by Matthew Russell - Posted 4 years ago
Hello to all my Vigilantes. I have been reading a lot on the internet about the importance and relevance of Superman. At first I was outraged until I decided to stop for a minute and take a logical look at everything. What is his role in the political and pop culture world of today?
Let's start out my thinking about this. He was born in the 1930’s. He is a brand unto himself. From the git-go he is simply wish fulfillment. He was an immigrant from the minds of immigrant children, with the power to bend steel. His bright and colorful costume inspired everyone from children to the troops.
He has been in comics, newspapers, television shows, cartoons, blockbuster movies, plays, and even inspired a few hit songs. He has sold toys and other merchandise. He has been a staple of the American conscious since his inception. At one time his was one of the top 5 most recognizable symbols in the world.
The question is, is he still that? Times change, taste change, people, and perceptions change as well. I still remember a time when people trusted their President. Winds of change and all that. A lot of changes in that paragraph.
Forget about all the “super”, who is the man? Clark Kent is just the “All-American” Kansas farm boy. He is honest, he has kept himself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. In other words, he is a trustworthy boy scout.
His word still holds value. Clark looks at the world, not in black and white, but in shades of redemption. Everyone can be saved. Take Superman issue #121 where he goes to Suicide Slums, the seedy section of Metropolis. In the end, he holds the dying body of a little black girl. I have to say this is one of my favorite comics of all time sue to the light they shine on the Man of Steel.
Think of him as that one guy who never lets you down with the work ethic to always get things done. Superman isn’t the only one to be able to save people. It has always been shown that it is Clark who is capable of relating to people, allowing them to save themselves. It is the human side that allows him to become “Super.”
This guy isn’t without his faults. After college, he took some time off and wandered the globe trying to find himself. I know that sounds cliche but he did a lot of soul searching during those times to try to find out what kind of man he wanted to be.
He could have toppled governments, and set himself at the top, but he didn’t. He figured out that he had a calling; not to rule mankind, but to be its servant of sorts. He is no different from a Fireman rushing into a building to save people, or a policeman on the streets everyday to protect us. He is the same as the brave servicemen and women protecting our rights and way of life from all threats both foreign and domestic. He is a shield and a beacon.
Superman was the name given to him by Lois Lane. It wasn’t his choice. The name stuck because he wouldn’t give up his real identity. I don’t know about you but if I could fly, I would be charging for rides, showing off, and getting myself into all around shenanigans. It would be epic. He wanted none of that. He wanted to go home at night and be himself.
Superman is the mask that Clark wears not to hide his identity, but to give the people a symbol that they can strive towards. Granted, many stories in the comics have been nothing more than “cash grabs” giving people a new and abstract take on the legend.
It is scary to think of the real world implications of someone with that much power walking among us. What if he had decided to become bad? What if he decided to just be a jerk? This has all been explored in various movies, games, and comics from Superman 3 (jerk), to Injustice (bad), to Red Son (follows a different ideology other than the “American Way.”)
Then there was the time Superman walked across America. I applaud the writer with what he was going for, but sadly he missed the mark. J. Michael Straczynski, I’ll talk about him later, wrote what was to be a 12 part series called “Grounded” where Superman needs to reconnect with the American people so he decides to walk across America.
I can see where he was going with this story. Originally it would re-inspire Superman as he learns what he means to the people and what the people mean to him. In the end, it felt more like a Forrest Gump rip-off with a lot of unnecessary dialog that just ended 4 issues in. Yep, 4 issues of walking. It was painful.
Oh God yes! With his only real weakness being a few green rocks, the Man of Steel is unstoppable. It was worse in the 60’s. The writers and artist would come up with a new situation that Supes couldn’t compete with so he would get a new power.
At one point in time he could shape shift, time travel, had rainbow power (he shot rainbows from his hands and it would cause thieves to immediately surrender), and super ventriloquism . Seriously, what the hell is that!?!
In the 80’s they took him a step down after Crisis of Infinite Earths, thankfully. Slowly, he is creeping back up there on the power scale. Case-in-point, Superman used “super-song” to defeat Darkseid at the end of Final Crisis.
Yep, he defeated the ultimate bad guy by singing. It makes me want to stick a hot poker in my eyes.
You won’t have to de-power him more, just stop making him the deus ex machina to save the day. One of my favorite scenes in any superman movie is from Superman Returns when Brandon Routh took a bullet to the eye without blinking.
Having a powered Supes is ok if done correctly. His real power and weakness comes from the “Man.” Focus on that.
With a character that has been around for so long, to thrive is to remain true to who they were at the beginning at their core. We see how his ideology has been compared to that of Jesus. The symbology was rather heavy handed in Man of Steel.
His toy sales have slumped. This is possibly due to the overall lack of costume change for Superman. His costume was originally homemade. He doesn’t have the Wayne Foundation to build him military grade body armor, not that he needs it. It was a gift from his mother. His cape was the baby blanket that he was wrapped in.
As the world becomes more and more cynical, fans look to Batman. Here is a self made man with no powers overcoming obstacles with only his wits and gadgets. The dark costume, the lone wolf attitude, the toys, who wouldn’t want to be Batman!?! Plus, if you had the time, money and determination, you too could be the Dark Knight.
How does Superman stack up to Batman? This isn’t a contest of brute strength, or conning. IT is a popularity contest. Where Batman is the night, Superman is the day. They are polar opposites. Writers often highlight this issue, mainly in the Superman/Batman comics started by the legendary Jeph Lobb.
The brilliant dialog and internal monologues shown side by side showcase the similarities and differences. They are both heroes who want to do good at their core. Granted, their approach is where they differ.
If you have one side of a coin, you must have another. There is no Batman without Superman.
It feels like the only way you can tell a good story about him is to have him go up against someone as powerful, if not more powerful than him. Someone that could match him physically. Hence the hype for the de-powered Supes vs the Dark Knight in Batman V Superman.
Granted, that movie was a mess. It was a team building movie when it should have simply focuses on the relationship with Bruce and Clark. Bring in everyone later.
The question is how do you take a being that immensely powerful and ground him in this world? How do you make a god-like being relatable? Simple, focus on the man, then give it a lot of punching. Explain why Superman would stay in the day to day grind when at any time he could just fly to the Himalayas just cause he can; the people in his life.
For me, I love Henry Cavill. He has the chops to play him, the physique and the perfect surrounding cast. Keep him!!! No recasting with Michael B. Jordan.
As far as directors, I hear rumors of JJ Abrams is attached. This is good news for Man of Steel 2. I love his work, as long as he sticks around to tell a complete story. Let's face it, he doesn’t have the best track record of this.
I say, if you want Michael so badly, cast him as Ron Troupe. Make Ron become a major character or even tell the story through his eyes.
One of my favorite Superman comics was Superman #701. There was a simplicity to the hero. A girl was on a rooftop about to step off when Superman was called in.
There was no flying up and dragging her to safety. There was just heart-felt talking, with Superman actually taking the time to listen. Written by the amazing J. Michael Straczynski (told you I would get to him later), this tale tells a story of what makes him a hero.
Another of my top five is “Brainiac;” a five-issue story arc written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank, that has Superman fighting for everything he believes in. Brainiac is trying to imprison another city while destroying the world. Superman, without the aid of the Justice League, has to fight him off. In the end, it cost him dearly.
Take those 2 stories and mash them together. Have the entire story take place as a conversation with Ron (who barely survived Brainiac) and Supes while Ron is on a ledge wanting to give up.
Don’t add any of the other Justice League members except for a clip of Bruce Wayne watching the ending unfold on TV. This would help establish the new Robert Pattinson’s Batman. Something simple like him turning off the tv with Alfred sitting there. They give each other a smile and move on. Nothing said between them.
Don’t use this movie to introduce new heroes, or reinvigorate the JLA, or tie in to the Suicide Squad. Nothing else.
Make this movie as action packed as the first Man of Steel (we love us a good action movie), but don’t forget the heart. Lighten the Superman suit colors. It still needs to be brighter.
Also, don’t forget to make fun of its rocky history. A quick joke between Lois and Clark about how he is thinking of growing a mustache. Lois could respond with something about how the public would hate it. Just have Supes shrug off the idea and call it a day.
So, if anyone at Warner Brothers or DC Comics is listening, I would gladly turn in a script. I would donate my time on this. Read it, if you don’t like it, tell me to go away and you’ll never hear from me about it again.
In today’s world we are faced with overwhelming odds on a daily basis. We look at the news and see everything from the Ukrainian scandal to killers at our doorstep. The amount of people that believe in a higher power has steadily fallen since 1996. Altruistic acts have increased as long as we can post about them and get praise on Instagram and Facebook.
The morals of our fathers has taken a backseat to quick and easy pleasures of the now. Work ethic is severely compromised since we have lost sight of our virtues. We have lost the ability to put in the time to make a project work.
Instead new generations quit entry level jobs due to the fact that they aren’t making a difference. They haven’t figured out that they need to put in the time and effort yet. I see this in some of the students I teach.
I had a student barely graduate from high school. He was a brilliant student but refused to do any homework. After graduation he called me up asking why no one would hire him as a Senior Developer or Project Manager. He only wanted to work part time and his only work experience was 1 week at a fast food company. All I could do was tell him to get real.
In this society, we need someone who is willing to fight as long as it takes to win. We need someone that can carry the burden and stand up with or for us. Not to see us as sheep that need to be herded but to lead by example.
So the question, is Superman still relevant? Not as much but he IS needed more than ever.
