TheNorm's Reaction to the Superman Teaser

    It may come as no surprise to my beautiful readers that I love Superman! While Spider-Man will always remain my favorite superhero of all time, Superman retains a special place in my heart. Not only is he the quintessential superhero who has been the baseline for all superheroes since his conception, not only has he been the victim of lazy and apathetic writing (more on that later), but he is, above all else, the embodiment of hope and the best humanity can be and has to offer when we make an effort as individuals to become such. In a time when it has become far too easy to give up on humanity (understandably so), we need characters like Superman now more than ever! 

    The teaser for writer/director James Gunn's upcoming brand-new Superman movie, which will be released in theaters next July, provides a glimmer of hope for the character in movies and the future of DC Comics movie studios at Warner Brothers. Sadly, as of late, DC Comics has not had the best track record for movie adaptations of their beloved comic book characters, with notable exceptions being the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, the 2017 Wonder Woman movie, and the first SHAZAM movie. This is a shame because compared to DC Comics' animated and television works, it's not challenging to see a perfectly laid blueprint of how to apply that same kind of world-building to the big screen. While there are many reasons it has taken DC Comics and Warner Brothers so long to put together a plan for a proper Superman movie, I argue that their most significant mistake was placing all their faith in director Zack Snyder to helm their entire DC lineup. 

    Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and even his much-improved cut of Justice League are movies that definitively prove two things: first, that Zack Snyder does not know the difference between deconstruction and reimagining, and second, that he has an unmistakable misunderstanding of the characters and superheroes in general! 

    You see, Warner Brothers hired Zack Snyder to direct the movies mentioned above mainly because he successfully made a lot of money with his visually fascinating (though highly historically inaccurate) adaptation of the graphic novel 300, penned and drawn by Frank Miller. Zack Snyder was then allowed to helm another famous graphic novel, Alan Moore's Watchmen. Though the film adaptation was critically panned and didn't rake in much at the box office, it was still lauded as the best possible adaptation of what had been previously deemed an unfilmable book, even if for no other reason than Zack Snyder didn't understand the story was intended as a satire. 

    While Zack Snyder has a talent for creating striking visuals, he lacks a firm grip on compelling narrative or character depth unless the script already does it for him. Furthermore, he appears to prefer a more cynical approach to storytelling, embracing surface-level machismo (for want of a better description) over genuine character depth and emotional resonance. In short, he was not the right guy to tell the story of a character built on hope, compassion, and the light within all humanity!

    But I digress; back to the teaser. 

    Like any good teaser for a film, there isn't much of a story or plot revealed; instead, the intended tone and feel of the film are conveyed beautifully. At least it's actually in color! 

    From this teaser, what most interests me about this film is the first thing we see: a weakened, beaten, and struggling Superman, a vulnerable Superman gasping for breath, possibly on the verge of death, to the point that he has to call upon his faithful friend, Krypto the Super Dog, to take him home. This is particularly interesting to me because not only is it made abundantly clear that James Gunn knows how to get your attention through emotional resonance (an essential element in storytelling), but it also shows that he is making an effort to remind audiences that Superman, while powerful, is not the invulnerable demigod he has been made out to be in recent decades. 

    As I alluded, Superman has occasionally been the victim of lazy and apathetic writing. Some comic writers hired to tackle Superman and adjacent comics would often take advantage of the fact that they were working with superhuman characters and sometimes bend the rules of the lore and mythology to make their job more convenient. Whenever Superman was in a specific situation, the lazy writers would insert a new superpower to resolve the situation without incident or too much effort.  This is the same kind of lazy writing that inadvertently transformed Batman into the omnipotent "badass" he's been in recent years because they simply threw their hands up and said something along the lines of, "It's because he's THAT good," or "it's because he had a contingency plan for this," and so on. 

    What makes Superman a compelling character is not the notion that he can juggle planets; it's his choices with his abilities and capabilities. Superman can easily use his power and advantages to dominate the world and make it the way he sees it best, but he doesn't. Why? There are many reasons, but the most relevant is that Superman sees the world as something better than what most perceptions depict it as. Also, Superman is, and always has been, more human than many people give him credit for: he was raised by a human family, has human likes, shares human concerns, and has human desires. Superman is precisely what his name describes him as; a Super...Man! 

    Whatever else can be said about the teaser regarding the little hints and cameos appearing in the film, most of which are indeed exciting, James Gunn's efforts to remind audiences of Superman's true relatability is a testament to his commitment to emotionally resonating stories, and his desire to bring Superman back to the modern discourse table. If Gunn's track record is any indication of what to expect, we will be in for a fun and emotionally visceral ride next summer, and I, for one, can't wait to see how he will make us feel about Superman moving forward. 

    I am excited to look up again for the first time in a long time! 

Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading. 

Watch the Teaser Here