While I am as big a Batman fan as they come, and I will always argue that Batman is a 100 times cooler and better than that Metropolis boy scout Superman. there is no denying the incredible legacy of the Man Of Steel.
Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1933, Superman made his official first appearance in Action Comics #1 in June 1938 which marks 2013 as the 75th Anniversary. Celebrating this golden anniversary, Warner Brothers will be releasing the latest Superman film, Man Of Steel this Friday. Man Of Steel stars Henry Cavill as Superman and is directed by Watchmen and 300director, Zack Synder.
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Superman has enjoyed many mediums beyond the pages of DC Comics. Television shows like The Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves, Lois & Clarkstarring Dean Cain & Terri Hatcher to most recently Smallville starring Tom Welling, all enjoyed many seasons of success. Of course there were the cartoons like The SuperFriends of the 1970’s to the groundbreaking Superman: The Animated Series of the mid to late 1990’s. More standalone animated features continue to be made to this day. But its true legacy beyond the comic book pages and the one that most fans have the most debate over, is the films.
When Man Of Steel takes flight at midnight nationwide it will mark the sixth feature film made and the first since 2006’s Superman Returns. When Superman: The Movie starring the late Christopher Reeves, hit theaters in 1978 it was truly the first true comic book film to come to life with wonderful special effects of the time period and a timeless score by John Williams. The bar had been set and every other comic related film would measure itself to this very special film.
While the first two Superman films were by far the best and most memorable, three and four, well, they were also memorable but for all the wrong reasons. And then there is Superman Returns starring Brandon Routh. Which, in many ways was more of a sequel to Part 2 than a continuation or a simple reboot of the franchise. Personally, I enjoyed it. Yes, it was a bit long at 2hrs 34mins, but I thought Brandon Routh was very good and credible as Clark Kent/Superman. Unfortunately despite its overall box-office success, there were no sequels to be made. The film future of Superman was in great doubt.Hoping to achieve what Batman Begins did for the Batman films, Man Of Steel is a retelling of the origin story. Let’s hope it not only fulfills the desires of the legion of Superman fans who have been patiently waiting for this but also bring to the fold a new fandom. Can it duplicate the same success as Batman Begins did? If so, Superman and DC Comics as a whole have an unlimited future ahead of it when it comes to films. If not, well… we’ll all cross that proverbial bridge if and when we get to it. Till that time, let’s hope Man Of Steel soars to great heights and be the box-office hero we all know he can be.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
