#christopher reeves

shut up SHUT UP SHUT UP HES THE SYMBOL OF HOPE AND THE SYMBOL OF HOPE ISN'T GOING TO BE SAD AND DEPRESSING THIS AIN'T A REALISTIC UNIVERSE HES FLYING FOR CRYING OUT LOUD LET MOVIES BE COLOURFUL AGAIN I'M SICK OF THE BLANDNESS AND HAVING TO SQUINT AT EVERY DARK SCENE AND LASTLY ONCE AGAIN

Best comment was:

I have been down bad for Clark since 78 🥵

Those cutie little glasses with his perfect little suit and tie?! Coming to pick up Lois for a date after just flying her around as Superman in secret?! Stopppp…

New superman / Clark girlies, do yourself a favor if you haven’t and watch the scene in Superman (1978) where Lois meets Superman for the first time on her balcony…

“You really shouldn’t be smoking, you know, Miss Lane” 🫠

Reeves walked so Corenswet could soar ❤️💙

When we think of Superheroes. There is only one spendex-ed man that everyone in the whole world definitely knows. That will be Superman.

Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The Man of Steel's secret identity is mild-mannered Clark Kent/ Kal-El from the planet Krypton. Superman is a hero who can do anything. Famously, he is "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound!" Supes is the ultimate firefighter.

The world has changed ever since the appearance of Supes on Action Comics (Volume 1) in 1938. Here is a look back at The Man of Tomorrow and how the new Superman (2025) movie gets it.

Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!

My first exposure to Supes is Superman: The Animated Series (1996). I didn't pay much attention to it back then because after Supes, there would be an episode of Batman: The Animated Series (1992). Supes was a more hopeful, daytime superhero. He goes through his daily life as a reporter on the Daily Planet while balancing his part-time job as a superhero against various supervillains. Batman was my much preferred hero with more memorable supervillains.

Supes to me was a celebrity. Everyone knows him and loves him, but he is only useful in disaster situations. His quick thinking and his various abilities are what made him the best, and a bit of an overkill with whoever is sent after him. It was only when he collaborated with others that he became more triumphant and appreciated.

In some examples of Justice League (2001–2004). He is the Tank. He's the big guy who goes to beat the other big guy while the others do the rescuing. It wasn't until the Injustice games that made me admire the dramatic complexity of Supes. As a god amongst men, what happens when god bends their iron-clad morality to kill? How will that play out?

A lot of my understanding is added to by these few presentations of Supes [Satirizing Superman] and [Superman: Collateral Damage]. The basis here is that Superman is a simple superhero. He is DC's Paragon; he is as simple as a sword is simple.

Maybe I am Punk Rock!

We now enter the spicy side of the topic. James Gunn's Superman, played by David Corenswet, is...Amazing! It ties back to the core of what Supes is all about. The ultimate firefighter and the Paragon.

There is no need to address Superman's origin because it's well established. Superheroes are a thing, but Superman is the new kid on the block. He was impulsive to a fault, so now, he has to deal with the retaliation.

It was refreshing, because the film makes it so beginner-friendly to the point where I almost missed that I was just a few minutes in. It gives me time to like David Corenswet's portrayal as the hero, then as the dork, with little moments showcasing Superman's other nickname, "The Big Blue Boy Scout"

Without getting into spoilers. This Supes also adds a unique kind of tension rarely explored in other Superman media. The Court of Public Opinion on Supes for his actions. His number one Hater, Lex Luthor, is a no-nonsense, no so-called tragic backstory supervillian that just PROPERLY HATES him.

Going so far as to make bot accounts to spread hate speech to tear his reputation. Again, like how this hero is simple. The villain is just as simple. The film has an established plot. Very much like how in comics. The hero is addressed, the villain is addressed. How they clashed is the start of the movie.

Beneath it all, there is also the final message of Superman's assignment from his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara. Their home planet was doomed, and Kal-El was sent away as a last effort to survive. He was sent to fight for Earth and inspire them that there is a better way. Showing that, as an extraterrestrial immigrant, he is not a threat.

Saving the littlest of things and even reasoning against his villains to the bitter end. This Supes was also busy to the point that he was never at his full capacity. The world is very rampant with countless incidents that Clark has to put out, but that makes his Paragon side more apparent. Supes is the hero and the inspiration for more responsible and methodical heroes.

It's worth noting that creators Siegel and Shuster are Jewish immigrants who had fled the rampant antisemitism in their home countries. The origin of Kal-El might be an analogy for actual immigrants who seek a better life in better pastures.

Tell me, Do You Bleed?

With that said, let's respectfully talk about the internet's take on Snyder vs Gunn. Superman (2025) was the successor to the sloppy take of Zack Snyder's Supes played by Henry Cavill. Those who have seen the extended edition of Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) will praise Snyder for his unique portrayal of complexity in the characters, including Supes.

If you must know, Snyder had a tough time sorting out creative differences with executives and personal affairs at the time. His version heavily borrows elements from a much darker Supes and the paranoia after the events of Man of Steel (2013).

Supes in particular have always had the issue of;

"He has the power to wipe out the entire human race, and if we believe there's even a one percent chance that he is our enemy, we have to take it as an absolute certainty"

to the humans and Batman/ Bruce Wayne. Drawing a lot of inspiration from the popular Injustice games and comics, where the writers boldly took the heroes in the DC roster to extreme sides as compared to their classic interpretations.

What's so unfortunate about Snyder's Supes is. The essence of Superman and the motivation are there, but for all that talk about heroics. Clark was held back by silly decisions and threads in the script.

Again, no shade to Snyder, but it really was a shame about the difficulties that transpired and the clunkiness of the final cut. To add fuel to the fire, it made fans react viciously to Gunn's takeover after the teaser in Black Adam (2022), for that, Cavill's Superman was short-lived, to no fault of his.

On My Planet, It Means Hope.

Strange enough. This subjective hero has also bled into the real-life discourse. Assuming that Superman should be angsty with a god-complex and other darker themes. But to quote another reviewer,

"Superman is the ceiling; he is the best of us. The brightest thing in the frame. Lowering him down would make all of us down because it means that hope is dead."

Perhaps. At its core. Superman (2025) was what we needed in a time like now. In a world that is riddled with cynicism and awful news every day, all around the world. Superman is needed more than ever to inspire us again.

For a movie that is praised compared to its predecessor. It's very easy to wallow in the dark world of Snyder's. But for what it's worth, it needed that dark era to find its light again. No matter how formulaic it may feel for veteran superhero fans.

Something that caught my eye in this movie is just how bright it feels. Even in its dark moments, light finds its way through and gives Superman strength again. This movie, despite its difficulty, has given a lot of fans, myself included, hope again.

Hope that DC Cinematics can improve, hope that people will be kinder to one another, hope that we can be like Superman in our own little ways. [James Gunn's Superman is Hope] Not just in a metatextual way, but also hope for reality. That in our darkest moments, Look Up.