IESB.net spoke to Brandon Routh about Superman being a darker character in the next Superman film and this is what he had to say:
“I don’t know, I don’t think the character necessarily has to be darker, I think he is kind of dark in a sense, emotional dark, in Superman Returns, and the movie as a whole was slightly dark, they could have had more prowess in it I suppose, and I think that’s one thing that can be done in the sequel, so I don’t know how much darker you want to make it necessarily. You make the stakes higher, you make the villain darker, I think that’s a way to do it. But I don’t think Superman himself needs to be darker. He definitely has to struggle, how does Superman be a part of the world? And does he have to make sacrifices to be a part of that world? To fit in and what purpose does he really play in the world? Those are all kind of dark places to explore. But, I don’t think Superman should ever be dark and brooding, that’s not is nature. And that’s now what people what to see. Like Brainiac or something like that, a situation when the villain is…”
Bravo Mr Routh gets it, now if only the powers that be would relise that The Dark Knight worked as a darker film simply because that is the essence of the Batman world and character. Â To say that darker will work with other characters is simplistic at best, and downright stupid moneygrubbing mentality at its worst. Â Oh Batman was dark and he made a lot of money, lets make everyone darker.
How about you just write the best story for the character and treat the film like you would one going for an Academy Award. Â These are important iconic characters that have a place in fine film (of course lets not remember that film is a fun medium too).
I gotta say a huge thanks to everyone who participated in this, I’ve managed to pick up a tonne of good leads on comic books that I’ve never read or that it might be time to go back and have a look. Â I’m also really happy to hear the general opinion out there is stupidly long and drawn out crossovers are NOT good. Â I can only hope that someone at Marvel and DC might realise this fact also.Â
Last up on our question and answer circuit is SamuraiFrog of Electronic Cerebrectomy where he discusses with more often than not well thought out thoughts and opinions on popular culture, some politics and movies.  If you’ve never read the blog before I highly recommend the generally weekly smack downs which I read religiously (yes I dress up in robes, sing hymns and condemn you all to hell whilst reading them).
Favourite regular series right now? I have actually given up a lot of the comics I was reading, but there are some I can never miss. It’s actually a toss-up here between Dark Horse’s vivid CONAN and Grant Morrison’s excellent ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, which is probably the one series that has really lived up to the fun and idealism I think of when I think of Superman.
Comic book character you only recently discovered/started reading?
I guess I’d have to say Ambush Bug. I never really got into him until he appeared in a LOBO miniseries a few years ago; he was hilarious in it, so I really got excited when it was time for the new AMBUSH BUG mini.
If you could draw/write one character who would it be? Batman. I’d love to have a go at Batman, something in an alternate universe setting where you could really work the character into something a little different.
Are you a fan of the big multi issue crossover extravaganzas? No. I’m against them, in fact. CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS is a classic, despite how unnecessary it really was. But every DC crossover extravaganza has been a wallet-busting attempt to patch up the holes left by the Crisis, and they’ve been very disappointing. DC’s entire IDENTITY CRISIS/INFINITE CRISIS/52 and now FINAL CRISIS was an attempt to create an exciting event, but actually pushed me out of 95% of the monthly series I was collecting, because it made me realize that not only did I not have the money to follow it, but it was disrespectful in the way it took characters and callously killed them off or fundamentally altered them. I know Dan Didio says that no one loved Sue and Ralph Dibney, but those of us who loved Keith Giffen’s JUSTICE LEAGUE sure loved them. The whole thing made me realize that DC Comics didn’t love me as much as I loved it.
Last comic book series that you dropped and why? ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER. It sounds petty, but I was just annoyed by the long waits between issues. That’s so unprofessional it doesn’t deserve to be rewarded. I can check out the collections from my library.
Favourite character? Easily Superman. One of the big ones. I just wish the writers did him more justice. But I’m very attracted to his central dilemma: an alien who wants to be not only human, but the best in humanity.
Are you a DC or a Marvel? I guess I’m pretty obviously a DC. Not to offend anyone else’s choice, but I’ve always felt like DC Comics were written for the long-term audience, while Marvel Comics were written for 15 year-old boys. Of course, that’s to the detriment of both companies. But though I do continue to love many of the Marvel characters I grew up with — Spidey, the Hulk, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde especially — I find the actual comics aren’t very good. I love the idea of the Fantastic Four, but the execution doesn’t quite live up for me. Of course, the same could be said of most DC Comics. They seriously can’t figure out something else to do with Supergirl other than make her a sex object? Come on.
Do you remember your first comic/series?
Yes. It was back in the eighties when Marvel Comics had their Star imprint for kids. So the first comics I actually read were PETER PORKER THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-HAM and MUPPET BABIES. I was about seven, I think. Oh, and of course I read STAR WARS, the Marvel comic which features my all-time favorite ancillary character, Plif the Hoojib. And TRANSFORMERS. And GROO THE WANDERER. Boy, I got into it all at once. I graduated to THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and THE UNCANNY X-MEN and THE NEW MUTANTS (which was my fave for a while) when I was in fifth grade, I think. And that mostly started because Marvel was publishing CLASSIC X-MEN in digest form, and my dad used to buy those for me thinking they’d tide me over for a few weeks. It didn’t work; I tore through them in an afternoon. (How ironic that I love DC more now but all of my early comics were Marvels; when I was a kid, I thought DC was boring.)
Is Watchmen the movie going to be as good as the comic book? It’ll be different. It should be different. They’ve got a lot less time to work with, and personally I just want to see the movie have it’s own story integrity without trying to throw in everything that’s in the book just to mollify fans. As long as it works on its own logic, it has a chance. And the trailer does look pretty good…
Favourite comic book movie? SPIDER-MAN 2. All of the fun and the high drama at once; it’s pitch perfect.
Worst comic book movie? I saw part of GHOST RIDER on cable the other day; that seemed pretty terrible. The title of “worst comic book movie” is, unfortunately, ever refreshing itself.
Character you’d like to see in a movie? Wonder Woman. I think it stinks that no one can figure out how to make a great superhero movie just because it’s about a woman and not a man. How about we hire some women to write it, then?
Series that you’d like to see on TV? I think CONAN would make a fine HBO series.
I’m assuming this is American so I would love it if someone could enlighten me on what the hell character points are supposed to be. Â Is Anthony going to some Dungeons and Dragons college?
If anything this should be +200 bloody character points.
After spending last night in space for our second last night of the film festival I was thinking of bringing it back to Earth, well DC Earth. Â Welcome to Metropolis and Gotham City.
Batman
In a lot of ways Batman Begins has a lot more going for it over the 1989 Tim Burton film. Â But I won’t say it’s superior, it is a Batman of a different time and certainly a different place. Â This is Tim Burton’s Gotham.
The opening credits to this are simply wonderful, from the marketing through to this opening sequence Burton illustrates the importance of the symbol of the bat. Â There is even a scene that has the Batwing flies up in front of the moon and creates the bat symbol. Â The ending also finishes up with the Bat Signal.
The film is lavish, dark and gothic, Gotham is magnificent.
Michael Keaton owns the role, he captures this Batman/Bruce Wayne, I’m not going to debate the better Batman. Â Nicholson is also brilliant, different brilliant to the current Ledger performance. Â Oh and I have to say I love the Batmobile, it is just an awesome machine.
Turn the lights out, turn up the sound, let Elfman’s soundtrack do it’s thing.
Superman
You will believe a man can fly. Â One of my favourite tag lines from a movie poster. Â This is not a flawless film by any stretch of the imagination but it is an epic film. Â Reeve is the perfect Superman but he’s an even better Clark Kent. Â Right from that wonderful moment when he catches the helicopter in one hand and Lois in the other and she asks ‘you’ve got me, who’s got you’. Â We see a turning point in motion picture special effects.
Even if you don’t like the story, the acting or the special effects close your eyes and listen to one of the greatest iconic soundtracks ever.
I also love that we get to see Superman distraught, beaten, angry in the pivotal scene at the end as he holds Lois after she has been killed everything about that scene is brilliant.
Before it is said, no him circling the Earth backwards is not cinema’s greatest moment. Â But there is so much else in here that makes up for it.
Wow one more night, *phew* then I might go read a book!
Last week I wrote a post titled Trinity: Last chance. Â I never got around to publishing it but the general gist was that I was giving the new DC series Trinity (which I’ve talked about in the past) one last shot at keeping me as a reader.
I was giving the issue, that at the time was still wrapped in its paper bag the chance to redeem the series, to fulfill the promise that the idea holds.
I really wanted to be convinced.
I wasn’t.
The problem with the book is that it promises to be about the DC holy trinity that is Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Â Three characters whose interaction with each other should be riveting.
The reality is that the current storyline does little to nothing to actually explore their interactions, is only half a comic long with the remainder of the book devoted to some behind the scenes story featuring none of the trio.
The book has actually become a very lame version of the JLA.
It does have great covers though, but great covers do not maketh the comic.
What would be interesting is to get some of your edgier or fresher writers to write one shots of the three heavyweights interacting. Â Accessible stories that focus on the characters as people who share the distinction of being the three greatest heroes (except for Gnort) in the DC universe.
I’ve got to tighten my comic book Thursday budget anyway and this is the first of the dead wood to be removed. Â Maybe I’ll take another look when the current storyline finishes, then again maybe I won’t.
One of the comic book series that I was really looking forward to was DC’s Trinity series which promised to focus on the DC big three: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
How could one go wrong with these heavy hitters?
I don’t read any Superman titles and whilst I’ve been tempted to take a look at it I’ve just never been overly impressed with Wonder Woman. Â I suppose for Wonder Woman it always feels like something complicated is going on and they’re right in the middle of it and it would be hard to pick up the title.
Superman I don’t get because there are so many titles already and Superman has a whole bunch of different series (at least it seems like that). Â I may one day pick up an All Star Superman trade paperback.
So when I saw the ads for Trinity I thought that will be cool to have three icons in the same comic without having to make room for the rest of the JLA.
As you can probably tell by the title of the post I can’t say that I’ve been overly impressed with the first three issues. Â The covers are cool and most of the art is cool if I had to conjure up an art complaint it might be that Wonder Woman comes up a little shabby occasionally and Superman a little generic but overall it is pleasing enough.
I noticed that they’ve already gathered the first three issues together and put them in a trade paperback and from a story point of view it makes sense, because as a three part comic series it hasn’t. Â I found myself having to go back to the previous issues to work out what the hell was going on and I still am not convinced, though with the third I have a better idea.
I just don’t think the story is showcasing the best of the DC characters very well. Â Maybe the storyline and the confusing out of the blue events are for effect… I’ll tell you what the effect is, it’s pissing me off. Â Well it’s not really but I really wanted to use that line to keep the movie geeks awake whilst I write about comic book geek stuff.
I have a general idea of what they are doing and they are pointing to the epic grandness of the three characters but I think the Batman Superman series has worked a little more effectively. Â I will point out that it’s not Wonder Woman’s fault either.
I won’t give the series up straight away, it can have at least four or so episodes to bring me around but I’ve already got a increasingly heavy schedule of comics and can’t hang on to the dead wood.
In 2007 Spider-man 3 and 300 both appear in the top ten grossing films for that year, in 2006 the comic book movies were X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns and the year before that saw Batman Begins in that top ten list.
Comic book movies are a huge part of the movie industry now with more on the way (yay!) so the little robots at Quit Your Day Job have been furiously working out the top five comic book movies for this weeks Friday Five:
Iron Man - With all the fanboy drooling I’ve done around here in the past couple of days this is really a no-brainer. Â I stand by my choice though and for once the critics are supporting me. Â I mean I’m sure there are going to be plenty of people who dislike this film, they’re entitled to their opinion even if they are wrong. Â Downey Jr is brilliantly cast as Tony Stark and the rest of the cast all put in quality performances, its pace is great even for an origin film and effects are excellent. Â What makes the movie stand out though is that it is heavily focused on the man behind the mask, what makes him want to be Iron Man and what are his flaws?
Spider-Man 2 - I generally dislike origin films and this is the only reason Spider-Man 2 instead of the first one is featured on the list. Â That and I think this is just a more well rounded film when compared to the first. Â The special effects seemed to be a little smoother. Â The Spider-Man films really show the quality that can be made from such great source material. Â The costume alone is worth it, the wonderful texture that they added to it adds to the overall effect of the film.
Batman Begins - Ummm did I just say I dislike origin films? Â Four out of the five can be classed as origin films (X-Men is on the fence). Â This was a hard choice for me though, a Batman film was always going to be in the list, end of story, but which one? Â I loved the 89 Tim Burton film, it reintroduced Batman and certainly fostered my love of comic books and their movies. Â But when I look at that period of Batman films I probably prefer Batman Returns the most, Batman and Robin the least (does this really have to be said?). Â I recognise however that Batman Begins is a superior Batman film in most ways, the only reason I think I would prefer the others is because they came out as I was maturing and had heavy influences on my life. Â Bale is a fantastic Batman and the way they built the character up in this film was really well done and in the theme of the current Batman comics. Â You can’t stand in the same stream twice so I accept change and new ideas and I accept Batman Begins.
X-Men - I always feared that X-Men would be too involved, too convoluted with too much back story for me to ever enjoy. Â I tried to get on board the comic series several times only to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material and characters. Â I was pleased to see only a core group in the first X-Men film and another great cast. Â Wolverine particularly shines in this one as it was always expected to be. Â I was surprised and eventually really impressed with their handling of Magneto.
Superman - I really enjoyed Superman Returns but mainly because of the homage and respect paid to the original Superman film. Â I mean this is really the grand daddy of them all. Â Another example of when casting goes very right. Â Christopher Reeve was simply wonderful as Superman/Clark Kent. Â The tagline to the film was ‘you’ll believe a man can fly’ and despite the effect not holding up today it was true for the time. Â What an amazing soundtrack.
This was actually a hard list and it breaks my heart to have left some films off, Hellboy, The Punisher, 300, From Hell and Sin City all could have gone on the list, but it’s a list of five. Â So what other comic book movies are you all partial to?
Haven’t quite thought of next week’s top five - it’ll be a surprise!
I gotta say a huge thanks to everyone who participated in this, I’ve managed to pick up a tonne of good leads on comic books that I’ve never read or that it might be time to go back and have a look.  I’m also really happy to hear the general opinion out there is stupidly long and drawn out crossovers are NOT good.  I can only hope that someone at Marvel and DC might realise this fact also. 
One of the comic book series that I was really looking forward to was DC’s Trinity series which promised to focus on the DC big three: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.
