It’s official. Superman is getting reboot. Earlier this week Warner Bros. said that nothing was going on with Superman right now as they were trying to figure out just what to do with the property.

It’s no secret to anyone, much less comic book and super hero fans, that Warner Brothers hasn’t quite been able to appropriately tap into what should be an easily accessible cavalcade of characters.

I have my opinions on this ranging from too many people trying to get in on the action to legal reasonings (what with the the ongoing battle between DC/WB and the Siegels and all) to ineptness on the part of the studio. While there may be some truth to all of these, one thing is certain. THE DARK KNIGHT has set a new standard for what Warner Brothers thinks a super hero movie should do for the studio. That’s good and bad.

Another certainty is that SUPERMAN RETURNS didn’t blow the doors off as everyone expected. I have my opinions on that as well. I loved SUPERMAN RETURNS, but I also see and understand the criticisms of the film. WB’s biggest criticism? It didn’t make enough money. Which, from a studio’s point of view, is a legit criticism of a film that was so costly in it’s production.

The final piece of the certainty equation? THE INCREDIBLE HULK from Universal and Marvel Studios showed movie-goers and movie makers that the reboot format can work and work well.

Armed with those facts, Warner Brothers has made the decision to reboot the Superman franchise on the big screen. (Can you hear the noise as half of fandom rises and cheers and the other half rises to grab their torches and pitchforks?) So, we will never know the fate of Jason, we will never see if Richard dies heroically or makes the turn to become Superman’s greatest nemesis, Lex Luthor and Kitty Kowalski are forever doomed to remain on a tiny uncharted piece of beach in God-knows-where, and most tragically Brandon Routh may never get to don the suit again.

In an article by the Wall Street Journal, Jeff Robinov, Warner Brothers’ Picture Group President, spilled the beans as to why WB is making this move in the here and now. Sadly, the success of THE DARK KNIGHT is leading the company to think that darker is the way to go with it’s heroes. That’s just dumb. Superman is not a dark character like Batman. My fear is that WB will attempt to do just that though, make every character Batman. Hopefully, the creators chosen to tackle not only Superman, but the vast amount of other properties Warners has at it’s disposal will not try to mimic what Christopher Nolan has done with BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT, but instead will explore the characters as we all know and love them.

This situation is good and it’s bad. That’s all there is to it. If you loved SUEPRMAN RETURNS then this news will come as a blow to you. If you hated SUPERMAN RETURNS then you are in the half of geekdom that is cheering. If, like me, you loved SUPERMAN RETURNS but are well aware of the problems the movie had, then, like me, you are waiting with very…extremely…cautions optimism that in the next few years we will once again believe that a man can fly.

To read the article in it’s entirity from the Wall Street Journal, click here.

Sorry, I haven’t posted anything in a while. I am gearing up for a few things including but not limited to my top 10 favorite super villains, a Dark Knight review (of course), and a few other things. Life has just been one thing after another lately and blogging has taken a back seat. Also, I’m going to try to get a new episode of Geek Out Loud up soon.

For now, though, I stumbled across this clip from The Tonight Show on YouTube. It’s fun to hear the audience laugh at a joke that isn’t all that fresh to any of us anymore, but you have to remember the audience, for the most part, is probably seeing this clip for the first time. Also, I thought it was an interesting clip to bring to a talk show. Nowadays, the temptation would be to bring a quicker more action packed moment.

Then, there’s the talk about the second film. I can only imagine if there were internet in those days. Movie news sites and the blogosphere would light up with speculation on what the sequel would hold for the audiences of the day.

The thing that strikes me most, however, is the humility and passion with which Reeve approaches this interview. The opening moments of the interview are some classic interactions between a few legends of the stage and screen. So, enjoy this interview with Christopher Reeve from The Tonight Show circa 1978:

Is there really any surprise here? I think the minute that Superman wasn’t number 2 and Batman wasn’t number 1, everyone knew where this thing was going.

I am unashamedly a fan of Superman. I have been for years, even though I forgot that for a while. I said from the outset of my top ten list, and I have said several times on Geek Out Loud, that my favorite super heroes are the ones who are heroes. Superman epitomizes this. He is a hero at his very core. Every villain he’s ever faced, every evildoer to ever cross his path, even those who claim to fight for the same tenants of truth and justice have pointed out that Superman’s biggest weakness is not krypronite, rather it is his concern for the people he has chosen to protect.

I also think it’s important to point out that Superman has CHOSEN to protect the people of the world. Wonder Woman is a warrior. Batman is on a crusade. Superman would love to be able to live a normal life, but he realizes he can’t sit back with all of his power and do nothing to save mankind. It can be a bit cheesy at times, and Superman has for years suffered criticism because of his do-gooder nature. It is that nature that interests me about the Man of Steel.

A lot of people complain about how powerful Superman is, but that appeals to me as well. It is a strong individual that can wield the power of Superman and not abuse it. His immense power speaks volumes about the strength of his character.

I guess I was introduced to Superman on a bath towel in our home. Seriously. It’s a towel with an image of Superman in the pose from the famous Superman #1 cover. Only instead of the Metropolis skyline as a background, there’s space and some kind of domed city. As a kid, I watched Superfriends on Saturday mornings, and reruns on whatever channels would show them. I also watched the old Filmation cartoons thanks to Bozo the Clown every now and again. I also watched the classic George Reeves Superman show every now and again when it happened to be showing on a Saturday afternoon. Then, of course, there was Superman the Movie and Superman II. I vaguely remember when these movies were being shown on television and how my family scrambled for a blank video tape on which to record them when they aired. Superman II was recorded after a Little House on the Prairie reunion movie. I never watched that movie…except for the end, the littel town was destroyed and there were bunnies all over the place. I digress.

My point is, that Superman has been with me for as long as I can remember, in many different forms, and he has been my favorite super hero for a long time.

Over the years, there have been many criticisms leveled at the Man of Steel. Among those criticisms are that he’s too good, he’s too powerful, and the combination of these things makes Superman boring. Therefore, I think the best way to explain my enjoyment of the character is by answering those criticisms.

As I’ve already said, I like the fact that Superman is so powerful. Let’s face it, through the years, Superman has been given some of the coolest super powers of any super hero. Invulnerability, super strength, x-ray vision, heat vision, super speed, and of course flight. Some would argue that his super breath is kinda lame. I like the power, but I can’t argue with that particular opinion. The thing about Superman is that his powers do not define him. Rather, what defines him is the use of his power. Ask anyone what they would do with the power Superman possesses and the real world answer would be something that would benefit the wielder of the power nine times out of ten. Superman, is completely different. He chooses to use his power to help others rather than himself. He chooses to serve rather than to lead. He chooses to inspire rather than to enforce. The most interesting stories to read about Superman are the stories where he has to make the decision to continue to walk that line. Mark Waid and Alex Ross’s KINGDOM COME is an excellent example of this. Superman crosses the line just slightly and begins to force others to do things his way and the results are quite destructive.

The other main criticism that people level at the last son of Krypton is that he is too good.  Referring to Superman as a boy scout has become somewhat of a backhanded comment, a little bit of an insult.   I disagree with people who think that he’s too good and that makes him boring.   Quite frankly, the fact that Superman chooses right and tries never to skirt the line of darkness makes him more interesting than Batman, Wolverine, The Punisher, or any number of anti-heroes.   Why?  Because in a world as filled with darkness and people who choose moral ambiguity over moral fiber, it’s harder to be a light than ever.  Superman is not naive.  He is not ignorant of the way the world is, but he chooses to keep his light shining as brightly as he possibly can.  That’s something that few super heroes are seen doing anymore.   It’s easy to blend in to the shadows and be a Dark Knight, there are a lot of shadows.  It’s easy to allow rage and revenge to consume the soul and become a Punisher.  It’s easy to shut out the world and ferociously attack like a Wolverine.  What’s not easy is to never cross the line.   It’s not easy to choose the light.  It’s not easy to carry the burden of doing the right thing over and over again.  Superman does it though.  Even when it’s hard to know what is right, when everything seems to be shades of gray, Superman chooses right.  That’s intriguing to me.  That’s interesting.

Finally, I find it amazing that an alien would inspire humanity the way Superman has.  How is this possible?  I think it’s because within every child there is the desire to grow up and be great.  Every child dreams of doing something with his life.  No one ever plans to fail.  No one every plans on being stuck in a monotonous job.  No one every plans on being ordinary their entire life.  Superman appeals to the child that still resides in all of us saying, “You can take what you have and do great things with it.  Don’t abuse your talent, your abilities, you time.  Use them to do the greatest things you can do.”  Though, we often don’t, we always wish we did.  Superman uses what he has to it’s fullest for the best of reasons.  That’s inspirational.  That’s something to work for.  That’s why he’s my favorite.

You know, I just realized that for the past two or three paragraphs, I’ve been writing about Superman as if he were real.  That’s what talking about the character does to me, he gets me talking like a kid again.  So, that’s it, that’s my top ten.  Now, up, up, and away.

In this episode, we look at my first review in a big time magazine.  Talk a bit about Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the rumored link between those two movies.  Then we jump into a little geeking out about Superman on film.  All this and some shout outs, shameless plugs, and geeky easter eggs on the return of the most “hard to stomach” podcast on the net.

Here’s the link promised on the cast:

 

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When I think superhero, I think Superman.  Period.  Also, I stand by my initial reaction to Superman Returns.  I loved it. 

Having said that, I think that Superman fans and superhero fans in general really hoped for a Superman movie that would blow us all away the same way BATMAN BEGINS did.  However,  what we got was  a remake of Richard Donner’s film from the seventies with a few updated special effects and some different plot points.  While Richard Donner’s film was THE film that defined superhero movies, as far as making the story as real as possible and not trying to be smarter than the source material, I think most fans thought that it was time for something new.   Well, Kalel1029 on YouTube gets it.  Check out his fan made trailer for a movie that he obviously wants to see, and now I do too.  He uses clips from other movies and audio from different Superman series to put together what is really an awesome video.   But, enough talk, check it out: