Superman Mostly Sucks

I have never liked Superman. My introduction to the world of superheroes came through Tobey Maguire's Spiderman and the original X-Men movies. I liked my superheroes to be conflicted everymen (women) with powers. Superman made me feel bad about my self.

Look at this group of attractive conflicted individuals.

The guy was glitzy and confident and virtually indestructible. Sure krypton made him whine but what the hell is krypton? That is not even a thing. That is not a compelling adversary. There is no sympathetic origin story there. Super heroes are knocked down again and again. And they rise up again and again ("Why do we fall down sir? So we can learn to pick ourselves up" Alfred Pennyworth.) I don't know what I am supposed to glean from a superhero that doesn't fall.

Yea I am talking about you

And you

And you

I think Henry Cavill changed my mind.

Not you

Cavill, while playing Superman, uses four out of the five facial expressions he is capable of to expresses sadness. He plays the hero as a confused black sheep. In his first appearance as (bird, plane) Superman in Man of Steel, what might have been played as a big moment, Clark Kent donning the canonized cape and blasted off into the sky, is not. At first I felt let down by a scene that could have been jokey like when spiderman is learning how to websling but then I realized that this is Superman attempting tragedy. I appreciate this. The moment instead of being epic is bleak. Clark is flying but he doesn't want to want to. During his crash and tumble practice his falls are heartbreaking because they show how though he can fly, making him an outsider in the human world, he was not raised doing it, it is not easy for him, he is an outsider to his alien people as well. He is an outsider to all. That is sad.

Tragedy is further introduced by Clarks parents. Clark's dad is a dick. Jonathon says the exact same words to Clark that the parents of Elsa in Frozen said to her. And those parents got a lotta hate. Jonathon tells his son to hide his powers, that the world cant handle him. He dies for that message. That is some messed up shit. Clark's dad actually DIES to keep him from being himself. Its impressive that Clark doesn't pull an Elsa and destroy his whole town. Jonathon being an asshat is good though because once again, tragedy. Classically Superman has a lalala childhood. Jonathon gives Clark texture.

Dick.

These two small parts in an over- archingly poor movie gave me hope about superman (also cheekbones). Now, I am not familiar with the comics but I think the superman of the movies doesn't have to be a dud. All the pieces are there that could make him as empathetic and captivating as Batman or Magnento. Being indestructible has always made Superman stories turn from "will he survive?" to "will he survive in a morally superior way?" Because Superman will win the battle the intrigue now lies in how he does it while remaining "human." At least that's what I think it would be interested for the stories to do. Instead the bad guys keep getting bigger and more powerful. That fails at raising the stakes. I want to see a Superman that struggles with his invincibility. What if he is walking down the street and sees a mugging. He moves to stop it and the mugger shoots at him. He is fine but the bullet bounces off him and hits the women he is trying to protect. What if his very body was an obstacle in protecting people. That is a Superman with layers.

More of this.

#Superman #tragedy #Elizabeth