I actually prefer Superman Returns. It's a lot more challenging (but satisfying IMO) to continue from existing continuity rather than rebooting, which always seems like the "lazy" option to me. I really like how it continued from the events of Superman II; Lois' conscious memories have been suppressed, but part of her subconscious still remembers having been married to Superman (or at very least, that Superman is the father of her child). And I do like how Lois did bear Superman's son -- showing that there was a consequence to their marriage. At the end of Superman II Clark used his "super kiss" to wipe Lois' memories to save her the mental anguish of worrying about him, and then between that and SR buggered off to search for Krypton... all the time not realising what the effect that would have on Lois (and indeed on the people of Earth who'd come to adore him). The movie showed us the conflict between Clark wanting to find other survivors so he wouldn't be the last of his kind versus the emotional ties that he has with friends and family on Earth, and how the choice that he made has impacted on those relations. He also didn't consider that leaving Earth before Lex Luthor was trialled would have negative consequences too, as Superman wasn't able to appear as a key witness in Luthor's trial - thus failing to contain Luthor's menace to society.
I really liked the relationship between Superman and Jason. It formed a sort of closure for Clark's search for his own people, but in the meantime he had a half Kryptonian son to care for. Repeating Jor-El's soliloquy to Jason was an incredibly moving and emotionally powerful moment. And that's the thing... Superman is a character whose strength and weaknesses aren't really physical -- all that is just superficial. His true strengths and flaws are found in his
character... in
who Clark Kent is. And that was something that I found was lacking in Man of Steel.
In Superman Returns, Superman absolutely goes on a journey of change as he realises the consequences of his decision to leave Earth and what he can do the change things (e.g. stop Luthor, acknowledge Jason as his son) and accept things that he shouldn't change (e.g. Lois' marriage to Richard). Speaking of Richard, he is the REAL hero of the story. He was there when Lois needed him; caring for her and Jason who's not even his son (but loves him as if he were his own). He also risks his life to save Lois and Jason (and later Superman), which takes
much more courage to do because he doesn't have super powers. Richard unconditionally loves a woman that he knows is in love with another man, and for a boy who isn't his biological son. Superman selfishly tries to come between Richard and Lois, although by the end of the film he's undergone change and realises that he has no right to break up Lois' family -- a family she formed because he chose to leave Earth. Superman had the choice to have a family with Lois, but he chose to walk away and Lois chose to move on with her life. Even with all of Superman's Godlike powers, there's
nothing he can do to change that (at least, not without causing more emotional pain which would make him an incredibly selfish douche). I
like this sort of real-world consequence based stories that force the protagonist to self reflect and undergo change.
Look at Clark when we first see him as an adult in the earlier part of Man of Steel versus who he is at the very end. He's completed a series of tasks and has acquired new knowledge, but how has he actually changed as a person? Stories are driven by character development... no characterisation = no story (all it becomes is a simple narrative of a series of events).
"I'm sorry. This is my fault. I've been a lousy father. Blind to what I have. So obsessed with being undervalued that I undervalued all of you. So caught up in the past that I... you are my greatest adventure. And I almost missed it." - Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible (The Incredibles)
^That pretty much sums up Clark's journey in Superman Returns, only without the "almost." Clark
has missed it and needs to move on (oh, and that the source of his obsession what his search of personal identity, not a quest to be valued). For that reason I was really hoping that they would make a sequel to Superman Returns, but alas that hasn't been so.
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
MAN OF STEEL SPOILERS AHEAD
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