re: Can we finally ditch origin stories for all these superhero/remake movies?

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The frick did I just read?

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ramblings from an overtired mind, sorry

long, hopefully more coherent post ahead-

Superman as a comic book hero has been around forever. This reboot was desperately needed.

The 70's movie was fine for it's time, but it has major flaws if you try to keep the character relevant.
Superman is a buff, muscled hero; Reeve was a fairly flaccid guy wearing tights.
Superman is immensely powerful (basically at the top of the food chain as far as comic book heroes go); yet the older movies have him tangling for the most part with a bald version of Donald Trump (the way Luthor is portrayed). Hell, even Batman is whipping more imposing villains in the movies, and he's the least powerful hero in these movies. We needed a reason for there to be a Superman.

My teenage son watched some of the old movies, and was "meh" about it. I don't blame him- the bar has been raised significantly higher nowadays for this type of film. And honestly, the way media has changed, if the character doesn't have a big movie, it's not going to be a cultural icon much longer, not like it was in the past.

I came away from Man of Steel satisfied; it brought the Superman story into the modern superhero movie nicely. I felt it portrayed him fairly- I got the sense he could hold his own or beat the entire Avengers team single-handedly, and that's about right for where he's supposed to be. He's supposed to be for America but non-political, and that's what he was- he would rather be at home drinking a beer and watching college football instead of meddling in politics, but he will step up to do what he thinks is right for the individual people he comes across (he stops fighting to save some random guy from falling to his death).
He doesn't want to be involved in any plots, he just wants to be left alone- as he demonstrates with the spy satellite.


Along the lines of comic book movies, this was a much-needed homerun for DC. I'd say Marvel started the current run of blockbusters with the Spiderman series of the 2000's, and DC answered/raised the ante with the Nolan Batman series.

Marvel responded with Iron Man, and used that to spread out into the Avengers saga.

DC, in the same period, missed BADLY with Green Lantern, and needed the new Superman to score big, in order to stay relevant in any media larger than the random CW series. I think Man of Steel will fill that need.

As long as they stay in the spirit of this film, they can introduce/integrate other characters, like Marvel did with the Avengers: a sudden global crisis and the appearance of the mysterious Superman would certainly draw Bruce Wayne out of retirement in France or wherever (as seen at the end of TDKR). Other characters (Flash? Wonder Woman?) might similarly step out of anonymity after seeing the impact Superman had on society... or be forced to step up by enemies who react to the appearance of Superman. Either way, you can integrate other characters into the Man of Steel world and not make a mess.