The first Superman I watched when I was a child was probably the second-generation George Levi. At that time, TV was still in black and white, and I watched it on my neighbor’s TV. By the time TV replayed the color version, it was already the Reeve era…
Reeve was released when I was in elementary school. The theater also distributed special tickets for school children, which cost only 4 cents. To me Reeve was more handsome and younger than George Levy, at a time when stunts already had us believing Superman could fly! To me, Reeve is perfect! He is not like George Levi King’s American uncle with blond hair. Reeve’s black hair and eyebrows allow Asian Chinese boys to step into this role. At that time, the comics published by Fujiko Fujio and even Hong Kong Huang Yulang had Asians wearing Superman uniforms, and it seemed that there was no sense of violation. After that, we also went to the theater to watch the second episode, but by the time we got to the third and fourth episodes, it was already the era of VHS video tapes. Of course, as a child, I no longer knew that these two episodes of Superman were considered bad movies.
When I entered middle school, I turned on the TV one time and the TV version of “SUPER BOY” was playing. The actor in the first season of “SUPER BOY” was John Newton. I was shocked when I saw his appearance on TV! Although I know he is not Reeve, he has Reeve’s temperament. From a modern perspective, John Newton looks like a cross between Henry (2013) and Brandon (2006). However, he resigned after one season and was replaced by Gerard Christopher for the second season. But Gerard Christopher doesn’t look like a white man, but he is very enthusiastic about playing the role of Superman.
When I started working in society, the new TV series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” was born! This movie stars Dean Cain. Dean Cain makes me feel like an Asian-Chinese, just like Stephen Chow playing Superman! But the quality of his performances and TV series is popular! It was just that the fourth season was cut short…
This TV series was aired from 1993 to 1997, but a lot of things happened to “Superman” in these few years! First of all, a comic “Superman: The Death of Superman” was also released in 1992, which was the first appearance of the character Doomsday! At that time, I remember that the sales of Superman comics were plummeting, so we launched a project like this to stimulate sales. Everyone generally felt that Superman was too powerful, had no rivals, and had no sense of tension! Therefore, a Doomsday that can kill Superman was created. This plan successfully stimulated Superman’s comic sales.
In 1995, Reeve had an accident while participating in an equestrian competition. His spine was severely injured and his body was paralyzed. Around 1997, Warner wanted to reboot the Superman movie and hired Tim Burton, the talented director of Batman Episodes 1 and 2, to direct, but the actor found Nicolas Cage to play Superman! At that time, everyone was surprised by this decision. Of course, there is no doubt about Nicolas Cage’s acting skills! But at that time, his hair volume was no longer high and his appearance was not handsome. Everyone questioned this decision… However… that was the genius director “Tim Burton”. He was scolded when he cast the unattractive Michael Keaton as Batman, but after the movie was released, everyone was convinced… So everyone is looking forward to how this talented director will shoot Superman? It’s a pity… In the end, Warner cut off the filming of this Superman… (At that time, Tim Burton planned to start with The Death of Superman, and Batman played by Michael Keaton would also make a cameo)
In 2001, The CW produced a TV series called “Smallville” that lasted for nearly ten seasons, starring Tom Welling. In the first season, Tom Welling was still full of Reeve temperament. Reeve also made a cameo in the film, and even named Tom Welling as the new successor to Superman! However, Tom Welling refused to put on the Superman uniform for this show, even for the finale! Fans are very disappointed… Although he changed his mind and said he was willing to wear it many years later, his appearance was not maintained well. Even during the ten seasons, his appearance began to change in the second season, and the Reeve-like temperament from the first season completely disappeared.
In 2006, Warner finally handed over the new Superman movie “Superman Rising”. This one continued Reeve’s world view. The actor they hired was Brandon who looked very much like Reeve. The uniform was only made of improved materials and colors! Not much has changed, and no one complained about the old man wearing his underwear outside his clothes back then! Some people even say that Superman does not need to wear a rubber suit like Batman, he is already the Man of Steel! (Timberton’s version of Superman was stillborn, and Nicolas Cage’s Superman suit was made of the same rubber material as Batman)
But apart from the very exciting scene in the movie where Superman saves the plane at the beginning, Brandon’s confidence, elegance and calmness make people convinced that Superman is back! But the entire film was too artistic. Like the old version of Reeve, Superman only saved disasters and accidents, and did not arrange an opponent who could match him! Superman only secretly pays attention to Lois’ life, making the film very dull. Even the scenes of blocking bullets with your eyes and lifting an entire Kryptonite island and sending it into space are very shocking! But the film is so bland, leaving only the tail line that Superman has a son.
Despite this, the film also took in a global box office of US$391 million, and audiences are willing to wait for Brandon’s sequel. However, Warner was dissatisfied with the box office performance, and the cost of Superman Returns was calculated even during the preparation period for “Tim Burton” or even earlier, so Warner believed that it was not profitable. However, the green light for the sequel was still approved. However, due to the writers’ strike, director Bryan Singer’s schedule issues, and the success of TDK, Warner slowly gave up on the plan for Superman Returns.
Speaking of Brandon, he actually had bad luck. He was highly praised at the beginning and even won the Saturn Rookie Award. He signed a sequel contract and did not start filming until it expired. In 2019, CW asked him to guest star as Superman again, but Warner did not approve the loan of Superman’s uniform. As a result, CW gave Brandon a Superman uniform. That cameo was eye-catching! People also say that Brandon has more superhuman qualities than CW Tyler Hoechlin. It has been rumored for some time that HBO MAX will have Brandon’s independent Superman series, and that Superman will also guest star in the movie The Flash.
As a result, that series was played by Tyler Hoechlin, and the world view was different from the original Supergirl. It can only be said that Warner did not want Bran to play again, right? What is even sadder is that Tyler Hoechlin made everyone finally accept him as an excellent Superman and the Flash with this series. Reeve, who used fake CG, did not find Brandon to guest star. Nowadays, people on the Internet post comparison pictures of the Superman collection. They will post multiple TV versions of Tyler Hoechlin and Tom Welling, and they also ignore Brandon. It can be said that he is the most promising Superman actor but has a bad luck…
When Nolan’s TDK trilogy ended, the Marvel universe was in full swing. Warner also wanted to follow suit and create a DC universe, and wanted Nolan to start filming a reboot of Superman, but Nolan refused. Interestingly, when Nolan was filming BATMAN BEGINS, did he ask Warner if he wanted to do a crossover with Superman Restart? But Warner refused! In the end, Nolan agreed to produce the new Superman and looked for a director he admired for the film. As a result, he found Chuck Snyder, who had made 300 and DC’s Guardians.
I remember when the stills were released, Henry’s appearance was suspected of being evil. In the photos taken on location, some people said that he was not used to it without underwear… But the texture of the clothes was eye-catching. It was no longer made of cloth, nor was it the rubber leather jacket that they imagined.
After MOS was released, there were some audience comments, such as “There is no Reeve version of classic music”, “Henry doesn’t have Reeve’s temperament”, “Why didn’t Superman save his adoptive father in the tornado?”, “Why didn’t Superman fight General Thad in an open space with few civilians?”, “Oh my God! Superman broke General Thad’s neck. Where can Superman kill people?”, “Why do Kryptonians know English?”
Reeve’s version of classic music was not used because Warner wanted to replicate the success of TDK Formula. BATMAN BEGINS also did not use the 1989 Batman classic music that day. (It is said that Director Cha also thought about using the old version of the music.) As for Henry’s lack of Reeve’s temperament, he actually wanted to create a new image of Superman, but in fact it’s just his hairstyle that doesn’t look like him. Personally, I think Brandon doesn’t look like Reeve either, but his clothes, hairstyle, eyes, words, and deeds just imitate Reeve. If there were more riffs on his face, Henry had more than Brandon.
As for why Superman didn’t save his adoptive father from the tornado? My personal interpretation is that this film uses the same “non-linear narrative” method as Nolan’s BATMAN BEGINS. The simplest method is the so-called “flashback”. People have initially seen the stout Henry showing off his power on an offshore oil tower! In the tornado scene, Superman was only seventeen years old, but he was cast by Henry himself. The movie did not tell how many powers the 17-year-old Superman had awakened, but his adoptive father always felt that protecting his identity was more important (in the bus incident, it was even hinted that he should not reveal his abilities even if he had to risk death!), so he stopped Superman from saving him. The young Superman always followed his father’s instructions, and his adoptive father died while hesitating…
Why don’t you lead him to an open space with few civilians during the battle? I don’t think that is a choice for Superman. The general will not listen to you! And fighting in the city has explosive power. Do you think that when ULTRAMAN fights in the city, it will lure the monsters to the open space? And Superman twisted the neck of General Thad. At that time, General Thad was red-eyed, and the laser eyes were approaching to shoot civilians. In order to save people, Superman twisted General Thad! In fact, it can be seen from this scene that Superman is very helpless and regretful. First, he killed someone for the first time! Secondly, they are the last remaining members of his species on the planet.
What I want to emphasize on this point is that although people are still very controversial about this picture, they think Superman should not kill people! But in fact, Nolan is not simply a producer in MOS. Although Nolan said that he would not interfere with Director Cha’s filming, MOS production company is Nolan’s studio, and Director Cha is just the director he invited back. Unlike BVS and ZJL, which are Director Cha’s own production companies. The MOS team basically comes from the TDK series, and the screenwriters are also responsible for the TDK trilogy, David S. Goyer and Nolan. When Director Cha was filming this scene, he felt uncomfortable because he wanted Superman to kill people, so he asked Nolan if he wanted to modify it? In the end, Nolan decided: “Kill him!” Because this scene describes the growth of Superman. It is precisely because he has experienced the pain of killing that he values life more. In the film, Superman screams in pain when he kills the general, and Lois runs to hug him, which is full of artistic conception and tells the audience Superman’s pain. If you still don’t understand, I can’t say anything. I can only say that Nolan and director David S. Goye Chacha still can’t produce an artistic conception that you can understand. You need to shoot straight-forward movies like Taiwan’s eight o’clock show and Hong Kong TVB dramas before you can understand? That’s why Gunn, who came from Marvel, is needed to direct a DC movie? (There used to be a group of people on the Internet who didn’t like Cha’s work, but recently Gunn’s Superman was released, and these people have begun to attack Nolan too!)
I remember when the news of Reeve’s death appeared on the front page of the newspaper, and there was a photo of Superman standing on the American flag, I couldn’t help but think: There may never be a Superman with Reeve’s temperament in this world… Fortunately, Brandon in 2006’s Superman Rises made me think Reeve had a successor! Too bad the movie didn’t go ahead and then they brought in Henry, and to be honest, I didn’t actually like Henry! Although I think he is a masculine Superman in the movie with his beard and majestic figure, Henry’s figure is still slim after putting on the Superman suit. His hair was not combed, and the tight suit couldn’t even cover his chest hair, and a lot of hair jumped out of the collar. It was too far away from the clean, gentle and elegant Brandon image. I can only say that I agree with the movie, but the actor did not live up to the Superman image in my mind.
In the sequel BVS, this time Henry has trained to a bigger size and his suit has been adjusted so that Henry still maintains his majestic figure in the suit. But because BVS Henry’s Superman hairstyle is styled into a “Gambler’s Haircut” this time, it’s the same as Dean Cain’s version, but because Henry’s hairline is very high, his high forehead makes him look bald! In addition, BVS’s Superman is more melancholic than MOS’s, which makes me feel that Henry is not an orthodox Superman image in my mind. In this regard, director Cha had this to say at the time. He said that Henry’s Superman would have to go through the trilogy before he would grow into the Superman image in everyone’s mind. The current suffering and death were his growth period.
When it comes to “Justice League”, whether it’s the 2017 revamped Whedon version, or the four-hour ZJL directed by Cha to give back to the fans’ enthusiasm. Henry finally became the Superman in everyone’s minds in this episode. Whether it was the black suit originally wanted by Director Cha or the brighter blue version requested by Warner, Henry’s hair style was different, and he felt more like Reeve’s version of Superman. The confidence that comes with calmness and a smile on the face when wearing the battle uniform is not bad! It’s the same superhuman feeling as ever! Since then, I have always believed that Brandon is the representative of the new generation of Superman. This time, I finally feel that Henry is the Superman in my mind…
It’s a pity… there was no follow-up after that. Since Marvel started a new generation of superheroes, Warner was eager to imitate Marvel’s happy and bright style. It edited the BVS scene first, which made the story confusing and unsmooth, which led to negative reviews from film critics. Although the DVD was later released with an extended version, in fact There are still many clips that have been cut. For example, Superman is eager to find his kidnapped mother Martha. Due to time constraints, Superman’s “super hearing” is disturbed and he hears too many noises from the world asking for help and cannot concentrate, so he goes to the appointment to find Batman’s helper…
There are also many people who have echoed the same comments, such as saving the father in the MOS era, and Masha’s plot from killing the general to BVS. Modern audiences don’t want to think about it (maybe Director Cha’s filming is not straightforward enough?), but today’s Internet audiences who are malicious towards the DCEU still use these to make excuses! (Just like the fans who said that XBOX has no games and the TURN A design is rubbish…) These are the malicious intentions that have been attacking the DCEU…
Warner also remade Suicide Squad, forced the movie to change its outlook, cut out JOKER’s scenes, and changed the character into a lover, which made people think that he was the worst JOKER… He has been interfering in the filming of director Cha’s Justice League, and finally quit the crew when director Cha’s adopted daughter unfortunately passed away, and hired Whedon, who was fired by Marvel, to revamp Justice League. As a result, the box office reputation even fell short of Warner’s goals…
Since then, Warners has given up on standalone Superman and Batman movies for the DCEU and only wants to use Henry’s remaining contract to guest star as Shazam. Ben was too stressed and quit directing Batman himself, so he called Matt Reeves to take over as director. However, Matt Reeves actually took orders from Warner Bros. and told the public that Ben was too old and wanted to make a younger version of Batman. Ben was frustrated and quit playing Batman… At the beginning of Wonder Woman, the director and producer were of good quality, but once they left, Wonder Woman 84, which was joined by Warner Bros., preached love and peace, and the heroine who abandoned the sword and shield became a love brain, and the box office and reputation were also huge! Aquaman also tried not to mention the DCEU. The DCEU still had a lingering power in the first episode, but it lost momentum in the second episode…
When DCEU was still directed by Cha, the box office was not as good as Marvel but it still made money. But if there are multiple senior executives involved in the box office, it will be a mess…
The original ending of The Flash was that The Flash stayed in the universe where Keaton Bat and Supergirl were not dead, but Big Batman called the Flash to retrieve them through the device. This ending was denied by Gunn, because New Warner even killed off the Batgirl created by the previous senior management, and they didn’t even plan to have Keaton’s Batman universe! (Keaton’s guest appearance in Aquaman 2 was also deleted), and the other ending is that Henry, Wonder Woman, and Batman go to court to congratulate The Flash’s father on his release. This is the perfect ending for the DCEU revival. Because he doesn’t want the audience to be nostalgic for the DCEU, Gunn ordered this ending to be cut! (Heng Chao was also fired by him) And what we see now is that the title character has been replaced by George Clooney from “Batman and Robin”! Anyone who knows the history of Batman well knows that it was “Batman and Robin” that halted Batman movies for eight years. How could Warners silence fans by replacing Ben and Michael Keaton with George Clooney? We go back to what Gunn said on Twitter before. He once said that he didn’t like the 1989 Batman, but he admired “Batman and Robin” very much! And who among the entire Warners has the most power to change the two finished endings? It goes without saying who is the mastermind behind the scenes…
Warner executives interfered with the DCEU and cut the DCEU in half, which has angered movie fans. In addition, the quality of the fun-oriented movie has driven away the original fans. But the straw that broke the camel’s back was the intervention of Marvel director Gunn.
Gunn, like Whedon, was fired by Disney. Warner executives have always wanted to imitate Marvel, so they are naturally happy to see it! Whedon was abandoned due to the failure of JL, and Gunn first called him back to film the new Suicide Squad and the HBO drama Peacemaker! He also said at the time that he was not interested in making a Superman movie. In fact, Warner executives at the time wanted him to make a brand new Superman. Later, due to unsatisfactory performance and major personnel changes at Warner, A&AT stepped in to approve ZJL’s release. Some of the senior executives who were originally responsible for directing came forward and began to recruit DCEU actors back, so we can see Ben return to film The Flash and guest star in Aquaman 2. Henry announced that he will return to play Superman. It seems that, except for Director Cha… the DCEU seems to be back…
However, when A&AT was abruptly withdrawn due to its synchronized broadcast strategy, Discovery was replaced, and Gunn was promoted to CEO of DC Films. Everything changed! Gunn announced to the public that he had never wanted Henry to come back (the official website clearly congratulated Henry on his return). Just like Big Book, Gunn said that what they wanted to do was a young and brand-new Superman story… That’s why some DCEU fans got in touch with Gunn-Warner…
Time and again, the struggles of Warner’s top management have played off the fans they have accumulated, which has led to a group of DC fans boycotting Warner and Gunn (just like boycotting KONAMI and kicking out Hideo Kojima!)
Now there is a lot of praise on the Internet, how beautiful it is! DC is saved! Gunn never fails! David is the most successful Superman! Frankly speaking, everyone is well aware that there are such flattering posts so close to the official release date! So did Gunn really make a masterpiece like the ones online? The space is limited. In this issue, I will first recount the history of some past Superman movies with you. What did Warner and Gunn do to make DCEU fans so angry? In the next article, I will officially evaluate Gunn’s set of Superman.