Nolan to mentor Superman reboot

[thecolorsblend]

Now I'd dig something like that. They're modern and totally different

What I say now is not a bash.  Don't take it that way.

This, however, is my litmus test.  If someone wants to change Superman's costume, that tells me everything I need to know about their understanding of the character.

Superman is the costume.  The costume is Superman.  They go together and they define each other.

John Byrne came up with the idea of the outfit being made from regular, Earth-based fabrics.  A bioelectric aura surrounding Superman's outfit is what makes his skin tight costume indestructible.  I don't know if Byrne intended the symbolism, but subtextually you have to conclude "it takes more than an outfit to be Superman.  Superman is defined by the man wearing the outfit".  It plays very well.  Byrne's Superman without the outfit isn't really Superman.  Byrne's Superman outfit by itself can be destroyed or marred.  It's only when Superman wears that it becomes (to steal from Nolan) an incorruptible symbol.

In the Pre-COIE era, the outfit is made from Superman's baby blankets.  I'm not nuts about that but whatever.

In the modern era... hell if I know.  That hackjob writer Geoff Johns has done such a piss poor job of defining the parameters of this new, half-assed continuity that I have no idea what to make of the new outfit.

There's no reason to change the costume.  The filmmaker should strive for a storyline and a tone that allows the costume rather than changing the costume to fit his vision.

[The Dark Knight]

Don?t take this as bashing, either. Seriously, don?t. Just an opinion. From a casual fan, but an opinion nevertheless.

Superman needs the red and blue. I agree with that. But I think you can adjust the costume to be more regal and such. Whatever it is made of, you would still have Superman?s natural aura protecting the suit, so he is the suit and such. And when it?s by itself it?s fallible.

If they?re going to do a contemporary film, I?d like to see a suit like those two I posted. Yes, the old suit is classic, but if the next Superman film has to prove Superman's relevance to contemporary society (and I think it does), the Superman costume need something different, yet similar, and he needs to drop the undies.

The undies are undeniably camp, and they only emphasize that Superman's an artifact. We need a Superman costume that looks contemporary, rather than some relic we keep holding on to for nostalgic reasons.

I wouldn't mind it if the next Superman film's a period piece - something that's pure Americana. But I think the day for such a Superman film has long passed us by, and it would only further emphasize the character's irrelevance).  

But otherwise, I think it's essential that the suit is modified to some extent. Especially for a reboot. There's nothing wrong with change as long as it doesn't go against the spirit of the character. Where Batman is low-level grit, Superman should have a "cosmic" quality, much like Greek mythology, I think. God like.

The Superman image is iconic, to be sure, but that doesn't mean that some slight changes make the character something else entirely. You can certainly tweak the costume (say, removing the red undies) and he'd still be recognizable as Superman.

We need an overhaul that's daring and modern. And I think that applies to his look as much as anything else. Is it tampering with sacred territory? Perhaps. But I think it's what needs to happen.

Batman?s suit changes. So does Spider-Man?s. I don?t see why Superman?s can?t.

I actually doubt it would be much of a big deal at all. People will notice, say, "Huh, that's interesting," and move on.

[thecolorsblend]

I see your point but have some rebuttals.

Batman allows a lot of flexibility.  His costume can and should be tailored to the adaptation in question.  This is a good thing considering how kinda lame his 70's/80's/90's outfit is.  Bright blue and light gray?  Ooh, scary!!  I feel certain that Kane and Finger conceptualized a grey and black costume.  The black elements had blue highlights to provide accent and definition (similar to how characters with dark hair tended to have "blue hair" in the comics) but pretty much I think we can argue that the suit was intended to be gray and black.

Burton conceptualized the outfit as almost like a suit of armor.  Nolan envisions it as a SWAT/special forces deal.  Schumacher... hell if I know.

In any case, it's really only the colors that change.  The essential design elements (body suit, cape, cowl with ears, utility belt, boots, etc) are all pretty much there in each adaptation.  It's conceptualized differently depending on the filmmaker but even for as varied as those designs are, there's a lot of commonality there.

All that being said, one could argue that all the various directors up to this point have done is more or less restore what Kane and Finger originally intended.

As to Spidey, his basic outfit didn't change that much in the Raimi films.  Is it in 100% lock step with the comics?  Eye of the beholder.  I personally don't think Raimi did anything that you couldn't reasonably extrapolate from the comics.  Given the webbing in his pits in those Lee/Ditko issues, you could argue an implied texture/ribbing to the body suit.  Bottom line, the outfit isn't too far off from the comics.

How does this apply to Superman?  Well, the other costumes we saw were very "designy".  Bruce Wayne can afford high-tech body suits so that makes sense.  The Spidey outfit always seemed a bit too sleek and sophisticated for Peter to have come up with on his own (and I'm not the only one to say that; it doesn't detract from the films in any way but it is true).

In any version of the Superman mythos (except Donner, but don't even get me started on him), he's wearing pretty much a homemade outfit.  I say therefore the Superman outit should look a little homemade.  Since we're talking either about baby blankets or else tight-fighting fabrics like cotton, neither would have the textures, shadings or what have you of the Batman and Spidey outfits.

As to the trunks on his uniform, from a design point of view, they need to be there to break up the visual monotony of all that blue.

[The Dark Knight]

The site has become a bit dull, so I may as well reply to this.

If they retain a classical look, I think at the very least, the undies have to go.

In any case, it's really only the colors that change.  The essential design elements (body suit, cape, cowl with ears, utility belt, boots, etc) are all pretty much there in each adaptation.

With Batman, the undies have been dropped before and the character was just fine. They made the jump, and I?m glad they did. I wouldn?t really want Keaton and Bale getting around in that attire. I think the Superman franchise can make the jump, too. I think they should. The sky is not going to fall in.

As to the trunks on his uniform, from a design point of view, they need to be there to break up the visual monotony of all that blue.

I know Batman wears a dark uniform and wants visual monotony to blend in to the night and such, but with those two Superman pictures I posted, I think the suit looks fine. I?m honestly not really missing the undies. It looks modern and exciting. There?s those two words again.

Even if it does look monotonous, I don?t think the reboot needs the camp and dated connotations that goes with them.

[Paul (ral)]

The site has become a bit dull, so I may as well reply to this.

Thanks for keeping things interesting.

[The Joker]

Underwear:

As far as Superman's red undies go, I'm pretty much on the fence on that one. Now if we were discussing changing his costume in the comics, I would be dead set against it as we do indeed-all-know that it's going to revert right back down the line anyways. So why bother??

But as far as the undies go with a new rebooted Superman movie, I wouldn't mind having them around. They really do not bother me. At all. However, I could just as easily see the desire to do away with them. As I can't say I am one of those fanboys that must have almost everything stick as close to the funnybooks as possible. When translating iconic superheroes such as Supes and Spidey to film, discrepancies and changes do indeed transpire quite a bit. Why? Because the film/films are building it's very own mythology. Which, as it goes, can and often does differ from what has been set with the comic book mythology, as well as how character's visually appear.

Burton did this. Raimi did this. Nolan did this. And you get the point.

Are all the changes great?

No.

Are they all completely horrible and devoid of anything remotely positive?

Nope. Not at all.


Personally, I think there are alot of factors that need to be dealt with before deciding on the Superman undies. Ideally, I say keep em. But if not, I can't say it's really going to seriously impair my judgment on the film itself simply for not including the highly debated underwear. 

[The Joker]

Just for sh*ts and giggles, here's some pics that definately gives evidence on Superman's suit being deprived of the red underwear before Singer came along with his "vague" sequel.







Concept art during Abrams/McG/Ratner days.





You're welcome.

[The Dark Knight]

Looks great. That's just the thing.

[Gotham Knight]

Looks great. That's just the thing.

Agreed. VERY cool!

[Paul (ral)]

Nolan Rumor: DEBUNKED?!

"Earlier today, veteran creator Jim Lee was named co-publisher of DC Comics alongside former executive Dan DiDio; while writer Geoff Johns was named Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment. Only hours after this announcement, MTV News spoke with DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson about the new direction of the company. Part of the discussion was the highly talked about Deadline.com rumor regarding Batman director Christopher Nolan 'godfathering' a new Superman movie. MTV asked if there was any validity to this information that swept across the internet:


"Wouldn't you like to know," she said with a laugh. "We don't have any plans about that, and as I've mentioned, in the coming months we'll be making a lot of announcements about what our content plans will be. But right now, that's nothing but rumor ? and we frankly don't say a whole lot more about rumor than that, so..."

After the surge of approval from fans around the world, it's hard to imagine why DC/Warner Bros. would debunk that news unless, of course, it was nothing more than misinformation.

Thanks to Maverick at Fortress of Solitude for that