A Reel Opinion: Superman Returns and Beyond

Superhero movies tend to hijack all the cinematic headlines these days, and in the last couple of weeks, the most super of them all landed when actor Henry Cavill announced he would be returning to the role of Superman in an as-yet untitled and un-dated film. The announcement came just after Cavill’s return to the cape in a short cameo in BLACK ADAM (read Reel Speak’s review HERE), and his first flight in full since JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017), and the JUSTICE LEAGUE mulligan from 2021. Cavill first took flight as Superman in MAN OF STEEL (2013), and faced off against The Bat in BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE (2016). 

 

The news brought a lot of grins to fans, and those grins grew even wider when Cavill stated that the character would be an “enormously joyful Superman”, which would finally be a return to the roots of the character. Since the character first debuted in 1938, Superman has been the gold standard for all superheroes; to inspire, to be the symbol of good, and always be a beacon of hope. This was embraced in TV shows and taken to even greater heights in SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978), with Christopher Reeve in the cape; a film that set a standard for comic book films that still stands today. 

 

Those Superman roots were obliterated in Cavill’s first outing as the character in Zack Snyder’s MAN OF STEEL, which portrayed him as a miserable, moping, slog. It wasn’t just a departure from the comic roots, but it made for a main character that no one could find a reason to care about, cheer for, or overcome. The film would end with Superman murdering his nemesis, which was a shocking move that fans still debate today. The question of Superman murdering was one thing, but the bigger issue was that it was un-earned and meant little; for the whole movie Supes was unhappy about everything…and after the kill he had even more reason to be unhappy. All this was compounded in DAWN OF JUSTICE, and even though the first version of JUSTICE LEAGUE cheered his sourpuss up a little bit, that was quickly erased in the second version of the film four years later. 

 

Today, with the apparent effort to take Supes back to his roots, the stage is set for DC Comics and parent studio Warner Bros. to finally make strides in the superhero cinematic war; a war that DC has been losing to Marvel in a rout that has never been close in the last 14 years. Superman from the get-go has been the ultimate superhero, and deserves such a presence on the big screen. With rival Marvel now moved on to lower-tier characters, the opportunity is there to make Superman super again. And as he should be for fans: hope.