Hello and welcome to Wasted Plotential, where we discuss the wasted potential of our favourite
plotlines.
According to a recent (at the time I wrote this) Forbes article, DC still doesn't know
what to do with Superman on film and how to "make him relevant." Sandman creator Neil
Gaiman responded by saying, "You don’t make it relevant. You make it inspiring." Personally,
I think you can do both. In fact, to make it relevant in this day and age, you kinda
have to make it inspiring to avoid it being more depressing than Batman v Superman. So,
that's what we're going to discuss today: how to make a modern Superman movie that is
both relevant and inspiring.
Both of these goals are tackled with separate aspects of the film: the plot is relevant
and the character is inspiring, naturally. Let's start with the latter.
Superman is the ultimate symbol of hope. Not just within the DCU but, I would argue, in
our world as well. There's just something inherently inspiring and hopeful about the
image of Superman hovering overhead, his cape billowing like a flag in the wind. But, it
takes more than just that to stick the landing, as we all learned the hard way from the dour,
depressing take on the character we were subjected to in the DCEU. The most inspiring thing he
did was cameo at the end of Shazam. And before that, the last time he inspired someone was
when he was dead.
The thing about Superman that a lot of people miss is that there are two distinct, yet equal
halves to his character: the Super and the Man. The Super is the powerset; the thing
dumb teenagers want to see used to rip people apart. But the Man is really the most important
part. It's the personality behind the power. This part is the reason why many people's
favourite versions of Superman are Christopher Reeve, DCAU and All-Star Superman. It's the
man with extraordinary powers that, rather than defining him, simply enable him to do
the right thing, which is what truly defines him. It's why Injustice and Zack Snyder's
takes miss the mark so much.
Let's put it this way: There were two major crossovers between Marvel and DC. The first
painted Superman as a counterpart to The Hulk, because both are super strong and stuff. The
second painted him as such to Captain America, because both are noble, inspiring leaders
of their respective teams, who do the right thing simply because it is the right thing.
And the latter was far more interesting for it.
For an idea of how to characterise him, there's a short fan film called One on One. It's a
simple story about Clark Kent talking with a young woman in a park. We never see him
in costume, nor using any of his powers. It's just Clark Kent talking with a cynical young
woman who doesn't believe in Superman. And you know what? It's a hell of a lot more inspiring
than anything the DCEU version ever did. I was pointed to this fan film by someone who
compared it to a short story I wrote a while ago, where Lois Lane conducts the first ever
interview with Superman, and he slowly wins over the cynical Lois with his very genuine
responses to her questions. Obviously, inspired by this wonderful scene in the original Superman
movie. People really seemed to like that one, so check both it and the fan film out. Both
are good examples of how I would characterise him, and I'd probably include scenes just
like those two in the film. Links are in the description.
Ultimately, the thing that makes Superman so inspiring is the same thing that makes
characters like Captain America and Spider-Man inspiring: they just want to do the right
thing for its own sake, and they are uniquely empowered to do so. There's a certain... inspiring
sincerity in those characters. So, if it works for those two on film, why can't it also work
for Superman? Especially in an era where hope for the future is constantly dwindling thanks
to self-interested cunts obtaining more and more power, who refuse to do anything to help
solve the world's larger issues, and instead constantly fuck over others for their own
gain. And on that note, let's talk about how to make Superman relevant.
I feel that the desire to make the big blue boy scout "relevant" has crippled a number
of attempts at bringing this character to life in the past, and I don't think he necessarily
even needs to be that, but if one must do that, it really isn't difficult. Once again,
Superman is a symbol of hope. How do you make a symbol of hope relevant in 2020? Well, what
reasons do people in 2020, particularly Americans in 2020, have to feel a lack of hope? Maybe
having an egomaniacal billionaire in the White House, transparently using the presidency
purely to advance his own self-interested business goals. Hmmmmmmmmm... Or daily instances
of innocent people being hurt or killed by psychopaths with needlessly devastating weaponry,
which the aforementioned billionaire and his staff are seemingly doing nothing to combat?
HMMMMMMMMM!
Donald Trump already is the real life Lex Luthor, so use that. Coupled with, as a friend
point out, Lex's canonical xenophobia towards our alien protagonist, the allegory writes
itself. Of course, you don't add anything to Lex to make him more like Trump. Doing
that runs the risk of turning him into MK11 Shao Kahn, and you don't want the subtext
to become just explicit text. No need for sexist comments, unwanted sexual advances
on Lois Lane, or "Make X Great Again" lines. He works fine for our purposes exactly as
he is.
President Lex is currently in office and there are daily attacks by supervillains, which
Lex is not lifting a finger to stop and is actually profiting from, intentionally or
otherwise. This is the world in which Clark Kent moves to Metropolis and adopts the cape
and tights as Superman - a symbol of hope and optimism, that may seem to some a little
corny and old-fashioned, but hey... Phil Coulson: "People might just need a little
old-fashioned." Clark wants to give people hope in this dark
time, which is difficult with Lex's anti-alien propaganda, that many people just eat up out
of fear and ignorance. Kinda like in the Supergirl show, but with more tact. This causes people
to doubt Superman until he does something really big at the end. This inspires the people,
gives them hope, which can extend beyond the confines of the cinematic world he inhabits
and into our own world, inspiring hope that things can get better. Of course, in order
to achieve this, there are other characters, such as Lois and Jimmy, who must do the right
thing as well, even without powers. Clark himself probably has a moment where, despite
having lost his powers due to some form of kryptonite or red sun radiation, he still
goes after Lex to stop his villainous scheme. This shows that you don't need superpowers
to stand up and do the right thing, even when it seems like all avenues to do so are being
blocked off by people who wield far more power than they should legally and morally be allowed.
That is how you make a Superman that is both inspiring and relevant in the 2020's. This
really isn't difficult. If Henry Cavill had been given this kind of Superman to portray,
we could've had soemthign really special here, and we wouldn't have had to wait for The Witcher
to learn what an absolute giga-chad Cavill really is.
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with you.
Today's recommended video is Why The World Still Needs Superman by Owen Likes Comics.
It popped up in my feed just as I was prepping to make this video and genuinely scared me
that it would touch on the same points and invalidate this one. It didn't, fortunately.
But it's a good watch, regardless.