saved by Kate Bosworth), and just flat-out looks like a Super Man.
5. Shrode
- 09/14/2011 11:07 am CDT
Yes, in case you haven't heard, DC is rebooting their ENTIRE lineup. They are starting everyone over at #1.
And speaking as a Batman guy (when someone says Superman or Batman, I pick Batman.) I do like Superman a lot, and he needs to be different than Batman. I agree with Jared. Making him like Batman would be idiotic. In fact, in the comic world, the writers have played with the contrast between Clark and Bruce quite a bit. They know each other, and they are on the same side, but they don't really like each other. They each have a kind of grudging respect for the other's methods which are totally different than their own. Same team, different approaches.
It's fun in the comics to watch them work together and/or clash, because of their stark differences.
As Batman is dark, complicated, brooding and driven. Superman needs to be bright, simple, noble and straightforward. I agree with Jared. The dude needs to be a hero all the way through. (a lot like they did with the Captain America movie.) There needs to be no inner demons. Superman is a hero. Period. Batman takes place at night. Superman takes place in the day. Gotham city is full of shadows and crumbling old gothic buildings. Metropolis is modern skyscrapers, with lots of windows and happy people. Batman goes looking for evil. Superman responds when evil shows up. There needs to be a stark contrast between the two.
Let's hope the new movie gets that.
And Jared, something else you said really struck a nerve with me....superheroes should be for kids. I loved the Dark Knight. And I love that the world finally saw Batman as the Dark Knight and not the campy dude from the 60's TV show.
However, it's not fair that people who grew up with superheroes are making the superhero movies for themselves. My kids should be able to watch superhero movies. My kids should be able to read comic books. But in the effort to "grow the heroes up", they left behind the children.
I'm actually a little bitter that I can't buy comic books for my kids. They love superheroes. Superheroes are a big deal at my house. But none of my boys has ever read a comic because they deal with themes now that are way too mature.
When are they going to give superheroes back to the kids? (That said, to give credit where credit is due - on TV they have done that somewhat - "Marvel Superhero Squad" and "Batman: the brave and the bold" are for kids. I just don't have cable and will have to buy them on DVD in order for my kids to see them.)
We are just now starting to let my 8 & 10 year olds watch "superhero" movies. Most are too old for them. (Thank you X-men: First Class for dropping the "F" bomb.) But we are trying hard to find superhero movies that are appropriate. Their first live-action superhero movie was "Thor". A bit intense for them, but good. Up next: Fantastic Four. After they finish all the Star Trek movies. (But of course we'll have to skip the new one:-)
Leave a Comment:
I think the reason they are ditching the undies is because of DC's reboot of their comics under the title 52. They are giving 52 of their iconic titles including Superman an all new look and feel and they want their movies to follow suit (pun intended). In the new comics, Supes no longer sports the undies.
As a long time fan and collector, I really didn't think Superman needed a reboot. One of the things that makes Supes awesome is that he is NOT like everyone else. In fact, the original character sketches laid down by his creators actually used Jesus as a model for Superman's character. I love that.
I couldn't agree more that turning him into a brooding, dark character to make him "more relatable" is a mistake. Superman was never supposed to be someone we identify with, he was supposed to be someone to emulate and admire. He was supposed to be someone who inspired us.
I am not a fan of the new Superman comics and I fear I won't like this new movie either.