The Man Of Steel Film (Spoilers)

A good different version of the story. My daughter, Aileen, thought that the early scenes were much better than the Smallville TV series.

Not Perry White but Perry Black!

At the end, is Lois taken in by the Clark Kent disguise or does she just pretend to be, to preserve appearances? Imagine if she knew all along but was just pretending not to. Does she say, "Welcome to the Planet," or "Welcome to the planet"? (10/7/13: Of course, she already know he was Clark Kent, having tracked him to Smallville.)

"Superman - that's what people are calling the alien." Good line.

We notice a Lexcorp van in Metropolis so we expect Luthor to be the villain in the sequel, now that Zod is dead - deliberately killed by Supes? I would say that Supes had no choice but, on the other hand, killing is supposed to be the one thing that he doesn't do. This is the Dark Superman.

The Kryptonian colonies dying out because cut off from Krypton doesn't make sense. They had their own planetary resources, otherwise why colonize them? Jorel's technological ghost has become a feature of different continuities but requires more explanation.

Supes is indiscreet in telling the Army guy that he grew up in Kansas. That would enable Military Intelligence to follow the same trail that Lois did if they hadn't already.

Man Of Steel Film Trailer

I have just watched the Man Of Steel trailer which conveys very clearly that Superman is a myth. On the one hand, we recognise the story. On the other hand, we always want to see a fresh new version of it. It is both old and new. Jonathan Kent played by an unfamiliar actor nevertheless is clearly Jonathan Kent.

The familiar myth is easily conveyed by the name "Clark," by a swirling red cape, by a distant human figure seen flying against the clouds.

Jonathan says that the man Clark becomes will change the world. This is as it should be. As Alan Moore made clear in Watchmen and Marvelman, anyone that powerful would change the world simply by existing in it. We should imagine that we are looking at a new version of Superman whose existence is being revealed now or the day after and that the future will be different with him in it: not only the Man Of Steel but the Man of Tomorrow.

The only other comment that I can make at present is that, having searched for images on the internet, I do not like the changes that have been made to the costume.

Superman: The True Story

I think that a very good version of the Superman story is potentially emerging from decades of different continuities. The main contributors are John Byrne's Man Of Steel mini-series and the Smallville TV series. Byrne incorporated Marv Wolfman's idea of Luthor as a businessman. This version of Luthor has survived every subsequent continuity change and is a strong element in Smallville.

The continuity-contradicting Superboy period of Clark's career came and went but left a powerful legacy, his home town of Smallville, the setting for an entire TV series and the home of characters who would not otherwise have existed.

I hope that Superman: The True Story will be told in a series of graphic novels and feature films. It cannot be done in monthly comic books.