Man of Steel Spoiled me for Superman Movies

Man of Steel is the first movie I have seen that deserves the title Superman. Gone are pretty boy origins, kryptonite necklaces, and crystal palaces. Man of Steel is specifically separated from the television series Smallville, the Christopher Reeve movie franchise, and the assorted other shows and cartoons. Man of Steel gives the audience war, fighting, grit, and chest hair. This Superman is a new beast.

I saw it with a host of military personnel who weren’t in the fan community already, and they were all enthusiastic by the end. The driving theme of the story was how everybody is super: every person can rise to the challenge, overcome the adversary, and secure peoples’ safety. People inspire other people. This current helped to smooth over the changes in his back story and support staff.

Superman has been published for seventy five years. When Superman began, he was a determined pursuant of justice, a defender of the innocent and downtrodden, and a stalwart peacemaker. The character, cast, and rogues gallery would expand with time, as would his abilities. Superman premiered in Action Comics, 1938. The success led to Superman, the comic book. Both comics have been published monthly since 1939.

Superman’s published story is of an infant space alien who grows up to be a hero on Earth with fantastic abilities. In the forties, Superman was written as a muscleman of astounding strength that circumvented the law to vanquish abuse and social injustice. By the end of the fifties, as new writers contributed to the comic book series, Superman’s character evolved into a time traveling space god and standard bearer of liberty.

I love the Superman comic character because he is bigger than life. And that is hard for writers to portray. The fan of Superman watches every attempt to write the perfect story but is rarely satisfied with the result.

In the film, Man of Steel, Superman spends most of his adult life saving lives and defending personal liberties, but this time as Clark Kent and in civilian clothes. He is a wandering drifter, seeking his heritage. When he finds his connection to his space family, he dons the blue action suit from the comic books and makes his public debut. His character is remote, emotionally separated from his family and peers. This was Superman, an orphan and adopted child, trying to reconcile his loss with his fortune. But he is the detached alien because he is literally super. The world is smaller for Superman; the structure more fragile, the struggles less relevant, than for any other person on Earth.

In the movie, Lois Lane, along with most of Smallville, knows Clark Kent is Superman. This turns the Superman / Clark Kent relationship on its head. In the comic book, the secret identity of Clark Kent was a staple plot mechanic where various characters could try to figure out who Superman was. But in this new Superman world, Clark Kent is Superman and the difference in the characters is down played; Superman is a title Clark Kent carries.

In Man of Steel, Superman kills. Actually, there is a lot of killing which is obscured in the back ground. Yet, there is one scene where Superman just ups and commits a very graphic murder. Context is important. The murder was a necessary part of the plot. But Superman’s refusal to kill is sacrosanct in comic books. The puzzle for comic writers was how Superman would defeat the adversary while upholding his moral code, while in this movie he is forced to move beyond it. The murder also marks Man of Steel as a mature content film.

Film makers have to change story elements of properties transitioning from comic-books to movies. For me, these changes can allow the story to remain fresh for the fans. It is important that the point of the story remains; that the vitality of the property is retained. Man of Steel succeeded in changing the story but keeping the point of Superman from the comics. Further, Man of Steel was an exciting science-fiction thriller.