SUPERMAN is the Light of the World, Not Lurking in the Shadows
So I've been thinking a great deal about Superman these days. How can I not! The news just keeps coming in regarding the future movie of The Man of Steel. It's not a matter of IF this is going to happen, it is a matter of when, how, and who. I am a bit concerned that Warner Bros. doesn't understand the nature of Superman, who he is and what he represents. They keep going back to this "Dark" superhero genre that was inspired by ‘The Dark Knight', and how it is "Real" and "gritty". I loved The Dark Knight and thought it was amazing. The style is perfect for Batman. This whole "Dark" thing just won't work for Superman. He is not a dark character. Superman and Batman are two very different Superheroes. Batman's world is Dark and bleak, he is driven by wanting to see justice served. He is angry and is willing to do whatever it takes to bring down the bad guys. Superman on the other hand is not an angry person and I hope they don't try to turn his character into Batman, but with a different suit. They can still make a Superman movie that feels "real" but keep in mind who this man is. Superman is a symbol of hope and peace. He see's the good in people. He is the light of the world. Not the guy lurking in the shadows. He is a day person, out for everyone to see. Jeph Loeb talked to MTV a little about this and said:
"Superman, the character, inspires hope, as opposed to Batman, who inspires fear," elaborated Jeph Loeb, who added that his "Superman for All Seasons" (which he created with frequent collaborator Tim Sale) could be a proper approach for a possible revamp of the franchise. "‘Superman for All Seasons' is about Clark Kent trying to deal with the fact that he has this incredible power and responsibility, and that was an interesting concept to me. And one of the other things that I find interesting is that he's set out to perform a job that will never finish, a never-ending battle. Is that dark? I don't know."
It doesn't sound dark. This is the only real idea I have heard so far on how to tackle another Superman movie. Mark Miller has an idea for a trilogy but offers no insight on where he would like to see the character go. Then Warner Bros says they don't know what they are going to do yet with the character, they just know that they want it to be dark.
That's what scares me. Look at the movies that haven't gone dark and they were still great films like ‘Iron Man' and the first 2 ‘Spiderman' movies. Look at the third Spiderman film! They tried to go dark, with the whole black suit, Venom and Peter Parker Emo look. It didn't work!
I hope they stop pushing this dark Superman movie idea. I am just afraid someone may go to Warner's with a great idea and then they would turn it down because its not dark enough. They are really limiting the Superman character by doing this.
The one thing I do hope they do when they re-vamp the Superman franchise... a new villain. I love Lex Luthor but I have seen enough of that guy. I am ready for Superman to take on a new bad guy. If they want to pose a real threat to Superman they will have to go with Doomsday.
It is going to be really interesting to see where Superman ends up after the dust settles and there is a clear idea out in the open with what Warner Bros wants to pursue. Whatever they end up doing they have to leave the heroic nature of Superman alone. You can't take that away. If they do Superman will cease to be Superman. They can make his enemies as dark as they want. In the end they need to find a director like Christopher Nolan who can find the pure and real heart of a character like Superman and role with it.