Man of Steel (Superman): What Went Wrong? - Wisecrack Edition 

The problem I have with Man of Steel was Johnathan Kent's death wasn't as meaningful as his death in Christopher Reeve's movie because he died from a heart attack and with all his powers he wasn't able to save him, rendering young Clarke helpless for the very first time.

Zack had probably seen it as a challenge to make Superman dark and gritty but in the end he created a movie that people only liked for the cool fight scenes.

Oh god! Superman's saving us again, RUN!

"Imagine if Luke had spent over an hour contemplating the pros and cons of using the Force - you'd grow to hate the guy." Ummm... You guys aren't going to like The Last Jedi.

All this movie had to do was have Clark refuse to accept the jaded, cynical world around him as it is and have him instead lead by example to make it as it should be. In the Pa Kent death scene he should have told Lois that when he watched his father die because of his refusal to accept help due to fear, that he also realized in that same moment that living in fear was not the answer. He should have said, "As long as I have the power to make a difference, then I will use my power to make the world a better place. I will never stand idlely by out of fear again." But nope.

Wisecrack: works their asses off on an in-depth 14 minute video on what's wrong with the movie from a philosophical standpoint y'all: 'well i liked the movie so fuck u' this is why society is falling apart

I dont have a problem with how dark they were going with but how Superman never really seemed affected by the collateral damage and the destruction around him. They had no problems showing how realistic an alien invasion would look like and how many people would die, but you have no idea how it makes Superman feel. Its hard to root for a "hero" who jokes and makes out with a girl on top of the rubble, where hundreds have literally been flap jacked to death.

My biggest problem is when people use the “it makes him more human” defense, they don’t realize that in order for that be the case it has to payoff in end and it never did for this version of Superman, he’s still the same person at the beginning of the film as he is in the end he never becomes the hero they needed, like in Spider-Man 2 Peter was continuously beaten into the ground and making mistakes Because *he’s* *only* *human* and it felt so natural because in the end he came out on top, all the mistakes and suffering paid off

Damn. Before another one of y'all says the "am I the only one who liked it?" Take your fucking time to read the other 800 comments saying that.

I'm thankful for Superman and Lois because it restored Superman and made me actually like Superman again

The best Superman movies are Superman vs The Elite and Death of Superman.

Can an American symbol survive in a disillusioned America? Didn't Captain America: The Winter Soldier tackle this?

I liked Watchmen, but Zack Snyder has to stop making Watchmen.

Did he refer to Perry White as Perry Mason?

I really think the problem is that 1) they found the wrong people to write the script. 2) our nerd culture has a unusual hatred against Superman and the only "creative" Superman they want is an evil Superman.

I keep saying you guys are THOROUGH. You hit the nail right on the head. I wished producers and movie makers would come to people and channels like you guys for advise. They would be doing themselves a favor.

After watching it tonight I realised the biggest flaw is the ridicolously confusing scene to scene editing. Superman doesn’t feel well established, the movie feels like it expects you to know the superman mythos while it still works like an origin story but then again not really. It’s just a really confusing movie, where character relationships aren’t well developed.

I wish the entire movie was about Russell Crow on Krypton, that part was awesome!

The funny thing is they made the same "Righteous USA symbol confronting the modern corrupt world" theme with Captain America and did it way better. The first Captain America doesn't even attempt to hide the fact that the character was created as USA propaganda during WWII and strictly portrays USA as the ultimate good guys. Winter Solider has Cap witness how SHIELD, the entity he relates to the most as "the good guys" was corrupted from the inside for years and turned into Neo Nazis. In Civil War the UN labels Cap as an international criminal and he pretty much turns against all goverments worldwide.

I think the mesagge is that Superman should save and protect humanity no matter if they hate him at first, he should continue to do so untill they start trusting on him and he could became the beacon of hope he is destined to be So the realization should be that in the meanwhile he shouldnt hide and let people die waiting to the world to be ready, he had to make the world accept him through his actions

Honestly, I believe JL Gods and monsters did a much better job at taking this weight and grit approach

The problem to me is the movie doesn't juxtapose using his powers with not using his powers. It creates a false dichotomy between complete passivity and going full Superman. So many times he could stand up for himself without force or, at the very least, dialing back his force to human-level. But the script won't let him do that.

Ya know, Richard Donner's SUPERMAN was made during a very cynical time too (the end of the Vietnam War, Watergate, the Pentagon Papers) and it went for the hopeful optimism that the Man of Steel represents. I think that movie did just fine...

The folks who edited the 2nd trailer know what Superman is truly about. It was the most inspiring 2/12 to 3 minutes I’ve ever spent on my phone!

I really can't understand why some people can't just watch the video before commenting.

"Hipster sad beard man" 😂😂 i think smallville, the tv show, is a better representation of superman

On top of that, a lot of Man of Steel's issues, as well as it's strengths, could have been fleshed out and improved in a sequel. There was enough ground as to why a billionare industrialist would hate Superman, why a vigilante would create a plan to combat an alien before befriending such, why a Future team of metahumans would agree not to kill and why citizens have a right to have concerns regarding their safety regarding people like Superman giving him obstacles to solve with the best traits and motifs that define his character and personality. And yet, Snyder and WB just wasted these opportunities in favor of marketing overhaul and money over why people loved these characters in the first place.

i like how Jonathan Kent is so afraid of what humanity will do to Clark, knowing that Clark's fucking invincible 🙄 i also like how Clark respects his dad so much he lets him die, then disrespects his wishes later to save some people who, you know, DIDN'T RAISE HIM

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you're saying that what went wrong was that the perfect, hopeful idealized trope of Superman was replaced with a dark and gritty Superman struggling with societal expectations. In all of your other "What Went Wrong" videos, the problem was that the movie was internally inconsistent or no character arc occurred, but neither of those are the case here. The movie is pretty consistent that Superman would be hated if he revealed his powers, and his arc is overcoming the refusal to call (even if it takes longer than in other stories) and being open about his powers despite that hate. The problem then isn't that something went wrong within the movie, but that the movie counters our previous imagining of Superman as entirely good. I don't see any problem with a re-imagining of the Superman character as dark and gritty. Art can be re-imagined in any number of ways as long as it's internally consistent and has character and story arcs, which this movie is and does.

*Moral of the Story: Don't 180 a franchise unless you know 100% what you're doing.* Don't give Mickey Mouse a handgun. Don't give the Watchmen a pink, magic wand. Don't give _My Little Pony_ a _Saw_ episode. Don't give _Saw_ a _My Little Pony_ movie entry.

To get a strong DC universe, it seems that the most important step is to get Superman right.

Thankyou, this is so good ! DC needs to see this. I can finally love superman, again.

The Kent's were done horribly wrong, Lois lane was too much of the focus point, and superman wasn't just a guy with superpowers. How did Lois lane a news reporter find superman out of the fbi, Csi, and etc?

*Man of Steel (Superman): What Went Wrong? - Wisecrack Edition* The comments section.

Smallville in my opinion did a waaaay better job at depicting Johnathan's death and the impact it had on Clark. That episode destroyed me.

Great analysis, as usual. Love your work. This made me think: how would Man of Steel be different if Clark knew the consequences of "coming out" as a superhero, but did it anyway? What if the world view remained a dark one, fit for our age I suppose, but Clark decided to be a hero nonetheless, to save the day, to hope and have faith in humanity? I think this could have made the movie consistent with the theme of Superman as a beacon of hope while at the same time maintaining a more cynical world view.

It's irrelevant what opinion we had already about superman from comics or previous movies. Snyder could present a completely different superman and still we could like the movie. The problem is that this movie is not good. And the reason for that is that it is in a hurry from the beginning. Everything happens too quickly, without a reason to happen.

Excellent analysis. Cuts through the fog.

Awesome vidoe makes so much more sense

Thanks for this video. Thank You!!

"Perry Mason" WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!

The darkness could've worked if there was some contrast. Imagine for a minute if the other charecters and the world were the same, but Superman was idealistic and altruistic; everyone tells him he shouldn't out himself, but he disagrees and becomes a hero. Some people still hate him, sure, but he thinks that is much less important than saving lives. That would be a much better movie, but it would still have the darkness and grit.

Thanks so much for the subtitles

This is a great summation of Man of Steel's thematic problems. Not some idiotic nitpicking of details but something that attacks the core problems of the movie. Great job.

Snyder´s vision is what destroyed DCEU, until now WW and Aquaman have to save it. Thank god WB kicked him out

Ok. It's January of 2020 at the time I'm writing this. I so badly wanted to see a detailed analogy on how MoS just neglects the very idea of Superman. I honestly never knew this video existed , but I'm happy I found it now. This channel , better than any other, explains why MoS just didn't work. Now I've been a Superman fan since my kindergarten days when my Mom introduced me to the character. I was and still am fascinated by the very ideals the character represents. Clark's morality , his value for human life and his strive for truth and justice is what made me fall in love with comics. Superman IS the quintessential superhero. The world's first. With that being said , I really abhore how Zack Snyder messed everything up in this movie. I've thought a lot about this "DCEU" trying to use my logic of what I know for reasoning. Now this movie came out in 2013 , when I was just in the 6th grade. As you would expect , I didn't thoroughly try to think about why this movie felt flat and as any kid would want , I just wanted to witness an action filled Superman movie and a kickass version of the character kinda like how he was in the JL animated series. Now, once I saw the movie (at that time) , I remember being blown away by the action scenes and how awesome Superman looked when he flew (I appreciated the flying thing cuz I had seen the old Superman movies and noticed the flying was a bit odd). But as a year or 2 passed , I began questioning this movie , asking myself "Is THIS the Superman I really know and love?" Then as 2016 came , I saw BvS and, me being a know nothing 15 year old kind of picked up on the fact that something is not right with this whole universe, let alone Superman. This video's analogy and mine are more or less the same. However , the only thing I want to add that I feel this video left out is my major issue is with the depiction of Clark's morality. Superman is a character with strong morals. It's the reason why he chooses to save people cuz it's the right thing to do. Not cuz he's drawn to situations to save people (like the video says). That being said , characters like Martha and Jonathan Kent , Lana Lang and Pete Ross are supposed to be his moral compass. Those are the people Clark grows up with and helps him learn the full extent and true beauty of humanity. But in MoS , Pete Ross is a guy who works at iHOP , and doesn't contribute anything to the story. Martha & Jonathan Kent don't instil good values in him and instead make Clark question them and Lana Lang is nowhere to be found. This kinda felt really odd to me. Sure Lana isn't there initially but she's supposed to show up somewhere down the line because she's one character that embodies a bit of childhood innocence in her friendship with Clark. Her involvement is at least 5% instrumental to the person Clark turns out to become. Also , in the modern sense , Superman should not just be an allegorical Christ, but he must be the embodiment what what society could and should be and not like how evil and corrupt it actually is. He's supposed to be an example of everything right with humanity and inspire them to be better and be good.

This video is excellent and so well put. DC Films should pay attention to this!

You should do star wars episodes 1,2 and 3. that went really wrong. Love you guys! :D

"Damit Clark"

i remember seeing this movie in theater i slept throughout the movie

Batman is dark, he's even called "the dark knight." Superman is not dark, he is not batman. Batman even calls superman " the boy scout."

this is a completely fair and valid assessment. too bad no one in any position capable of accountable action.will see this and apply it at all.

what went wrong? They put fucking Zack Snyder directing these superhero movies.

Suicide Squad should've been grittier than this

The reluctant hero point is a really interesting one. I never thought of it framed like that.

Man of steel is an amazing movie in everyway...

"Imagine if Luke had spend an hour contemplating the pros and cons of using the force" You don't have to imagine it, it's in cinemas now ;)

Main issue is pretty damn simple, that's not Superman and never was.

My favorite superman movie

Best job you've done yet. Take on Harry Potter, changes over the series, and changes in a central character Dumbledore with the actor change.

Perry Mason?

Everyone wants the old supermans. This is new take it or leave it personally as a modern day superman its great.

Really Greatly Explained

the movie is ok but the viewer's have a tendency of wanting to see what they dream about instead of seeing the dark truth of reality and accepting it

As someone who thought the film was okay I can see where you're coming from but I don't think it's that bad.

The last battle is not celebrated by the film cause literally in the sequel bvs we see that the battle of Metropolis caused more people to hate and fear Superman, just like pa Kent predicted

Perfectly put.

7:03 there's another point... 3) he had no moral obligation to become a hero and yet he becomes one... Out of choice

Nothing went wrong, saved everyone 14 min

They temple of doomed it, that's what If you don't know temple of doom was made darker because George Lucas saw how much empire was loved and thought "I'll just do that here " , CAUSE THE FACT THAT IT'S DARKER ALONE MADE IT GOOD , it's trying imitating something good without realising why it's good in the first place which can easily said for the whole dceu

I don't want a Superman movie that tries to rationalize Clark letting his own family die, or throwing off-screen tantrums to get back at petty jerks, or causing property damage instead of saving his Mom.

Great break down ,alot of people dont like Mos but dont understand why so they say its too dark or too much destruction ,I think you broke it down well here , I also like to add you see what happens in Krypton then Jor- El explains it to Kal later on so you get the same exposition twice , not only could this have been time better spent but also better for the Audience and the protagonist to learn these things together as it feels like you with the Journy with him

TBH I think the most realistic example of what would happen if there were people with superpowers is Super Powereds by Drew Hayes

a dark superman story could work just not so early And not like that

My biggest complaint was Jonathan Kent. That was weak sauce! I could live with everything else.

The entire video is RIP logic.

"Perry Mason?"

Man of steel was perfect. I kinda liked a darker tone. It felt realistic at least

you think the few people behind him can't see clack run fast to save his father which every one is watching -_- this have to be a joke

the idea of MoS depicting clark's life at the beginning phase of becoming superman is excellent, shame that the execution of this idea turned out shit, it's got soooo much potential to become a masterpiece of a film that could change everything everyone knew about superman as an iconic character in general, yet they lost it all with all kinds of stupid scenarios, poor character arc and weird-ass pacing issues. MoS could have been a masterpiece like Nolan's batman begins leading to the dark knight. Such a shame indeed.

I wasn't a particular fan of Superman comics before watching the movie, I didn't have any "stakes" in it, or what was the right or wrong version. I thought the movie was really solid!

Really looking forward to you doing justice league. If I can't enjoy the movie I may as well enjoy one of these video essays.

This movie's climax aftermath is the equivalent of SpongeBob's episode in which he drives the hole city to fear, chaos and anarchy because of a butterfly they mistake for a savage monster, only for him to say to Patrick "We saved the city" while Bikini Bottom is on fire.

I didn't see man of steel for many reason and this is one of them, but also I saw the trailer and I saw that they completely destroyed Superman. They changed his outfit, they made his suit look dark like Batman and also Superman is NOT A GOD. Superman is like the grandfather of hero's the original, You don't mess with Superman.

Nothing went wrong it´s an Amazing movie!

I think that many guys out there are missing something. Do you think that in the rest of the movies, whether is DC or Marvel, the characters portrayed are exactly true to the source material? I think not. You think that Tony Stark is like in the comics? In the comics is an alcoholic less colorful dude than in the movies. And also you think Thor is like in Thor Ragnarok? In half of the movie he is portrayed as a goofy man, when in the comics he is nothing like it. And finally you think Nolans Joker is true to the material? Joker in that movie is in many ways different than what he is in the comics. I love all the above mentioned movies. I watched them more than 3 or 4 times each and i will do again in the future. The point is that all these difference didn't stop me from enjoying those movies. So why all this hate on Snyder versions and the complaints that he is changing what superman and batman is?

Awesome! Can you guys please do a video on Valerian - the city of a thousand planets:) The most underated movie of the year. Love your channel!!!!

Honestly, I also think the injustice comic also plagued this idea that a darker/gritty Superman = cool/better written character And the scene with Pa Kent was SUCH a bastardized ideal of who the Kent’s were/are.

To be fair I don't think I'd go to a movie called "Hipster Sad Beard Man"

"Imagine if luke spent an hour contemplating the pros and cons of using the force. You'd grow to hate the guy." Jared calling The last jedi early damn

The point that I agree with the most from wisecrack is on the refusal of the call. Had it been a short period of him refusing the call, seeing the destruction that was caused by not involving himself and then becoming a hero that would’ve been much better!

This critique is wrong from the get go because it assumes Superman should be an idealist from the the beginning. You're forgetting that this is his first time out as Superman. His father was right because that was the most realistic way to look at it. his father's fears were confirmed in BVS. This Superman was more worldly than any other we have seen. He chose to walk the earth as a man and saw all versions of man. You are forgetting that the central theme is choice. The objective of the film was to show us that the Superman that fights for truth and justice, didn't have to be a paragon of hope but rather he chose to be. The audience here was the issue they wanted the idealized version of the hero without taking into account what it took to get him to that mindset. Man of Steel is the deconstruction of that (the director himself said that). Contrary to popular belief they did not want to make Superman into another batman, his journey was different.

The point of the movie is that humanity isnt ready for superman, and he knowz that. But he has to take a leap of faith anyway, and trust them to one day be ready.

Short answer: EVERYTHING.

It's pretty funny when an actor like Russell Crowe can give one of the most inspiring lines in a superhero movie, like ever. Crowe's monologue about Kal-El leading humanity to the light is so uplifting and filled with good vibes that it embodies the character like nothing we've seen so far from the DCEU.

Spot on

If anything, this is a real showcase of Ayn Rand's objectivist philosophy. Zack Snyder has been trying to make fountainhead for years, is a bonafide drinker of the coolaid in the righteousness of being selfish. And that's what the DC universe Superman embodies. This is even more apparent in BvS, where the man of steel is almost a sociopath in how he treats people, how he reacts to situations. Look at The Watchmen, and tell me you don't see parallels. Synder can't conceive of a being that powerful & simultaneously that altruistic.

This video made me like man of steel even more

With the release of avengers infinity war, could you do a few philosophies of both iron man and captain based on each other’s MCU film trilogies?

I like your videos, opinions and analysis and as for this video I must say there are some interesting thoughts you've pointed out. But...as for Man of Steel movie, I agree with Reel Analysis video from 2014 more.