Welcome Back
I’m going to bury the lede here and just tell you that I absolutely loved Superman.
I have a tendency to overhype things I'm into, so take my admiration with a heaping spoon of salt. That said, it was everything I hoped for and more. I’ll get into exactly why that is in the Main Story of this post, but I want to tend to some business first.
Last week, I sent a poll about how long these posts should be. I have a tendency to make them tomes of 2000+ words, even at times crossing the 4000-word threshold if it’s a topic I speak to in-depth.
The overwhelming majority of you have voted for me to reign that in.
It was a split between 250 and 1000 words, with a swing towards 1000. I’ve heard you and I’ll try to keep both sides happy.
These intros, under the heading Welcome Back, will be 250 words max.
The Main Story will be 750.
My goal, and challenge to myself, is to come in at those word counts exactly!
I could have made it easy and just accepted the message to be a little more brief, but I like the exercise of trying to be exact.
So here we are.
I’m not counting Project Updates, Worklogs, Upcoming Posts or Release Calendars in this total. Just the Main Story and this Intro.
For those who listen, I’ll continue to ramble freely in the Super-Secret Epilogue.
I hope you enjoy this new format.
Worklog
Project Updates
From Parts Unknown #4 is LIVE and FUNDED.
If you’ve backed any of From Parts Unknown in the past, check your email as there’s more.
Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 1 is available on KU from now through August.
40 incredible stories from 40 excellent authors - including yours truly.
The Call for Entries for Big Smoke Pulp Vol. 2 is now open! If you have a short story, under 5000 words, send it my way. You can find out more by clicking the link.
Media Updates
I had a great conversation with Steve Bynoe and guests on the Comix Asylum YouTube Channel. You can check that out here:
Now, let’s talk Superman!
Main Story
Disclaimer: There may be mild spoilers to the movie here. I’ll do my best to avoid them, but if you want to go in clean – save this post for a later time.
And yes, this disclaimer counts towards my 750 word-cap.
Fixing Past Disappointments
I’m a Superman fan.
I’m not quiet about it. He’s the character that got me into comics in the first place with the Death of Superman. Although Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie is a classic and Christopher Reeve is a definitive Superman – it just never felt like the Superman I knew.
Superman Returns was a letdown for several reasons. Brandon Routh was brilliant casting, but the story made absolutely no sense. (He, fortunately, gets a huge redemption in the Arrowverse with Crisis on Infinite Earths.)
Man of Steel was much closer to what I wanted but was still too dark and brooding to be the Superman I knew from the Triangle Era.
TV got much closer with the cartoons and the live action TV shows (though the less said about Dean Cain today, the better), but on film, it was never quite right to me.
The Silver Age Returns to the Silver Screen
Although Superman: The Movie came out in the midst of the Bronze Age, in 1978, Richard Donner has always said he took his inspiration from the “classic Superman” he grew up reading. The Silver Age influences are clear: from Luthor’s ridiculous plan, his bumbling henchmen and the classic yet utterly nonsensical ending.
Gunn’s Superman was originally touted as an adaptation of All-Star Superman, but he eventually corrected that to being more influenced by it - in which Morrison & Quietly clearly harken back to the Silver Age.
Nothing is off the table with this era. There are no concerns that “audiences won’t get it.”
Inter-dimensional portals, kaiju fights, flying dogs, multiple superheroes that just exist without needing further explanation.
If it’s fun, it fits.
Part of me hopes this seeps back into a new age of the comics as well.
(A topic for a future post!)
James Gunn Gets Superman
Zack Snyder’s Superman was a god amongst men. An unmovable object with a heart of gold – one that didn’t fit in his dark universe. The plan, had he been allowed to fulfill it based on the Snyder Cut, was to corrupt that heart entirely.
I’ve said in the past that I enjoyed Man of Steel, even with its many flaws, but I loathed everything that followed it – and the Snyder Cut gave me no solace.
Where Snyder liked Superman but had a different take on him; Bryan Singer didn’t seem to care for Superman one bit. His only influence was Donner’s films, rather than the comics. It made Superman Returns a muddled mess with very few redeeming qualities despite Brandon Routh’s best efforts.
David Corenswet, directed by James Gunn, is the Superman I’ve been waiting for. He’s the most human Superman we’ve seen since Smallville. He’s, at times, frustrated, overwhelmed, disappointed and truly joyful. He’s the most human he’s been – ever.
It may seem blasphemous, and possibly guided by recency bias, but Reeves’ Superman always felt a bit more distant while donning the cape.
Still Not Perfect
I don’t have many gripes with Superman, but I have one – and it’s kind of a spoiler.
(If you want to stay pure, just skip to the next section.)
Ultraman isn’t Ultraman but calling him that spoils the reveal anyway.
We know who that character is. Why not make up a name until we have the reveal where we get the character’s proper name?
A nitpick, yes, but one that I couldn't shake.
Excited for the Future of the DCU
All said, I positively adored this film.
Granted, I’m a Superman fanboy. I liked every Superman movie when I watched it. I could get past their flaws and just appreciate that I was seeing the Man of Steel on the big screen.
Even Superman Returns, which makes Superman IV: The Quest for Peace look like high art, had me buzzing as I left the theatre.
But I’m convinced this is more than that. I did my best to temper my expectations. I’ve been hurt repeatedly with Superman’s film interpretations.
This time, I found myself wiping away literal tears of joy as the credits rolled and Krypto puts his head on Superman’s shoulder as they watch over the earth from above the stars.
This is the Superman I’ve been waiting for – and I can't wait for more.
Did you watch Superman yet?
What did you think? Am I right? Wrong? Just a fanboy?
Let me know in the comments…
Upcoming and More
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Upcoming Appearances
Release Calendar
*Calendar subject to change
Instant Ink Comic Book Podcast
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