So, I’ve talked about my past with Superman: The Movie and how it impacted my life. Now, where to start on my thoughts? I guess I will just jump right into it. Since the release of Superman Returns, I have had some interesting conversations with friends and fellow movie buffs about the new events in the movie and recollections of the original film with actor Christopher Reeve. Overall, I have also found a dislike for the continuity of the films and the obvious film blunders and story holes. Do I like Superman Returns? Yes, I thought it was a very good film. I’m aware that most Superman fans, those of the comic Superman, will state it was flat and lacked action. Yet, what these fans have overlooked is that this was a rebirth film and it was purposely filmed and produced in the vain of the Donner film of 1978. Thus, this filmed succeeded. Now this isn’t to state the next film won’t have that explosive action and super villains all Superman fans crave.
So what’s my issue with the overall franchise? I just have this fear that the franchise could end the way of Batman and need a reboot only a few years from now in the footsteps of Batman Begins. Yet, perhaps it can be saved. I think the biggest loop hole in this story is the introduction of the son of Superman and how it works into the prior films. Where did Bryan Singer base this possibility on? Is it Richard Lester’s cut of Superman II or Richard Donner’s Superman II?
Bryan Singer made no restraints to state he was making a sequel to the films of the 1980s with the exception of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest of Peace. I guess we can chalk those movies up to a late night Taco Bell Burrito Supreme hallucination of Lois Lane. Thus, Superman Returns relies on the events of Superman: The Movie and Superman II. With that, we could get a few continuity flaws. Here are the ones that really have given me some headaches.
The first is the Son of Superman idea as mentioned above. This topic has increased my suspension of disbelief more than any other situation in the films. When was Jason conceived? I have had some dubious conversations on how and when this was done. Now we all know that Clark (Superman) and Lois hook up and get their groove on. Yet, there are two different situations when this happens. Let’s look back on Superman II we all remember from the 80s and that is the Richard Lester cut. Clark doesn’t bed Lois until after he makes the decision to give up his powers and live as a normal human being. The second scenario is in Superman II Richard Donner Cut. In this version, Clark and Lois bed before he decides to give up his powers. Thus, he was still Super they get jiggy with it. So, we have two theories here. One: if Clark and Lois conceived a child from the Lester Superman II, would this child have powers? Logic would say no, as Clark was a normal human being here. Yet, we all agree that the Kryptonian DNA would still be present thus giving a possibility of dormant powers awakening. Now, the more logical scenario would be the Donner version. Yet, this is problematic as if anyone as seen that version, the ending has Superman rewinding time and thus the even hasn’t happened. So, I think the real burden of the situation is: which cut of Superman II does Bryan Singer want his movie to follow? [Singer did meet with Donner exclusively before he went into production of Returns, so one could only guess.]
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