io9 
Enter your username and password.
-
posts about #supermanlexluthor more → 
Superman Finally Kicks Lex Luthor To The Curb?
San Francisco, 3:44 AM
Mon Nov 9
12 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip your editors: tips@io9.com
Editor-in-Chief:
Annalee Newitz | Email
News Editor:
Charlie Jane Anders | Email
Associate Editor:
Meredith Woerner | Email
Assistant Editor:
Lauren Davis | Email
Weekend Editor:
Graeme McMillan | Email
Contributors:
Joshua Glenn
Stephen Goldmeier | Email
Ed Grabianowski | Email
Austin Grossman
Paul Hogan | Email
Lauren Davis | Email
Chris Hsiang | Email
Lynn Peril | Email
Ann VanderMeer
Alasdair Wilkins | Email
Graphic Designer:
Stephanie Fox | Email
Interns:
Tim Barribeau | Email
Julia Carusillo | Email
Alex Eichler | Email
Cyriaque Lamar | Email
Caitlin Petrakovitz | Email
Mary Ratliff | Email
Josh Snyder | Email
| posts about #supermanlexluthor more → |
Superman Finally Kicks Lex Luthor To The Curb? |
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
01/07/09
No, if they can't make it work with one of those three villains, they need to create one that blows them all out of the water. And if they're going to get Luthor to work for what would be the first time in cinematic history (Spacey could be great as Luthor, but he had crap for a script, and even less for a protagonist), they _NEED_ to do what Nolan has been doing for Batman, and read through some of the best Luthor stories to ever see print before even writing down the title for the next Superman movie. Even if they don't simply piece together bits of various hard-hitting stories, at least they should walk away with some idea of the true potential of the character. The last attempt felt like it was still written with Gene Hackman in mind (though, in a way that was appropriate, being that Routh was clearly playing Reeves).
01/06/09
As far as the sense of being a hero for humanity, I also have long felt that it is far more credible than rather than being an alien world that Krytpon should instead be a future dystopian Earth and that Superman should, in fact, be a refugee from a doomed future. It was recently pointed out to me by a reader in this blog that this storyline has been explored in Red Son. I find this more compelling than the alien Krypton because it is more believable given the unlikelihood that an alien would possess similar traits and behaviors to us. And I also find it intriguing that if the character is, in the end, human it speaks to our own potential in an optimistic way which the alien Superman origin is incapable of.
01/06/09
Ahem. I see nothing being smashed or punched in your thesis, Professor. *taps table*
01/06/09
In fact, I would say the Incredible Hulk makes a good example of why it may be a good idea to forget about the cliche of bundling a supervillain into the movie. The TV series with Bill Bixby that is. I don't recall that in the original series there were many supervillains and the TV show ended up being far more compelling and interesting than the movies managed to be.
01/06/09
01/06/09
If Chris Nolan was worried about what the audience expected he would have taken the films in the direction that Joel Schumacher did by making a movie designed to appeal to what he thought the fans might enjoy rather than to take a good look at the value of the material. I'm sure the WB was really enthusiastic about the money making success of that booger.
I think the studio will greenlight a movie based on their faith in the director's ability to make a film that will ultimately bring in a huge audience. It's a gamble as with all films, but death and mayhem aren't a sure a bet to a films success.
If you look at the more successful superhero flicks the constant isn't how villainous the supervillain happens to be but how the superhero relates to the audience. They're stories of inner strength, not physical strength. Whenever the focus has shifted away from the character of the hero, as was the case with the 3rd installments of Spiderman, X-Men, and the original Superman, the audience just doesn't care because that's not what they're there to see and that's not what makes these characters heroes.
In any case, my original point stands. I'm not opposed to an antagonist in the film. I just think there are enough problems in our world that the antagonist could easily be something or someone who is closer to reality rather than a supervillain, an overdone cliche for these films that lacks originality and misses the point.
01/06/09
I also think you're only half-right here, as Nolan himself has made no qualms about wanting to satisfy the fans.
NOLAN:[on the Dark Knight sequels] "Maybe there's so much expectation to them. But I wouldn't want to do one if it weren't going to be as good as the first or second. That's not respectful to the fans."
It is about keeping the fans happy AND about valuing the source material. Just as it's about challenging the protagonist with a strong antagonist AND about strong character focus.
There is middle ground to all this. Something I'd wager we all want.
01/07/09
Nolan could just as easily be referring to fans of his Batman movies instead of Batfans in general (and there are several varieties of the latter, and it would require a literal act of God to please every one of them with the same movie).
01/06/09
01/06/09
Animation is one thing; seeing the very air shatter around Darkseid as Superman hits him is something I'd like to see the FX guys try and do.
01/06/09
01/06/09
01/06/09
01/06/09
01/06/09
01/06/09
01/06/09
Honestly, I always felt Doomsday was boring.
01/06/09
I would be totally gung-ho for Darkseid... if they just redesigned him out of the Kirby portrayal.
That look has got to go.
01/06/09
01/06/09
01/06/09
01/06/09