Matt Reeves’ The Batman has successfully reinvented the Caped Crusader on the big screen. It’s about time Superman was similarly reinvented. But instead of doubling down on the darkness like Reeves’ horror-tinged neo-noir epic did with Gotham’s masked protector, Warner Bros. should pump its resources into a more faithful Superman reboot that begs the ultimate Superman question: what if an all-powerful being used those powers for the good of mankind?
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Nearly a century after Superman was introduced as the original superhero, solidifying all the hallmarks of the now-familiar archetype, the “evil Superman” stories arrived as a fun change of pace. Characters like Homelander have challenged the “hero worship” of the superhero genre and drawn cynical parallels with alarming real-world politics. But if the same subversion is copied over and over again, it ceases to be subversive. With two Prime Video series and a bunch of movies, including actual Superman movies, digging into this anti-Superman notion, anti-Superman has become the norm. What would really be subversive right now is a Superman movie about the real Superman. Homelander was established as the anti-Superman; now, it’s time for Superman to make a comeback as the anti-Homelander.
Christopher Nolan’s gritty, hard-edged Batman movies injected the superhero genre with a healthy dose of darkness. Audiences responded so enthusiastically to Nolan’s style that the studios ended up trying out the Dark Knight style on just about every comic book property they could get their hands on, whether it suited the source material or not. This darker, grittier sensibility worked wonders for some superhero properties – like Wolverine, Judge Dredd, and the Punisher – but it didn’t work at all for other heroes who suit a more fun, lighthearted tone like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four.
Superman falls into the latter category, but he was given one of the grittiest reboots of all. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel introduced audiences to a Superman who wasn’t really interested in being Superman. This dark Superman revamp was produced by Nolan himself and scripted by David S. Goyer, who co-wrote The Dark Knight trilogy with Nolan and his brother. The tone that Nolan, Goyer, and Snyder brought to the table was as wrong for Superman as it was right for Batman. Henry Cavill would’ve been the perfect casting for a lighter, friendlier take on Supes, but his cynical, mopey Clark Kent didn’t work at all. Cavill’s Superman is conflicted over whether or not to use his powers to help people. But Superman’s real conflict is not being able to save everybody who needs to be saved. He’s capable of just about anything, but he can’t be in more than one place at one time, so he inevitably falls short of his quest for peace.
Modern Hollywood blockbusters tend to avoid sincerity, as if they’re scared of social media trolls catching them taking themselves too seriously. The MCU uses “bathos” to undercut dramatic moments so Marvel can maintain the illusion that they’re too cool for school. But Patty Jenkins proved with Wonder Woman that a sincere, ingenuous tone can work beautifully in the realm of superhero spectacle. Jenkins’ heartfelt approach – matched by Gal Gadot’s equally heartfelt performance in the title role – gave audiences a truly inspiring hero. With Wonder Woman, Jenkins has laid out the perfect tonal blueprint for a more accurate cinematic portrayal of the last son of Krypton. Maybe Jenkins could even reboot the Superman franchise herself.
Warner Bros. might be dubious about making a big-budget tentpole about a bright-eyed, optimistic hero – essentially a goody-two-shoes Boy Scout in a cape – in today’s pessimistic moviegoing climate. But that’s precisely why a faithful Superman movie would arrive as a breath of fresh air right now. Subversive characters like Homelander and Omni-Man are a lot of fun, but audiences need more than just omnipotent antiheroes they love to hate. They need heroes they can look up to, and Superman is the pinnacle of that. His very existence and his sustained longevity have proven there was a gap for that in the market. But his big-screen adventures haven’t reflected that for over a decade. Another hopeful, brightly colored Superman movie that makes audiences believe a man can fly is long overdue.
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