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DC Cinematic Universe ( The James Gunn era)

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works for me...
 
On Threads, Gunn was asked about influences for his Superman besides Donner's version. He responded with three images, one of Golden Age Supes, one from the Fleischer cartoons, and this:

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:barf2:

That page is, IMO, probably the single most overrated Superman anything ever. It's also the lowest hanging of all possible fruits, an image that people have been posting and reposting and gushing over for years because it's "so emotional" and "so inspirational." (They forget to mention "so superficial" and "so facile.") I sincerely hope Gunn's reading and thinking about the character goes deeper than this.
 
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It's not emotional or inspirational?

Man, my Superman knowledge is limited but for what I see teens going through that hits me right in the emotions because that is a lot of teens perceived experience.
 
It apparently does it for a lot of people. For me, it falls almost completely flat. Then again, I don't think All-Star Superman, or Grant Morrison in general, are all they're cracked up to be. (Morrison's hopelessly convoluted and pretentious Final Crisis may be the single most torturous comics reading experience I've ever had.)

J. Michael Straczynski placed Superman in a similar situation once, and IMO wrung much more depth and emotion out of it. It's been discussed on the forum before, starting here and continuing off and on for the next few pages of posts, if you're interested.
 
It apparently does it for a lot of people. For me, it falls almost completely flat. Then again, I don't think All-Star Superman, or Grant Morrison in general, are all they're cracked up to be. (Morrison's hopelessly convoluted and pretentious Final Crisis may be the single most torturous comics reading experience I've ever had.)

J. Michael Straczynski placed Superman in a similar situation once, and IMO wrung much more depth and emotion out of it. It's been discussed on the forum before, starting here and continuing on the next page or so of posts, if you're interested.
See I get the same emotional response from both panels, so I don't get why one is not deep but the other is.

But, again, my experience with comics is limited and such panels speak to me differently than most.
 
Well, if you dig the page Gunn posted, you have lots of company. As I say, it's become pretty much the go-to "this is Superman" comics page. My "meh" reaction is definitely in the minority.
 
Well, if you dig the page Gunn posted, you have lots of company. As I say, it's become pretty much the go-to "this is Superman" comics page. My "meh" reaction is definitely in the minority.
I appreciate your honesty in your perspective

Now, i haven't read that whole comic (so i cna't say if that comic issue was cheesy, or in line with what i am reading here), just the panel you showed. At least this particular part... i am with the majority.... it's one aspect i would DEFINITELY picture for Superman.
 
J. Michael Straczynski placed Superman in a similar situation once, and IMO wrung much more depth and emotion out of it.

It's not about quantity. It's the minimalism of Morrison's scene that makes it powerful for me. Sometimes a long speech is good -- I've certainly written plenty -- but sometimes I find that putting something across with as few words as possible can make it hit powerfully. Although, yes, it does make it more suitable for turning into a meme.

And no, it's not facile, not when considered in context.
It was set up several pages earlier, when we saw the doctor calling Regan to say he'd been delayed by damage caused by a robot that was coming after Superman. Then Lois confronts him about having discovered that he's dying, and then he goes to comfort Regan. Superman takes responsibility for saving someone from the indirect consequences of one of his fights, and telling her she's stronger than she thinks is also about what he's dealing with facing his own mortality, and what he knows Lois will now have to deal with. Even in the midst of his own problems, he still takes the time to help a stranger with a problem it seemed he'd overlooked. So there's a lot going on there, conveyed very efficiently. It's a marvelously compact illustration of how committed Superman is to helping people and taking responsiiblity. And of how Superman, for all his Silver Age-level godlike powers in All-Star, is in awe of how strong humans are.
 
I appreciate your honesty in your perspective

Now, i haven't read that whole comic (so i cna't say if that comic issue was cheesy, or in line with what i am reading here), just the panel you showed. At least this particular part... i am with the majority.... it's one aspect i would DEFINITELY picture for Superman.
Mind you, it's not that I think it violates the character, or is inconsistent with him. It's ... fine, just very by-the-numbers IMO.
It's not about quantity. It's the minimalism of Morrison's scene that makes it powerful for me. Sometimes a long speech is good -- I've certainly written plenty -- but sometimes I find that putting something across with as few words as possible can make it hit powerfully. Although, yes, it does make it more suitable for turning into a meme.

And no, it's not facile, not when considered in context.
It was set up several pages earlier, when we saw the doctor calling Regan to say he'd been delayed by damage caused by a robot that was coming after Superman. Then Lois confronts him about having discovered that he's dying, and then he goes to comfort Regan. Superman takes responsibility for saving someone from the indirect consequences of one of his fights, and telling her she's stronger than she thinks is also about what he's dealing with facing his own mortality, and what he knows Lois will now have to deal with. Even in the midst of his own problems, he still takes the time to help a stranger with a problem it seemed he'd overlooked. So there's a lot going on there, conveyed very efficiently. It's a marvelously compact illustration of how committed Superman is to helping people and taking responsiiblity. And of how Superman, for all his Silver Age-level godlike powers in All-Star, is in awe of how strong humans are.
Your spoiler is interesting. I'm so used to seeing that one page in isolation, recycled ad nauseam, that context tends to be forgotten. I'll no doubt re-read All-Star one of these days, and I'll keep your comments in mind when I do. Who knows, maybe in a few years I'll be the one reposting that page in every Superman discussion. :lol:
 
Well, if you dig the page Gunn posted, you have lots of company. As I say, it's become pretty much the go-to "this is Superman" comics page. My "meh" reaction is definitely in the minority.
I'm just more curious as to the "meh" reaction. Is it overdone, is it the comic's context, or what? Standalone, the panel speaks volumes of the feeling of isolation, and one person (in this case, Superman) seeing a person and connecting with them.

The power there seems undeniable but perhaps that is my own reading in to it.
 
I sincerely hope Gunn's reading and thinking about the character goes deeper than this.
You yourself reported that this was one of three images, so you know full well that this is just an aspect of his approach. :)
 
You yourself reported that this was one of three images, so you know full well that this is just an aspect of his approach. :)
Yeah, but it's three images chosen out of eleventy-billion possibilities in every possible storytelling medium over the course of 86 years. Still a pretty telling selection, viewed in that light.

(Personally, I feel Lois should most definitely have been included in at least one of the images, if not all.)

Though, in fairness, Gunn's comment accompanying the pictures was, "Where do I start?" suggesting these choices were tip of the iceberg.
 
50-60 years??? Try 14 --- when the Copyright of the initial SUperman stuff runs out (i.e. no flying, but you can then put an S on the costume with a red cape and call him SUperman).

Speaking of that, could someone theoretically start filming now for their Superman movie....they just can't release it until after the copyright runs out? And can the new material be copyrighted?

Yes, date from publication is what matters. Also the film itself would be copyrighted and any new unique elements (like an original character) would be protected under the new copyright. That's why Disney's unique version of Snow White (ex: her character design, the names of the dwarfs) is still protected, even though it's based on a public domain fairy tale.
 
Okay, mea culpa time. I could have sworn Gunn only posted three images, but he either added more or I somehow overlooked some of them the first time around. (Most likely the latter, in which case apologies to Mr. Gunn -- like he'll ever see this.) And some of the additional images are much more to my personal taste, for example:

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and

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So I'll just be shutting TFU now. :o
 
Still a pretty telling selection, viewed in that light.
I agree. A one-page sequence that distills the idea that this will be the "friend to all" Superman, that he's as much about saving someone with words as he is about catching a falling plane.
 
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