If I Were in Charge of a Superman Movie

The Batman has me thinking a lot about the future of DC movies. It seems like the DCEU as we knew it with Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill is done after The Flash comes out later this year. DC will probably make a new isolated Superman series, and it’s probably not going to be good! Why? Because Superman is a hard character to sell these days. Zack Snyder’s interpretation works for some, but not most. I loved it, but here’s what I would do if I were in charge.

Don’t Make it About Superman

I know that makes no sense, but let me explain. Everyone knows the origin story of Superman well enough already. The most recent iterations of Batman and Spider-Man have all moved past the beginnings and just thrust everyone into the action. I say take it a step further and don’t even make the movie about Superman himself, but more about the impact he has on other characters and how they act in response.

Why? A story that is too strictly about Superman is about a character few people find convincing or relatable. It isn’t the 30’s, 40’s or 50’s anymore. The platonic ideal of “Truth, Justice, and the American Way” in human shape and flowing cape just isn’t interesting. People don’t care about an all-powerful goody-two-shoes, it’s too idealistic for the cynical age we live in. But, to make Superman cynical would betray his character. Instead, I think people would enjoy a movie where Superman is presented more as a force of nature. Everything else is well-tread ground.

Make Lois Lane the Main Character

You know how in “Tangled,” the main character is obviously supposed to be Rapunzel but it isn’t? Flynn tells us right as the movie opens that it is his story. And it’s true, he is the one who makes the big, game-changing decisions. He helps Rapunzel find her freedom, and he’s the one who cuts her hair. In a similar fashion, I think a story about Lois Lane as the true main character would be refreshing, because her perceptions can flavor how Superman is represented. Man of Steel sort of did this during the montage at the end of the movie with Lois’ narration.

Use a New Superman Villain

BUT, the story must focus on other people’s interactions with the big blue boy scout. Part of the movie should come from a villain’s perspective. I would choose one that hasn’t been put to film yet, like Parasite, Metallo, or the Ultra-Humanite. Brainiac would be great, but that deserves a Superman-centric story, and he might show up in the upcoming Supergirl movie. It’s my life’s dream to write a comic or make a movie where the virtually unknown antagonist Limnus is the main villain, but I would want to bank on a character people are at least vaguely aware of.

I’m leaning toward the Ultra-Humanite since he was Superman’s main villain before Lex Luthor, and his intellectualism would be a great way to frame his perspective. The movie could spend a lot of time showing him studying Superman and looking for weaknesses through footage of old fights Superman had been in. A bad guy obsessed with Superman could show a uniquely neurotic perspective we rarely get instead of Lex Luthor’s brand of cool, refined calculation. Plus, Ultra-Humanite dialogue would be so brilliant to write and hear spoken by someone like Anthony Head or someone else with that same mixture of caliber and quirk.

A Variety of Perspectives

Overall, the way the Ultra-Humanite views Superman would be very different from how Lois views him. A small role for a Jimmy Olsen would be in order as well, to offer another change in perspective.

I would also want to adapt the internet-famous All-Star Superman #10 (Grant Morrison) comic panels where Superman helps prevent a suicidal girl from jumping off a building. This would be essential to the movie, because I would want to show that Superman does good in the best possible way. He doesn’t catch the girl after she jumps. He does not interfere with her agency. He talks to her, and shows his support, giving her the strength to keep going. That’s a distinction that isn’t focused on enough in modern Superman media, in my opinion. Superman doesn’t just save people, he helps inspire them to be better people.

Original Superman comics showed him rescuing miners from a collapsed mine, and confronting crony bankers for their unethical business practices. Fights big enough to trash Metropolis couldn’t happen, and they didn’t need to. We need more Superman conflicts/encounters where the fate of the world isn’t on the line. Small moments of heart, showing the humanity of an alien who volunteered to serve humanity, just because he believes in them.

Also, sprinkle in some little moments where Clark Kent is doing things in the background, but the focus isn’t on him. Nobody notices him, but he does things like catching a child’s balloons before they fly away and helping someone who can’t find their glasses.

A New Setting for Superman

Every Superman movie has been up-to-date with the time at which the movie came out. I think it would be refreshing to have the movie take place in 1939, the year Action Comics #1 was published. Old timey cars and suits would be fantastic, plus, when Superman is seen in costume, they could show off some of the older Superman character designs, like the original S shield. The hair curl would look less out of place in that time period too.

Well, it looks like there’s a lot more I want to talk about with this topic than makes sense for one blog, so stay tuned for a part 2 eventually!

Check out my Latest Novel, Withered Kingdom Today!