The thing with Superman is, it isn’t just the fanboys. If you make radical changes to, say, Brainiac, nobody but the comic book fans will notice. But every man, woman, and child in America knows the basics of the Superman story. There is no possible way to get away with changes to Superman.
You know, both Spider-Man and X-Men did well at the box office. Both stayed reasonably close to their source material. Why don’t these guys understand that “re-imagining” these storylines doesn’t win them any points with the moviegoing public?
Dammit, if I buy a ticket to see a Superman movie, I have certain expectations: a blown-up Krypton, a non-alien Luthor, etc, etc. If you want to make a superhero movie without those elements, MAKE UP YOUR OWN SUPERHERO!
Why don’t they just give the movie over to the “Smallville” guys to make? I’ve never really been a big fan of Superman, but I love “Smallville.” So much that it’s overtaken “Buffy” as SolGrundy’s Favorite Television Show.
One thing I kept noticing in that loathesome script synopsis was the way it kept using elements from “Alias”. I don’t watch the series, but as I understand it deals heavily with shadowy CIA-related agencies and some weird ancient prophecy that’s supposed to bring intrigue to the ongoing storyline. Seems like that’s bringing extraneous things to the story just because the writer thinks they’re cool ideas, not because they benefit the story at all. The only reason I bring it up is because the setup is irreparably flawed even before they get to the truly goofy stuff, like Luthor’s being Kryptonian.
The interesting thing about Superman is not that he’s an alien; it’s that he’s an American with super powers. Dealing so much with Krypton isn’t taking an existing character in “new directions,” it’s taking the same tired old alien invasion stories we’ve been seeing for years and trying to fit them onto an iconic character.