Nolan to reboot the Superman franchise!

[SPS]

Nolan to reboot the Superman Franchise

Well he's in a godfather role. But still huge news. Do I have to say that with Nolan guiding the franchise we will have a winner?

[Elliot Kane]

Quite probably.

This is good news. No superhero franchise has needed rebooting as badly as Superman for the longest time, now. Nolan has a proven record, so I expect great things with him involved.

[SPS]

The problem with Superman is making him relevant to today's audiences. I really see him as the "Man of Yesterday" rather than the "Man of Tomorrow". I really think they need to have Superman fight Mongul or Braniac in the first film and save Lex Luthor for the second. We've seen Lex in 4 out of the 5 previous films. He needs a rest. Give Superman a big threat that makes him sweat, and gives us an underdog we can root for. If Nolan can do that I would be happy.

[Elliot Kane]

I agree, SPS. Superman very much embodies the hopes, dreams and aspirations of the middle decades of the 20th century - a time when the world really felt like it was on the brink of Armageddon and the idea of a bright, shining godlike saviour was incredibly attractive.

With the fall of the Berlin Wall, Superman became irrelevant, though of course it took a few years for that to sink in. His popularity has noticeably dwindled since that time, though, and we feel like we need rescuing from different things, these days - hence the vast popularity of the Batman films. He lives in a far darker and more dystopian world, which is far more suited to how we see ourselves.

I think the middle decades of the 20th century could be characterised as 'fear what might be, hope for what could be'. The greater the hidden fear, the brighter the hope, as it were.

Today we fear less - but we hope less, too.

***

You do make a most interesting challenge, though. How to make Superman relevant to a modern audience. Any ideas? (Anyone?)

[Gray Lensman]

Simple. Make Superman about timeless values, and don't drown him in the dated elements of the canon. (And for the love of Heidegger, ditch the bloody Donner era... it was great in its day, but it's well past time to move on.) The better Superman comics have managed to tell a timeless Superman story... All-Star Superman, the Superman guest appearance in Hitman, and so forth. The ideals that Superman stands for-- truth, justice, and all that-- do not go out of style.

That said, I think it's possible to have a Superman who can see a darkening world and inspire others to be better human beings. The rural Midwestern values of Clark Kent do still exist, so there's no point in changing the character at all. I like the idea of Superman fighting for the soul of Metropolis, in a sense... he's saving the world from itself.

As for villains... yeah, Lex is great, but there are other opponents for Supes out there. Brainiac and General Zod are probably the best of the bunch after Lex.

As to the Nolan news... well, good. A clean reboot of Superman is a good idea, and frankly what they should have done to begin with. Is Nolan the guy to do it? I dunno... he was awesome for Batman, but I'm unsure that he'd be the right fit. We'll see, though... he's earned the cred to make the attempt.

[Elliot Kane]

The two examples I intended to bring up myself were Morrisons's and Ennis'. Sometimes it's scary how much we still think alike, Steve! ;D

[Gray Lensman]

Indeed so... though to be fair, All-Star Superman is kind of the obvious example... ;D

[Elliot Kane]

True

Morrison concentrated on Superman-as-messiah and his version is absolute mythology, which is why it works so well. Everything from knowing he's going to die to forcing himself back to life one last time to save humanity from itself has echoes in many religions, old and new. Yet Morrison challenged him in the only way he can truly be meaningfully challenged - as a man, not as a god. That's why ASS worked the way it did.

Ennis, of course, took what was almost the reverse view, stripping away most of the mythology and leaving Superman as a good person who also happened to carry the weight of these truly incredible powers and the expectations he places on himself because of them.

I think either method works, so that should be where Nolan goes...

[Gray Lensman]

Pretty much, yeah.

The other approach is the idea of Superman as the ultimate immigrant. The man from another world who strives to give back to the planet that adopted him. Ennis really excelled in developing that concept, and it's one that still has a lot of power even today. No reason that couldn't be captured on film just as easily.

[Elliot Kane]

Yes and no. That might (Or might not) play well in the US these days, but it'll certainly play less well in Britain and much of Europe, where immigration is creating rising tensions in too many countries. It's very much a hot potato, and probably best left alone for that reason.

You'd think the idea that immigrants should fully integrate with their new country would be uncontentious, wouldn't you? Sadly, this is not so...