Last night I went to an early showing of "Superman Returns," the first time the legendary Man of Steel has been on the big screen in almost 20 years. Or over 25 years, if you forget about Superman III and IV, and I strongly suggest you do. I have. And with this return we've finally received what we've all been waiting for: yet another new version.
Reviews have been mostly positive, but some loyal fans have objected to some of the movie's surprising new revelations. I won't spoil the surprise by mentioning Lois' shocking new lifestyle choice (cannibalism), but I have to wonder; exactly which Superman are these fans worrying about changing?
Every new incarnation of The Man of Tomorrow has brought us something new. In the last 70+ years Superman has been powerful, all-powerful, powerless, cocky, polite, naive, and insightful. He's had different costumes and different powers. He's been an old man, a teen hero, a super-powered baby, a reporter, a news anchor, a novelist, married, and dead. There have been short ones, fat ones, tall ones, skinny ones, even Supermen with alien chicken pox. There have been multiple Supermen at the same time, and even more on different Earths/dimensions/whatevers.
More... Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Apparently the DC comics with gorillas on the cover back in that era sold more copies than the ones lacking a purple-hued simian.
Hence, we got Titano (the gorilla with Kryptonite eyes!), Gorilla Grodd, Gorilla City, Congorilla, Angel & the Ape, and the Mod Gorilla Boss! Not to be confused with the plain ol' Gorilla Boss of Gotham City.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Oh, yes. And Stan Lee dabbled a little bit with apes over at Marvel. We saw the Gorilla-Man, the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes, and Gorr (Death is a Golden Gorilla!)
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I NEVER buy comic books that don't have a gorilla on the cover.
(but then again, I don't buy them if they DO have a gorilla on the cover, either)
Posted by starLisa (Member # 8384) on :
I can see why.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I loved Superman in Lois and Clark. I don't think he was so much neurotic as more human.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Sorry, I just finished watching season three again last week and there was far more attention paid to Lois and Clark's feelings and miscommunication than there was to the bad guys. Not that it was a bad thing, I like the show, but it was definitely there.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Yep, Dean Cain was probably my favorite Superman to date. But Chris is right about the storyline focusing more on the relationship between the two than on Superman saving the world. It was becoming evident in the last 2-3 episodes of Season 2, which was where I dropped off. Not that I didn't like a mushy Supe, just got distracted with other stuff... like a toddler. Once it's available on Netflix, I'll finally get to see the rest.
I'll eventually see Returns, but I don't know when.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: I loved Superman in Lois and Clark. I don't think he was so much neurotic as more human.
I agree. However, the man was a LUNKHEAD. I give you late Season 2 and early Season 3 (most especially, but not exclusively, When Irish Eyes Are Killing).
In any case, this:
quote:"I have to stop a bank robbery, Lana/Lois, making this the seventh episode in a row we couldn't talk about the feelings that are tearing us up inside. Sorry."
was right on target. Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
M-m-m-m. Dean Cain.
... But I'm not really a "comics" person; I'd rather see the character interactions anyway.
Posted by Enigmatic (Member # 7785) on :
quote: every version of Superman throughout the years has embodied what is great about America and humanity.
And fighting giant gorillas.
That's a little redundant, don't you think? I'd edit it to "what is great about America and humanity: Fighting giant gorillas."
--Enigmatic
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
quote:Originally posted by Goody Scrivener: Yep, Dean Cain was probably my favorite Superman to date. But Chris is right about the storyline focusing more on the relationship between the two than on Superman saving the world. It was becoming evident in the last 2-3 episodes of Season 2, which was where I dropped off. Not that I didn't like a mushy Supe, just got distracted with other stuff... like a toddler. Once it's available on Netflix, I'll finally get to see the rest.
I'll eventually see Returns, but I don't know when.
They have toddlers on Netflix, now?
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
I'm waiting for Netflix to ship me disc 3 of season 3 of Lois and Clark right now. I almost always prefer the episodes that are relationship focused over the supervillain focused ones in that series. Sometimes the camp works (I kind of enjoyed Jonathan Frakes' over-the-top baddie, for example), but more often than not it falls flat, at least to my eye.
Posted by Puffy Treat (Member # 7210) on :
Lois & Clark was dead to me the moment they dropped Cat and replaced Jimmy.
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