By now we've all seen the trailer for Batman Vs. Superman. The trailer shows how the events from Man of Steel have impacted the world, specifically Bruce Wayne.
I never liked the direction of Superman in Man of Steel and how dark it was. Business Insider has an article on why filmmakers have such a hard time making a good Superman movie. The article even quotes Henry Cavill from an interview that he gave to Entertainment Weekly when he says, "People like the darker vigilante... I think it speaks to the human psyche more easily rather than the god-like being that we can't really understand." I disagree with Mr. Cavill on that statement.
I would argue as a counterpoint to Mr. Cavill's statement that Superman hasn't changed much through the years but the culture has changed dramatically over the last 75 years.
When Superman was first created in 1938, the idea of a hero or strongman was a circus acrobat. In the 80's he was modeled after Arnold Schwarzenegger. In today's world the idea of a hero or a man of great strength is someone like a soldier or a spy. A man or woman that has been trained to fight and succeeds in their mission no matter what. Batman fits that mold perfectly. He has spent years training in different martial arts in order to become Batman. He is DC's version of a soldier, a spy, even an MMA Fighter. If you look at the movie Batman Begins, director Chris Nolan paints Batman as the human warmachine against terrorists in Gotham City.
If I were DC I would reinvent Superman as a soldier or spy in the vein of Captain America. While Batman is responsible for Gotham City, Superman would have adventures all over the world like James Bond. That would make him work better in today's culture.
There's also the problem that Superman is invulnerable to everything so DC might want to go back to Superman being invulnerable to bullets and knives like he was in the 1930's. This won't happen anytime soon because DC and Warner Bros. don't want to damage the Superman brand.
DC and Warner Bros. won't do anything to change the story of Superman not even a little bit because they're worried that they might lose fans and possibly lose money. The problem is that they've lost fans already as Marvel has put out better Superhero movies.
Filmmakers don't have to change Superman's attitude or life story, just change a few key elements and Superman could truly have a cultural resurgence.
THE PROFESSOR
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