Superman: Man of Steel (2013) Early thoughts

"In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time. Clark Kent/Kal-El (Cavill) is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone's imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question - Why am I here? Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents Martha (Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Costner), Clark soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. But when the world needs stability the most, it comes under attack. Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer? Clark must become the hero known as "Superman," not only to shine as the world's last beacon of hope but to protect the ones he loves."

                                                                                Source: SuperHeroHype.com

After seeing the new up to date version of Superman, I can officially say that I am impressed the new look. Ever since it was announced that then new Superman titled 'Man of Steel', many people including myself  had many doubts on how the end result would turn out. But as the constant develepments on the film are slowly being revealed, the more I am willing to give the film a chance. After the dissapointment that was 'Superman Returns', it was almost as if the series had been killed. But now it looks like there is hope in the form of a re-telling of Superman.

The casting of characters for one is winning me over. Fair enough, Henry Cavill, the lead of Superman is relatively unknown but the supporting cast reads off an impressive list of talent. Laurence Fishbourne as Perry White, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Russell Crowe rumored to be play Jor-El, and Michael Shannon, taking on the role of Zod all characters, adds to the appeal the forthcoming film.

Embarrassingly, I only recently discovered that Zack Snyder directed the very impressive superhero film, Watchmen, but if Snyder produces a film as good as that then Man of Steel shouldn't dissapoint in 2012. Add Cristopher Nolan, the man responsible for ressurecting and reconstructing the Batman universe,  to the directing scene and you are almost guaranteed a success.

Since the early 40's, Superman has been portrayed by a list of actors but Christopher Reeves' Superman is arguably the most recogniseable and iconic interpretation. The closest any other interpretation comes in the form of Tom Welling playing a younger Clark Kent in Smallville, and quite possibly Dean Cain in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman not far behind. But with the direction Man of Steel seems to be heading in, this Superman will be another defining characterisation that will bring about great success and rejuvinate the franchise.

Check out my previous blog on my opinions of Michael Shannon cast as Zod here.

Actors portraying Superman through the years

Kryptonian Green Lantern

So, me and a friend have always wondered if  Superman's home planet of Krypton ever had someone of that race as a member of the Green Lantern Corps. So I started looking into it and thought, why don't I write all of it down for myself and anyone else who's ever wondered. Sort of like a research paper.


The Green Lantern Corps.

"The Green Lantern Corps are an inter-galactic police force dedicated to protecting sentient life in every form, established thousands of years ago by the Guardians. Officers are chosen for their ability to overcome great fear and given a power ring fueled by the strength of their willpower, the mightiest weapon in the universe. They have two representatives for all of the 3600 sectors in the known universe, their headquarters located centrally on the planet Oa.

The Corps is an organization of 7200 Green Lanterns who are chosen by the ring for being able to overcome great fear, with two assigned to sectors of space that require the protection of more than one Green Lantern.

Upon recruitment each Green Lantern in the original Corps received a Power Ring, a Power Battery shaped like a lantern (with which the ring is recharged), and a uniform."
                                                                      Source: DC Comics Database


In a nutshell, the Green Lanterns are representatives from all the known galaxies and planets, but what I've been trying to find is whether or not there has been a Green Lantern from Superman/Kal-El's home planet of Krypton. Or if

While there hasn't actually been a legitimate Kryptonian Green Lantern, In DC history there has been a single descendant of Kryptonians, and in an alternated, hallucinatory reality Kal-El have both been Green Lanterns.



Kal-El: Green Lantern
Firstly with the man of steel himself, and his story as a lantern.

In an alternate hallucinatory world, the planet of Krypton never exploded and the ring that found Hal Jordan didn't travel to Earth, but instead found Kal-El and became a Lantern. As a result he became the Lantern responsible for both Earth and Krypton. Unfortunately, this was only an illusion that was set up by Justice League villains to defeat the group. Check out this issue description: http://www.emeralddawn.com/book/kal-el.htm



Daxamites: Kryptonian Descendants

Daxamites are simply Kryptonians who left their home of Krypton and travelled to other galaxies and planets. Just like Superman, when a Kryptonian travels from their home, they develop powers including invulnerability, strength, flight and every other power Superman has been known to possess.

In old comics, a prophecy was told that a Daxamite would one day become an unstoppable Green Lantern that would bring about the end of the Green Lantern Corps.




Sodam Yat: Kryptonian descendant and Green Lantern

In modern comics, he is a Green Lantern who fights for good and holds a superior position as an entity known as Ion. But in the older comic book tellings, Sodam was a more sinister and evil character.

A Daxamite by birth, he was the only person with any form of Kryptonian in him. As previously mentioned, a prophecy stated that a Daxamite would be a Lantern at that person turned out to be Sodam Yat. This is because he would already possess powers just like Superman, and to possess the Ring would make him an even more powerful enemy and is even dubbed 'The Ultimate Green Lantern'.




Tomar-Re: Sector 2813 and Krypton Chargee

Seeing as there was no official Kryptonian Green Lantern, there was a lantern assigned to be responsible for the planet Krypton. And after researching the character, I found out that he tried to stop the planet from its destruction. He was in charge of 'Sector 2813' which the planet was part of, and was on the way to the planet with a rare compound that could have stopped it from blowing up. Unfortunately, he a start exploded and caused to lose his vision and the Stellarium. He did regain his vision and the metal, but arrived just in time to witness Krypton explode.

Smallville: Evolution of a Superman

For 10 long years we have watched Clark Kent, or Kal-El, move closer towards his destiny and the man everybody knows as Superman. There has been many shows and films that have shown Superman living up to his name, but in Smallville we have seen a young teenager grow into the hero he is destined to become.

Tom Welling has taken Clark Kent, and made it his own, giving this generation of fans their own Superman to grow up with. I guess you could say that we also had Dean Cain and his portrayal in 'The adventures of Lois and Clark' in the 90's, but that was arguably not as memorable or defining as Smallville. Even during the 80's, Christopher Reeve was able to portray a Superman for a generation to grow up with. Even to this very day, many fans still see that interpretation as the most recognisable. And that may be true.

However, despite being a television series, Smallville has been able to attract a huge following of people. From comic book readers to fanboys, from 'nerds' to people who simply just treat the show as any old series, the show has truly helped shape a lasting image of the man of steel that will remembered for years to come.

Theres been a whole host of DC characters that have appeared in the series throughout the 10 years that either showed up for one off episodes, or stuck around for a season or two. We've had characters such as Zod, Blue Beetle, Cyborg, Green Arrow, Doomsday and even Darkseid. And despite the length of time the characters may or may not of spent in the show, they've been able to leave their mark and help shape Clark's path to being Superman. And whether or not people watching know who they are or not, they usually appear in an memorable way.

But theres always been one character who has never even made an appearance during the entire series run, that not only I, but every other DC fan has long wanted. And that man...Batman. Theres been obvious references to Batman and Gotham City, and references that only comic book or die hard fans could instantly pick up on. But theres never been that the one cameo, or even a direct mention of either a Batman or Bruce Wayne name. I know theres the legal issue over rights to the use the character, but it would of been cool if there was a visual indirect way of addressing him. And seeing as Batman and Superman are supposed to be two of the closest allies in the comics, it would of made perfct sense for at least one appearance.

Instead, we get Oliver Queen. AKA Green Arrow who is supposedly the replacement for
Batman. And being the rich playboy by day, and hero with hi-tech by night its easy to see him fit that role. But anyone who knows the history between Superman and Batman, and knows the DC history knows that the Queen/Kent relationship is based on and is identical to the Wayne/Kent relationship.

Another thing we can take away from Smallville is that we also have a Lex Luthor for our generation. Very much like what Welling has done with Clark Kent, Michael Rosenbaum has also taken Lex Luthor, and in my view, given us the best on screen Luthor. Don't get me wrong, Gene Hackman's Lex was good and entertaining. And Kevin Spacey's was a recycled version of  the Hackman Lex in the movies. But for me Rosenbaum and his Lex is the best representation of how he should be. Obviously, there was all those years for him to develop and become the Lex Luthor we all know to be dark and evil, but I've always loved how Rosenbaum played the part as a man going down a dark path whilst in his own mind thinking he is doing things right and for the greater good. In comparison to the other Lex Luthor versions where they are played as people who just want to dominate and typically be the bad guy 'wanting to take over th world'. Adding further to the Luthor line, is his father Lionel. And a great addition at that. Showing a lot more depth and history to Lex's background, the relationship between the two shows us why Lex becomes the 'evil genius' we will come to know.

Of course theres a lot characters who are just as important in the Superman mythos. Names such Lana Lang. Jonathan and Martha Kent. Pete Ross. Jimmy Olsen. Perry White. The list goes on. Point is that theres many big names that have been part of the series that are just important as the lead himself.

It'll be interesting to see how this show will be seen 10 years from now, and whether it will be as talked about as much as it is now. If another Superman show is made in the future, then this has to be used as a comparson. But I think that will be one that is rememebered for not only being one of the great long running television shows, but also a show that was able to give us a modern day Superman. Theres not a lot of television shows that are as captivating as Smallville, and it'll probably be a while before another one comes along that will be as impactful and long running. But Smallville will always be an all time favourite.

Zod Cast. KNEEL!

"KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!"
The famous words General Zod demands all opponents and enemies, including Superman do. And the new Superman film is set to once again bring that to the screen in a new light. 'Man of Steel' has officially cast Michael Shannon as the villain of the movie, but it will be very interesting to see how this version is played out.

I, for one, am looking forward to seeing a new interpretation of the two characters as Zod is arguably one of the more popular Superman villains who can actually go one on one with him and even defeat the superhero. Shannon doesn't look like a 'General Zod', and while the circling rumors Viggo Mortensen would be cast, it looked like Mortenson would of been the perfect fit. But with the official casting, Shannon could either create a whole new Zod we have not seen yet, or may surprise people and bring a menacing and evil persona we have all come to know.

The Richard Donner movies, for its time was cutting edge. And are most certainly memorable to all Superman fans. But in todays generation of film, we all look for the spectacular and with the promise that this updated Superman will be more of a fighting character, I, as many others would hope to see some epic fight scenes that should redefine Superman and finally distance himself from the 'Donner-verse' which Superman Returns was unable to do.

Final Smallville episodes

In just under two weeks time, the final episodes of Smallville will return to our TV screens.

For 10 years, we have followed Clark Kent on his journey towards becoming the person the world come to know as Superman. And now as we reach the end of the long running show, the final 6 episodes return on the 15th of April and we have been promised that we finally see 'Superman' in full costume and flight.

The first episode to return is titled 'Kent' in which we see more of the parallel universe and Clark Luthor. Picking up where Scion left us hanging on the edge of our seats, the promo shows us what seems to be the continuation of Lionel Luthor and Darkseid at Lex's grave. We also see the hand of  an unidentified person with the Legion ring. Which is interesting as we know Lex is set to return, but with the Legion ring, another possibility could be that instead of returning from the grave, he returns from the past with no memory of Clark's identity.

Another vital return in the episode is the alternate Jonathan Kent who, armed with green kryptonite, has Clark Kent tied. It'll be interesting to see what role he plays in Earth-2. We also see a billboard with the famous Superman logo with the caption "The Real Man of Steel" proving that Clark is well on his way to becoming the man he is being recognised as. Another notable thing we very quickly catch a glimpse of is what looks like could be another form of kryptonite, maybe gold...

Finally, the promo ends with the funeral of a character, but whos could it be...?

With the imminent return of Lex Luthors return, and the debuts of Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, Smallville continus to feed us more elements of the DC Universe, but sadly as the saying goes "all good things must come to an end"

'Kent'