TITLE: Man of Steel
STARRING: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner
DIRECTOR: Zack Snyder
STUDIOS: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy, DC Entertainment
RATED: PG-13
RUN-TIME: 143 min
RELEASED: June 12, 2013

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Man of Steel is one of the most polarizing fanboy flicks I’ve seen in recent memory. People either seem to have really enjoyed it, or really disliked it. Either way, things probably aren’t as good or as bad as they seem. But that passion is understandable, given all the struggles the Superman film franchise has gone through, even since Christopher Reeve was still in the suit. Superman fans have been dying for a film adaptation worthy of their hero. Is Man of Steel it? Eh…maybe. It depends on what you’re looking for.

We all know the story: On the distant planet of Krypton, Jor El (Russell Crowe) and his wife Lara send their infant son to Earth to save him from the planet’s immediate destruction. Once there, he’s adopted by a kindly couple in Smallville, Kansas. Earth’s yellow sun grants young Clark Kent with powers and abilities far beyond those of normal men. He becomes Superman (Henry Cavill), the ultimate champion of truth, justice, and the American way. In this film, our hero takes on General Zod (Michael Shannon), a survivor of Krypton who will stop at nothing to ravage Earth, and effectively make it into a new Krypton.

When Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns came out in 2006, one of the major recurring complaints was that it was too low on action. There was nobody for Superman to punch or fight with. When Brandon Routh was in the costume, he spent most of the his time either putting out fires or trying to impress with special effects stunts. So when it came time to dump the game board over and start again, they made sure to fill the super-powered action quotient by giving the director’s chair to Zack Snyder, the man behind 300, Watchmen and Sucker Punch. But wouldn’t ya know it, Man of Steel wound up having the exact opposite issue Superman Returns had: It overdoes the action to the point where it almost jumps the shark. And for some moviegoers, it did.

Most of the last 45 minutes of Man of Steel consists of an all out super-powered war between our hero and General Zod’s forces. With seemingly unlimited power and strength, they send each other flipping and flying through the air, crashing through countless structures and effectively reducing them to scrap. A large portion of Metropolis, one of the biggest and highest-populated cities in the DC Universe, is ripped apart. Skyscrapers literally crumble and topple over as civilians run for cover. To an extent, it’s actually really cool to see Superman unload on somebody, and actually unleash all his power. Some of us have been waiting to see this kind of thing for years. But unfortunately, Snyder stays at the party 10-15 minutes longer than he needs to. As such, the novelty and the shock value of all the crashing and smashing begins to wear off, and they’re basically fighting in a city made of building blocks. Considering this movie is 143 minutes, they could have afforded a bit more brevity.

Still, the movie manages to do one thing better than arguably any Superman film before it: Capture the essence of Superman’s moralistic mission and peaceful soul. I can’t stress enough that Superman is an idealist. He’s here to inspire us, instill us with hope, and teach us about the human spirit. Man of Steel illustrates this very well, and frankly I didn’t know Snyder had it in him. Because his abilities do to an extent make him a hazard to those around him, our hero is forced to learn the value of restraint and a cool head growing up, which the story uses to contribute to his career as Superman. It’s very well done.

From a performance standpoint, Henry Cavill isn’t going to win any Oscars for the role of Superman. But he does an adequate job. Oddly enough, in terms of getting us to care about Clark Kent, the heavy lifting is actually done by Cavill’s younger counterparts: Cooper Timberline (9-year-old Clark) and Dylan Sprayberry (13-year-old Clark). Their scenes with Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent) really sell the torment and anguish the character has endured for the sake of doing the right thing. In that sense, Cavill just has to take the baton and not drop it. But to his credit, he IS believable in the cape and boots. He’s quieter and more subtle, which is what this movie calls for. But he nevertheless has a strong presence about him, which is what Superman should have. Unlike Brandon Routh, whose job in Superman Returns was to essentially impersonate Christopher Reeve, Cavill is his own Man of Steel. That being said, his scenes with General Swanwick (Harry Lennix) and Colonel Hardy (Christopher Meloni) do call back to some of what Reeve did. But to this day, Reeve is so closely identified with this character, and that’s to be expected on some level. So kudos to Cavill and his counterparts for making us believe again.

Surprisingly, Amy Adams runs into some trouble as Lois Lane. She’s not bad for the role, per se. But the character is missing some of her trademark confidence, ferocity and snark. The material is there in the writing, but Adams doesn’t fully capitalize on it. Her Lois feels more like a traditional damsel in distress, with some extra passion added in. The way I’ve always interpreted the Lois Lane/Superman romance is that the source of their mutual attraction is their shared ferocity and dedication toward truth and justice. We don’t necessarily see that here. Adams is more like the girl next door, who happens upon this extraordinary person and falls for him. She’ll need to work on that for Man of Steel 2, if we get that far (which I’m guessing we will).

Needless to say, Marlon Brando is a pretty tough act to follow. But Russell Crowe does very well as Jor El. The way he’s incorporated into the entire story, as opposed to just the first half hour or so, is similar to the way it was done with Brando and Reeve in Superman: The Movie, but different enough that it feels like a fresh spin. I found myself caring about the Jor El character, and the Krypton side of things more than I ever have. Michael Shannon also surpassed my every expectation as General Zod. He’s menacing, creep and crazy, but he’s not reminiscent of Terrence Stamp’s take on the character at all. I’d love to see more…

Longtime Superman fans will no doubt notice certain trademark Superman elements, which you’d expect to see in a reboot film, are missing from this movie.Lex Luthor is conspicuous by his absence, though we do see a few quick shots of the Lexcorp logo. Jimmy Olsen isn’t there, the big Daily Planet globe is missing. The classic Clark Kent glasses disguise is, for the most part, also absent. The cartoony Superman spit curl, which both Reeve and Routh sported, is thankfully gone as well. For most of this stuff, I assume it’s just a matter of waiting for the sequel, much like we had to wait for The Dark Knight to come out to get a lot of the stuff we were clamoring for in Batman Begins.

While I’ll stay spoiler-free here, Superman does something at the climax of the film that’s very un-Superman-like. It’s something we’ve seen in superhero movies before (Tim Burton’s Batman movie comes to mind), but it’s generally considered a no-no. It was a surprise to say the least. But I think it’s passable, especially given what had been established up to that point. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays into the next movie, if at all.

So is Man of Steel the movie Superman deserves? I think, much like Batman Begins, it’s a nice first chapter. The movie has its flaws. But show me a movie that doesn’t have flaws. It’s not necessarily what I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. Unlike what we saw in Superman Returns, our hero’s super-powered exploits were awe-inspiring at times, and the action was suspenseful. More importantly, Man of Steel seems to understand what separates Superman from every other hero in theaters today. At the end of the day, much of Man of Steel‘s legacy will depend on what comes next in the Superman film franchise.

So for now, I suppose the answer to that question is: To be continued.

RATING: 7.5/10

Front page image from forbes.com. Image 1 from facebook.com/manofsteel. Image 2 from craveonline.com. Image 3 from screencrush.com. Image 4 from teaser-trailer.com. 

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TITLE: Batgirl #21
AUTHOR: Gail Simone
PENCILLER: Fernando Pasarin. Cover by Alex Garner.
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASED: June 12, 2013

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

So…were the Batman baddies always slasher flick characters, and I just didn’t notice? You’d think after all these years reading comics, I’d have picked up on it. Granted, most of them have always been crazy. But while most of them weren’t necessarily opposed to killing, it wasn’t their trademark the way it was for, say, the Joker.

With Death of the Family, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo gave the Joker a very Leatherface-type look. Of course, that came courtesy of the Dollmaker from Detective Comics, who had an obsession with wearing other people’s skin. If you’ve been following Gregg Hurwitz’s work on Batman: The Dark Knight, you know he’s taken the Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter to some really twisted, scary places. Some of it works really well, and some of it falls flat. Obviously Batman’s nature as a “dark” character lends him to stories like this. But honestly, I’ve had my fill of that kind of thing for now. Or at least the high volume of it we’ve had lately. That’s probably why I’m so sour on Batgirl #21.

This issue sees Barbara take on the New 52 version of the Ventriloquist. The character was originally created as a middle-aged man who carried around a gangster puppet named Scarface, who was the “brains” of the operation. The puppet we see here, Ferdie, was obviously inspired by the Jigsaw character from the Saw movies. And the Ventriloquist, now an 18-year-old reality TV reject named Shauna Blazer, is very much a play off of horror flicks we’ve seen in the last 10 years. She dresses in white, has long dark hair and pasty skin. Think The Ring, The Grudge, that kind of stuff. She can throw her voice and mimic others effectively enough that it confuses her enemies, and she apparently has telekinetic powers, which means she can control Ferdie from a distance.

The climactic fight takes place in a dark, dirty, run down home, which stinks of rotten meat. There are two corpses sitting at a table, which Blazer proceeds to control using her telekinesis. There’s a decent amount of blood here, as Barbara gets stabbed by a drill protruding from the puppet’s hand. The corpses also wind up dismantled, which in turn causes our hero to vomit…icky.

These aren’t bad ideas, per se. But the tone it’s done it is has been so overdone lately it’s a turn off. You know what I miss right about now? The Greg Rucka/Ed Brubaker style Batman stories, i.e. content which wasn’t afraid to be bloody when the story called for it, but in the end focused more on on the crime drama elements. Heck, what about what Gail Simone used to do with Birds of Prey? The whole thrilling adventure elements mixed with the camaraderie and banter between characters? Can’t we do a book like that? If we’re going to have all these Bat books, can’t we diversify them a little bit? Does everything have to be a horror story?

In terms of what Simone is doing with Barbara’s character here, I’m in better spirits. After what happened with her brother a couple of issues ago, it makes sense for her to undergo a bit of a crisis of conscience. Not even in terms of giving up her crime fighting career, but of being worthy to wear the Bat symbol. I think that’s a cool idea.

In contrast, Simone will occasionally give Babs a downright brutal line that taints the whole issue. During Death of the Family, it was “You make be believe there is a Satan, Joker.” In this issue, when Batgirl sees a collection of newspaper clippings on Shauna’s wall which deal with homicides, we get: “She…she’s a fan of murder.” Sorry Gail, but…gag.

In all fairness, when judged on its own merits, Batgirl #21 really isn’t that bad. Yes, that one line was a face-palmer. But it’s only when you start looking at it next to the other Bat books that the real problems arise. Ferndando Pasarin’s pencils look great, and there’s still no one else I’d rather have writing this book than Gail Simone. But I’m still holding out hope that this book will one day be as fun as her work on Birds of Prey was. But I suppose the longer we wait, the less likely it is…

Front page image from dccomics.com. Interior image from dreamwidth.org.

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In celebration of the release of Man of Steel, Primary Ignition takes a look back at our favorite stories starring the first, and perhaps the greatest caped wonder of them all: Superman.

TITLE: Action Comics #775
AUTHOR: Joe Kelly
ARTIST:  Doug Mahnke. Cover by Lee Bermejo.
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
ORIGINAL PRICE: $3.75
RELEASED: March 2001

By Seth Miller
Staff Writer, Part-Time Ninja

If there is one question that has plagued DC Comics for decades, it’s how to make Superman cool.

The ’90s were littered with attempts to freshen him up. Killing him, bringing him back with a mullet (it was the ’90s, best not to question who thought that was a good idea), making him a blue energy being (again, it was the ’90s), and then splitting him into Superman Red  and Blue (it was the ’90s, be thankful he didn’t end up covered in useless pouches).

The matter came to a head in 2001, when issue #775 of Action Comics hit the stands. This issue did more define why Superman is important in the modern era. It is widely considered one of the best Superman stories in recent history. Why? Because it doesn’t try to change him. It is a declaration of why Superman is the way he is, and why it will always be important for him to be that way.

In this issue, Superman faces a new challenge in the form of the new super team, the Elite. Inspired by the WildStorm title The Authority, the Elite don’t just fight super villains. They kill them mercilessly and have little regard for civilians who could be hurt in the process. Superman tries to reason with them, but the Elite will never change, and the public is starting to throw their support behind this new team of heroes. With no other choice, the Man of Steel must fight the Elite, and it’s kill or be killed.

This issue came out when the comic book market was dominated by heroes like the Elite. The team is a DC Universe interpretation of the Warren Ellis’ The Authority. In that sense, they are accurate in a few areas and painted with broad strokes in others. But what they represent is the same, and it is a direct challenge to just about everything Superman represents.

Even though we root for Superman, the Elite raise one or two points which have a little merit. If you lived in a world where a single person with a grudge could unleash a level of destruction equivalent to a nuclear warhead, how long would it be before you’d want a more permanent solution?

A quick solution is what the Elite represent, in contrast to the “never-ending battle” Superman advocates. and the public seems to be eating it up.  The Elite feel like a logical development for the DC Universe, and writer Joe Kelly includes references to villains and organizations in the comics which hint at the larger problems that make the public feel like they need them. But Kelly is quick to remind readers that the Elite are in no way shape or form heroes. They call themselves heroes, but they enjoy all the destruction they cause and don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire. They kill the bad guys, but they don’t do anything to inspire people, or make things better for everyone. They don’t care about the collateral damage they cause, and if they didn’t focus on villains, they would in turn kill anyone who didn’t agree with them.

All this highlights why Superman’s moral stance is so important. In the final fight, which is broadcast to everyone on Earth, Superman gets the beaten mercilessly and decides to cut loose on the Elite. He takes out all the members with a brutality he has never had before, and then uses his heat vision to perform a lobotomy on the team’s leader Manchester Black. While it is later revealed he only gave Black a small concussion, and the rest of the Elite are simply knocked out, that moment when it appears he has killed the Elite and performed a lobotomy in seconds is chilling. This leads into why Superman is the way he is and why he matters.

The Elite represent a savage idea of what constitutes good, but they do nothing to inspire greatness and help the people they are supposed to protect in the long run. Superman, on the other hand, will stand up for his ideals and never give up on his belief that there is a better way. He doesn’t just do this for himself; he does it for every single human being, because he believes we can be better than what we are, and he will work to inspire all of us to be best we can possibly be.

Manchester Black later threatens Superman that he will return with a vengeance (and he does in later issues), but Superman just replies that he knows he will, and will keep stopping him without resorting to murder. Superman is willing to put everything he loves on the line to follow this moral code and ideal. The moment when it seems Superman has broken his moral code elicits fear, shock, and despair in the civilians watching the fight as well as the reader. Because even though deep down we know iy has to be fake, the idea that we have lost a hero who exemplified everything we hold sacred, and would defend us no matter the cost is tragic.

Heroes that are cool, and willing to go to new extremes will come and go. But Superman will stand test of time because he is a symbol for beliefs which are more important to us than we realize. The old saying about if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it applies perfectly to the Man of Steel. There is nothing wrong with Superman that need to be fixed, unless you give him a mullet (it was the ’90s!!!).

Front page image pmcalisterjr.wordpress.com. Image 1 from toobusythinkingaboutcomics.blogspot.com. Image 2 from multiversocomiquero.wordpress.com, image 3 from ign.com. 

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