Superman To Be Darker

Superman to Return Again, But Eviler: "In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov indicated the studio intends to explore the darker side of superheroes in future films based on DC Comics properties, also owned by Time Warner. Prompted by the success of Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel ‘The Dark Knight,’ which he credits to the profoundly grim tone of the film, Robinov told WSJ’s Lauren A.E. Schucker, ‘We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it. That goes for the company's Superman franchise as well.’"

Ugh. This is just missing the point. Batman wasn't good because it was dark. It was good because it was good. Yes it was dark, but Batman is dark. He's been called "The Dark Knight" for decades. Superman isn't dark. Making him dark is wrong. In Superman Returns they already made him a deadbeat dad and that was equally wrong. Superman is the boy scout, he's good and is always good. The problem with Superman is that he is too powerful, so conflicts in the stories are difficult. There are lots of classic Batman stories, there really aren't any classic Superman stories. He's good and powerful and therefore a bit boring.

I like the part where they are pursuing "a quiet adoption of Marvel Studios’ strategy of introducing a single comic book character in each film with an eye towards an eventual multi-character epic. “Along those lines, we have been developing every DC character that we own," Robinov said. WSJ reports that movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in active development, as well as a third Batman film and a new feature to reintroduce Superman."

But really Green Lantern is honorable and fearless, not dark (there have been exceptions but they have always been controversial). Wonder Woman should be interesting but really hasn't been very much. The mythology background is good and for a while she was portrayed as an ambassador from her island which was interesting, but not a lot has stuck with the character. Flash and Green Arrow are little more defined and there's some potential if you can avoid the campiness. GA can be a little dark, but not Flash.

Another problem is that Batman has the best villains. Virtually no other superhero (Marvel or DC) can compare. Spider-Man is probably second. Marvel does better here because they're characters have always been about something more. X-Men villains are other mutants some of which are interesting, but the underlying theme of being outcasts is what adds gravitas. The Fantastic Four were a bickering family and while groundbreaking in the 60s, it made for bad movies and even made Dr. Doom and the Silver Surfer boring. The Hulk is really Frankenstein and I wish the film did more of that (there will be deleted scenes on the DVD). Iron Man worked because of some magic that Downey brought. Also, one (non-comics) friend phrased it well, it was fun to see a regular guy (ok billionaire) have fun with his superpowers instead of dealing with angst.

Watchmen was groundbreaking in that Alan Moore wanted to push comics into doing something more, in that case being dark. He lamented that the effect it had on the 90s was to make comics darker rather than freeing them to explore different things. Seems like DC is making the same mistake again. One of the good things about the Justice League is that different heroes can interact and clash. If they are all dark, it will just be boring.