Why People Don't Understand Superman And The Problem With Modern Comic Book Media 

Kindness, fairness, and justice will never be irrelevant

It’s okay to write a dark Superman story, just don’t make the character dark. Superman isn’t dark, the situations and villains he faces are dark.

The whole thing about people finding Superman boring and lacking in personality is mainly a western phenomenon. In much of Africa, were i am from, and most of the world (many manga heroes were inspired by him) he is still beloved and adored as a great hero and personality mainly because our societies don't have the weird cultural obsession with relativism and cynicism and we prefer heroic characters who stand for good, no matter how cliched it seems❤

I think the most ideal criticism of Superman can be summarized by a quote from the Green Goblin. "The one thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail, fall, die trying. In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually, they'll hate you. Why bother?"

The only way superman would turn out different in another parallel universe would be the family that would happen to find him as a baby.

I think we're finally in a time where people want to believe in a good guy again. We've had enough of the angst and dark takes on heroes. We need to see that a good guy can beat the odds by just staying true to who he is and by simply wanting to help other people just because he can. Superman is Superman to us because he doesn't give up no matter what, that what he says is always the truth, and that we can count on him to be there for us when we need him most. We need Superman now more than ever.

Superman the Animated Series, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited all have my favorite incarnation of the character. The stories got dark and outside forces were trying to tempt him to go dark but at the moment of truth, he revealed who he really was: a man who is not a murderer. He’s a man of principle and a believer of peace & justice.

It's quite simple to me. If you don't like the original character of Superman, then don't get involved with producing entertainment about him. That goes for all of the these characters. If you don't like the characters, stay away. Yeah, I know they like the money they can make. But that makes it even worse. Don't do it just for the money. But unfortunately that won't happen very often.

I fell out of Superman for a bit. But then I saw someone talk about Superman vs The Elite and decided to watch it. This lead me to watching the DCAU again after so many years. It's been great. Also Death of Superman is my favorite Super movie.

been a long time reader i think what makes a good superman story is knowing the core of the character, superman is supposed to represent the best in us the best in humanity, his family is also the core of his beliefs, Superman can't physically be challenged that's boring, it has to come from the mental to show that despite who he is that he is still imperfect like all of us.

The way you were describing how Superman wouldn’t turn bad and how ridiculous that notion is, completely reminded me of the argument I, and many others made about how ridiculous it was that Disney thought Luke Skywalker would even have the slightest thought of killing his own nephew because he sensed a little Darkness in him. It was the dumbest thing ever! Edit: Just got to the 22:40 section where you mentioned this! Nice! Amazing video!

I had heard that Zach Snyder wanted to make _Batman v. Superman_ a one-for-one adaptation of _Dark Knight Returns,_ but WB wouldn't let him do that because Superman is a minor antagonist in _Dark Knight Returns_ (as I understand it). WB wanted to make it seem like both characters were on equal moral footing, and in the process, forced Snyder to make both characters mentally and morally deficient. I've never been Snyder's biggest defender (I use the term "Snyder Cut" to refer to most things that are "darker and edgier" than they have any right to be with characters acting completely out of character, like the live-action _Titans_ show), but I will step-in in this case.

I always thought if Superman lost Lois he would be more likely peace out than go crazy.

Batman said it best; "Superman has the power of a god, but how lucky are we that it never occurred to him"

If they're trying to make Superman relatable and make him cynical and dark, they're saying that the modern audience is cynical and dark. Instead of trying to flatter the audience saying Superman is like them, instead try harder to understand the modern audience and write stories that relate the original and timeless positivity and hope from Superman in a way that is more contextual and relatable with people who are more cynical and dark.

They were able to make Captain America hopeful and inspirational in the MCU, but apparently Superman has to be dark and brooding now. For some reason?

Green Goblin killing Gwen Stacy is different than the _Injustice_ situation for three reasons: 1) Gwen and Peter were not married. 2) It was not by Peter's hand that Gwen died. 3) New York didn't explode. This is not to say that I think anything like _Injustice_ should ever happen in the prime continuity, but I just want to establish the difference in scale here. You know, Hal Jordan, the best of the GLC, was possessed by Parallax after Coast City was destroyed, so...

The thing I liked most about 90's Superman is that he had NO powers what-so-ever until he was a late teenager. To me, this communicates that while his body is not human, his mind and soul very much is.

Spider-man is the venn diagram center between Batman and Superman. Change my mind. Like Superman he's a superpowerd down to earth idealist who wears a red and blue costume and who's alter ego is a normal average Joe who works at a news company. Like Batman he's a strategic tactical fighter and inventor with a strict no killing rule who uses grappling hooks a lot and is a popular superhero based on an animal that a lot of people are afraid of.

It's always been funny to me that the man WB picked to write and direct for Superman almost word for word quoted Manchester Black in what's so funny about Truth, Justice, and the American Way

Because Superman is the beacon of hope that stand high. No matter what happens, who comes, who wants to destroy moral and safety he will be there to stop it. No but, if or and. He is the one that stands when everyone fails and falls. He is the archetype, the embodyment of true justice, kindness, heart and hope. There is no fighting him, there is no lilling him, he is above , he is the notion of peace when everything fails There is Superman... and there is everything and everyone else after. The count is for the number two, the number one is not a discussion.

What I don't get is Why do people constantly underestimate his power?

Kingdom Come's Superman also loses Lois because of the Joker, but he didn't kill him - Magog does, and then he testifies in court that Magog shouldn't have killed the Joker but Magog wins the case; gets free and is even acclaimed by the crowd and media, so Superman retires from humanity thinking he is no longer needed. That is truly the Superman I love, and if some people find Superman boring, it's only because the stories they read weren't well written. Superman has a good sense of humour, he is optimistic, deeply love humans and makes a good contrast with Batman, even if they share the same moral code. I may alos add the example of Frank Miller's DK III where Batman realises that all this time before Superman never used his full power and was constantly holding back to not harm his enemies - something similar though to the Marvel Universe's Spider-Man (who always held back to not harm his enemies as well), which makes your parallel between the two even more relevant. Superman is abd always should be the embodiment of Truth and Justice - period.

I think a lot of more recent comics have still captured the character. Rebirth, Up In The Sky, American Alien, even Bendis's run had a good Superman(everything else around him wasn't great). Then you have Superman and Lois also righting the ship. I do think we can get people to love Superman again. It just takes the right person at the helm

I feel like I have to explain this to everyone who hates The Last Jedi: Luke does not DECIDE to kill Ben, he CONTEMPLATES the idea of killing him, but hesitates. Ben misread the situation and thought he was going to kill him, when he really decided not to.

The last time we got a truly good Superman story on screen was the all star adaption with Dwayne McMuduffie shortly before he passed. DC hasn’t been the same without him. RIP

Superman is best when the author emphasizes the Man part of him over the Super part.

A great analysis! Thank you! I never got the impression that Zack Snyder really understood Superman. It felt like he wanted to take someone else’s creation and appropriate it into his own version.

I remember I used to be an MCU fangirl and I hadn't watched a singular movie from DC because people told me they were bad or cringy.... I hadn't even watched The Dark Knight series HOWEVER after Endgame, the quality that the MCU was putting out was bleh so I decided: What the heck let's give DC a shot *I was shook* So first off I watch Man of Steel all the way to Zach Snyder's Justice League (now I'm mad because he wrote the character wrong *but* at the time I was shook at how dark DC gets and how powerful Superman is. I then watched the New 52 DCAU movies in chronological order and those weren't bad at all one of my top favorites is The Death of Superman (great movie ) After that I watched other movies before the DCAU and the Tomorrowverse I liked Superman: Man of Tomorrow, I enjoyed everything I even watched Smallville and really liked it, especially the Season 10 Finale ' But by far the best one I have seen is Superman vs The Elite.... Not only is the climatic fight scene awesome but the entire message of the movie and who Superman is *pure perfection* ---- So that how I became an MCU fangirl to a sworn DC girl to the day I die. Oh and can't forget about my boi Barry (love his comics and animated movies )...The Flash also wasn't bad at least one the beginning seasons That said GO WATCH SUPERMAN VS THE ELITE if you haven't already YOU WILL THANK ME LATER *bows of stage* If you want to see some Superman feats I did write this a while back (it has many feats many haven't heard of ): qr.ae/prPAPN

I think Superman based on my knowledge would at most kill Joker, then, knowing what he's done, resign from superheroics entirely, because with the death of his morals, came the death of superman he actually did kill Mr. Myxzptlk in a alt universe comic, then he stripped his powers with gold kryptonite and retired

Probably something will see for Superman legacy

Peter Parker is no longer a high school student that lacks confidence in himself.

I'd like to think if Metropolis was nuked and Lois Lane died that Superman could go to the Justice League for the love and support from long-time companions rather than the comforts of authoritarianism

Captain America is also the greatest embodiment of what it means to be a great person, to do the right thing, and to use hope and optimism in the correct way.

Truth , justice, and the American way; case closed.

We ignore that batman would 100 percent would become a world spanning dictator if he loosened his moral code. The guy is insane. joking aside good job on the video.

long story short: people who say that superman is lame or doesn't fit current times (especially snyder) are idiots who saw superman and decided 'wow this guy sucks, he can fly"

Batman "strict moral code" is a retcon/half written detail added to is character. Batman was drawn and written by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Kane got most credit due to being an employee while Finger was a free agent. Kane mostly wrote Batman as a Pulp Action Hero who uses guns and kills criminals, kinda like The Shadow and The Phantom. Heck, he killed the bad guy in is very first comic. The "No guns, no killing" rule was forced onto him by the Comics Code Authority, the Bill Finger writing took over. The reason movies show Batman killing is because they are staying true to Bob Kane's Batman, it's okay to prefer Bill Finger's but still never ignore the Bob Kane vigilante Batman. I personally want to see something different from Year 1, I want to see a Batman story that tells HOW he goes from violent pulp action hero vigilante to redeemed superhero and his Rogues represent a reminder of who he once was and is trying to move on from. Also, DCEU coulda been saved if JL revealed that Darksied came to Earth, fought the Ideal Justice League and lost, but then captured Flash, harnessed the Flash's ability to time travel and then went back to tinker with the hero's origins, like intimidating Jonathan Kent to instill doubt into Clark as a kid, so that by the time he arrives on Earth, the League is too broken to beat him, but The Flash managed to counter him by warning Bruce in the past. In my humble opinion, Injustice shoulda had Batman be more inclined to go bad instead of Superman. Seeing Superman, another ideal hero who reminded him of Harvey Dent, fall down the dark path by killing Joker result in Batman going rogue and looking for another Joker to fight but can't. His increased aggression pushes Superman to form the Regime to put an end to Batman's extremism. That way, when the Prime Justice League come to the Injustice reality, they are LED to believe Superman went bad when he killed Joker by Batman so they would help him, but then they learn Batman was manipulating them to help him kill his Justice League and by the time they discover the truth, he starts putting Tower of Babel into affect, making the Justice League underdogs against Batman. By the end, Injustice Batman would be beaten and told he's no better than Joe Chill if he kills the Justice League. Injustice Batman would then turn himself in and the Regime, while seeming looking like a dictatorship is actually trying to stop people who followed the renegade Batman.

I think Injustice is fine for two reasons. One, Superman does not become a dictator immediately, but over the course of five years during which his morals are pushed further. Two, it's more of a What If? story so I'm ok if the character is slightly different. Honestly I think Wonder Woman is far more out of character in Injustice since she is often more violent than Superman but without traumatic experience.

You know, what I look in a lot of my favorite characters, especially those like The Puppet from FNAF, King Boo from Luigi's Mansion, and several Disney protagonists like Luz Noceda or Quasimodo, those positive traits that I see that they have (with the exception of King Boo, honestly, I'll have to pass those traits down to Luigi but King Boo just seems so cool!) have similarities with Superman. So in the most roundabout way possible, Superman is kind of my favorite character and my main inspiration for my own character. Zack Snyder didn't have a real reason, he just did it cause he felt like it was the best choice he could make. Here’s my advice and my way of looking at redefining characters or franchises, you redefine a comic book character the same way you redefine The SCP Foundation, The Backrooms, Trevor Henderson monsters, Sonic.exe, Slenderman, Smile Dog, Eyeless Jack, Laughing Jack, or any other creepypasta. If you do something that just feels right, that just feels like a direction you can pull the character in, then you must do a lot of that thing right. If you have 100% of a good idea to execute, use 100% of that good idea and execute it as flawlessly as you can. I believe "The Batman"'s version of Batman didn't kill, mostly because the people behind that movie didn't put any time, energy, and interest into doing it. ... My reaction to these modern Superman stories is to create an in-universe story that takes place in the Marvel and DC universe. This is to create a story about a boy who was neglected by the school system. He later grew up to become a superhero who nowadays attempts to hold people responsible for their actions through the art of storytelling. This young man is none other than The StoryTeller, and he runs a smalltime independent "company" (it's much more of like a public club than a company) that prints an entire comic book run telling multiple stories both a resource creation for his schemes to go after villains and as a front for those schemes and his secret identity.

You should have included the full Grant Morrison quote. His take wasn’t strange or unrelated. He was simply saying that patriarchal structures played a role in warping the perception of Superman and what’s acceptable for his character, which is 100% true.

A interesting point of comparison would be with back in black with Peter beating Fisk within an inch of his life and saying if May dies he's coming back to finish the job

As for Man of Steel the problem is that Snyder is still simping for Ayn Rand and her stupid philosophy I miss superman being a father to young John it was the best one of his stories it was modern but still had the core of the character while now they aged up Johnathan taking away most of his childhood and taking away Clark from earth

The recent Superman comic: Superman: Red, White, and Blue is a perfect example of how not to make a Superman comic.

Another one who doesn't understand what was happening in that post-bus scene in Man of Steel. When Clark asks Jonathan, "Should I just let them die," and Jonathan answers, "Maybe..." Jonathan is teaching Clark by example that the answers are not always clear insofar as the effect they'll have on the future. He was also demonstrating that it's okay to admit that you don't have all the answers and that it is in fact a sign of inner strength to be able to admit that both to yourself and to others. I don't even like this movie and It's clear that Snyder was the wrong guy for the job, but even with how much I dislike this movie I can read the subtext.

I actually have an idea about using a open-world game to express both Superman and Klark's lifestyle by enteractive mechanics by players. I'm planning to do a UE5 demo of such idea and it's not only about Superman yet also about a Batman game's concept with my fellows in two years. And I will kickstarter such project.

I'd like to see the Bat-Bot from "His Silicon Soul" resurrected in some distant future to be "The Batman"

YOu make a really great point about the injustice and Snyder Superman. While Lois is his heart, Superman is well adjusted and the BEST of us. He would most likely retreat to his fortress, mourn her, and then return to the world and be a example of how to honor the ones we love and loss. You really make a amazing point. His foundation is everything. Although if you do change the source material like the Snyderverse, Superman was warned by Pa Kent that humans where not ready. So I can see him very easily turning to Darksied when the first human he chooses to love is taken from him. It was good writting by Zach, but he does tarnish, and miss the mark with our beloved character. I loved his movies, however, I am still a bigger fan of the original Donner movie. I just rewatched it, and it was beautiful.

I really liked this essay, kudos to you sir! I hope your channel will explode with subscriptions.

Modern Superman depressing? Not really, he represents a man who feels lost like any orphan does. He lives in our world, a world divided with his presence, something his father warned about. By the end of Man of Steel he finds his identity and a job to be able to help. By the end of BVS hr finally knows his place when he looks at Lois and says "You're my world" a statement reflected by what he heard his father's ghost say when talking about how Martha became his world and stopped the nightmares he had after accidentally destroying the neighboring farms crops. And qe see in Zack Snyder's Justice League that he has that confidence, confidence enough to be smiling while fighting and even making a quip that's not cheesy or stupid. Zack Snyder's take on Superman worked very well and if it weren't for WB's constant meddling it would've been a great overall arc. Snyder built Superman up in Man of Steel, what we see in BVS is the consequences of him being exposed to the world. We didn't fully see that in Man of Steel.

I have to say it again. You make such a great point that Pa Kent in Snyder verse was the MAJOR FLAW. He was FAR TOO SYNICAL. Superman, already has to deal with a sinical world so his needed to be a source of his optimism. I forgot how much that was a part of the story that I connected to and loved as a child. And from a broken home myself, was the reason why superman was so important to me. He was the north star of my conscious. And his days on the farm filled my imagination in my own yard.

Found this channel by accident and I agree 💯 Supes is my favorite... figured I was the only one that thought this way regarding these characters particularly Supes... Superman and Lois has become my favorite show in place of Smallville because they don't attempt to redefine the character just put a modern spin on it...thx for this I really appreciated everything you said Supes is the most human of us all even the late great Stan Lee said "...the reason my Marvel characters are imperfectly relatable is because they're all trying to imitate him (Supes) & give us something to believe in and hope for..."👈💯💪

Superman has a standard and an immortal status that has evolved since his original creation. But he stands for something we can never be, but aspire to want to be. I believe in that Superman, hopeful, protective and inspiring. If you want darkness, then you have Batman, another amazing creation. Respect.

Superman was the first super hero i was introduced to as a kid in the 2000s in Nigeria when i would watch the DCAU cartoons and the okd Fleischer cartoons on VHS, and to this day, he is my favorite Super hero and one of the top popular fictional characters in my country❤ I love him cause he is heroic, kind, compassionate, inspiring, inspire of his suffering and flaws and also not a jaded, misanthropic character, as most western "super heroes" have become. These days i tend to buy and read manga cause modern western comics just stopped being good around 2017😢 Man of Steel and the whole DCEU was a disappointment for how it botched Superman in terms of character but i hope with great stuff like the HBO Superman and Lois cartoon, we can get back to more heroic and better super heroes😌👏👏

I grew up with Superman in the 80s reading comic books. My grandmother got me all the Fletcher Cartoons on VHS. Watches the Donner films, etc. To me Superman isn’t Superman if he’s not about hope. Superman is a symbol of tomorrow, something to inspire humanity to eventually be. A side note, Spider-Man doesn’t always do the right thing. He often does selfish things especially when the burden of a heron wreaks havoc on his personal life. He learns Uncle Ben’s lesson over and over again. Usually, Superman always does the right thing. The industry often mistakenly thinks “how do we make Superman relatable” which how they fail at making a good Superman. Superman’s appeal isn’t “he’s like me” Superman’s appeal is “I wish we could be as good as him.”

What makes superman a great character. He is a regular man from Smallville Kansas. Superman is the mask that clark wears to openly use his superpowers.Kal L is superman to aliens. Clark Kent is superman to the people of earth. People from earth don't know that superman is a farmer . He went to college to become a journalist. He has his favorite football and basketball team. He goes to farm expos.He loves being a journalist. And he have a great sense of humor. When a writer understand this. Then they are able to write some great superman stories. If dc would have gotten some one from the start who respected and understand who and what superman / clark kent is as a person. We could have been deep in some really good superman movies right now. Instead of getting nothing but deconstruction of his character. Also the one thing that most superman stories get right outside of man of steel. Clark kent childhood was just as normal as yours and mine.

Just came across this video. Bit late to the part, I know. But you have a new sub. I agree with everything here. Superman is one of my favourite, if not, THE favourite superhero. And my favourite Superman movie is the Christopher Reeve movies, one and two. I watched Superman The Movie when I was around 6 and it stuck with me, to this day. As much as I enjoyed Man of Steel, I felt it was very pessimistic and missing something. One of my favourite quotes (and I’m not sure where it came from) is “You don’t make it relevant. You make it inspiring.”

I believe the best version of Superman is the version pitched by super Hollywood producer/ screenwiter Max Landis, the son of legendary 80's film maker John Landis . In which Superman is more human. He is a guy who is getting to know him self as his develop powers develop. In the same way there are no stories of Christ between the time he is 12 years old til his adult life, Superman from my experience story is the same. I'm not calling him Christ like. I'm just saying that nuance is like the Christ story, but in Landis's " American Alien" he explores Clark Kent at 17 years old getting into trouble and uses puberty as an intro point to his powers. Landis's Martha and John Kent are younger which allows them to grow up with Clark and make the mistakes that teach him right from wrong... I love this I'm a big fan!!!

I'm not going to say this was a good idea, but I know what the plan was for Old Luke Skywalker: they were leaning harder into the King Authur allegory. Authur is secretly the rightful heir to England, Luke Skywalker is secretly the son of Jedi Knight Anikan Skywalker. Aurthur meets Merlin, Luke meets Obi-Wan. Excalibur and Lightsabers. Now this is where Last Jedi comes in: King Authur kills his nephew Mordred by accident and banishes himself to a deserted island, Luke almost kills his nephew Ben by accident and banishes himself to a deserted island. That's what they were going for. The problems with this idea are two-fold: assuming the audience would care about this allegory (almost nobody does), and assuming George Lucas cared about the allegory for more than about 30 minutes (he totally didn't, if you know anything about the production of Empire Strikes Back)

38:55 The sole exception is when vampires get involved but even then vampires are undead creatures of the night so if anything he’s more so saving them by making it to were their souls and or corpses can rest peacefully instead of being in this undead state where they have to suffer.

Nothing wrong with gatekeeping, sometimes it is sadly needed.

The death of Superman’s adoptive parents isn’t what motivated him to become a superhero.

Great video! Just one question. What did you think of Smallvilles take on Superman/Clark. It's my favorite live action take on the character because it brings the character's personality that has been missing with other adaptations. Also the show and character wasn't too dark or too campy. We also get great side characters and a great Lex Luthor adaptation too in my opinion.

I definitely don't think Spider-Man or Superman would ever become a dictator. The DC animated universe is praised for how well it depicts its characters but even the Justice League animated series has an episode where Superman becomes a dictator. And I hate it.

I loved this video so much Im know a new subscriber. I have a question though? Are you ok with the new quote "Truth, justice, and a better tomorrow" or should it stay"...and the American way"?

This video was my intro to this channel and I couldn’t agree more! I was entertained by Snyder’s take on Superman, but it was far from what I’m looking for in a true Superman movie and yes, a lot of it came down to the lessons taught by Johnathan Kent.

Superman has to be the most human alien ever, even surpassing humans themselves. He actually puts humans to shame. That may be because of his almost insurmountable power and the knowledge of that power makes him much more cautious about wielding it

Have you watched Superman: Man of tomorrow?

But, Lois didnt just die. She was killed by Superman. By killing his wife, and unborn son, he also killed his city. That would drive a person crazy.

I'm a believer in Superman having a "no kill" rule. That's what differentiates DC's heroes from others. They have strict moral rules and are beacons of inspiration for others to aspire towards. Barry Allen, Batman, and Superman have all killed in main line continuity, but I don't feel those actions fit the characters. I like the storyline where Maxwell Lord has Superman under mind control and leaves no choice but for him to be killed. Wonder Woman is a warrior, so she makes the tough decision to kill him, but Superman and Batman are both extremely upset. Those two should always find another way, while Wonder Woman is there to provide a failsafe.

I am Generation-X. I was in Elementary School when Lou Ferigno was The Hulk on the TV Series. At that time, MARVEL Comic Book Readers said that Superman was overpowered. The fact was, Superman was on par with The Silver Surfer; although, Superman flexed his Muscles more than he flexed his Energy Blast Attacks; while, The Silver Surfer flexed his Energy Blast Attacks more than he flexed his Muscles. The Hulk Fans especially hated Superman for very much the same reasons that King Kong Fans hated Godzilla. In fact, I refer to the 1970s "Kid Friendly" Godzilla as "The Superman" Godzilla; because, Godzilla was in competition against the George Reeves Superman; thus, Godzilla was given some Ridiculous Powers. The Hulk Comic Book Fans enjoyed the total mayhem and destruction that was depicted within THE INCREDIBLE HULK Comic Book Series; and, looked forward to seeing that kind of mayhem in Live-Action. The Hulk Fans were disappointed when The Hulk had the Adam West BATMAN Violence Level. "Sex & Violence Sells"; therefore, Superman getting the Dark Treatment is on par for the Live-Action Movies; and, Batman kills Villains. Christopher Reeves made a point to keep his Live-Action Superman in faith with the Comic Book Superman; even though, his Superman Movies didn't follow any Superman Comic Book Storylines. Here is the thing about Comic Book Storylines and Animation Storylines and Live-Action Storylines. A Comic Book that is designed to be read in 30 Minutes will have more Storyline Content than a 30-Minute Animation of that same Comic Book Storyline. That Animation Storyline will have more Storyline Content than a Live-Action Storylines of that same Animation Storyline and that same Comic Book Storyline. The Original Live-Action FLINTSTONES Theater Movie was a retelling of the FLINTSTONES Animation Storyline. Much of it was Scene Per Scene. The FLINTSTONES Animation TV Series Storyline took up 2 or 3 Episodes. I forget. Each Episode took up a 30-Minute TV Airing Time Slot. Each TV Airing Time Slot has about 15 Minutes of Commercial Breaks; thus, each Episode was actually about 15 Minutes in length. Thus, the Original Animated Storyline was about 30 Minutes to 45 Minutes in length. The Live-Action FLINTSTONES Theater Movie Storyline took about 2 Hours. With the Live-Action Superhero Theater Movies, the Producers and Directors favor detailing the Combat Sequences over detailing the Superhero Character Interactions. MARVEL Comic Book Storylines have Superheroes crossing over into each other's Series on a regular basis; thus, there are a lot of Social Interactions between MARVEL Superheroes without there needing Special Storyline Issues. DC Comic Book Storylines tend to be Self-Contained Single Issue affairs; thus, DC Superheroes don't cross over each other's Series very often; and, there is often a Special Series Publication featuring DC Superhero Team-Ups. Live-Action MARVEL Team-Up Movies have better Superhero Character Interactions than Live-Action DC Team-Up Movies because of this dynamic. Most DC Superhero Interactions are because of the Justice League Storylines; or, the Justice Society Storylines. The Thanos Storyline took many Individual Issues to manifest within the MARVEL Comic Books. The Kree-Skrull War took years to resolve itself. Initially, both the Kree-Skrull and the Skrull were viewed as The Laughing Stock Of The Universe. Then the MARVEL Creators decided to have the Superheroes align themselves with either the Kree or the Skrull. Then the Superheroes had a Civil War amongst themselves over The Kree-Skrull War. Then, the Superheroes started comparing notes amongst themselves; and, realized that they all have been duped. This storyline took years to manifest itself. CAPTAIN MARVEL condensed that storyline into one Theater Movie that didn't involve any other Superhero. Live-Action Theater Movie Story Telling is very dependent upon the success of each Theater Movie independent of any other Theater Movie.

Totally agree with the misinterpretation of the isolated god and/or dark & brooding superhuman version of Batman. Man of Steel ignores the fact that he grew up around kids and people in Smallville. Superman is hope, light, and striving for the best of humanity. Writers struggle to show how human he is or how he is vulnerable even with all his power. Superman the Movie got it right. When he can’t save his dad from a heart attack- best representative in of his power being useless in the face of life/reality.

Or, Why the world needs Superman.

When you said that Christopher Reeve's Superman was "cartoonishly hopeful" you lost all credibility. You say that we haven't had a definitive version of Superman on the big screen? Christopher Reeve WAS the definitive version of Superman. You just countered your own argument and confirmed that you don't even understand Superman the way you think you do. As for why Batman, and the Marvel characters are more popular than Superman is because those interpretations actually fit today's society and how people view themselves and the world. The Kingdom Come Superman is perfect in his characterization and works in that story because he's a member of the old guard who has those down home, literally old fashioned ideals that are definitely much needed and should have been instilled in the younger generation of heroes. When you modernize a character like Superman and we get what we've gotten with the current interpretation it is because of where society is today where people are today. The theme and atmosphere in the world today is much darker so the heroes people create or recreate or want to read about are written to match that mindset and ideology. They unfortunately are wrong but that's only because the powers that be, the people, institutions and organizations and super rich families that have been controlling society for too, too long now have conditioned and bred hopefulness, fair play and basic humanity out of the citizens of this country. That's why in a lot of cases we get a misinterpretation of Superman because that interpretation does not fit with today's society. It's not that people misunderstand Superman it's that he does not fit the current mode of today's society. I'm not supporting a dark and killing type of hero I'm just saying that what you think is a misinterpretation is a misinterpretation of the modern era's idea of super heroes in general. And yes we need our grandfathers and the old timers from years gone by to once again stand up and reassert authority of the younguns of the world and begin to teach us again what true humanity and heroism is.

This is a great video Good job 👍 I subscribed

Imo, the best part of Injustice 1, the game, was at the very end when the "real" Superman reinforces the promise Batman made to him if he should ever go full evil. The fact that he even has the foresight to acknowledge this as a possibility and makes plans to stop, or even have himself killed, shows how much he does care about the world around him.

Amazing breakdown, listening to this whilst writing a book and creating mythos, this helped. Thanks

Weird that a Max Landis would suggest a "Batman does the R-Word Situation". Seems to be right up his alley. Besides mentioning this guy, great video man. Loving a lot of your points here.

I disagree with the Luke Skywalker part. You are looking at Kylo’s perspective. Luke ignited the lightsaber without thinking. It passed by instantly and he was left with shame. He saw his family and friends die and had an instant reaction to protect them, he didn’t think that this was his nephew, he saw a threat. To reiterate, he never went to kill Kylo, that’s not why he went to see kylo. Just remember that Luke almost killed Vader because he threatened to turn his sister. Luke has always been a flawed character and Luke didn’t turn away from everyone out of cowardice or fear. He did it because he believed that the galaxy would do better without him. Luke’s arc in this movie is based off the story of King Arthur, and what he becomes when he is older, he finds himself again, he realises what his legend represents and inspires hope again. Which is what Luke was in this movie. I think Luke’s arc in the last Jedi was misinterpreted by angry fans and it rubbed off on many other people to the point they took the wrong parts of the story and made that truth. You don’t have to like it, but people’s criticisms are flawed.

My biggest hurdle from getting into the "god superhero comics" is that I do not know where to start, and asking people "which ones to read?" will often mix the good and the "good", because so few people specify what makes it good. Sometimes it becomes even worse by someone who recommends a good comicbook, but it is not taken as good because you expect something different, again: Explaining why something is good is more important then What is, So, I would love to see if I can find some mentioned here, like American Alien or... I have to admit, I forgot the rest of the names after finishing this video.

Remember the 90's when everything was so edgy? You know how Superman was edge? He had a mullet.

It’s hard to define the word “humanity”, but I think Superman is one of the best examples of the best we can be. With or without the power, he’s still Superman, and I think that’s beautiful.

So disappointed in Rocksteady for doing another evil Superman in a video game. They could've given us an incredible single player Superman game

I found DC52 " Truth " story arc to be interesting and I didn't mind that Superman was depowered. Also that comic series came out when I was in my late thirties so we do have different views of Clark riding a motorcycle.

A lot of people are baised toward the Donner Superman which is based on the late 50's through the mid 60's. I love what Snyder did with Superman. Clark was on a heroes journey to become the hopeful character you all want. Snyder was showing what shaped him. i am NOT a fan of the Donner Superman. When Seigel and Shuster created him, he was aggressive and a bit violent.

excellent video, you put the work in!

Well written essay. I like your conclusion: whatever happened to the man of tomorrow....?

Good analysis. Seems like in just about all mediums, the same kind of people are provided these characters and they themselves are only tourists. Just take the good stuff I guess. Because new folks are sorely needed now.

The major difference here is he aggressively kills lois and his unborn child so he would totally snap

IMO Zack Snyder didn't wanna do a so called dark version of Superman yet Superman in a realistic world. And WB didn't give him a chance to do a sequel to MOS.

Although TASM was took place in the real world, atleast they made Spiderman and Uncle Ben being Spiderman and Uncle Ben.

5:50 : Fun fact: By 1937, the U.S. was in recovery from the Great Depression -- but then later that same year, it got hit with ANOTHER recession. So 1938 wasn't really the HEIGHT of the Great Depression, it was more like the height of the post-depression recession.

I think it was probably earlier than the New 52 that Superman took a turn for the worst, although the people behind the New 52 were still responsible. It was Dan Didio and Geoff Johns who had the original Superboy murder the original Superman. I'm pretty sure they were also responsible for having Superman order others in the Justice League to tamper with Batman's memory, causing a rift in the Justice League. My knowledge of these events are vague, as I had grown fed up with their creative direction, and stopped paying attention before they actually did all these things, but I did hear rumblings about what they were doing. I'm pretty sure these events took place quite a while before the New 52. While Superboy and the original Superman were no longer the ones carrying the quintessential Superman mantle at the time, the decisions these "creative" minds had taken with those two characters was indicative of what they thought of the character in general, and what they would intend to do with the "real" Superman in the future, which would bleed into the portrayal of the character in other mediums for years to come.

In 1989, my grandma bought me a special annual Superman comic. This episode was weird but bore the very essence of who Superman is. He was exposed to a bomb made by Lex Luthor, when he woke up he had been sent to combat zone during WWII and met Sgt. Rock and his team. He had amnesia and couldn't remember who he was, but immediately behaved like a hero. And when he had the opportunity to make a Panzer tank explode, he couldn't do it because something inside him prevented him from taking the life of the pilot. This is who Superman is. And that is why Batman Vs. Superman's pitch is bad: Superman wouldn't stop being a hero even if he tried, not even to save his own mother's life, and certainly not by killing Batman. Superman's education made him a hero, he's a normal decent guy with superpowers. Richard Donner's take on the character is far more accurate than the one we see in the Snyderverse. Superman is not a gritty brooding guy, he's a boy scout giving hope to everyone. Apart from the difference in powers, he's DC's Captain America.

I feel like you forgot about the part where the entire city of metropolis got nuked aswell like that feels much more justifiable it wasn’t only just lois and his son

So, I'm listening to your Injustice part and I just want to point out that Superman doesn't go full Tyrant after Lois and Metropolis are killed. If you read the comic it's a slow descent for him. His first action after killing Joker is to force world governments to stop killing people and make them pass laws for the people. He finally had enough and stepped in. Every situation after pushes him but by bit with him having to make a series of concessions. My favorite but in the book is when Sinestro, who has made Superman believe him to be a loyal part of his new Power structure, begins to torture a Gotham cop for info on where Batman is and Superman immediately steps between them and backs him off leading to Sinestro explaining that hesy only doing what is necessary and he gets that Superman doesn't like it. He offers Superman a solution: Don't take part, just go somewhere else and ignore it while he does the dirty work. And Superman is convinced to walk away but the entire time he's walking away he's got the upset and bothered look on his face. He knows that he just made a choice that goes against what he stands for. At that point he's not a monster, he's a man willing to sacrifice even his own personal principles for what he believes is the greater good that the Regime brings to the world. The game kinda wrote them into a corner though because he had to go completely off the deep end at some point. The character doesn't bother me because hes not the true Superman. He has flaws the the true Superman doesn't. A pretty good contrast for him is Kingdom Come Superman who sees Joker murder his wife and his friends and still takes him in to be put on trial in a court of law and us against his murder. It's interesting to see a Superman that draws his line in a different place as a contrast but not as a replacement like DC was planning on with Superman in the 5G era.

At this point anyone saying "this character needs to be updated for modern audiences" is akin to "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" They carry that same cursed energy and all they do is the exact opposite of help anyone with anything.

I wont gatekeep ... starts gatekeeping and makes no attemp to understand other perspective properly.

Excellent work. Thank you.

Hello, where can we find your Zack snyder's superman review?