New Superman is cast....and is British!!

Her rippage has been variable, from rather extreme in Infinite Crisis to her current look. She's still slightly bulkier than Wonder Woman has been depicted at her most athletic, which has been the Hughes covers.

Edit: http://www.google.com/images?q=Power...w=1280&bih=837

I suppose this is just a matter of perception and perference. The "source material" they are actually drawing from appears to be many of the previous live action actors who've played the part. If you feel that none of the previous live action actors ever lived up to your mental comic book image of the character then ultimately that's your problem, not mine. YMMV of course.

I hate to break it to you, but Reeve and Routh buffed up to play Superman and George Reeves was already big. . If anything I think your ideas are inline with JMS's vision which just may become dominant.

And this guy won't buff up for the role as well? Please...

I ultimately really couldn't care less how this new guy exactly stacks up to any of the other actors before him but seriously do you actually think he's that significantly different measurement-to-measurement from those other guys? Do you really think they are going to be letting him look like a beanpole in a major motion picture despite what silliness JMS is currently doing to "Twilightfy" the character?

Dang, and here I thought people got worked up about who might be playing Wonder Woman.

Just be glad it's not Nic Cage they cast as Superman. Do a Google search using keywords Nic Cage Superman and see the images of him in costume. What a laugh.

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Yeah I think I saw those pics a while ago - I'm not going to bother looking at them again.
I think this proves a point though: even if the new guy is not perfect for the role they could have always gone with somebody worse.

Thank you! Couldn't have said it better myself. I really liked Routh as Superman and I thought he did a really great job with what he was given, which was mediocre writing at best.

I think it's kind of a shame he won't be coming back as Superman since I'd love to see what he would do with a decent script and writing.

I liked him in Chuck, even his small role in Zack and Miri was good.

Two words: colored contacts...

Yeah . . . "robust" . . . <snicker> you said "bust" <snicker>


Juvenile antics aside, Power Girl's assets are a bit over-emphasized.

And we are getting the old "comics vs. movie universe" debate. Superman does not need to be nearly as "buff" as Captain America since his power does not come from his muscles. But it will certainly help the box office to have the Big Blue Boy Scout look good in tights. From some of the pictures, I was amazed at how much Chris Evans buffed up. Cavil may be able to do the same, but I don't think it is nearly as important to the character.

Mental, I really liked your way of bringing Superman into the non-super world of Batman. Your comparison to Watchmen was spot on. Even in Watchmen, the only thing that could compete with super powers was high intelligence and planning.

I feel sorry for Brandon Routh. He did a nice job of being a Christopher Reeve copycat, which is what Singer wanted him to be. I would not have minded seeing him re-cast with better writing and direction, but it appears that Nolan/Snyder want a complete break with previous versions which is probably the right decision. As much as I would like Erica Durrance as Lois, they need to get a new Lois, too. I hope this one is feisty but has some real chemistry with Clark/Supes, unlike Bosworth.

I'm not worked up. This is tennis. And when/if Cavill buffs up I will post a pic and say, "Now that's Superman." Which was my reaction when I saw Chris Evans.

I'm oddly removed from the Wonder Woman issue. With David E. Kelley at the helm I don't want to have any expectations.

Remember when Tom Cruise was the rumored choice to play Tony Stark/Iron Man? Be very GLAD that abominable choice wasn't made.

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George Reeves started filming The Adventures of Superman in 1952, age 38.
Christopher Reeve filmed Superman in 1977, age 25.
Brandon Routh filmed Superman returns in 2005, age 26.
Tom Welling started filming Smallville in 2001, age 24.
Henry Cavill is filming the new Superman movie and he is 27 years old now.

According to DC, Superman's official age is 29.

Aside from the Durrance thing, I agree with all of these points. I've never liked Donner's Superman because of the lame single entendres ("How big are you?") and the goofy campiness of Luthor and his crew and the dumb plot and terrible, terrible special effects. Even as a 13-year-old I never believed a man could fly.

I agree. I mean, how would Superman get a weightlifter's muscles? Bench press oil tankers? Sure, it worked for Mr. Incredible, for comic effect, but a more "realistic" Superman wouldn't have that training montage or the time to constantly keep in that kind of shape.

In my mind, at least Post Crisis, Clark Kent had the build of a mesomorph who did significant labor on a farm prior to his powers kicking in and he just kept the build afterward. Not bodybuilder, but definitely "corn fed." Well that was my thought at least until the last latest retooling of Superman's Post Crisis origin to put him back in the Legion of Superheroes.

Nearly every Kryptonian that has cropped up sense then, counting the Daxamite Mon El, haven't had Superman's build. It could be attributed to them arriving already old enough for their powers to fully manifest and taking any load off of the muscles. With Chris Kent/Lor Zod being the most glaring exception but he was genetically engineered anyway and had all sorts of issues.

Thats why I enjoy the Donner cut more, all that nonsense is gone and the film is more rounded including a more emotive connection with his father in the Fortress. (Thanks for reminding me btw, i forgot I had that tucked away in a cupboard somewhere).

And I thought the Airplane rescue scene in Superman Returns is the suspenseful quality that the rest of the film should of continued, unfortunately it descended into a mopey mess which wasn't Routh's fault. I thought he made a good Superman tbh, he didn't get the quality acting scenes to really get his teeth into the part in my opinion.

Lets face it, the original is the classic and as much as the studio wants another successful Superman trilogy or more, the story is so popular a movie adaptation will be attempted at least once every 10-15 years like clockwork.

While I've never been a big stickler for how muscle bound Supes should be, I WILL admit that I always liked Clark Kent best when he was drawn to look like a beefy farm-boy stuffed into a suit.


This new guy looks pretty good though. Hopefully we'll get a real good Superman movie this time.

If they could somehow convert/adapt Batman/Superman Public Enemies to the big screen, I would like to see that. More then enough supervillains and heroes to please many while not taking the spotlight from the two.

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As I recall, didn't the Donner version end with Superman doing the spin the earth time warp to repair all the damage as well as wipe Lois' memory?

Or is it more accurate to say that instead of him spinning the Earth backwards in time, that he simply propelled himself into the past and the Earth moving backwards was the visual effect so the audience would know what he was doing?

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Unfortunately, I have to take issue with your issues of the original film. In many ways, the film is still the benchmark of how superhero origin films are made and it touches all the bases brilliantly. Bearing in mind that when Donner was hired, he came to it with the understanding that Superman (then nearing his fiftieth anniversary) was Americana, part of the American mythology, I don't find the movie at all camp or ridiculous.

Lex wasn't being goofy, but you needed the contrast to the straight-laced Superman/Clark Kent that Chris Reeve was intent on playing. He was extremely mindful in many interviews that children were watching these movies and he never wanted to betray those views of Superman, whereas Hackman was allowed to be more over the top and extravagant as Lex, because that contrast served to highlight why one was the hero and the other the villain. And yes, it's deliberately played that way, because at the time you couldn't play for an PG-15 or M rating.

Superman 2 is hard to argue against, but when you bear in mind the horrendous nature of the dispute between the Salkinds and Donner, it's a miracle the film even made it to the cinemas. I can correct you on the goofy plot decisions (throwing the S-shield, etc) in that these were made post-Donner and if you go back and watch it again, you'll note very clearly the scenes where you can't see Gene Hackman or Margot Kidder, because they point-blank refused to work with Richard Lester. Hackman in particular was replaced with a body double, and you'll see this clearly in that version of the film (when the boxed set of the movies was released a few years ago, they included a far superior Donner cut of 2, which removes all the stuff he objected to). I refer you here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superma...ard_Donner_Cut to what was changed.

Superman Returns is something of a love letter to the past, unfortunately. The airplane sequence is outstanding and some of the visuals of Superman hovering above the earth and even setting down the out of control car (a visual homage to Action Comics #1) are lovely...but I agree with you, the plot with him becoming Super-stalker and the kid are drastically at odds with what you'd think a Superman story would be all about. I believe Singer was blinded by nostalgia, and it shows...but, I consider it a flawed piece of work rather than outrightly bad. We did at least see Superman as he could be represented on screen.


Moving on from there, I think the combination of Nolan as producer and Synder as director is a good one, because Nolan will typically have a stunning idea and direction for the piece, wheras Synder does action particularly well (as evidenced of course in 300 and the single fight scene in Watchmen), as well as having a surprisingly deft touch for characterisation.

I think the choice for actor is a moot one; I think whilst there could be some argument for Tom Welling in the role, he is however playing a Superman in a very different DC universe than the mainstream viewer would relate to. I think casting is the key; if the actor looks the part somewhat, and can play the character (I remember only knowing Christian Bale from his rave reviews of American Psycho and The Machinist and thought he'd never be able to play Bruce Wayne or Batman), then nationality isn't a factor.

Chris Reeve is remembered in the role because he took it seriously...he'd only been out of the Juliard Academy of Performing Arts for a few years and was a stage actor, a method actor. Look at how he visibly shifts his body posture from Kent to Superman and you can see someone dedicated to getting the characters right. His charisma shone through as Superman and I think that'll be key to getting Superman right. Whenever I think of 'classic Superman', I think to that iconic moment of the first film, where he's flying away and he smiles at the camera. It's a knowing nod to the audience, but I totally buy into the thought of him being Superman at that moment.

I think I have the opportunity to watch The Tudors and will do so now with interest....



S.

Do a Google search on Christian Bale in "The Machinist." He bulked up okay from that.

(Images not safe for lunch.)