On a Dark Superman Movie

It's occurred to me that while I blogged enthusiastically for a reboot of the Superman movies, I never blogged on the idea of a "darker" Superman movie.

The thing is, ultimately, I think I really want to know what their idea of "darker" is before I can really make a decision about whether I like the idea or not.

Obviously, Superman is not suited to be "dark" in the same sense as Batman is "dark". Superman is a hopeful and inspiring character at heart. He's not particularly tortured or angsty. And honestly, I've never even liked the killing off Jonathan Kent thing that a lot of the mediums have going on. I think that kind of tragedy is entirely unnecessary.

But I do think it's possible to make a good and somewhat dark-toned movie about a reasonably light, moral, upstanding, and inspiring character.

I mean, I wouldn't call Luke Skywalker a dark character at all, but Empire Strikes Back is highly regarded as the best Star Wars film. (I actually liked Return of the Jedi better as I think it shows the pinnacle of Luke's character growth from whiny but sympathetic kid to quiet badass. :-))

The crew of Star Trek the Next Generation can never REALLY be dark (Not in the same sense as say, DS9) but First Contact was, and that was my favorite TNG themed movie.

Heck, I think Brubaker's run of Captain America is another good example of a fairly dark storyline involving an inspiring character. Well, before they killed him off at least. :-)

Really though, that's why I'm not reacting with disgust at the news of a "darker" movie. Because there are Superman stories that can be written that are still "dark" without tarnishing the character with the same brush. There are ways to balance idealism with a serious or dramatic tone without turning the character into a Batman who can fly.

The key is, of course, to get producers/directors/writers that have a very clear vision of the character and what they want the movie to do. But so far, I think Warner Bros has done a fairly good job of that with the Batman properties. If they find someone who suits Superman like Nolan suits Batman, then I don't have any qualms about a "darker" Superman movie.

As long as Superman doesn't gratuitously kill henchmen with falling chunk of rock. That STILL bothers me about the much "lighter" Superman Returns.

Anyway, there are so many ways to screw it up of course. But I don't necessarily think that saying they're making a "dark" Superman movie indicates they learned the wrong lesson from Batman.

They might be thinking of the adage/cliche that a light shines brightest in the dark. And I'm really looking forward to a Superman that shines.