Superman vs The Elite

A Review By: BLACK SUPERMAN

          Foreword: Wondercon was awesome.  For anyone who has never attended a comic book convention, if you are a comic book lover, it is a must that you attend one.  There are many exclusives and previews which make the cost, very much so, worthwhile.  One of the Wondercon exclusives was a screening of the new DCU animated feature, Superman vs The Elite.  What follows is an, almost, spoiler-free review.

Have you ever wondered if, perhaps, you were a bit out of touch?  You notice that what you think matters no longer matters to the people around you even though, at one time, they seemed to share common goals and ideals?  Or have you, perhaps, found yourself at odds with people who, at one time, had your back, while you cannot remember the moment when you went from friends- or they from fans- to rivals?  This is the plight of our favorite “big blue boyscout” in the newest DCU animated movie, Superman vs. The Elite.

Based on the classic Superman #775, “What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?”, Superman vs. The Elite is an exploration of the very core ideals of Superman.  In it, we get to explore, not only what values make us believe in Superman, but also, we get to see a glimpse of the hero, or anti-hero, so many of us clamor to see him become.

The story is simple enough, Superman must stop a villain he has put in prison multiple times, but, after the countless break-outs and after so many lives have been lost to this monster, the people begin to turn on Superman, thinking his old-fashioned values are too dated for the violent times they live in.  Enter The Elite, a group of super-powered vigilantes who have no problem with flexing their muscles, causing collateral damage, or taking a life to get the job done.  This puts them, almost, instantly at odds with the ever moral Superman.  The problem for him, however, is that the public is on The Elite’s side, having come to the conclusion that their approach- declaring themselves judge, jury, and executioner- is the solution to the ever worsening supervillain problem.  Superman begins to question whether the world, as it is, can ever be the place he envisions it to be- a place where good overcomes evil and fear- or if, perhaps, the world truly has passed him by, and he is living a fantasy.

Written by Joe Kelly, and starring George Newbern as Superman, Pauley Perrette as Lois Lane, and Robin Atkin Downes as Manchester Black, Superman vs The Elite almost flawlessly tells the tale of a Superman in turmoil as the world which once believed in him completely seems to have left him behind in favor of a new kind of hero, whose respect for life borders on being as low as the villains they execute.  We get a glimpse into the mind of Superman and get to see, and hear, how he views the world and why he refuses to cross the line of taking lives- of virtually taking the law into his own hands.  Just as important, I believe, however, is that we get a glimpse of the man- not just the Superman- as he evaluates the world around him and the values he holds most dear; and we get to see his fears for the world and even a glimpse of his own self-doubt, as he wonders if he is still the Superman the world needs.  And the best part… spoiler alert… we get a glimpse of what the anti-hero Superman might be like if he were to push those boundaries, and in my opinion, he was both cool and unsettling. 

There is a reason Superman holds himself in check: a Superman who is willing to win at all costs is more dangerous than the villains he battles.  Also, it is hard to trust a hero you fear.  And that is the crux of who Superman is, he is the one man in the DC universe that, good or evil, everyone trusts.

Superman vs The Elite, in my opinion, is one of the best animated movies ever created.  It is well-written and brilliantly voiced.  While the art, to me, is a bit elementary, the script and action immediately pull you in and you become engrossed in one man’s battle to hold on to what he believes in against a world that thinks he is deluded.  Watching this movie made me, an avid Superman fan, incredibly happy.  Everything I love about this character is in full display here, and I believe this movie will garner him new fans, as even the most die-hard Superman haters came away from the screening confessing to a new respect for Big Blue.  Buy this DVD, you’ll be glad you did.

Black Superman of Codenamed Epic

“Superman: The Movie”

By Black Superman


Synopsis
On the eve of his planet’s destruction, a scientist sends his son to Earth, where the baby is found and adopted by the Kents, who name him Clark. The boy soon learns that he has powers that other humans do not possess and determines that he will use them for good. Clark Kent grows up and moves to Metropolis, where he works as a mild-mannered newspaper reporter, moonlights as the caped hero known as Superman and is tested by the evil Lex Luthor who plans to kill him and take over the world. ( Yahoo! Movies, 29 Feb 2012 )


If I am going to do older comic book movie reviews, then there is no way I can start with any other movie than the one that started them all, the movie that showed the world that superheroes could be more than just a few quips on the funny pages and could also be family fun, “Superman: The Movie.”    Starring Christopher Reeve as the Man of Steel, Superman The Movie was my first real foray into the world of superheroes.  At age 3, this movie was the beginning of a lifelong love of Superman, specifically, but the comicbook genre, in general.  Granted, at the age of 3, it didn’t take much to impress me, but- and I know it’s cliché in the world of live action Superman, however- this movie, truly, convinced me that a man could fly.

The story of Superman, for me, was always more than just the story of an ultra powerful space alien who lives among us and saves us from ourselves over and over again.  Superman, for me personally, has always been an allegory for people’s perceptions of who I am versus the person I know myself to be.  This is the reason, I believe, Superman continues to survive, and thrive, through all his many iterations.  Superman is the first, and to many- myself included- the best of all superheroes.  As such, this movie- the first of its kind - is also, still, one of the best.

Superman The Movie is the story of Kal-El, a baby born on the dying planet Krypton and sent to Earth, by his parents, as both a way to preserve his life and to enrich the lives of his adopted world.  Kal-El’s father, Jor-El, one of the pre-imminent Kryptonian scientists, discovers that instability in the planet’s core has placed the planet in imminent danger, and seeks to warn his fellows the coming death of their world. The council, however, sure of their superiority and mastery of their planet, ignore his warning, resulting in the extinction of their race.  Jor-El, for reasons that have never made sense to me, promises he and his wife Lara, will not leave the dying world.   Jor-El’s love for his son, however, leads him to build a rocket for the baby, Kal-El, to escape from the planet’s destruction.

He is sent to Earth where he lands, fortunately, in a little town in Kansas, the aptly named Smallville, and is found by a loving couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent, who have no children of their own and had always longed for a child.  They raise him as their own, instilling him with small town values, and teaching him that his special abilities give a responsibility and a destiny that are unlike any other person’s in existence.  The values the Kents instill in him make him grow into, not just the most powerful man on the planet, but also one of the most conscientious. He grows to adulthood, and after the death of his human father, strikes out on his own to find his way in the world.  With the help of a green crystal from Krypton, he builds the Fortress of Solitude, and there is trained for his duties to the world by a holographic A.I. of his Kryptonian father.

He moves to the city of Metropolis where he embarks on his “never-ending-battle” for truth, justice, and the American way and saves the life of Lois Lane, a hard-nosed reporter who has a penchant for getting herself in and out of trouble in search of the big story.  They are both instantly smitten and begin a game of cat and mouse that has spanned over seventy years.

Through his many adventures, Superman also comes to the attention of Lex Luthor, a criminal mastermind with an eye for real estate, plan for taking over the real estate market of the West Coast by detonating a nuclear missile on the San Andreas Fault and dropping California into the Pacific Ocean.  Lex realizes that Superman is the only person on the planet with the power to stop his plan, so he sets up an elaborate scheme designed to end Superman’s life.  While Luthor fails to kill Superman, his plan comes to fruition.  The missile strikes the fault causing a massive earthquake meant to create a new western coastline.  Superman manages to save the day, but fails to save Lois, whose car stopped in the desert, in the line of fire of the quake.

The end of this movie is, of course, one of the most famous sequences in movie history, as Superman defies his Kryptonian father’s command and turns the Earth backwards on its axis, reversing time and bringing Lois back from the dead, thus Superman prevails, the world is saved, and Lex Luthor goes to jail to think of newer land schemes.

As a fun ride, few movies, especially from the 70s and 80s, few movies compare to Superman The Movie.  It’s everything that’s right about a superhero movie, and this movie has something for everyone.  There is character development for the main character; we get to know him from childhood and understand him because we were there as he learned the lessons than made him Superman.   And then we see the world from his perspective.  We see how he loves the world and what he is willing to sacrifice to save it.  We find ourselves cheering his triumphs, which, admittedly, are many and we even get to see him vulnerable, as Luthor almost takes his life with Kryptonite, and his pain as his one true love dies and he is unable to save her.  

We also get to see, and fall in love with, Lois Lane as Superman does.  He sees her for who she is, an astounding woman who has layers to her personality and is, as a love interest someone who challenges him, not just intellectually, but also emotionally in ways that no other person can.  We can feel his emotions as he watches her faun over him all the while ignoring him at the same time.  

There is a loneliness to Superman, and while Lois relieves some of it for him, he is also forever unable to give himself to her.  He sees her every day, and yet, can never tell her who he really is.  Understand that in this iteration Superman is who Kal-El truly is and Clark Kent is a disguise he wears to hide in plain sight, so the person she sees everyday and ignores is not his true self.  His true self is the hero that everyone admires and she loves.  Every little boy can relate to that feeling of knowing that if a girl truly knew him inside, that she would love him.  And she does love the true him, just not enough to see him hiding beneath Clark Kent’s bumbling exterior.    

Then there is his antagonist, Lex Luthor, who is a threat, perhaps not to him, personally everything he holds dear.  Even though Lex has no powers, he is dangerous in a way that more powerful villains are not, in that Lex does not challenge Superman physically as super villains might, but instead puts millions of others in danger to further his goals, making the challenges Superman must face greater, because the obstacles must be great to give Luthor a fighting chance.  Watching as the normal human almost beats Superman gives some people the guilty pleasure that comes from watching the strong, popular, good looking jock get his from the weaker nerdy guy (or just lets the haters hate).  There is a lot to love in this movie.

There are some head-scratchers aboard also.  Take for instance, if Superman can stand and listen to a soliloquy about which of them was the best as Lex gloats over Superman being exposed to Kryptonite, why doesn’t he just close the box the rock is in?  Or, if he can fly fast enough to turn the world backwards on its axis, how could he not catch 2 missiles only a couple of thousand miles apart?  And of course, the number one question of all Superman fans and haters alike?  If he grew up without glasses and if he is always around people who see him as both Clark and Superman, how does no one recognize him?

This movie is from the 70s, so the special effects, while state of the art at that time, are dated now, but the image of the S being revealed to the John Williams score is still as iconic now as it was in 1978.  With so much going right, personally, I’ll forget the problems and just enjoy the ride. 

Welcome to Codenamed: Comic Book Movies

Welcome to Codenamed: Comic Book Movies, a chance to review some of the best loved, and most obscure, comic book based movies.  Together, we will journey into the world of graphic novel based movies, new and old, and delve into the reasons to watch- and in some cases rewatch- movies that have shaped the movies we see today, as well as looking at the movies that have spawned from those earlier attempts.  As we go on this journey, please consider my opinions and send me your own.  Whether we agree or disagree on the movies themselves, hopefully we can all agree that this will be a fun, informative ride.