Superman Returns... Again

Earlier today, I posted an article on the sidebar with three major comic book writers talking about how they would "reboot" the Superman movie franchise. It's been a topic under a lot of discussion lately as it was comic writer Mark Millar who implied that he had been asked for his pitch by the studios. Until then, it was all but assumed that JJ Abrams would helm any possible next Superman movie with Brandon Routh resuming the role.

Now? All bets seem to be off.

It's interesting because something about Superman Returns always bugged me a bit. There were elements of it that I liked a lot and some that I didn't care for too much but all in all, I thought it was a decent attempt. Superman is a tough character to write for in any medium so it's tough to have high expectations for it, I think - somewhat similar to Hulk in that respect.

I can still remember the debut of footage from the movie at Comic-Con in 2005. The footage was cut together so beautifully. When the John Williams score started up and the Brando voice was heard, the place went nuts. So nuts in fact that they had to show the footage a couple of more times before all was said and done. It was the perfect example of a director showing up at Comic-Con and saying the right things and showing the right cut of footage to whip people into a frenzy.

Unfortunately, the end product fell a little flat. And as I was reading the article, Mark Waid hit the nail on the head finally as to what bothered me the most about it.

If you’re making the movie in a vacuum, and there will be no other Superman movies ever again, go ahead and give him a son. But otherwise, that’s a staggeringly awful idea. What are you going to do next? Either the kid has to be a part of his life, or get superpowers, which no one wants to see

Exactly! And it's not just the kid that missed the mark. As I thought about it more and more throughout the day, more and more things about the movie bothered me.

-- One sequence with Ma Kent. Her son was gone for years and that's all we get?

-- Lois is married with a kid? Yeah, everyone REALLY wants Superman to be a homewrecker. The kid thing is just wrong. It was the number one thing that bugged me about it when I left the theater.

-- The "death" of Superman. This essentially killed off any chance of doing the Doomsday story which has the potential to be an awesome piece of work if the franchise can get back on its feet.

So, there's those among others.

In the end, I think Waid nailed it. If it's made in a vacuum, it becomes a better movie. But as the relaunch point for a new franchise, it falls flat.

Now the question becomes will Warner Bros have the cajones to admit it and let someone pull a Batman Begins/Incredible Hulk "reboot" on it.

We shall see.

Top Five Friday: Comic Book Movies

With Iron Man hitting screens this week, it seems like an appropriate time to look back at some of the very best comic book adaptations to hit the big screen.

So, let's!

NOTE: I haven't seen Iron Man yet [but hope to this weekend] so that one won't make the list... yet! Also, I haven't watched Transformers yet so... well, subject to change!

5. Blade

It's odd. As I started thinking of movies to put together on this list, my mind drifted to movies that a lot of people don't even associate as having a comic book as their source materials. Things like 300 or Sin City could've easily made the list as well but just fell short. Another thing that's weird about the list I came up with is that as much of a stickler as I am for staying true to your source material, the majority of the movies that came to mind I had very little familiarity with the original source or the movie was notorious for tossing it aside. Anyways, Blade is just flat out cool. It's a comic I've never read - not even after seeing the movie and really had no desire to. But the movie version of Blade is awesome - although I think it is helped greatly by the tremendous performance of Stephen Dorff as Deacon Frost, one of the all-time great movie villains that is criminally overlooked and underappreciated when that discussion comes up.

4. Batman
How could you not like things like the Bat Shark Repellant? Or the zany popups on the screen with "POW!" or "THWACK!"

...

Huh? Oh. Not _that_ Batman.

Gotcha. Well, the Nicholson one was good too. And really, isn't Nicholson the key to the first Batman movie? It may not be the Joker performance that comic book fans were dying to see... and in just a few weeks time, we may discover it's not even the best Joker performance in a movie... but it's Jack being Jack and being Jack to perfection. All the one-liners are gold. "This town needs an enema!" "Never rub another man's rhubarb!" "If you've gotta go, go with a smile!" Michael Keaton is... okay. Keaton was good as the dopey, bumbling side of Bruce Wayne... but Bruce Wayne doesn't have a dopey, bumbling side. Before Batman Begins came out, I used to say that Keaton was a good Batman but a bad Bruce Wayne - Kilmer was a good Bruce Wayne but a bad Batman - Clooney was just plain bad. Christian Bale pretty much broke the mold but more on that later. Anyways, give full credit for this making the list to Jack Nicholson... or a cameo by Lando Calrissian as pre-scarred Harvey Dent.

3. The Crow
Another comic book movie that I've never read the comic book of - despite owning a t-shirt promoting the comic that I bought at Hot Topic as a youth and wore endlessly resulting in many a photo from my youth where I'm wearing the t-shirt... and I never read it... and I shopped at Hot Topic... somebody just wipe all those memories out of my head please. The Crow was an utterly fantastic movie that I just realized I don't own on DVD and felt absolutely sick about it. The epitome of a revenge flick and just about perfect in every aspect. It's dark, it's creepy, but it still tells the story and doesn't get lost in the violence. And if nothing else, it brought two quotes into my world that I love to death. The first? "It can't rain all the time." I spout this one off from time to time when it seems like things just can't get worse - a glimmer of light in a very dark and gloomy world at times. The other? The one that prompted my good friend Poff Daddy to air-hump any light post, mailbox, video game, golf club or anything else that would give him the opportunity to bellow "BANGIN' AWAY ON DARRRRLA!" at the top of his lungs on any number of nights. Ahhh, memories.

2. Batman Begins

I just couldn't do it. As much as I wanted to rank this number one for being very close to a perfect comic book adaptation, I just couldn't do it. I love the acting [for the most part,] I love the story, I love the lighting, the set design, the "toys", everything about it. Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow stole the movie for me actually - he lit up the screen with charisma every time he was on it. I could've done with him as the lone villain in it. I can watch this movie over and over and seemingly never tire of it. So, why didn't it get the top spot?

1. Superman 2

Sigh. How could I not? It was a hard choice, I'll admit. Batman Begins did a worlds better job of sticking to the source material - something I treasure in a comic book movie... hell, any adapted flick generally. But there's something magical about Superman 2. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's Superman making the great sacrifice to be Clark for the rest of his days for his love - only to realize that he was being selfish and society needed him to be Superman. Maybe it's the menacing trio of villains - the brawn, the sexy siren, or the brains. Maybe it's the face that the phrase "Kneel before Zod" is a permanent part of pop culture because of it. I don't really know what it is but I'll be damned if Superman 2 isn't the best comic book movie ever released on Planet Houston.

And that's that.

Superman vs Wolverine!

Impossible, you say?

Imagine the not-so-distant future. You race into your local comic store on Wednesday, quickly looking over the racks to find your favs. Captain America is back... and yes, it's an alive Steve Rogers. Batman's in some kind of grave danger and questioning his role in society... check. Spider-man is back to being a mystery and the Punisher is still killing people.

You grab for the latest edition of the Justice League of America. The team is engaged in some major battle... all the major players are involved... Batman, Wonder Woman, GL, Flash... there seems like there's someone missing though. Can't quite place who but something just doesn't seem quite right.

You pick up all the Superman books. They're all still there. But again, something's just a little different. The numbering of the books seems off too and the logo is... hrmm.

You're flipping through the pages of the Superman issue. Was that Nick Fury? Couldn't have been.

You grab for a copy of the Avengers. Yep, they're all there too. Cap, Thor, Iron Man... hey, who's the guy with the big "S" on his chest? That's weird.

As you reach the register, there's a giant pile of books that are among the most-hyped. You look at the cover... it's a shot of Wolverine attempting to shove his claws into the guts of Superman. It's a beautifully done cover and as you marvel [no pun intended] at the company cooperation... you notice no DC logo on the book. It's Marvel only.

And you wake up with a start! Whew, that was a close one. A world where Marvel controlled Superman? Now _that_ was a dream... or a nightmare.

Or was it?

A couple weeks ago, Warner Bros lost a lawsuit to determine who owned the rights to Superman. The court ruled the rights belonged to the heirs of Siegel and Schuster, the original creators.

What's that mean?

Well, it means that the heirs could tell WB to shove it and kill any upcoming Superman film properties.

It also means, in five years time when the contract expires, they could very well sell the comic book rights to Marvel.

Will it happen? Probably not.

But Superman gone from the JLA? The Big Three becomes the Big Two? Marvel gets the Man of Steel?

The mind boggles at the possibilities.