Movie Review: Superman (2025)

Superman (2025) written and directed by James Gunn

I think Superman needs no introduction and so does this film. It starts with a few lines over a snowy landscape explaining in very broad strokes that the Earth has a bunch of metahumans (i.e. superheroes) that have been here for years and that Superman (David Corenswet) came thirty years ago, made himself known three years ago, and just lost his first fight three minutes ago. Then he crashes into the snow like everyone has seen in any of the trailers. Superman had interceded to prevent a war between two eastern European nations (aggressor Boravia tried to invade Jarhanpur). The Hammer of Boravia beat Superman in a battle over the skies of Metropolis. Krypto drags Superman to the Fortress of Solitude (though they never call it that in the movie) where his robots fix him up, exposing him to extra doses of yellow sun by way of elaborate magnifying lenses while he watches a recorded message from his Kryptonian parents that encourages him to be a hero for the people of Earth. Only half the message made it to Earth. Once he's better, he goes back to Metropolis to continue the fight. Viewers then discover that Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is managing the fight for the Hammer, giving him moves to best Superman. The Hammer is secretly Luthor's henchman Ultraman. Superman loses again and the Hammer leaves saying he will do even worse next time.

Clark Kent reports in to the Daily Planet where he is lauded for his front page article on Superman's actions. He interacts with editor Perry White (Wendell Pierce), cub reporter Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo), and ace reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). Later, he's at Lois's apartment where he makes dinner for their three-month dating anniversary but it devolves into an argument over the ethics of what he did as Superman in Europe. Lois already knows his secret identity.

Luthor unleashes a kaiju on Metropolis, drawing the attention of Superman and the "Justice Gang," a new group of metahumans with Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). They fight the kaiju while Lex goes to the Superman's arctic base, where he, Ultraman, and The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria) break in and find the message from Krypton. The Engineer is able to reconstruct the second half of the message, which ends in a more sinister way than anyone expects. They use this to drive a wedge between Superman and the rest of humanity. Lex is authorized to use any force he can to capture and contain Superman, leading to a lot more conflict for all of the characters.

The plot is fairly elaborate for a superhero movie. It moves along at a good pace and establishes most of the characters very well, even minor ones like Jimmy or Lex's current girlfriend Miss Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio). And yes, that's the same girlfriend as in Superman: The Movie from 1977. The plot borrows a lot of elements from the other Superman movies beyond the iconic movie score and the "flying through space" credits, like a bit in a baseball field from Superman Returns and other things that are spoilers. These borrowing come off more like homages than a lack of originality because Gunn integrates them smoothly into the larger story. Even though I guessed a lot of surprises while I was sitting in the theater, they seem perfectly natural and work very well. Some bits are not so good, like the lack of any character development for Hawkgirl, but they are far outweighed by the good parts.

Corenswet nails it as both Superman and Clark, though he is stronger in the Superman role. He has the integrity and honesty needed for the Man of Steel, along with the sense of justice that sometimes leads him into angry outbursts and difficult situations. Hoult is good as Luthor, portraying him as a scheming fellow whose main motivation is jealousy and fear of Superman. Brosnahan is very good as Lois, who thankfully already knows Superman's secret identity and is an intelligent and motivated woman on her own. The rest of the cast is good, especially Fillion as the jerky Guy Gardner and Gathegi as the cool and collected Mr. Terrific. 

The movie has a lot of heart, intelligence, humor, and drama that make it a fun adventure. This is easily the best DC superhero movie in a very long while.

Recommended, highly for superhero fans.

Book Review: Superman by Mark Millar

Superman by Mark Millar written by Mark Millar, art by Aluir Amancio, Georges Jeanty, Jackson Guice, Mike Manley, Sean Phillips, and Mike Wieringo

Before Mark Millar became a star in comic writing with hits like Superman: Red Son, Marvel Civil War, and Old Man Logan, he wrote a variety of Superman stories in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They are collected in this volume. The stories are a lot of one-offs. Some of them are really odd and not satisfying, like an Elseworlds-ish story of Harvey Dent as a cop who turns into "Superman" by an intelligence-boosting accident. Another story has Superman blasted into an alternate universe where survivors of Krypton are coming to turn Earth into their new home world by force. In other stories, Superman faces off against Lex Luthor with more or less interesting results. This is a mixed bag that I only found occasionally entertaining.

Not recommended unless you are a Superman completist or a Millar completist.

Book Review: The DC Universe by Mike Mignola by Mike Mignola et al.

The DC Universe by Mike Mignola by Mike Mignola and a myriad of other creators

Before Hellboy, Mike Mignola earned his comicbook living by working at Marvel and then at DC Comics. He was illustrator on various projects that are collected here.

"The Phantom Stranger" 4-issue miniseries features the Stranger, a hero who was an immortal servant of the Lords of Order. He was stripped of most of his magical power and his immortality, making him basically human though with little experience of human limitations. He discovers a plot by the Lords of Chaos: Their agent Eclipso is planning on destroying all of reality. Eclipso actually has three plans, so after the initial set up in issue one, the next three chronicle how the Phantom Stranger defeats those schemes with the help of human friends. The story was mildly interesting and the art by Mignola shows some hints of his future style. Sometimes faces are in black shadow; occasional frames provide atmosphere more than narrative. Overall, I thought it was a fairly average superhero story.

"The World of Krypton" 4-issue miniseries gives a version of the fall of Krypton. After a massive war over whether clones should have human rights or not, Krypton turns into a wasteland. The new, restored Krypton is very antiseptic--people hardly ever meet each other in person. They are given hi-tech suits that keep them from dying except by accident. Anytime someone does die, a new child is crafted in a birth chamber with the parents having minimal if any contact. Superman's parents are, of course, rebellious and do meet. Superman's father discovers that a plague killing Kryptons is not their biggest problem since the planet is about to explode. He sends his son to Earth where he can survive, maybe have superpowers, and definitely have emotions. The story drags a bit. Mignola's art is mostly perfunctory, with one wordless action sequence that shows his style to come.

In a follow-up to "The World of Krypton," John Byrne wrote a two-issue story illustrated by Mike Mignola for the fiftieth anniversary of Superman in 1988. The Earth is bathed in a wave of Kryptonian radiation that nearly kills the Man of Steel. Hawkman and Hawkgirl help Superman travel to the spot where Krypton blew up, which is the source of the radiation. Superman falls into a fever dream where he sees what would have been if many Kryptonians had escaped to Earth. I found the story a little obvious and underwhelming. The art is nice and mimics the World of Krypton miniseries.

"Curse of the Banshee" is another Superman story (with a cameo by Batman) where Superman fights the Silver Banshee, a Celtic villain from an island castle in the sea between Ireland and Scotland. The story is spooky--Batman delivers a magic tome he took from a Gotham City criminal. The book is written in Gaelic except for the English part at the end which shows Batman giving the book to Superman. As the story continues, the book gets more pages describing events that just happened. In typical Superman-story fashion, Jimmy Olson and Lois Lane go to the castle to get a story on Clan McDougal and wind up in the clutches of the Silver Banshee's family. Superman needs to save them and end the threat. The story has some classic Mignola elements--the magical book, the Celtic island, elder beings granting (and taking back) powers to humans. His style is on show as well--the black shadows and odd details. 

"Memories of Kryptons Past" is an Action Comics Annual issue (so longer than usual) that has Superman taken in chains to an alien prison planet where he is forced to be a gladiator under the tyranny of Mongul. As he fights, he remembers his Kryptonian past. But the planet has another prisoner, an old wise man, who had gone to Krypton as a missionary and opposed the cloning culture there. The two stories of Krypton come together at the end, but the plot it self does not finish. The story continued in the regular Action Comics issues but the finale is not included here, presumably because Mignola didn't draw them! Frustrating.

"Shaggy God Stories" is from a Swamp Thing Annual issue and is notable because it was written by Neil Gaiman. The story has a swamp creature, seemingly not Swamp Thing, wandering in a swamp talking to a venus fly trap it is carrying. The creature tells the fly trap (which he calls "Milton") about various theories and stories about divine beings. The story is only a few pages long, so it must have been part of a longer series and perhaps makes more sense in context. The art is appropriately odd.

"Sanctum" is a Batman story where the Dark Knight has caught up with a killer in a graveyard. The killer is using the blood he has gathered in a strange ritual. Batman fights him and is injured while the killer dies. Batman falls through the roof of a mausoleum and into the sanctum of a long-dead man who uses Batman's blood to come back to life. The story follows a familiar dark arc and is clearly a prototype of Hellboy stories to come. Mignola did the writing and the art; he's clearly warming up for Hellboy.

"The Gasworks" is another Batman story from the Batman Black and White series. Batman finds a couple of hoods experimenting with a hallucinogen that causes abject terror. They get some on Batman, who is incapacitated. They start beating him to death, causing enough pain to overcome the hallucinogen. Batman turns the tables by getting some of the goo on them. Their nightmares lead them to death. The story is black and white with some red to represent the effects of the drug. The art isn't as clean as typical Mignola work but it works with the story.

"If a Man Be Clay" gives an origin story for the Batman villain Clayface. This particular Batman seems inspired by the old Adam West TV version, with some silly wisecracks from Robin and various Bat-gadgets that exactly fit the needs of the situation. Both the story and the art work well.

Interspersed among the stories are covers that Mignola drew for other comics like Blue Beetle and various DC heroes. That was a nice bonus.

Overall, the volume is a fun read for Mignola fans.

Recommended.

Book Review: Superman Smashes the Klan by G. L. Yang et al.

 Superman Smashes the Klan written by Gene Luen Yang and art by Gurihiru

After defeating a Kryptonite-powered Nazi bad guy who apparently doesn't realize World War II is over, Superman becomes more curious about his origins, especially why the green rock powering the villain made him sick. Ma and Pa Kent didn't tell Clark his whole history with them but they left enough clues. Superman eventually discovers recordings from his Kryptonian parents, who help him to understand his powers and his purpose on Earth. At the same time, the Lee family moves from the Chinatown neighborhood to Metropolis (or at least a suburban part of the city). Dr. Lee has a new job with the Metropolis Health Department where he experiences both openness and racism from his co-workers. The focus of the story is on the Lee children, Tommy and Roberta, who try to fit in to their new neighborhood. They go to the local youth rec center where Tommy easily fits in. Roberta has a much harder time. The family runs into a bigger problem when the Klan of the Fiery Kross burns a cross in their yard. Reporters from The Daily Planet cover the incident, drawing Superman into the fight against the Klan. 

Yang based this story on a multi-part story from The Adventures of Superman radio show in the late 1940s. The show was a big hit and a big black-eye for the popularity of the Ku Klux Klan. This kid-friendly version of the story still delivers both an exciting story and a timely message, since racism has not gone away. The characters are not one-dimensional, not even the bad guys. Paralleling the Lee family immigrant story with Superman's exploration of his own immigrant nature seems obvious but is delivered in a more subtle and convincing way. Nice moments of comedy and nods to changes in Superman's mythology through the years make the book very enjoyable for even a seasoned fan of the Man of Steel.

Recommended.

Book Review: Batman vs. Superman: The Greatest Battles

Batman vs. Superman: The Greatest Battles by various authors and artists

In a cash grab/hype up to the Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice movie, DC Comics put out this collection of confrontations between the Caped Crusader and the Kryptonian colossus. The stories are mostly from the 2000s, with two from 1986. They all deal with the basic problem that fans love to argue about--who would win in a battle between Hero A and Hero B. In this case, Hero A is Superman, a virtually invulnerable strong man with a myriad of random powers (flight, laser/heat vision, supercold breath, X-ray vision, etc.); Hero B is Batman, a super-wealthy genius with a myriad of random gadgets (Batmobile, Batcycle, Batarangs, whatever else the creators can dream up for his utility belt, etc.). Obviously Batman has to out-think Superman because Superman can definitely out-punch Batman.

Various answers are given here. The best is the 1986 story "A Night in Gotham" which imagines the first uneasy team-up of Batman and Superman. Superman doesn't like Batman's methods but has to go along because Batman has set a bomb on a citizen of Gotham that will blow up if Superman doesn't help him bring down the villain Magpie. The ending is quite brilliant as the two heroes part ways with more mutual understanding if not mutual trust. The runner up is "Who Would Win" from 2011 with two kids debating which hero would come out on top. The others are a bit run-of-the-mill. The last story is taken from the middle of Frank Miller's 1986 "The Dark Knight" and is hard to follow without knowing the rest of the story. I found myself tuning out about half way through because it's been a long time since I read Miller's classic. That's the trick with comics books and with compilations like this--taking random bits of stories out of context doesn't work well. Stand-alone issues work better for random dabbling.

Only recommended if you want to explore the Batman versus Superman argument. And, yes, this is better than the film that came out.

Book Review: New Super-Man and the Justice League of China by G. L. Yang et al.

New Super-Man and the Justice League of China written by Gene Luen Yang, penciled by Brent Peeples, and inked by Matt Santorelli

This book is actually issues 20 to 24 of Gene Luen Yang's New Super-Man comic, where a Man of Steel copy is made in China via technology. He eventually forms a team of what's been called "metahumans" in the DC comics line. At first I thought this was an alternate reality story, like Red Son where Kal-el's Kryptonian space ship crashes in the Soviet Union rather than in Kansas. This story apparently exists in the regular DC Universe, meaning there's the Justice League in America with the original heroes who for some reason don't interact with these Chinese counterparts. So in addition to missing the first nineteen issues of the series, I was also confused about these people and their relationship to the original characters. It's a bit of a mess. The story here has the heroes liberating a metahuman from North Korea who is the Asian equivalent of Aquaman (though he doesn't know who Aquaman is thanks to the political regime in North Korea). The book contains some interesting riffs on the personal dynamics of the Justice League and has plenty of fun dialogue that Yang is so good at. The overall story just isn't interesting.

Slightly recommended, if the concept sounds interesting to you. Otherwise, avoid!

Book Review: The Man of Steel by Brian Michael Bendis et al.

The Man of Steel written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Jim Lee and a dozen other creators

In my review of Superman for All Seasons, I said that new writers of classic comic book heroes either have gone epic or gone back to origin stories to come up with a new and/or different story. In this book, Brian Michael Bendis has done both. The book introduces a new and powerful villain who is enough of a match for both Superman and Supergirl. Rogol Zaar is a semi-deformed monster whose mission is to "cleanse" the universe of the Kryptonians. Readers find out pretty quickly that the destruction of Superman's home world, Krypton, was not a natural disaster. And now the disaster-making Zaar has come to Earth to finish his work.

Meanwhile, Clark Kent is dealing with issues. His wife Lois Lane and son Jonathan are missing. That story is told very slowly with many repetitive flashbacks (this story did come out in monthly comics, so I guess that's the excuse). The ultimate revelation of what has happened to his wife and son is very unsatisfying and implausible on many levels and in many ways. Also, there seems to be some hostile takeover coming for The Daily Planet (where Clark and Lois work), which is also underdeveloped by the end of the book (this story continues in monthly comics, so I guess that's the excuse).

I enjoyed the epic and personal conflict with Rogol Zaar and how the two Supers dealt with him and his actions. That part of the story brought up some new ideas and interesting twists. The Lois/Jonathan drama also had some interesting ideas in it (the kid is really worried about alternate universe versions of himself where he's super-bad) but the resolution is flat and unconvincing.

Mildly recommended--it's both really good and really bad. At least Bendis threw in a good amount of humor.

Book Review: Superman for All Seasons by J. Loeb et al.

Superman for All Seasons written by Jeph Loeb and art by Tim Sale

With comic book characters who've been around for a long time, it's hard to come up with new stories. Lately creators have either gone epic or gone back to retelling origin stories. This book takes the 80-year old character Superman and tells some stories from Smallville and Clark Kent's first times in Metropolis working for The Daily Planet and saving people.

The book has four parts, one for each season (hence the title). Each season is narrated by a different character, starting with Jonathan Kent in Spring. Young Clark learns more about his powers and ponders a bit about his place in the world, something a lot of teens deal with. Lois Lane narrates Summer. The most interesting and entertaining is Lex Luthor narrating Fall where Clark/Superman face hard challenges engineered by Luthor. Winter is narrated by Lana Lang, Clark's childhood sweetheart and something of a soulmate who helps him through the darkness from the Fall.

The story is interesting and feels fresh. The art follows the early style where Clark is huge and blocky and earnest. The whole package feels classic and is highly enjoyable. This is probably the best Superman story I've read, and I loved Superman: Secret Origin by Geoff Johns.

Highly recommended.

Book Review: Superman: Brainiac by G. Johns et al.

Superman: Brainiac written by Geoff Johns, pencilled by Gary Frank, and inked by Jon Sibal

After a harrowing account of an attack on Krypton during which the city of Kandor is stolen, the story jumps to modern day Earth. A Daily Planet staff meeting is cut short when Clark Kent leaves to investigate a crashing space probe. As Superman, he discovers the probe is from Brainiac, an alien intelligence that has pestered him on and off through the years. The probe does nothing more than confirm Superman is Kryptonian--then it shuts down. Superman takes the probe to the Fortress of Solitude where he and Supergirl analyze it to find out why it came. Supergirl has memories of the Kandorian attack (which was Brainiac's work) and is frightened by the prospect of facing him. She's also scared of Brainiac doing to Earth what he did to Krypton. Superman decides to take the fight to Brainiac. He reverse-engineers the probe's guidance system to find where Brainiac is. He leaves without telling Supergirl so she does not have to face her childhood terror. Superman discovers more than he bargained for and, naturally, Brainiac has discovered Earth and does threaten it. So Supergirl isn't off the hook.

The story does a great job pulling in different aspects of Superman's mythology, combining them in a new and interesting way. The dialog is very well-written, blending comedy, exposition, and drama effortlessly. Brainiac is a fascinating villain and makes a nice foil to Superman. A few bits of the plot don't make sense, but not enough to drag the story down.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) directed by Zack Snyder

In light of the destruction caused by Zod and Superman's battle at the end of Man of Steel, humanity is divided on Superman's role. He's acting as a one-man savior for which many people are grateful and treat him almost like God. Other people think he's crossed the line into enforcing whatever sort of justice he likes. That makes Superman a vigilante. Those people include a powerful senator (Holly Hunter), Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), and Bruce Wayne (Batman, er...Ben Affleck).

Batman has had his own history of vigilante justice and now after twenty years, he's a bit grumpy and sadistic. He brands criminals with a bat symbol. He uses guns quite liberally (this is a pet peeve of mine--classically he doesn't use guns because his parents were killed by a gun and the limitation makes him a more interesting character). Wayne Financial lost a building and many people in the Superman/Zod battle. Batman blames Superman and is now working to take care of the problem, i.e. develop something to contain or kill Superman.

Lex Luthor has his own mistrust of Superman and is more interested in discrediting him than in killing him (though that would be okay too). He has various schemes, some more plausible than others. Lex is fairly young and inexperienced, making his character more awkward and bratty than clever and menacing. The portrayal is interesting but not satisfying. Maybe he'll grow into a proper villain in future films.

Superman himself is trying to sort out his role in the world. His number one concern is Lois Lane, of that he is certain. He strives to save people when he can but he recognizes his limits. Even Superman can pay attention to only a few things at a time. He wants to stop the vigilante Batman. Which is a little weird, given Batman has been around for twenty years and Gotham is just across the bay from Metropolis (Lex can see the Bat-signal from the roof of his building!).

The movie has a lot of ideas floating around which shows potential. But none of them are developed in any depth or interesting ways, like viewers are at a fantastic buffet but aren't allowed to sample any items. After a while, I just accepted that any big ideas wouldn't get anywhere.

The other big problem was the movie taking itself far too seriously. The score has some painful moments of melodramatic corniness that made me laugh out loud when I should have been nodding my head and stroking my beard. Some minor plots made very little sense. The big moment of reconciliation between Batman and Superman was awkward and unconvincing. A little more levity would go a long way for the film.

On the other hand, the fight scenes were pretty good. The big battle at the end when Wonder Woman finally shows up was exciting and fun, even if Batman's main fighting tactic was strategically running away. He used his brains as much as his brawns. Ben Affleck was good as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, at least the equal of Christian Bale's performance. This movie isn't as good as the Nolan films but Affleck has a good future in front of him with the role.

At the end of the movie, Bruce Wayne says, "We can do better. We will. We have to." Bruce was talking about humanity in general and the meta-humans in particular (the movie has little teasers of Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg shoehorned in), but I hope Ben was making a promise to the audience. They definitely do need to do better.

Book Review: Superman: Red Son by M. Millar et al.

Superman: Red Son written by Mark Millar, pencilled by Dave Johnson and Killian Plunket, and inked by Andrew Robinson and Walden Wong

What if Superman's spaceship had crashed not in the American heartland, but in the middle of the Soviet Union? That's the premise of this book. Superman is adopted at a commune by farmers and doesn't come to the big city until his powers have grown. This time, the big city is not Metropolis but Moscow. He doesn't bother with the mild mannered report gig. He goes straight to Stalin and becomes a state hero. But Superman's ambitions are more than protecting the Motherland. He prevents accidents and saves people from tragedies on a global scale. American Lex Luthor puts this to the test when he has a Soviet satellite crash toward Metropolis. Superman averts the disaster and has an all too brief meeting with Daily Planet report Lois Luthor (yeah, she's Lex's wife in this story!). Superman believes in doing what's right but how will that work out with a Soviet upbringing?

The plot and politics of the story are more complicated than an initial impression and, indeed, the first half of the book reveal. Superman works to spread a utopian ideal across the globe, but his passion for truth, justice, and the Soviet way leans too much on the later element to the detriment of the first two elements. Wonder Woman shows up but she is little more than a love interest and battle partner with Superman; the writer missed an opportunity to contrast the Soviet utopia with Paradise Island's utopia. There's a Soviet Union version of Batman, too. He's more of a freedom fighter against Superman and all he stands for (I guess like the Batman vs Superman movie), though he is a less active opponent than Luthor.

The first two-thirds of the book were interesting but unsatisfying to me. A lot of conventions and tropes of the Superman mythos are reversed or twisted in different ways, leaving me with a feeling of inconsistency. Lois as Luthor's wife is an interesting idea and is played out fully; Jimmy Olsen is a CIA liaison to Luthor's company for no apparent reason other than to have Olsen show up. He doesn't get any development that makes any sense. The conflict between Luthor and Superman dominates the last third of the book and plays out in interesting and satisfying ways for both comic book conventions and for the deeper ideas the story comments on.

I almost quit reading this book about a third of the way into it. I kept reading to see how it would play out and am happy that I did. I still feel like this premise could have had an even better treatment or would be more convincing if it was more detailed. The book didn't hit the mark for me, it's surprisingly average for a great starting concept.

Book Review: Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth by G. L. Yang et al.

Superman Volume 1: Before Truth written by Gene Luen Yang and art by John Romita, Jr.

Superman has developed a new power: when using his heat vision, he can emit a "solar flare" burst of energy that does tremendous destruction. Two problems come with the power. First, it causes more or less indiscriminate destruction. Second, it leaves Superman drained, i.e. he has no superpowers for about 24 hours. So he can be injured and, in a comic scene, become drunk. The Justice League is helping him gain control of this new power.

Meanwhile, Clark Kent gets an anonymous text with a good tip for a story. The tip leads him to an arms dealer's lair. The arms dealer is trying to close a sale but the security system warns him about intruders. So Superman has to save the day. So things turn out okay. The anonymous texter wants Clark to do more questionable things for him. As extra motivation, the texter reveals evidence that Clark is Superman and threatens to leak the story unless Clark follows instructions to the letter. Clark goes along until he can think of a move to get his loved ones (who will be obvious targets for every villain Superman has ever faced) out of danger. Unfortunately, more forces are at work than just Superman and the texter.

This story is the debut of Gene Luen Yang in DC Comics. The two-fork approach to solving Superman's invincibility is interesting. Not only does Superman temporarily lose his powers from time to time, but also the main villain has a way of controlling him without brute force. In fact, the villain doesn't even have to go face-to-face with Superman. He is a villain for the Information Age. I'm typically not interested in reading Superman but Yang's involvement had me interested and this is a fun story. In addition to the creative plot, Yang gives the characters some snappy dialogue. I don't love this book like his work on Avatar, but it is of similar high quality.

News I Wish Was True

As an April Fool's Day prank, the venerable Bruce Campbell posted this image in his Twitter feed:

Holy Awesome, Batman!

Read an article about the reaction here. I would start watching Doctor Who again if this were true! Replace those Sonic Sunglasses with a Sonic Chainsaw...Groovy!

In case you don't know, there's a Catholic version of The Onion which is called Eye of the Tiber. They had an article about a recent superhero movie that has performed poorly at the box office...

This is what happens when you have two popes at the same time

Like the Batman vs. Superman movie, I'd probably wait for this one to come out on video and then rent it from the library (so I can see it for free if it was real). The popular movies at the library usually have hundreds of requests, so often I wait two or three month before I get the DVD. By the time I reach the top of the queue, I sometimes have lost interest. I know I've returned unwatched DVDs to the library but I can't even remember an example (other than I almost returned an unwatched Jurassic World but then had an unexpected free evening and wound up watching it anyway).

As for actually true news, Everyday Einstein podcasts about a report that eating chocolate can make you smarter, in addition to the other benefits science claims for chocolate eating, e.g. better cardiovascular health and less chance of stroke. Like we need more reasons to eat chocolate! Sadly, no information is provided for people who want to volunteer for future studies concerning chocolate consumption.

So at least one bit of news really is true.

Movie Review: Superman (1978)

Superman (1978) directed by Richard Donner

The first blockbuster superhero movie came out in 1978, almost 40 years ago! It is the origin tale of Superman as told by director Richard Donner from a screen play that includes Mario Puzo (of Godfather fame) among its writers.

The story is interesting in how it delves more into Krypton's last days. Jor-El (Marlon Brando) argues with other Kryptonian elders that the planet has less than a month to live. They don't want to hear it so they silence him. He and his wife send their only son, Kal-El, to Earth. Krypton is destroyed almost immediately after the departure. The boy travels through space, learning a bit of science and history on the way. He crashes on Earth as a toddler and is adopted by Ma and Pa Kent, who raise him to be a good man. Clark Kent grows up hiding his amazing powers. He eventually leaves, heading to the Arctic where he uses a crystal left by his father to build the Fortress of Solitude. He learns more about his powers and history and purpose from recordings made by his Kryptonian father. That's basically the first hour (i.e. first half) of the movie. The pace is pretty slow but the story telling is well-done. J and L watched and never said they were bored (except during the opening credits, which do go on for a while).

The pace picks up when Clark moves to Metropolis. He takes a job as a reporter with the Daily Planet and begins his life as a super-heroic do-gooder by foiling crimes and saving cats from trees. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) is planning the crime of the century. Lex can't resist taunting Superman into a rivalry with some predictable if not unenjoyable results.

As I said, the movie's pace is very slow by modern standards but the special effects hold up (mostly) even 40 years later. Christopher Reeve is great as bumbling Clark Kent. As Superman, Reeve is a little flat mostly because Superman's character is a little flat as the heroic do-gooder. The other actors are all good though the script is hammy in some parts. The kids enjoyed it and are interested in seeing the next movie, which will definitely do. Thank goodness for some PG-rated superhero films that I can show them!

Movie Review: Man of Steel (2013)

Man of Steel (2013) directed by Zack Snyder

Part of my on-going catch-up with last summer's films (i.e. Pacific Rim, World War Z, Much Ado About Nothing,  and Evil Dead).

I watched this movie with medium to low expectations. Critics weren't too impressed with it; only one person I know raved about it. It sure looked like another clunky Superman film. Many complained about the modern revision of Superman.

We've seen these characters before, but they are all given some different twists. Clark Kent/Superman is interesting in that there is no big contrast between the two. Clark spends the first half of the movie in hiding and not knowing about his Kryptonian origins. He's a drifter with no life of his own--he'll work a job until something happen that causes him to use his powers. Then he moves on so people won't know what powers he has. Even after he gets his background story and his suit, he has almost no"Clark Kent" life. The "mild mannered reporter" is set up at the end of the film, so maybe in the future they will explore that duality. For this movie, he's a bit of a lost soul who finds his place on Earth.

Lois Lane is a lot smarter than in previous movies, though she does fill in the "damsel in distress" role. Jonathan Kent is less noble than in previous stories--he tells Clark it might be okay to let people die rather than reveal his secret (right after Clark saves a bus full of his fellow school students!). You can see how this Clark winds up drifting without a true sense of purpose or identity. General Zod is less colorful and over-the-top than Superman II's Terence Stamp, though that degradation seems driven by the "Krypton as Plato's Republic" theme running through the film, which no one comments on.

Several characters talk about Krypton's fall. One component of it is the genetically-engineered population. Zod explains how he was made to be a soldier and that's what he's done all his life, so Superman can't possibly beat him in a fight. Superman's Kryptonian parents decide to have a child naturally so that he will be free to do what he wants rather than be put in a distinct class all his life. Plato's Republic has a similar scheme--children are taken from their parents and raised in one of three classes to serve the state. The movie criticizes this on the grounds of personal freedom, which is interesting if not fully satisfactory.

Another component is the exploitation of resources, including Krypton's planetary core, which provided power but becomes unstable and soon explodes. The Kryptonians had tried to colonize other planets by terraforming them but were unsuccessful. Terraforming the Earth is Zod's plan to continue the Kryptonian race, even if that means killing all the humans. Superman decides to stop it since "Krypton had its chance."

The movie does end with a big fight between Zod and Superman which goes on long enough for viewers to get the idea that they will never really hurt each other no matter how many buildings they plow through. And then it goes on longer. The very end of the fight is a bit contrived but at least it ends things in a sensible way. It's a common problem with superhero movies that they end with a big battle that is more numbing than exciting.

The ending of the movie also injects some much needed humor. This movie could have used a little more levity sprinkled throughout. Even so, Man of Steel surprised me with how good it was. Though it gives a more somber Superman (the bad side of the modern revision), it vastly exceeds Superman III and IV and the failed reboot Superman Returns in writing quality.