In which I watch Superman
Superman chastising Krypto, his Super Dog, for sometimes not being not a very Good Boy.
Listen, this new Superman movie was a feckin’ delight.
Superman was the first superhero movie I saw at probably 15 years old, and seeing that hunk in a standard Mormon missionary uniform (slacks, white shirt and tie) just made my heart go thump. And the glasses! Phew.+
I loved the way he was pining over Lois Lane, the charismatic reporter gal I wanted to be. How could she not see him? I mean, luckily she fell in love with Superman, his public persona, but how could she not fall for the quietly devoted work buddy in glasses?
Years later, as DC tried to reboot Superman again, it didn’t hook me. I’m paraphrasing here, but author Shannon Hale tweeted something like, “They wrote Superman as if being good is easy, but being good is actually really, really hard.”
That stuck with me. Years later, as I sat down to watch the first Man of Steel movie, I fell asleep during an extended fight scene and 45 minutes later, I woke up and Superman was still fighting. I did not care about this fighting-guy Superman.
From the first second I saw the clip of this new Superman, I felt a tug back to it. His ice cave thing* had that retro 70s vibe and there was a Superdog? With a cape? I know that James Gunn’s superhero movies are a little absurd, and I liked the idea of leaning into the absurdity of Superman.^
Y’all. Y’ALL. It was so, so good. I sat through Lois Lane’s interview with Superman with a smile of pure delight because a) it was great journalism and b) their conversation broke open my brain. For the first time I wanted my questions answered++, such as:
Does Superman consider property damage before or after a bout of derring-do?
Does he consider geopolitics, ever?
Does he run a mental calculus to decide who to save?
Does he ever secretly daydream of ruling the world?
This movie wound these questions of ethics and motivation and character into this very human Superman. Yes, he’s almost invincible.** He gets mad. He feels stupid. He drinks hot cocoa. He trash-talks. He dog-sits. (Which: Batman would never.)
Also, in this movie, Superman is so done with everyone’s shenanigans, and so is Mr. Terrific. (Such a great character.)
James Gunn and the entire production team: well done.*** Thank you for making me care about Superman again. Thank you for giving me a movie that made me laugh so much and cry a little bit. Thank you for making Superman so human, and also a little bit absurd.
+Thanks to my husband’s worsening eyesight, I have a handsome man in glasses in my very own home.
*Adam tells me it’s called the Fortress of Solitude, which is kind of adorable. It’s got strong “Keep Out, this is My Fort” vibes.
^I kept having this question through the movie: what does Superman eat? Does Superman poop? If so, where? Can the toilet in an old New York walk-up handle a Kryptonian poo?
++This movie never answered my poop question, so there’s a mini-spoiler. James Gunn’s Superman doesn’t reveal how he processes nutrients or voids.
**except for that one nightmare scene that identifies a weak spot in the Man of Steel, you know the one.
*** James Gunn, sir, if you make a Mr. Terrific movie, I would watch it 100x, please and thank you.