He then goes on to make a specious argument, claiming that today’s heroes are “too powerful” and that turns off readers. His examples are simply untrue. Easterbrook claims, “Superman can travel at warp speed, go backward in time, push entire planets.”

Superman can’t do any of those things. He hasn’t been able to since the 1986 reboot of the character in John Byrne’s Man of Steel. That series was all about taking Superman’s powers down a few pegs after writers of the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s had poured on power after power turning Superman into a demigod. If Easterbrook had made this critique in 1986, it might be valid, but it hasn’t been an accurate description for a quarter of a century.

And the upcoming reboot of Superman, from all indications, is going to be even less powered than the current incarnation.

His other assertion is even more dubious. Easterbrook says Batman “can fly using his cape” and can ” lift three times his body weight.” While I am not as much a Batman fan as Superman, Batman has never been able to fly — cape or not. Simply hasn’t happened. He has used it to glide from time to time, but he’s used his cape in that manner since the very first appearance of Batman.

Batman has always been depicted as the upper limit of human ability, trained to perfection. He’s never had powers for any serious amount of time, and especially in the last few decades he’s been rooted in more reality than most superheroes (that has been the theme of all the Christopher Nolan Batman movies).

The comic books Easterbrook complains about in this piece don’t exist anywhere but in his own mind.

Michael Bendis is the writer behind Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man, and he enjoyed Glenn Beck’s freakout over the new multiracial Spidey.

The announcement that Miles would be the star of Bendis and Pichelli’s new Spider-Man series received a lot of media attention, far more than Bendis had foreseen. “The media stuff has been crazy surreal. Like I said, Joe [Quesada] saw it coming a year ago, but I don’t see how we control any of that stuff. We hit a slow news day twice with the death of Spider-Man. It was really cool and I’m very grateful, but this one was surreal,” Bendis said. “We pissed off Glenn Beck, and that was amazing. I don’t think Glenn Beck is an idiot because he’s a conservative. I literally think he’s just an idiot. Regardless of his belief system, he’s just a lunatic. So that was hilarious. Not that I’m going out of my way to find ways to piss people like that off, but boy is it so nice when you do it by accident. I told my wife that she doesn’t have to get me anything for my birthday because nothing will make me happier than this made me. I was happy all day.”

(via)

Henry Cavill as Superman

I understand the comics need to appeal to a wider base of readers, but the phrase “don’t tug on Superman’s cape” exists for a reason. Iconic figures are iconic for a reason. Superman is Superman.

Ugh.

CJR has a pretty superficial look at how journalism is portrayed in Superman: The Movie. The writer spends a lot of time writing about David Carradine’s monologue about how Clark Kent is just a front for Superman (a theory I think is a lot of bunk, especially in regards to post-Crisis Superman, where Clark is the main character and Superman is the outlet).

But even beyond that, the writer seems to have missed the role that the Daily Planet has in the world of Superman. First, Superman is at the planet because where better to be (in theory at least) than a major newspaper (the Planet is basically the New York Times of the DC Universe) to be at the nerve center of the world? If you’re Superman and you work at the Daily Planet, the world’s biggest most Superman-level stories come to you.

In Superman The Movie we see the major role of journalism in defining the world from the instance in which Lois Lane spends a night flying with Superman. As she lands and he flies away, she notes to herself about the stranger who has been nameless up until that point: “what a super man.” The next morning the lead story in the Daily Planet is “My Night With Superman” and that becomes his name. Furthermore, Superman chooses to speak only to the Planet because he knows they have respect and authority and will get the story right. In addition to his attraction to Lois, she is their best reporter. And while she begins falling in love with him, there she is with her notebook getting the answer to who he is (a visitor from a planet far, far away), why he’s there (to help), and what his vulnerabilities are (he can’t see through lead).

I concede that the movie does not have a lot of shoe leather reporting in it, but let’s not kid ourselves, Superman was a summertime action-adventure film, not a deep treatise on a reporter in the city.

That said, in the Superman comics, there have been instances where Superman has learned that he can best effect changes not as Superman, but as reporter Clark Kent. I remember an issue where he was able to expose the corruption behind a developer who wanted to tear down a home, not by using his fists as Superman but by digging into the company as reporter Clark Kent.

The comics have also dealt with the various outside influences on newspapers that we see in the real world. For a time in the late ’70s, Clark Kent wasn’t a print reporter but was a tv reporter for WGBS. A couple times, corporate conglomerates have purchased the Daily Planet in order to subvert its influence. Lex Luthor once bought the paper which eventually prompted Editor In Chief Perry White to quit in protest.

These outside forces want to subvert the Daily Planet because to the average every day citizen in the DC Universe, it is the news source they trust to give them the story in a fair, detailed manner. It’s a pretty good standard for news organizations in the real world.

I don’t like his costume. It looks more like Iron Man style armor than the classic Superman gear. While I don’t expect for the costume to stay static, there is a classicness to the look that shouldn’t be messed with.

The Original: Golden Age Superman by Joe Shuster

The Iconic: Curt Swan’s Superman of the ’60s and ’70s were used in the movies

Reboot: John Byrne’s Superman was part of the 1980s restart of the Superman mythos with Man Of Steel. This is probably my favorite.

Ed McGuiness’ Superman of the 2000s was another, more manga inspired look that I still liked.

And special honors go to

Gary Frank

Frank Quitely

Who, while not “regular” artists on Superman have made work that is seriously “art” in all the ways you can describe it.

Other Superman looks I didn’t really like much: Jerry Ordway (ugh), Dan Jurgens (death of Superman era)

As far as Thor is concerned, you can leave the Haterade at home.

If you go into Thor expecting to see something at the level of Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, if you’re like me and go into Thor looking for Thor to beat someone up with his hammer Mjolnir, you will be rewarded.

Thor is fun comic book movie that completely entertained me. From the early pictures and promos, I was most worried about the portrayal of Asgard. It would be nigh-impossible for any movie to really emulate the work of a Jack Kirby or Walt Simonson. And Thor didn’t, but Asgard still looked pretty awesome. The rainbow bridge could have been cheesy in execution, instead it came out looking pretty cool. The same is true of the various Asgardian suits of armor worn by Thor, Odin, and the other Asgard residents.

I also liked how the story moved back and forth between Earth and Asgard, and while it was an “origin” story, the human characters didn’t get too bogged down in What Does Thor Mean type meandering.

While at times Thor was a little rushed, it worked for me. I would give it a solid B+.

Michael Shannon as General Zod will face off against Henry Cavill’s Superman in director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel.

Warners Bros. announced Sunday that Shannon, who received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor for Revolutionary Road for his performance as a mentally-troubled man and who has also been seen as a stern federal agent in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, has been cast as Superman’s nemesis.

‘Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role,’ Snyder said.”

This just in — three-time Oscar nominee Amy Adams will play journalist Lois Lane in Hollywood’s revival of ‘Superman.’

The 36-year-old star got the news on Sunday from director Zack Snyder, who phoned her from Paris, where he was promoting his just-opened film, ‘Sucker Punch.’ There had been a crush of Hollywood interest in the lead female role in the Warner Bros. project but Snyder said that after meeting with Adams, she was the clear choice to take on a character that dates back to 1938 and has long represented the strong, professional woman who can hold her own against any man – even if he can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

She’s too young to play Lois Lane. Easily the weakest casting choice in Superman Returns was Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. Lois should be more sophisticated and world-weary, as a contrast to Clark. I’m just not seeing it here with Amy Adams.

Ok, this casting I kind of like:

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Oscar®-nominated actress Diane Lane will play Martha Kent, the only mother Clark Kent has ever known, in the new Superman movie to be directed by Zack Snyder.

Snyder stated, “This was a very important piece of casting for me because Martha Kent is the woman whose values helped shape the man we know as Superman. We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination.”

Lane will star with Henry Cavill, who was recently announced as the new Clark Kent/Superman.