Superman & Me: A New Beginning (Part 3 of 3)
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Last time I shared that ever since I was 5 years old I had been captivated with Superman. Through the years from cartoons to comics to movies and tv shows, The Man of Steel has been a big part of my ‘Wonder Years’. (Oh yeah you remember that show come one…) Well 2006 rolled around I had invested 5 years to Smallville, the longest running Superman related live action television show ever. As great as this show was I longed to see my favorite hero on the big screen again. The last time that had happened was in the late 80′s with Superman VI: The Quest for Peace. Unfortunately it was a huge flop and a huge disappointment to Superman fans. There had been talks of a new film for years. In the mid 90′s it had been announced that Tim Burton would take on the task of bringing the Man of Steel to the big screen again with Nicolas Cage in the famous tights. But by 1998 there was still no movie. The Man of Tomorrow would be in the Phantom Zone AKA “Development Hell” until 2005 when Brian Singer, the director who famously brought X-Men to the big screen, was brought on board to finally bring Superman back to theaters. ‘Superman Returns’ would be the return of Superman in a quasi sequel to Richard Donner’s original Superman: The Movie and Superman II. I was so excited, I could not wait to see who they would continue the series and bring it to new heights. We would once again “Believe a man could fly”. Well once again Superman fans where disappointed.
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I will say that there were good things to this film; I mean it had potential to be great, and at the time of my first and second viewing I thought it was great. However I now think that my reason for liking it at first was twofold. First, it’s Superman and I’m a Superman Geek. It could have been a movie about Superman at the DMV and I would have gone to see it. Second, we were promised that this film was to spark a new series of films, so I was excited over the prospect of what was to come. Brian Singer even said in an interview that he could go “Wrath of Kahn” in the next film. To me that was code for, the next one would be epic. But that didn’t happen, so I stuck with my weekly fill of Smallville and hoped for the best. Fortunately the show about a pre-Superman Clark Kent actually got really good during its last seasons. Season 10 would be its last and finally show our hero fulfill his destiny and done the famous cape.
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During this final season however breaking news about the Man of Steel would only heighten my interest as it was announced that a new Superman film would be released in December of 2012. Just in time for the end of the world (according to the Mayans) Zack Snyder would sign on to direct under the creative direction of non other then Christopher Nolan, the genius director who brought Batman back to the big screen. Then the cast was announced and I got really excited. To play Superman they cast an unknown Brit by the named Henry Cavill who looks like he would make a good Clark Kent. As Lois Lane, Amy Adams just off the heels of a great performance in ‘The Fighter’, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Clarks loving parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent. But the cast member that surprised, scared and excited me was the casting of Zod. Character actor Michael Shannon, who you will recognize right away by looking at him because he’s played so many obscure characters in many films, will get a crack at being one of the most dangerous villains in Superman’s rouge gallery. So just when I thought I would be taking a sabbatical from Superman after the end of Smallville, it seems it will be more like a short recess.
So like I said before, the last season of Smallville was at hand, the final episode of a two-hour event oozing with anticipation on whether we will see Clark in the Superman costume. We had been teased all season long with glimpses of the costume and even throughout the finale I was loosing my patience as to when the transformation would take place. I will say that I was a bit disappointed but respected what the creators of the show decided to do. During the final 15 minutes of the show we finally see Clark embrace who he must become. The hero the world needs, the symbol of truth, justice and yes the American way. However even though we do see him fly and technically we do see Superman, we never really see the actor (Tom Welling) in the suit. This was achieved with some camera and CGI trickery. A CGI cape would be flapping behind him during close up’s of the actor and a CGI Superman would be seen flying during really wide shots, but there was no defined moment when you saw Superman from head to toe. The final image of the show before the fade to black (or fade to the superman shield) was Clark running towards the camera ripping his shirt open revealing the Superman suit underneath. It was a classy shot and the last image of hope that the further adventures of Clark Kent as Superman would live on if only in our imagination. I was happy with the ending, sad that it was over, a bit disappointed like I said over the lack of Superman but I can live with it.
My Nephew & I last Halloween
I now find myself excited over the blockbuster summer at hand with so many superhero films coming out. From Thor to Green Lantern and everything in between, its shaping up to be an epic summer and it will have to do for me. At least for now as I count the days till Superman and I meet again. I will always be a fan, a devoted geek to The Man of Steel, The Man of Tomorrow, The Last Son of Krypton, my favorite superhero, the father of them all if you ask me. See you at the movies come December 2012. I’ll be the one bright eyed wearing his Superman t-shirt first in line to see what could be the next beginning of the never-ending battle for truth, justice and all that good stuff. To see the man that flies like a bird and soars like a plane, the one and only…Superman.
