Happy 80th Birthday Superman
Wow, that sounds crazy, but Superman is 80 years old after first bursting to life through the pages of Action Comics #1. From that moment on, The Man of Steel became one of the most well-known figures the world will ever see. In fact, not one of but THE most well-known figure the world will see.
It is all thanks to the legends of comic book history that are Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, creators of Superman and ensuring his longevity, and relevance, in the world then, in 1938 and today, 80 years later. To those gentlemen, I thank you on behalf of superhero fans everywhere. (Also, if you are such a Superman fan, then you can vote for these two fella’s in this month’s Hall Of Fame vote here – https://dcworld.org.uk/hall-of-fame/ – please feel free to do so).
Anyway, I say a massive Happy Birthday to Superman and, for the rest of this article, I am going to give an idea of what my experiences of watching and reading the adventures of the orphaned Kryptonian were, each first time I saw/read. After all, we can’t let such a significant birthday pass by without mention.
SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE
My first experience with Superman came as a young ‘un, probably around 7 or 8 years of age. My family was never well off at all, so to see the odd comic/magazine featuring The Last Son Of Krypton was always such a joy. He could fly, he was so strong and so fast etc. The colour of his suit, the symbol, everything just had me in awe. So, when Christmas Day 1983 arrived, to say I was excited was an understatement. No, not because of the gifts or the great Christmas dinner my Nanna always cooked up, but because I knew that after the Queen had made her chat, Superman: The Movie was to be shown on the tv. From the cinema curtain opening on the screen, I would not turn away, speak to anyone or move, I stayed there for the duration until it ended. The rest is history and you can read more about this at the following link as I have written an article on this memory for the site before – https://dcworld.org.uk/blog/2017/09/22/superman-movie-memory/ – Thank god for the 80’s wonder that was a top loading video recorder, so I could go and watch again and again.
SUPERMAN 2
My next experience with Supes was seeing Superman 2. This came a couple of years later and. Again, because I’d only seen Superman: The Movie numerous time, the excitement was at a level that I struggled to contain and, at times, got myself in bother as I kept going on at mum. I wasn’t quite a teenager so it was expected, haha. (On another note, you will notice that the exact dates will be absent from the rest of these even though I’ll always remember the first watch. However, I’ll always remember the first date I ever saw Superman on a screen). Anyway, again, it was curtains shut, lights off and sat directly in front of the tv as I prepared myself for what was to come. It starts, we hear that fantastic music, great titles and, something I’d never seen before with a movie, a recap of what had happened in the first installment. Again, I was mesmerized and never took my eyes of the screen for the whole time it was on. This movie seemed so much bigger to me, we had 3 more Kryptonian’s in Zod, Non and Ursa, more from the Fortress, the massive fight in Metropolis. It’s like………….WOW! For a movie that made was in the late 70’s, released in 1980, the effects were outstanding. But, to be fair, to this 12-year-old, that didn’t matter. There were no effects, this was all real to me. Again, thanks to the wonders of a top loading video recorder (probably a second-hand one from the Granada shop) I could go on to wear another videotape down by watching it over and over. In a world of movie sequels, only few can compare to their original. Superman 2 is one of those that is, certainly, comparable to the first movie, a worthy successor.
NICK O’ TEEN
Yes, that dastardly villain, antagonist of Superman in adverts aimed at telling kids that smoking wasn’t right, not to do it. I have always remembered seeing this in various publications over the years and was always amazed at the great artwork that came with them. Just one page, yet they told such a story that, well, kept me away from cigarettes.
SUPERMAN IN THE COMICS
As I mentioned earlier, money was always very tight for mum when I was young and she had myself and my brother to look after. However, when budget allowed, mum would always buy us a magazine or a comic we would like. For myself, I was always a bit football mad, so Roy of the Rovers was always one that I’d pick up when I could but I’d always see what sort of superhero comics I could find. They were generally British prints from my local newsagent as opposed to the American comics but I didn’t care I was getting my fix, and yes Superman was always part of these comics. I always loved the artwork, the talent these artists had to create something so wonderful, something that would live in the minds of those reading the comic strips was quite incredible. They were movies on paper, the amount of action that is created on these drawings, in just one panel told a massive part of any story and could convey such emotion. I probably still have many issues in my late mum’s loft, but they will certainly be well read and not in the best of condition. I could read them again and again and again. I still would, some wonderful stories throughout. Again, seeing Superman in whatever way was, and still, is an exciting time.
I have said recently, and have always felt the same, that the artwork from days gone by is always preferable, to me anyway, than to that we get today. The colours, the hand drawn panels, just everything; I think it has so much more feeling than some of the artwork that is provided today. The same with the cover art, and some examples are below, there is just something about them that makes me want to pick them up as opposed to some of the newer comics of today. Don’t get me wrong, I do pick up comics still when budget allows but I am always on the lookout for older comics where the art just calls to me. If you take a look at some of my recent Twitter activity you will see.
SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (I know these are not in order but you’ll see why)
Ok, so on to my next, new experience with Superman. This time we have the much vilified Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. This was the first Superman movie that I saw in the cinema, as a 14-year-old. I’d seen a trailer for this and was really looking forward to seeing Supes come up against Nuclear Man. The trailer made this look excellent, Lex Luthor was back too so I could not wait. I went to the cinema, with friends, to watch this and my excitement was as high as it always was when seeing new Superman. The lights go down, the Superman theme plays (it didn’t sound any different) and the opening credits started. And those credits looked very familiar, just like the ones from the original movie. In my defense, at 14, excitement high, I noticed no difference to anything. I watched intently, enjoying everything, even the new powers that Superman seems to have gained between movies (rebuilding the Great Wall of China was quite something to a 14-year-old). I came out full of it, loved every second. The poorer special effects, the re-use of flying scenes etc didn’t bother me because, well, it was a new Supes movie and I didn’t notice. Over the years on various re-watches of this movies, things do stick out more and I know that it gets a hammering by many. However, it does have its merits. The story for one, rid the world of nuclear weapons, who doesn’t want that? Christopher Reeve, back for one more outing and looking as good as he did in the first movie, the return of Lex Luthor, more Lois Lane than in the 3rd movie, a great scene where we see the effects of Clark/Superman being hurt by Nuclear Man. Yes, it’s not as good, far from it, however, it does have its good points.
SUPERMAN 3
Next up was seeing Superman 3, a much lighter (well, 85% of it at least) Supes movie than we had seen before, that came with added comedy in Richard Pryor. I was probably about 16 by the time I saw this (unfortunately, cinema going didn’t happen until after I was 14 when I was earning my own money on a market stall). As was always usual, the excitement was there, it was Superman so of course it was. However, I was 16 and didn’t want to be seen as too geeky then, so was quite cool about it – “Yeah, I’ll watch it if it’s on”, when really I was thinking “Oh yes, roll on the movie, cannot bloody wait to watch this, I am buzzing!!”. When it came to the time it was being aired on tv, as I usually did, I shut the curtains, turned the lights off and sat and waited, ever so patiently of course. The movie starts and we get a completely different sort of start again. This time, an opening scene, comedic in the style this movie will go in for the majority of its duration. Much lighter we saw funny moments alongside a dramatic scene where we see Superman recuse a man from a car filling up with water (That Pamela Stephenson, as Lorelei, had a lot to answer for, haha – oh, and I’m sorry but she was smokin’ hot, my lord). My interest was certainly piqued and I was happy to see something new with Superman. I do remember laughing my way through most of this, Richard Pryor was a funny guy, Robert Vaughan made a great replacement for Lex Luthor and Pamela Stephenson was great as Lorelei. Throw in the lovely Annette O’ Toole as Lana Lang and we have a quite excellent main cast. However, while the movie was funny and I laughed, my favourite part of this whole shebang was the big face-off. Yes, Superman vs Superman. The “artificial” Kryptonite having a completely different effect of the Man of Steel that it would usually have, was a nice twist. To see Superman end up, and I quote Ricky here, “just in a slump” was so unexpected and to see him fight his demons, as it were, was one of the best scenes of any Superman movie. I’ll admit, watching it, I was worried as to what might happen but when Clark triumphs, the music rises, what a moment that it. Like a phoenix from the flames, just brilliant.
SUPERMAN LIVES
Ok, so not much of an experience with this one but I did become aware of this going in to production thanks to reading various things. I knew that Tim Burton was on for this and, thanks to the success that were his Batman movies I was happy to see someone as successful attached to it. On hearing that Nicholas Cage was on board to play Superman, while I like the actor, I didn’t see him as Clark Kent/Superman. I always remember imagining how he would look as Clark Kent etc and just didn’t see it working. When I saw promo pics of Cage in the suit, because of what I had been used to and seen before, I was far from convinced. Anyway, as we all know this didn’t come off and the rest is history, although we can all listen/view the story thanks to the documentary, The Death Of Superman Lives, which is a great watch to be fair and shows that we may have missed out on something quite epic.
LOIS & CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
Due to a lack of Superman movies, the next best thing was Lois & Clark, a series that was released in 1993, but I was a bit late to the party. When I did, eventually, find out about the show, I was lucky enough to find it showing on tv. A Superman tv series, how bloody great is that? So, I started to watch, lucky enough, from the start. With the movies, we had 2 or so hours of Superman goodies, with this tv series, we have 45 minutes for every episode, and it ran for 4 seasons. Yes please! So, I watched and watched and watched, yes, I’m older now and in my 20’s but I bloody loved. Yes, it was nice and light, Dean Cain made for a great Clark Kent/Superman (very different from Christopher Reeve but still great) and, the stunning, Teri Hatcher as a great Margot Kidder-like Lois Lane, very feisty, was superb. Again, I know this series had its critics but, nowadays, this is a very fondly remembered series that fans of Superman and DC alike have a lot of affection for. And bringing some great villains, such as Mr. Mxyzptlk and The Toyman among others, this was a great nod to the history of Superman, whether it be in the comics or the movies. It is still something I can throw on and enjoy nowadays.
Also, we got to see Teri Hatcher as a superhero in Ultrawoman. Be still my beating heart. Stunning.
SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
After the enjoyment of Lois & Clark, I was fortunate enough to come across Superman: TAS. With the success of Batman: The Animated Series (still the greatest animated series of all time), this was made in the same vein. While not up to the same sort of standard as Batman: TAS, this was a cracking animated series with a wonderful art style. Thanks to Amazon Prime, this is something I can throw on the tv at any time I like.
SUPERMAN RETURNS
After a number of years without a Superman movie, hearing about the release of a new big screen film came as a massive surprise, a great surprise in fact. News came out about the new movie, an unknown actor taking on the role of Clark Kent, it was all very exciting. I kind of remember reading something about this being a sequel of sorts to Superman 2, basically doing away with everything that had been seen in 3 and 4. A lot will say that is no bad thing but, to me, this takes away a lot of what has made Superman great over the years. But hey ho, who am I? So, Superman Returns was the second Superman movie I saw at the cinema. This time, I’m a married man, so the wife (reluctantly) and I visited our local cinema to watch. Having seen the promo pics of Routh in the outfit I was a little hesitant; the colour wasn’t as vibrant as before, much darker (although I now see it as being influenced by the Bad Superman outfit from Superman 3, which was a similar colour) but, that’s just a picture; if he does the job on-screen then all good. So, I watch the movie and I really end up liking Routh. He plays his part, especially as CK in a way that is a tribute to the great Christopher Reeve and he also has a bit of a look of him. As Superman he is also pretty great, again giving us a throwback to Reeve. This was a good movie, the style was great, different from the originals but seemed partly influenced by the art deco style of the animated series. Ok, so a few things didn’t fit, Spacey was just an ok replacement for Gene Hackman as Luthor and I will admit I wasn’t convinced over Kate Bosworth as Lois, despite their best efforts. It was a good return, though not great.
THE YEARS LEADING UP TO THE START OF THE DCEU
During the years between 2006 and 2013, live action Superman was a no-no, but we were kept happy with the release of various animated movies, starting with the 2007 effort, Superman: Doomsday, a retelling of the Death Of Superman comic book story, the bestselling graphic novel of all time according to the tagline. Ok, so it doesn’t really tell the full story (The Death Of Superman movie to come soon looks like it’ll tell more of that) but it is still a great movie in its own right and this, as well as the others between 2006 & 2013 were a great way for fans to get their Man Of Steel fix.
This is a time when I also got back into the comics. I’d have a few years where I had stayed away, budget was always an issue with me, not being in the best paid job and 3 kids was always a stumbling block so to do my best to get a chance to buy the odd one was a treat and gave me a fix of Supes, as well as other DC characters. Come the New 52 and I got back in to more collecting as cash would allow, buying when I was able to.
SUPERMAN: THE SERIALS AND THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
Another way to get my Superman fix during this time was to delve in to the history of the characters to see what I could get on with. Now, I knew there were black and white Superman serials but I had never found a way to watch them. However, thanks to the wonder of the internet, I was able to search them out and watch Kirk Alyn in his adventures. Despite their age, these were great and for anyone who may have been seeing Superman on the screen for the first time, these must have been so great to watch. Seeing them for the first time in the 2000’s and I thought they looked great, with Alyn a decent Superman. Also, the same can be said for George Reeves who starred in the 50’s Superman series, The Adventures Of Superman. My first encounter with Reeves was after watching the story, Superman vs The Mole Men, which was released as a special feature on a Superman boxset. Again, for the time, these were great and I have searched out more of the series to watch and thoroughly enjoy.
I urge any fan of Superman to check these out, they really are worth it.
MAN OF STEEL
2013 and Superman made a triumphant, in my opinion anyway, return to the big screen in Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel, a very different take on Superman. Again, it was a cinema viewing for me and, after seeing the various promo shots that were released I was very excited. One thing that did always worry me was “Where were the trunks?”. Something that Superman was synonymous for were gone. I know they’d left in the New 52 but, ya know, after 75 years, for them to be gone was a surprise. Anyway, a minor point in an otherwise great movie. Again, I was at the cinema with the missus (again reluctantly, haha) and in VIP seats as I generally do when I’m watching a movie that I have been waiting for. To say I was surprised by the style is an understatement; no Superman movie/tv show had been done like this before; it’s a very arty sort of movie and you can see the thought and effort that has gone in to it to make this a blockbuster. And the music, oh my, the music, an absolute superb score from one of the best composers around in Hans Zimmer. I came out of the cinema thrilled to bits with what I’d seen and Superman was back in a big way.
BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
My next Superman experience was with BvS. Yes, my favourite superhero alongside my second favourite superhero (not to say which is which but I do have a Batman tattoo on my arm – sorry) was something that I could not believe was actually happening. Holy shit, this was gonna be something else. Again, I’d seen all the promo stuff leading up to this movie, and it had me chomping at the bit to get to the cinema and watch it. This time, when it was released, I attended with my daughter, the wife was at work on release day whereas I’d booked a days leave (as you do). My daughter was more than happy to watch this as she knew that Wonder Woman was to appear. Anyway, VIP seats again at my local cinema and I get to watch these two legends of the DC Universe clash in a movie of mammoth proportions. Again, the work that went in to this movie was phenomenal and it is credit to all those who did their bit to get this to the screen. Again, the feel of the movie, the music, the action, the great special effects, everything was just spot on. Then, to get the extended bluray version a few months later, holy smokes! Thankfully, my daughter also really enjoyed it. The end brought a lump to my throat, this was a character I’d grown up with so to see him dead was an emotional jolt, even though I knew it wouldn’t last.
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Finally, we come to Justice League. Now, leading up to this movie, the marketing had been very clever. Everyone knew that Superman would be returning but not seeing him in trailers, posters etc was a very clever move. The rumours were everywhere, how would Superman return. Would we get the evil Superman, the black suit? The tension was unbearable. So, cinema day again and. Again, my daughter came with me. Again, as I always will, I loved it. Fair enough, there were some issues with movie but, at the first time of watching (as this is about), I really didn’t care, it was great and I left the cinema on a high, just as I did after seeing Superman on-screen in my much younger days.
With regards to those 3 movies, they do have their fair share of critics and that is completely fine. However, I do feel that some of the criticism aimed at it is unfair but everyone is entitled to their opinion. Myself, and many other DC fan, are more than happy with the work that has been done to ensure these movies are what was wanted to be released. To go in to the, supposed, issues with WB/Joss Whedon is not for this article.
Away from all this, my Superman experiences carry on whether through comics, rewatching the movies and series’ and also collecting memorabilia. But that goes for all DC characters as well, as it’s DC that is my favourite comic book company. Plus, we are also getting a history lesson with the Krypton tv series and we’ve seen him appear in the Supergirl tv series, played by Tyler Hoechin. Superman is a character who can go on and on and I am sure will be around long after I leave this mortal coil.
Anyway, I hoped that this has been an enjoyable enough read for you all and I’d be more than interested to read your own experiences with the MAN OF STEEL. I think it shows what a big part of my life Superman has been and, thanks to writing this article it is something I realise more myself now.
Please comment below or on any of our social media pages, or even my own twitter page @DC_ComicsGeek. Always happy to hear from anyone.
Cheers, John
