Spoilers Superman Spoiler Thread

[Stalker0]

Right? It’s almost like Superman is depicted as an actual superhero in the film.

I do respect the issue on this one, and while I agree that Superman never felt weak to me, and a lot of his fights was more about saving people than winning (because winning was a given)....but that said I do agree we never got the raw epicness of Superman Returns or Man of Steel.

We could have had most of the scenes be exactly what we got, but adding in just one equivalent to the Superman returns "Bullet to the Eye" scene just to showoff Superman's raw over the top power would have been nice. In theory the "swimming in raw anti-protons" should have been the most ridiculous Superman feat ever on teh screen, but it wasn't presented in a way that the audience could feel or relate to. When Brandon Routh's superman takes that high caliber bullet right to the eye and it just crushes and falls to the ground, its that "daaaaaaaaaaamn" moment we never quite got in this movie.

 

[Gradine]

Exactly. Superman showed off his power constantly during the movie. His power is basic human decency and kindness.

Superman isn't special because he can do what others cannot. It's that he will do what others wouldn't even think of.

 

[Reef]

?
He swam through a river of anti-protons while still suffering from kryptonite poisoning. He tanked Kaiju fire breath to save a building. He lived through being stomped by said kaiju, to save a dog. Not to mention the above-posted photo of him bodyblocking a truck load of exploding canisters to save a girl.

Would showing a bullet bounce off him add to that?

 

[overgeeked]

Superman isn't special because he can do what others cannot. It's that he will do what others wouldn't even think of.

Seriously. Superman would never kill unless absolutely necessary and he’d endlessly go out of his way to save every single life he could. That’s who the character fundamentally is at his core.

Thank you James Gunn for bringing back Superman.

 

[chuckdee]

I mean... it didn't even for a little bit have the upper hand; Supes had it on the back foot (literally!) the entire time. It is not a huge leap of logic that on a flat plane Superman would beat it senseless pretty damn easily.

The point of Superman isn't that he has the biggest punches. The point of Superman is that he saves people.

No, that's missing part of it, IMO. The point is that he has the power and uses it to save people, and sometimes those are in conflict, which is where a lot of the drama surrounding him is. I remember in ZSJL, he was in the fight with Steppenwulf, and left the league to deal with him in deference to saving people, even though it had been shown that he was definitely outclassing Steppenwulf and the league was struggling. These kinds of conflicts show his internal struggles, IMO.

I remember a point in Superman & Lois where Superman's identity is at stake and the scene goes in slow motion, with Clark remembering all that led to this point and what it will mean, and choosing to let his identity go. In that moment, Hoechlin showed what it is to struggle with the types of problems that we couldn't conceive and it had nothing to do with power, though he'd already shown that part of him. Those are the types of conflicts that I like to see.

 

[Morrus]

I mean... it didn't even for a little bit have the upper hand; Supes had it on the back foot (literally!) the entire time. It is not a huge leap of logic that on a flat plane Superman would beat it senseless pretty damn easily.

Fair enough, you got something from that scene that I didn’t. Not sure what else can be said on the topic.

The point of Superman isn't that he has the biggest punches. The point of Superman is that he saves people.

That’s an entirely different topic, but sure, I agree. Thanks for the lecture, though.

 

[Justice and Rule]

I mean, he beats Ultraman pretty well when Lex's system falls apart (largely because it relies on his direct control rather than putting his faith in someone else). He gets cross armbreaker'd, but once Lex isn't there to give him the good 'ol 236P he's beating him pretty thoroughly.

(Personal note: I am severely disappointed with myself that I clocked Ultraman as a reference to Ultra Boy from Legion of Superheroes and not just a straight-up reference to the CSA/Earth-3 character. )

But yeah, him completely tossing off the Raptors like they were basically nothing in less than 30 seconds felt strong and good because when no one else is there to save, he can really just cut loose.

Seriously. Superman would never kill unless absolutely necessary and he’d endlessly go out of his way to save every single life he could. That’s who the character fundamentally is at his core.

Thank you James Gunn for bringing back Superman.

I do like the nuance in that whole situation. Superman is clearly disappointed that they had to kill the Kaiju, but he also obviously concedes that it might have been necessary. There is also the point that ending the situation quicker is far safer. Neither side is necessarily wrong, and both can exist at the same time. Just good job overall.

And again, the citizens of Metropolis need to learn to stop snapping photos of monsters for the Instagram feed and get the hell to safety. You know that the reason they had to say the evacuation order was "Mandatory" was because like half those people would have stayed behind if it weren't.

 

[Morrus]

Superman isn't special because he can do what others cannot. It's that he will do what others wouldn't even think of.

He is special for both of those reasons and more. We just happen to be taking about the first one.

 

[Desdichado]

We could have had most of the scenes be exactly what we got, but adding in just one equivalent to the Superman returns "Bullet to the Eye" scene just to showoff Superman's raw over the top power would have been nice. In theory the "swimming in raw anti-protons" should have been the most ridiculous Superman feat ever on teh screen, but it wasn't presented in a way that the audience could feel or relate to. When Brandon Routh's superman takes that high caliber bullet right to the eye and it just crushes and falls to the ground, its that "daaaaaaaaaaamn" moment we never quite got in this movie.

Thank goodness. Superman's raw over the top power is his greatest weakness as a character. Toning him back down to levels that he used to be at before the comic book writers went crazy is a must for any serious Superman story.

 

[trappedslider]

Thank goodness. Superman's raw over the top power is his greatest weakness as a character. Toning him back down to levels that he used to be at before the comic book writers went crazy is a must for any serious Superman story.

ummm before or after he went from leaping to flying? or required a battleship to damage him?