by Drew Deitch
| Published
I have a lot of hope for James Gunn Superman And the upcoming DC Universe, or DCU as it is officially called. I called Suicide Squad“the best DC movies in decades,” and I stand by that (My review). Now, next Commando Creatures It's made me want to do more animated superhero stories, and I'm up for whatever James Gunn has to bring to the original superhero. But there's one thing I can't help but be afraid of, and that goes back to Superman's origins on the planet Krypton.
Superman's parents
I am currently reading The ultimate Supermanpart of DC's new Ultimate series of comics that allows for some radical new adaptations of iconic heroes. In the first issue, it is revealed that Superman's parents are farmers in a Kryptonian society with a distinct and brutal class system. Typically, Superman's parents are depicted as scientists in a utopian world. in The ultimate SupermanThey are lower class workers who realize that the ruling class is destroying the planet.
This is a cool, new idea to introduce into Superman's origin. It gives us a reason to actually see Kal-El's parents and spend time with them and their story. And if James Gunn He has a creative, fresh take on the lives of Jor-El and Lara, and I'm all for seeing how that affects his idea of Superman.
But, if James Gunn is the one taking inspiration, then I guess he is Superman He needs to show us as little of Carl Ed's parents as possible. In fact, I'd be fine without seeing them at all.
Origins are now legends
James Gunn has been very vocal about the comic book series All-Star Superman Being one of his sources of inspiration for this work man of steel. In that comic, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank perfectly sum up Superman's origin in one page, four panels, and eight words. Morrison boils everything down to its purely mythical elements. It's one of the greatest pages in comic book and superhero history.
I get the feeling that James Gunn similarly feels about the origins of the original superhero. At least, I hope so. Just as we don't need to see Bruce Wayne's parents gunned down anymore, Clark Kent's early life has entered a level of pop culture mythology that seems as ubiquitous as knowing that Santa lives at the North Pole. It is understood that both Richard Donner Superman And Zack Snyder man of steel They felt they needed to firmly establish their version of Superman's parents (basically Jor-El in those films). But Gunn could make a bigger statement by downplaying this part of Superman's story.
Superman is the ultimate immigrant story, and while I wouldn't want to throw away his Kryptonian heritage with his escape pod, it feels like focusing on Superman's love and connection to Earth is the best story that could be told with the character on the big screen. . Even this image of Superman and his pet Krypto seems to focus on this mindset. Yes, Crypto is part of it Alien The past, and I can't wait to see how this relationship between Clark and his dog will go. But the framing of that image places them in a context that emphasizes the beauty and importance of Earth to Superman.
The less time we spend with Superman's parents and the influence of Krypton's history on his story, the better James Gunn's story will be Superman will be. Whatever happens, I can't wait to see this new movie, even if it means more time on this exploding planet.
