SUPERMAN vs. MAN OF STEEL

Randomly the other day, I watched the original Superman (1977) again and absolutely loved it. A week or so afterwards, I watched Man of Steel again and enjoyed it as well… but not as much.

All the way through, I found myself making comparisons between the movies, which I want to break down for you lovely Outposters.

There is an awful lot to go through, and I will probably miss some stuff, but here are my findings.

When I say Superman, I’m usually referring to the original movie, and I am only ever referencing the original movie, not the sequels.

Firstly, let’s talk about the actors playing Superman, Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill. This is a hard comparison to make, as both of them are excellent as the Man of Steel.

You had actors like Kirk Alyn and George Reeves play Supes, but then Christopher Reeve came along, and he WAS Superman! Those blue eyes, strong jaw and presence were exactly what everyone thought Superman should look like.

The famous scene, in Lois’ apartment, when he takes off the glasses, alters his stance and becomes Superman for a moment is an iconic moment in cinema.

In Roger Moore’s autobiography he said that he saw Reeve, in the cape and outside underwear, at lunchtime at Pinewood. Women were falling over themselves to get near him. When Reeve was dressed as Clark, no one paid him any attention.

Even today, to people of a certain age, you say Superman, you think of Reeve.

Other actors played the same role, Dean Cain, Brandon Routh, and Tom Welling and they were OK, but then Henry Cavill stepped into the role and boom! We had a new Superman and he was perfect!

You could not have cast a better actor in the role, again, with that chiselled jaw, those gorgeous eyes, and that physic, Cavill was Superman to a new generation.

It’s very hard to pick a winner for this round, but I’m going to have to go with Reeve. The only reason is my age, I grew up believing that he could fly. It’s very, very close though, as Cavill is excellent in the role.

Now let’s look at the man himself, the character of Superman. This is down to the writing, which we will break down more later. Let’s go over some of the decisions that are made during each of the movies.

In Superman, Supes/Clark is much more clean-cut. As he says at one point, he stands for “truth, justice and the American way”, funny, I didn’t see him attack any nations that had oil.

In the original, I feel that all Supes had no flaws at all. Sure, he had to deal with bullies growing up, but he always dealt with them in a calm and collected manner, like his father taught him.

In the Man of Steel, we get more of a background of Clark growing up and before he donned the cape. Personally, I thought Clark was a bit of a tit…hear me out.

At one point, he’s working at a truck stop somewhere in middle America. A guy picks a fight with him, but Clark stands his ground, but what does he do? FUBARs the guy’s truck. I have issues with this.

Firstly, the trucker was an asshole, but there was no need to completely destroy his rig and livelihood over it. He also tore down the telephone and electricity poles to do it, sending a whole town into darkness and no communication. And what if someone saw him? It would have been pretty obvious he was ‘super’.

This does, however, look cool and helps the plot along later, when Lois is trying to track him down. He leaves a trail of breadcrumbs wherever he goes. The guys on the oil rig saw him save the day. Again, an impressive scene, but he leaves those breadcrumbs for later.

Also, after the oil rig, he steals clothes off a washing line. So much for truth, justice and the American way. You’re the Man of Steel, not the Man of Steal!

I’m going to have to say that the character of Superman is better in the original movie. He’s more clean-cut, more honest and more likeable.

This is a tricky one, but let’s look at them. In the original Superman, Clark is coming home one day and goes to race his dad. It’s a little too much for Dad and he has a heart attack. This was horrible, but it was interesting to see it from the perspective, that Clark had all of these powers, but he couldn’t save his father.

It showed that, in some cases, Clark/Supes was going to be completely helpless. He couldn’t save everyone, there will be times when people will die. This provides more of an insight at the end of the movie. He loves Lois, she dies, but was there something he could do about it? In this case, yes. It went against everything his real father had taught him, but he wasn’t going to lose another loved one.

In the Man of Steel, Clark and dad are put in a situation where his dad isn’t going to make it during a tornado. However, I’m going to say this, there were a hundred ways his dad could have been saved! Clark could have just run over in the confusion, saved Dad, hid until the wind died down, and put it down to luck.

In the original, there was no way to save him, in Man of Steel, he could have. His dad just shaking his head and sacrificing himself was just dumb. It showed Clark… what? That you could save the day, but sometimes, it’s best not to?

Sorry, but the original deals with his father’s death in a much better way.

Superman 3 – Man of Steel 0

Lois

Lois is an odd comparison, but then, the two movies are very different. The original movie was very much a comic book movie. Everything about it was bright, nice, and fun, it’s a very safe movie and one that was set at the time it was released. Man of Steel was 2013, a much different time, with a different audience.

Margot Kidder’s Lois was much more of a comic book character. She was a little ditzy, and you could sometimes get the impression her ‘feminine charms’ had helped her. I’m not saying she slept her way to the top as she worked hard to get there, but it was obvious Perry White had a soft spot for her, just not in a Harvey Weinstein way.

Amy Adams’ version was much more of an investigative reporter. The way she was able to investigate Clark and track him down, shows how clever she is (although the breadcrumbs were pretty obvious). She is far more serious though and not as much fun. Personally, I would like to spend time with Kidder’s Lois, but I
think that Adam’s Lois is a better character.

Superman 3 – Man of Steal 1

The Bad Guy

Again, there is a big difference between the two movies. In the original, you had Gene Hackman’s Lex Luther. Everyone seemed to love Supes, apart from Lex, who had plans to destroy most of the West Coast to make a few bucks. The only person that could stop him was this caped hero from another world. With his brilliant mind he knew that he could possibly kill Superman if he could get hold of some Kryptonite.

This plan worked and he could carry out his diabolical scheme. He actually did it! He outsmarted Supes and, if it wasn’t for Miss Teschmacher, he would have made the money and killed millions.

However, with all his brilliance, he did surround himself with people like Otis (Mayor of Otisberg) and Miss Teschmacher. Otis was only there for comic relief, in that comic book style. However, Teschmacher was to be his undoing. If she hadn’t rescued Superman to save her mother, Lex would have won and Supes would have died!

I also have to mention the execution of Lex’s plan. Again, played out for comic relief, you have the scenes where they are trying to alter the bomb’s codes. It’s funny, yes, but it’s also stupid. Why would Lex entrust Otis to enter the code? He knew that Otis was a moron.

With Man of Steel, you have General Zod, played by Michael Shannon. The brief opening on Krypton shows how Zod was tasked with, even bred for, the protection of all Kyptonians. He was a leader who surrounded himself with his best lieutenants, who were all great fighters and intelligent people.

Even though the Kryptoians put Zod in a ship to imprison him, it was also how he was able to escape and track down Supes. Jor-El had put the codex, the genetic blueprints for all living Kryptonians, into his son. Zod knew that if he could get Supes then he could extract the codex and rebuild Krypton. Ultimately, this is a noble cause, one he was bred for.

Playing Devil’s advocate, it was Supes who was being a bit of a prick. His dad was trying to save the planet and species, with one selfless act, Supes could have restored Krypton. Yes, I know they would have destroyed all life on Earth, but it would have been replaced by superheroes.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Hackman as Luthor, but his downfall was the company he kept. He should have made better choices, as he was very intelligent. I think Zod was the better villain, there was a better motivation, a more noble cause and he was just a great bad guy to get your teeth into.

Superman 3 – Man of Steel 2

The Rest of the Characters

I’m not going to break down the rest of the characters individually, but here are some of the main players.

Martha, Superman’s mother (but no relation to Batman’s mother) is on equal pegging for this one. Both provided emotional support for Clark, but Dianne
Lane, from Man of Steel, had more of an active role. Zod finds her because of the ship they had buried in the back garden. This provides more of a vested interest for Supes, having to save his adopted mother.

In the original I genuinely can’t remember what happened to his mum there. Did she die? She was in Superman Returns, but that’s not the movie we’re talking about.

Perry White, again, is two very different characters. Jackie Cooper played it for laughs. I’m guessing this was closer to the original comic books, but I have nothing to base that on. I do love Cooper, he’s the typical ‘editor in chief’, much like J. J. Jameson from Spider-Man. He plays it over the top, funny, but believable. Laurence Fishburne on the other hand was much more of a ‘real’ ‘edit-in-chief’. Serious, out to make the headlines and sell papers. He also proved he was much braver, putting his own life in danger to save one of his staff.

There was no Jimmy Olson in Man of Steel. Overall, for the rest of the characters, it’s a tough one. The original had much more fun with the characters, playing up to stereotypes, mostly for laughs. In the Man of Steel, they are much more grounded, gritty, and real.

Even though Jimmy is missing, I’m going to give it to Man of Steel, as Martha had more to do in that movie. I’m not going to take off points for Batman vs Superman and the ‘Martha moment’, as it’s not the movie I’m comparing.

Superman 3 – Man of Steel 3

The Ending

This is a controversial one as I’m going to say that both endings are bloody stupid!

In the original, the ending is just ridiculous, it’s entertaining, but you cannot ‘think’ about it. Lex manages to launch both bombs, Supes stops one and just sends it off into space, but the other hits and starts to destroy the western coast. It seems that Supes can just fly underground and push the land back up. Really?

Both Jimmy and Lois are in danger, he saves Jimmy but doesn’t have the time to save Lois. What does he do?

He flies so fast, he makes the Earth spin backwards, which as we all know, just turns back time. It wouldn’t kill everyone on the planet, including the plant life, and destroy any chance of survival. OK, we’ll have a willing suspension of disbelief for a while.

When he does this, then returns the Earth to the correct rotation, he goes and saves Lois, but it doesn’t show him dealing with the bombs, did he deal with them first? Or just let the other one go off? As I said, bloody stupid.

The ending of Man of Steel isn’t much better. Supes tried to save people by drawing the battle away from the city, to an iHop in Smallville. However, Supes and Zod do battle it out in Metropolis and the devastation is catastrophic! It was interesting to see the direction by Snyder, as you don’t seem to see anyone killed, but part of the city was levelled. The death toll must have been in the tens of thousands! I know this is a set-up for the next movie, but still.

Then you have the final moments with Zod. Zod is using his newfound power, laser vision, and trying to kill a family. Supes is put in a situation where someone has to die, Zod or the family. Zod is obviously the bigger threat and he breaks his neck. Supes didn’t want to kill anyone, but his screaming made a great moment for the trailer.

OK, there’s more to it than that, but it was a big moment. Again, in the comic books I doubt he would kill anyone, but it made for a more compelling ending than ‘turns back time’.

Superman 3 – Man of Steel 4

The Direction

Again, two very different beasts here. Richard Donner made the original, with Zack Snyder directing Man of Steel. In the original, Donner was obviously held back by the technology of the time. All effects had to be practical, done with wires, and small sets such as the dam at the end that floods the model village. Donner’s direction is much more subtle. He’s not one for fancy shots, lens flare, or anything overly complex.

You do have great shots though. Where Clark is standing with his mother in a field, it’s simple and it’s beautiful.

He couldn’t have the camera flying around, because the technology wasn’t really there. However, one of the taglines for the original movie was “You’ll believe a man can fly!”. Watching the original now, it’s a little dated, but when it first came out, it was something truly epic. The shot, in the Palace of Solitude, where Superman first flies was done on a crane.

There’s a video where Donner talks about it, and when it happens, they get that first take done…there was silence on set. Then it erupted as everyone clapped and cheered at how cool the shot looked! Little me believed a man could fly!

Snyder was working with something different, with today’s technology. If a director can imagine it, the FX team can make it happen. Well, apart from making Seth Rogan or Amy Schumer funny, there are limits.

I’m going to have to give this round to Donner and the original Superman. It’s more vibrant, and more real than Snyder’s Man of Steel.

Superman 4 – Man of Steal 4

The Music

John Williams, hands down. To prove my point, hum the original score to yourself, now hum any of the music from Hans Zimmer’s score of Man of Steel. Point proven.

Superman 5 – Man of Steal 4

The Overall Movie

Comparing Superman to the Man of Steel is difficult, as they are two very different movies. The core of the stories may be similar, but they both have their own tone, style, and tale to tell.

The original Superman is more of a ‘real’ movie, set in the real world, a world where I live. When Lois is hanging off the side of the building, with the helicopter about to fall, there are TV cameras filming it. As a kid, I expected to see the footage on the BBC news.

Everything about the original felt real, Metropolis was a city in the world somewhere. That man, from outer space, could fly, shoot heat rays from his eyes and was super strong. OK, I was just a kid, but it was real to me.

Superman hasn’t really dated that much, even watching it now, I still believe a man can fly. Sure, some of the footage has dated a little, but it still stands the test of time. Most likely because it was all practical.

Then there is Man of Steel by Snyder. I think Snyder is a good director with the right material. For 300 for example, shooting in that comic book style, the slow motion, muted tones in color, it all fits very well.

Same for his Dawn of the Dead remake. It’s shot in a way that is completely believable. The zombies were fast and scary as hell, the mall was real, and the characters were real. There wasn’t much slow-mo or lens flare. It feels real, visceral.

When he got to Man of Steel, his style had changed. There was lots more grandeur. There are moments that are completely real in Man of Steel, but then, there are moments that are straight from a comic book.

Obviously, Superman came from a comic, but pick a style. Some of the tone was like Dawn of the Dead, and some of the tone was like 300. The ending to Man of Steel showed this, with the utter devastation of Metropolis. It wasn’t ‘real’, as you can see how much CGI went into it.

So I have to give it to Superman. It’s more believable, it’s set in the real world. Snyder had a good style, but the tone was still all over the place.

Superman 6 – Man of Steal 4

Other Factors

There are some other points which will win or lose each movie points.

In Superman, there was no need to see Clark in the nude when he first landed on Earth. I believe that was cut from more recent cuts, but it loses a point because of it.

The plot holes in Man of Steel have issues as well. The truck and the oil rig thing is a problem, as Superman is supposed to be hiding his identity.

The entire thing with the ‘research spaceship’ was too far. I mean, the Kyptonians are a clever species (although not clever enough to know their planet is going to be destroyed), so they sent spaces to explore space.

On the ship, why was it only Jor-El’s hologram that could come back? It might have been nice to have Supe’s mum there as well. The ship is buried in the middle of the Arctic and Lois is told not to go out at night or she’ll freeze to death. She wanders over the spaceship with nothing more than a jacket on and is fine.

In the end, when in the ‘prison’ that was holding Zod and the gang. It seems like Jor-El can control some of the ship, why not all of it? Why not send it into the sun with just Zod and the gang on it?

There are plot holes in the original movie as well, but they aren’t major plot holes, unless you think I’m wrong, please note them in the comments.

Superman 5 – Man of Steal 3

Overall

Again, I’m at the mercy of when I grew up. The original Superman came out when I was a kid. There wasn’t much else to see, not many superhero movies, not many channels on the TV, and no social media.

This meant when a movie like Superman came out, it was a big deal. I didn’t see any spoilers online. I saw the trailer once or twice. When I finally saw the movie, it was a spectacle to behold,and one I experienced many times at the cinema.

In 2013, Snyder was competing with a huge history of superhero movies, trying to get people’s attention again on social media, spoilers online, and several million TV channels. It has to stand out, hence his style, tone, and over-the-top CGI.

If I had been born in 2000, I guess I would probably see the Man of Steel as awesome and the original Superman as a bit lame and dated. Movies are only as good as we remember, based on a lot of factors.

All movies try to outdo the last, the original was the same, they wanted to make something people had never seen before. Man of Steel was in the same boat, by 2013 there had been 6 of the Marvel movies, with many more on the way which were building to Avengers: Endgame.

DC was trying to keep up and because of it, Man of Steel feels rushed. It wasn’t about world-building, it feels more like it was trying to keep up with Marvel. I think it suffers because of this.

For me, the final point has to go to the original Superman. Making the final score:

Superman 6 – Man of Steel 3

Thoughts

I went into this thinking that Superman was going to win hands down, but the more I thought about it and did some homework, the more I appreciated the Man of Steel. It is a flawed movie, but it’s still entertaining. Snyder does a good job and Cavill is a perfect Superman.

The problem is that the original will always have that special place in my heart. When I said I saw it in the cinema, I was only 3 years old when it came out. As I got older, my dad had converted our garage into a cinema. This is why I saw Superman so much, he had it on Super 8mm film and I could watch it as many times as I could. This wasn’t like now, where you can watch something on Netflix on repeat.

Again, this might be why I swayed a little more to the original than Man of Steel. I had a physical copy, not a DVD or BlueRay, but a copy that would take time to rewind, and if you messed up, the film was knackered.

I never had an experience like that with Man of Steel, I did see it in the cinema, but just once as I recall. Then I caught it on streaming and I have seen it a few more times. As I have said, it’s not a bad movie, just one with a rushed story and plot holes that irk me. I can still sit down and enjoy both of them.

However, when you watch a movie, like Superman, and it takes you back to your childhood, and that’s something special.

Am I wrong about all of this? Is Man of Steel a superior movie to Superman? What are your thoughts?