Superman: Legacy

[Astyanax]

Of all the different takes on Superman, he still devotes a lot of time being Clark Kent, which seems antithetical to his supposed sense of responsibility and as defender of "truth and justice."

You could argue that Superman could go camp out to sleep anywhere he wants (Fortress of Solitude, some abandoned building, etc.). So why an apartment where you have to pay bills, etc?

1. I like to think that Clark has a need to be around people. Very simply, he gets lonely.
   
   
2. Also, we know he picked a job as a reporter so that he could be the first to hear the news about where he is needed, so in order to keep that job he would need to maintain a lifestyle of some kind.
   
   
3. I don't fully agree with Bill's monologue in Kill Bill that Clark Kent is the disguise. It may be in the sense that he is truly Kryptonian and not human. But he wouldn't be so dedicated to saving people if he didn't fully embrace his calling, and care about people. I think he wants to be around people and is really leading two lives. I think he WANTS to have an apartment and TV and bills, etc., so he can reach that state of deep empathy. The Jeesus of Nazareth story is a similar parallel. He had to live as a human for 32 years before he even began his ministry.

So you could argue that "living as a human" is a crucial step in being the proper savior. It's necessary for him to take time to BE the ones he wants to save.

 

[Wakeem]

He cannot save everybody, period.

The Ross & Dini Treasury comics did a really good Superman story. Specifically there is a part in the Justice League which is one of the best Superman moments.

 

[masterjedi322]

Lex Luthor has been cast. Not sure how I feel about this one…

Sean

Superman: Legacy Casts Previous Man Of Steel Contender Nicholas Hoult As Lex Luthor

DC Universe has a new Lex Luthor.

screenrant.com

 

[Psab keel]

That's an unexpected choice. It'll be interesting to see him play a villain.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

That's an unexpected choice. It'll be interesting to see him play a villain.

What he said.

 

[ScourgiousJinx]

I like Hoult but I really don't see him as Luthor. They should bring back Jessie Eis (whatever his name is) .. Or even better...

 

[Astyanax]

Yeah, the challenge with the last few Luthor actors is that they lack a certain "presence" or "gravitas" that explains why Luthor should be so successful. Jesse Eisenberg didn't cut it for me. Too much Zuckerberg and not enough Elon Musk.

 

[JiminSTLouis]

Just read that Safran described Superman in this film as "the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way;

You mean it’s not “Truth, Justice… And All That Stuff?”

 

[Riceball]

While it may be a bit cliche and could be accused of being "woke", but I think that Giancarlo Esposito would make a great Luthor. He voiced Luthor in the Harley Quinn animated series and I thought that he did a good job in that series, even if it was only his voice. And he's shown that he plays a very good heavy/villain and I think that he has the acting chops to play someone that has the charm of Lex while still coming across as villainous. And he's the right age to be believable as a slightly older Lex, one who's been around for a while and is already well established.

 

[Psab keel]

He would make an awesome Luthor! As much as I enjoy Hoult, Esposito's got the gravitas and presence to play such an iconic villain. He's played a similarly conniving role in the Boys already so I'm sure that makes it easy to picture him as Lex.

As long as they don't make this Lex anything like that half baked, wannabe in Jesse Eisenberg. He's a decent actor but I've yet to see him play anything other than some highly intelligent rich snob. Idk.

They swapped certain characters nationalities in the comics as well as the movies and by and large it wasn't a big deal. I know the following examples are from Marvel, but the principle applies here as well.

There's an entire generation who thinks of Nick Fury as African American, likely without any knowledge that he was Caucasian in the comics. Though some of the later stories they changed his nationality to black. In the 2003 Daredevil, the Kingpin was played by Michael Clark- Duncan and then in the TV series played by Vincent Dinafrio.

Comicbooks are pretty diverse to begin with so I'd think that would be much less of a concern. As long as the core of the character from the comics is there and present in the writing, 98% of people are on board.

 

[NakedMoleRat]

Let’s not forget the time when David Hasselhoff was Nick Fury.

 

[pengbuzz]

He would make an awesome Luthor! As much as I enjoy Hoult, Esposito's got the gravitas and presence to play such an iconic villain. He's played a similarly conniving role in the Boys already so I'm sure that makes it easy to picture him as Lex.

As long as they don't make this Lex anything like that half baked, wannabe in Jesse Eisenberg. He's a decent actor but I've yet to see him play anything other than some highly intelligent rich snob. Idk.

They swapped certain characters nationalities in the comics as well as the movies and by and large it wasn't a big deal. I know the following examples are from Marvel, but the principle applies here as well.

There's an entire generation who thinks of Nick Fury as African American, likely without any knowledge that he was Caucasian in the comics. Though some of the later stories they changed his nationality to black. In the 2003 Daredevil, the Kingpin was played by Michael Clark- Duncan and then in the TV series played by Vincent Dinafrio.

Comicbooks are pretty diverse to begin with so I'd think that would be much less of a concern. As long as the core of the character from the comics is there and present in the writing, 98% of people are on board.

Not to mention in the Superman films with Henry Cavill, Laurence Fishburne played Perry White. Esposito indeed has the gravitas and the intensity to play Luthor. He also has that methodical way about him used in Breaking Bad that I think would play very well into Lex Luthor in a movie.

 

[ScourgiousJinx]

Yeah, the challenge with the last few Luthor actors is that they lack a certain "presence" or "gravitas" that explains why Luthor should be so successful. Jesse Eisenberg didn't cut it for me. Too much Zuckerberg and not enough Elon Musk.

I was being sarcastic, just in case that wasn't clear. Eisenberg as Luthor was one of the strangest castings I've ever seen. Gave it a chance but it really didn't work for me either for a slew of reasons.

*Diesel was also meant to be a joke.

 

[ZeroSum]

Yeah, the challenge with the last few Luthor actors is that they lack a certain "presence" or "gravitas" that explains why Luthor should be so successful. Jesse Eisenberg didn't cut it for me. Too much Zuckerberg and not enough Elon Musk.

I can't believe you missed the obvious

 

[Laspector]

Let's face it, Eisenberg was only cast because they were trying to get another 'Heath Ledger lightning in a bottle' scenario. I guarantee that if Ledger's Joker had flopped, they would've never gone that way with the Luthor casting.

 

[joberg]

That's an unexpected choice. It'll be interesting to see him play a villain.

Played one in Renfield

 

[Psab keel]

Played one in Renfield

Technically yes, but he was more a lackey to the big bad than proper villain.

 

[AJTaliesen]

Definitely not a fan of that choice for Luthor. I could see Giancarlo…only problem with him would be that he’s already played that archetype many times, but he did it great. I can’t believe I’m saying this as I’m usually one of the biggest “THEY DIDN’T LOOK LIKE THAT IN THE ORIGINAL!!” people, but in the case of Luthor, I actually don’t think it would really be an issue. Even though he’s a different ethnicity, in a weird way that I can’t quite put into words, he DOES look the part, or at least feels like he does which is close enough.

I always wished we could’ve seen Anthony Hopkins in his prime as Luthor, or an Alan Rickman.

That’s how I see the character, smart, charismatic, with gravitas: a born leader who is also Juuuust that little bit of twisted that makes him cross the line from genius to maniac. That’s why people liked Hackman. He’s likable, respected, but also you could imagine him blowing up a city and feeling ok about it.

Eisenberg was a non starter for me. Rosenbaum (Smallville) worked well as a young, pre-villain version but got less believable as he got older and moved more towards the villain side.


Side: on discussing real world billionaires, at the risk of delving into forbidden territory, In 2023, is it really so hard to imagine a billionaire with hair issues, abundant confidence, and Presidential aspirations?

 

[joberg]

Technically yes, but he was more a lackey to the big bad than proper villain.

Yeah, but a bad Mother F...at that also

 

[NeoRutty]

Rosenbaum and Gunn are buds… and he’s been in the guardians flicks

That woulda been interesting… bringing back that Luther as an adult

But then people would go nuts expecting it’s a Smallville continuation