Superman: Legacy

Costumes aside, this is shaping up like it's borrowing a lot from original Superman films, and I don't know if I want another rehash of that. For one thing, I don't think the idea of Superman with a secret identity of a print newspaper reporter works in a modern setting. Maybe if they set it in the 70s or 80s, but not in the 2020s.

I also think the whole idea of Superman being an incredibly powerful hero yet spending most of his time working as a reporter doesn't work either. I get the old idea that as a reporter, he can hear about problems that need his help sooner than the average person, but we live in a digital age now, where anyone can post newsworthy events on social media as they happen. Stories don't come in through the teletype. He doesn't need to work in old media anymore, he just needs a smart phone. And he can travel anywhere in the world almost instantly and use his powers to save people from natural disaters, crime, wars, domestic abuse, trafficking of guns, drugs, humans - there's always something that he could be doing, someone he could be helping, yet he prefers to hang around Metropolis and goop over Lois Lane.

I'd like to see a Superman story where he really feels the burden of trying to help everyone, so much so that he can't have a personal life. I guess that's why I've always liked Spider-Man more - Peter Parker felt that burden of responsibility in a way Superman never has (at least not on screen, I don't know if they ever did any comic stories about it).
Yet, when our superheroes are updated for modern times, the fan base screams that their childhoods have been (expletive) and that they want classic heroes.
 
Have they ever had a version of superman who really had a passion for journalism; vs just doing a job? Is there anything in the idea of a "superman can save a city, but truth, knowledge, and an informed populace can save the world" concept?

Is "journalist" just the best cover job because he can type and revise his work faster than a locomotive, and because he's not expected to be at the office in his chair because he's out "working a story", so he can spend all day stopping bank robbers and rogue scientific horrors beyond the comprehension of the human mind?
 
Have they ever had a version of superman who really had a passion for journalism; vs just doing a job? Is there anything in the idea of a "superman can save a city, but truth, knowledge, and an informed populace can save the world" concept?

Is "journalist" just the best cover job because he can type and revise his work faster than a locomotive, and because he's not expected to be at the office in his chair because he's out "working a story", so he can spend all day stopping bank robbers and rogue scientific horrors beyond the comprehension of the human mind?

I think the original idea was he would be getting first hand information about emergencies by working at the newspaper to go help people. I guess as a field reporter he can disappear a lot. I would think he sure wouldn't want to do too good a job, stand out and too much public attention someone figures him out.
 
I never really thought about it before but it's true. Being a modern MSM 'reporter' is not the same job today that it was 80 years ago. Clark Kent doesn't really have any motive to want that job today. And he arguably has some ethical reasons to avoid it.
 
1719628968253.png

So... this is my problem with what I'm seeing from this actor so far... a laaaaaarge part of what makes the Superman/Clark dichotomy work is that he has a different physicality in the two guises. Superman should stand much straighter and taller when he's in costume. Not stiff, but more erect. In all the superman pics I've seen of this actor, he's still slightly slouchy (in the image on the left, his shoulder look slightly rounded and forward instead of very much back and chest out) which BUGS the **** out of me.

Now, in fairness, they're stills. They could be caught in the midst of a transitional movement and not indicative of how he's actually carrying himself (the first trailers will be more telling), but none of the images I've been seeing from this film have sparked any excitement at all in me, which makes me sad.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 1835198
So... this is my problem with what I'm seeing from this actor so far... a laaaaaarge part of what makes the Superman/Clark dichotomy work is that he has a different physicality in the two guises. Superman should stand much straighter and taller when he's in costume. Not stiff, but more erect. In all the superman pics I've seen of this actor, he's still slightly slouchy (in the image on the left, his shoulder look slightly rounded and forward instead of very much back and chest out) which BUGS the **** out of me.

Now, in fairness, they're stills. They should be caught in the midst of a transitional movement and not indicative of how he's actually carrying himself (the first trailers will be more telling), but none of the images I've been seeing from this film have sparked any excitement at all in me, which makes me sad.
Like you said, they're just stills, and unofficial set pics at that. I'm not sure the pic on the left is actually a shot of him being filmed at the time - he might be between takes, as he's standing in the shade of a tree or something (I doubt they would be filming him in those lighting conditions). As with any of these unofficial pics, the onscreen look will vary a lot based on camera angles, lighting, final color grading and an CG magic they throw on top.
 
Like you said, they're just stills, and unofficial set pics at that. I'm not sure the pic on the left is actually a shot of him being filmed at the time - he might be between takes, as he's standing in the shade of a tree or something (I doubt they would be filming him in those lighting conditions). As with any of these unofficial pics, the onscreen look will vary a lot based on camera angles, lighting, final color grading and an CG magic they throw on top.
Yup. I'm just not excited by anything I see coming out of this movie so far. Too many characters being crammed in, Clark alter-ego looks like he's got a poodle perched on top of his head...

I dunno. I guess I'm just burned out on a lot of DC/WB projects. I haven't been genuinely excited for anything of their since The Suicide Squad.
 
IMO it's a mistake for the studio to get wedded to casting really big/tall actors in the role. They should cast like 6'1" actors and then manipulate his look onscreen by a couple inches to their advantage. Make him look taller with the standard tricks (shoe lifts, etc) when he's Superman and shorter when he's Clark.

Of course you don't wanna overdo it. But I think about 2 inches of subtle manipulation would work wonders for helping sell the Clark Kent secret identity. Maybe have a scene where he is shown intentionally slouching down, and demonstrate that he can "shrink himself" by willpower a little bit more than a normal human. (Again, a little bit. Not half a foot.) Maybe he's walking around with his knees slightly bent and holding his spine a bit more out of shape when people who know Clark are there to see him.

Compared to all the other goofy implausible powers they give Superman all the time, this would be minor.
 
Last edited:
IMO it's a mistake for the studio to get wedded to casting really big/tall actors in the role. They should cast like 6'1" actors and then manipulate his look onscreen by a couple inches to their advantage. Make him look taller with the standard tricks (shoe lifts, etc) when he's Superman and shorter when he's Clark.

Of course you don't wanna overdo it. But I think about 2 inches of subtle manipulation would work wonders for helping sell the Clark Kent secret identity. Maybe have a scene where he is shown intentionally slouching down, and demonstrate that he can "shrink himself" by willpower a little bit more than a normal human. (Again, a little bit. Not half a foot.) Maybe he's walking around with his knees slightly bent and holding his spine a bit more out of shape when people who know Clark are there to see him.

Compared to all the other goofy implausible powers they give Superman all the time, this would be minor.

It's really all about the performance:

 
Back
Top