Wait a minute...Colin suggested Kevin Smith's script??? Ok, it is the end of the world. Everybody, to the bomb shelters!

Warner/DC did such a great job with the television show Smallville (which I don't feel bad mentioning now that this site has become Gossip Girl HQ). Perhaps that show is such a success because the writers are able to tap into the flaws of the boy who eventually became Superman, examining all of the growing pains that came along the way.

Producers are going to have to rough Superman up a little bit if they want modern audiences to come out, and looking at his death and subsequent re-birth might be a way to explore this...

Imagine Superman coming back from the grave bitter...changed.

As for Kevin Smith he has spent over a decade defending his script and bashing Warner publicly. Easy to do when you got paid for a product you never had to put on screen. I suspect that the studio knew what they were doing when they told him no.

I'm not sure I agree with you on Superman. I think the problem with Singer's film was that they tried to make him flawed. An illegitimate super child? Really? I think they forgot what's important about Superman. He's the light to Batman's dark. The new comic series "Trinity" is dealing with the balance of the three main DC heroes. Basically, Superman is the light, Batman is the dark, and Wonder Woman is the balance between them. If you start making Superman a darker, flawed figure, I think audiences don't know how to react to it.

I would have much preferred seeing Superman return to Earth to find Lois waiting for him, though still a bit hurt and distant for awhile. Plus, the movie just needed more Superman action. They need to stop leaning on Lex Luthor in every Superman movie. I know he's Superman's big bad, but they play him off as a boisterous jackass. The animated series got it right, where Lex would do stuff in the background, and Superman knew he was behind it, but couldn't do anything to prove it. Also, what's with the real estate scheme? Lex was never in it for the money. He hates Superman because he's jealous of him. He hates that the world sees an alien as their savior. Why not bring in one of Superman's alien baddies like Brainiac, Mongol, or Darksied, then have Lex trying to turn the public against Superman by showing what a menace aliens can be?

In the end, I agree that they need to do a reboot on Superman. They just need to remember that he's like Harvey Dent in "The Dark Knight". We need him to be the white knight... and also kick a lot of bad guy ass.

It's true. Superman's character will always have something lost in translation in the days we live in. People respond to what they can relate to. I think if you, or anyone, sat back and looked at the world we live in today we could all agree we'd take a batman over superman any day. and it has nothing to do with strength or track record, but simply because we can see eye to eye with batman's character because he is the blue collar hero (even though he's rich as hell). He could be doing anything else with his life, but instead he kicks asses.

I think that's why Superman's going to be a work in progress for a little while longer.

With all due respect to Kevin Smith, and in full awareness that his abilities were compromised by directions from Jon Peters, his Superman screenplay is dreck. Call Frank Darabont and let him start from scratch. Then bring in a director who works well in bright, primary colors--maybe Ron Howard? No, wait--Brad Bird! Hell, yeah! Live action! And then let the character be the damn character. Superman is a Boy Scout, pure and simple. He fights for truth, justice, and the American way. I think people would enjoy a bit of wholesome, idealistic patriotism right about now, and why not?

My batman carriers a bar of kryptonite on him in case super man gets any ideas.

and reboot superman, give us some braniac. Even better give me a smallville movie.

For some reason the song Land of Confusion by Genesis started playing in my head when I read the part about Superman not being a relevant hero for our times. I have to say I concur. The part of the song I am referring to is where Phil Collins(sp?) says:

Ooh Superman where are you now
When everything's(sic) gone wrong somehow
The men of steel, the men of power
Are losing control by the hour.

I agree. Plain and simple. We live in chaotic times, and the only way get out of this is by any means possible. We don't need or want an alien who's not even from our world to save us. We want one of our own to do the dirty work to save us to give us hope that maybe, just maybe, we can save ourselves and that mankind is not doomed to destroy itself. We are like children that have for so long been dependent on our parents to protect us and make sure everything's ok, but, now, we're 40 and damn ashamed that we still live in our mom's basement and want to become independent, self-sustaining adults that no longer require our mother's protection. We want to grow up. We want to feel like the everyman can save the world, not some alien who can't even truly call our planet home.

And even more so, Superman really isn't all that super after all is he? If he is an alien from another world and only using powers that everybody and their dog has in that world...does that really make him super? Does that really even make him a man? No, not at all. A more accurate name for him would be Normalalien or Commonplaceextraterrestrial. He's just using powers that are inherent to his kind.

Batman on the other hand, although very dark, gives us reason to hope and makes us proud. He's just a regular homo sapiens that has busted his ass through hard work, strength of mind and character, but has done extraordinary things with those powers that he had to work hard to obtain. He represents to us that if you work your ass off to achieve the impossible, you just might have what it takes to succeed...and you don't even have to have been born with it (or born an extraterrestrial) and you can still be a human. He gives us the hope that we have some control over our own fates and that we don't have to depend on an outsider to prevent our world from crumbling.

Don't misread me and think that I hate Superman. I don't. I love Superman. I also love Batman, too. It is just that I cannot relate my personal, human condition to Superman. I can relate to Batman. He's not even really a hero...he's something more to us...a symbol of hope that we can save ourselves...and that by taking up his mantel we might become our own personal heroes in our own right.

Sorry, this was written late and I hope this makes sense and doesn't confuse anyone. I'm not sure what it was that prompted me to comment, but some compelling force told me to not just read this then close the tab. Sheesh, and now it's two hours later that I just pissed away my life on the internet. :-/

Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy action film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the comic book series of the same name by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Aircel Comics.

Not Marvel Comics!