Order of the Supermen

The Three Kryptonians

When you hear the name Superman, the first thing that comes to mind is the face of the iconic superhero that has dominated millions of covers of DC Comics for 60 years, as well as multiple television series and films. One of the most popular of the DC crowd ever since he burst forth into print in Action Comics in 1938, the Kryptonian has endured the test of time and several revisions, all the while standing fast against the many villains whom he has faced and even occasionally been defeated by. A shining symbol of strength and determination, Superman remains one of the most beloved characters of fiction to this day, no matter what medium in which he’s depicted. But for all his tenacity, there is one place he has faired worse than being trapped in a room full of kryptonite bricks over the past two decades… that place is in movies.

We’re all familiar with Superman III and Superman Returns, but one title that not many people know about is the long since defunct project of Superman Lives. Of the three films, Superman Lives faired the worst by not even being made, and though Superman Returns didn’t perform as poorly as Superman III, it was still not received well by critics and fans alike. Is it the directors? Or is it just hard to accept Superman in feature film adaptations? Superman I and II did extremely well with the terrific actors – my sincere respect to the late but extremely talented Christopher Reeve for bringing this character to life on the big screen – and director they had, but what else did they have over the others? Was it the choice of villains for the two movies? Was it the benefit of two movies telling one story being shot back to back? If so, could the others have done better by these same means? We may not know, but I’ll tell you what I think made them good.

The Evil Superman in flight (Superman III).

The Evil Superman tipping back some Johnny Walker Red (Superman III).

Superman III (1983)

Personally, I like Superman III. I know it was a critical and financial flop (we won’t even mention the performance of The Quest For Peace) that relied heavily on slapstick comedy to tell the story, but I liked Christopher Reeve’s performance in this film just as much as I did in the first two movies despite this unusual approach to the franchise. My reservations for the substitute corporate mogul villains of Ross Webster and his sister Vera aside, I especially enjoyed Reeve’s performance as the Bizarro-like Evil Superman and felt he deserved more screen time as this version. An extended use of him as a major villain would have helped the movie a great deal and overshadowed the lame excuse of the aforementioned Webster. The junkyard fight between the Evil Superman and Clark Kent did make the movie’s shortcomings tolerable, though. I’m pleased to say that one thing that reminded me of this character was used in Superman Returns, that being Superman’s new suit using the same color scheme as Evil Superman’s. Perhaps this is why Superman wasn’t exactly himself in that movie. Who knows? It’s good to know that part of the Evil Superman unofficially survived into the sequel. And speaking of which, did Superman III really deserve to be retconned out of existence by Superman Returns? Sure, it may not have performed well, but it was still Superman and I feel it was an insult to Christopher Reeve’s work, not to mention the character. I even feel the same way for Superman IV, even though I admit I didn’t care for that one as much as the third. All in all, Superman III was a fun ride and had its good moments and still deserves to be apart of the film continuity.

A timeless hero (Superman Returns).

Superman Returns (2006)

It was called the true Superman III, but I believe that most of the fans would disagree. Picking up five years after Superman II, Superman Returns reintroduced the Kryptonian and his origin tale by paying homage to the first movie’s storyline. For all the religious allusions and borrowed dialogue from the first film, I was still impressed by the scale of the movie itself, though, not that it changed how I felt about the movie, I agree that it lacked some of the action we would expect from a Superman tale. Lex Luthor is a good villain even if he is not superhuman. I’m fond of the, as Lex coined it, “mind over muscle” concept just as much as a battle between two superbeings. It makes Lex a formidable foe this way and, as repetitive as Superman Returns was, Lex was a good choice as the film’s villain. I’m glad that Lois and Superman rekindled part of that old flame. Yes, the romance did take up a lot of the movie’s time and Lois was always whining, leaving me to believe that she thought she was the only one on Earth that Superman should be paying attention to. But, what can you do? Okay, Superman’s son was a bit over the top. They turned the world’s superhero into an absent and irresponsible father. This does not fit well with the film. They only have roughly two hours to tell the story and they can’t have Superman tending to a family on the side while saving the Earth from evil forces. The guy just doesn’t have that kind of time on his hands, unless he decided to give up the cape one day, which is unlikely. Leave that plot to the Elseworlds Son of Superman arc. Did Bruce Wayne start a family in Batman Begins? I rest my case. As far as the actors go, I felt they captured the essence of their characters perfectly, though many disliked Brandon Routh as the titular character – I thought he pulled it off well. Superman Returns was a good movie. Again, like Superman III, it doesn’t deserve to be knocked for a few missteps. As far as I know, there are no plans to retcon this one and right well there shouldn’t be.

Concept artwork of the black suited Superman (Superman Lives).

Superman Lives (1998... almost)

Finally, this brings us to Superman Lives. This was the planned film for 1998 that would have starred Nicholas Cage as the Man of Steel and featured Brainiac and Doomsday as the villains, with Lex Luthor as an antagonist in a similar vein to Superman II. This would have actually been the fifth Superman film in continuity. The script for it (written by Kevin Smith) and concept artwork can be found online. I have read the script and seen the pictures and I must say this may have been a really good movie. With Tim Burton in place to direct, I think they could’ve pulled off something great. However, I do feel that Nick Cage wasn’t the best choice to play Superman. I may not have been the only one who thought so. The story was based around the events of The Death and Return of Superman arc and had the Kryptonian donning a black latex suit upon his resurrection along with a metallic ‘S’ emblem shield capable of being detached and used as a weapon. While the emblem weapon was unnecessary, I can dig Superman wearing a black suit. Would he look better in black? I’m not saying the blue and red suit is bad, but maybe a little change of wardrobe, albeit temporarily, would be good for him. I liked this possible treatment for Superman enough to suggest that some of the elements be revisited for a new movie. I agree with the comments stating that this was the best unmade Superman film of all time, though, sadly, the studios didn’t have enough faith in it to bring it to fruition. It appears that this one did poor enough to not even have the opportunity of being retconned.

Well, regardless of the reasons for Superman’s flubs in this industry, I appreciate these translations to film that have been made. It’s great to be able to see this character on the big screen because I just see Superman. Others just see a lack of hardcore action due to a combination of poor scripting and directing. Many pessimists may look at these movies and see that the real Superman III was a joke and was renounced his title, while the other Superman was left without a chance to Live at all, clearing the way for the replacement to merely Return to the scene and try to be Superman I. Perhaps this could be the case, but I am a bit nostalgic and like these movies just the way they are – even those that were left on the shelf. It never hurts to give some credit. I’ll leave the rest to the critics. And hey, there are certainly worse movies out there. Anyone remember Shaquille O’Neal’s Steel film? Superman isn’t a character I can dismiss that easily for the sake of a few underrated movies. Nobody’s perfect, not even the Man of Steel. I like to think that these three movies – or two movies and one close-call – prove just how human this character can be, whether he tried to be too funny, too serious, or flat-out AWOL. Maybe it is the directors and script writers for Superman’s inability to capture the attention of the audience in feature film format. Or it could be that people expect too much out of him all the time. I think he needs a break once in awhile. After all, he’s only Kryptonian.

If you need something to add to the movies, try checking out the comic book or novel adaptations (Superman Returns featured four comic prequel issues, as well) to fill in the gaps. There’s always the next movie, too. No matter how you toss it, it all comes down to one thing: People like Superman. If I were him, I’d have very little concern about how a few movies performed at the box office. After all, the fame is well established already. You may be able to retcon some of his movies, but nobody can retcon the face and name of Superman.

And now, Starfire presents a famous Superman fight sequence!

Into The Shadows: A Review of Shadowrun

Secrets of Power

If you like science fiction, fantasy, or both, then Shadowrun is just for you. An eclectic mix of cyberpunk and fairytale, the story follows bands of shadowrunners – magical and cybernetic outlaws, if you will – living on the fringes of society and braving the darkest places in some of the world’s toughest cities in a grim future filled with all the creatures of myth, including powerful wizards, fire-breathing dragons, brutal orks, sly elves, and nimble dwarves. Within this wondrous magical realm also lies the technosavvy infrastructure of world dominating megacorporations and their massive towers that cast deep shadows in which the shadowrunners dwell, complete with the artificial computer generated world known as the Matrix where hackers, known as deckers, brave the intricate, and deadly, simulated environment.

In the Secrets of Power trilogy, the first three books of the Shadowrun series, we enter the life of Samuel Verner, an aspiring employee of the Renraku Arcology in Seattle, Washington and unwitting hero. He starts out living the life of his dreams until all that he knows is turned upside down in a freak encounter with a group of shadowrunners aimed at bringing down evil megacorps like Renraku. At first he is forced into their leagues, but soon discovers that a different world, the real world, exists within the shadows of the megacorps and realizes his own latent abilities to control magic that sets him on a path to fulfill his destiny as a wizard. His journey takes him from one corner of the Earth to the other as he reluctantly accepts his role in both the magical and mundane worlds, meeting new and old friends alike as well as some of the most unforgiving of enemies. Lies and treachery meet young Sam behind every dank city back alley and open countryside that determine to keep him from achieving his goals.

And the power struggle continues...

As far as the three books in this trilogy go, Never Deal With A Dragon, Choose Your Enemies Carefully, and Find Your Own Truth, I like them all equally. They were all fast-paced adventures filled with non-stop action and with good characterizations and plot development. Despite each book featuring an adventure that contrasted greatly from one another, continuity is not sacrificed and the characters react well to the environments and situations they are placed in. Of the story structure, I’d have to say that the only thing I didn’t particularly care for were the sudden scene changes, which most of the time happened with little or no explanation. The main shadowrunner characters were solid, hardened veterans and evolved with the usual bumps and bruises expected from people in a world such as theirs. They especially behaved much like a family with the common flaws and conflicting opinions with, at times, some not-so-unflinching loyalty. The villains, though selfish and lacking compunction, expressed similar flaws and were relieved of the usual clichés and stereotypes attributed to their roles. The locations were well detailed that painted an excellent picture of familiar sites and cities with this unique interpretation of the future. The right amount of backstory was included throughout the books as to not make them too wordy and congested while keeping the plot coherent and exciting.

While the ending wasn’t exactly the most climactic I’ve ever read, it did tie up all the loose ends and resolve the characters’ stories begun in the first book while providing open endings for possible reprisals in succeeding books. If I had to rate this trilogy out of five stars, I’d give it a four, and much praise to the author Robert N. Charrette for such keen insight into a fantastical future that included my own home city of Seattle. If magic and all the creatures of myth were to suddenly return to the Earth, I would expect it to be just like Shadowrun. Though I have never read any of Charrette’s other books, I am certainly going to start now. Of this ongoing series, he has written two others entitled Never Trust An Elf and Just Compensation, both of which I have yet to read. If they are anything like the previous books, those are two I’m definitely going to be picking up. Based off of his work so far, I would like to see Charrette return to helm another adventure. If you are a fan of the Shadowrun roleplaying and video games, these novels should be included in your collection. Even though most of the books in the series are stand-alone stories and are as good as any place to jump in and start reading, I recommend picking up the Secrets of Power trilogy, not just because they are the first of the Shadowrun tales, but because they are worth it.

The Matrix Revisions: The Best Agent

The Two Sides of Agent Smith

A program...

Not many computer programs have style like Agent Smith. Calm, collected, and often times ornery, he was the epitome of order and chaos and pretty much put a face on the bad side of the Matrix. Both liked and hated respectively, Smith gave us a few surprises not just in his personality, but with his abilities, as well. In both the films and video games, he remained the ultimate bad guy, on a mission to put an end to it all. Smith was certainly larger than life in many ways in the blockbuster movie trilogy, but redefined this term, especially the “larger” part, as he added something special to his repertoire in the video game Path of Neo.

The Original Agent

First, let’s briefly reacquaint ourselves with Smith. For years he was an Agent of the Matrix, designed to carry out the task of keeping Red Pills (people who have been freed from the Matrix) in check. Like his counterparts, he functioned within the limits of the artificial world. But unlike them, Smith expressed discontent at being trapped in such a place, a zoo or prison as he called it, with “disgusting mammals”. Eventually, the rules changed and found the Agent freed from the confines of the Matrix and allowing him to run unchecked within the system. Smith had found a new purpose compelling him to destroy both the Matrix and the real world, the results of which took a drastic turn for the worst for him when the final battle saw his own destruction.

Mega Smith Complex

Okay, so most of us know Smith’s story in The Matrix Trilogy and how it all turned out. Those of you who do not, then it’s probably best to stop reading right here. Or, if you don’t care about the spoilers, then feel free to continue. Two things of interest about Agent Smith involve the climaxes to The Matrix Revolutions and the video game The Matrix: Path of Neo. In the film, Neo and Smith had the gritty showdown in the rainy megacity at the end, culminating in Neo’s sacrifice to be copied by the former Agent in order to put a stop to him. It was a success, as all of the Smith clones that had been copied up to that point were destroyed. The Matrix was then restored and the war between Zion and the Machines came to an end. Decent ending for a movie, but this is not so for the video game. In Path of Neo, Neo and Smith followed the same rain soaked fight in the city just as the movie did, with one difference; Neo did not sacrifice himself to Smith in the end, but in fact bested him in the fight. The frustrated Smith and his clones began piling debris on top of themselves, building up to a towering Mega Smith body. Neo then fought this monstrosity and was able to defeat it without sacrificing his life in the process. The resulting explosion from Neo’s fatal blow to Mega Smith was tremendous, shattering the debris body and wiping out the rest of the clones in the Matrix. Zion realized the war was over and the ballad We Are The Champions by Queen sounded the victory. All was well.

Resolved?

What I think is that this would’ve been an awesome ending for the movie. I have no problem with the original ending and agree that it fit well, but the Mega Smith ending was a good one and would definitely have looked good on film. It isn’t to say that Neo couldn’t have sacrificed himself anyway to defeat it – it would be appropriate for the story – but even if he hadn’t, this ending is the type of treat well suited for the anticipation of the climax we had waited four years to see. The movie’s box office revenue was less than the other two films partly because of the sudden and anticlimactic resolution. As it stands, the Wachowskis felt the film’s ending would have been too boring for the video game, so created the alternate Mega Smith ending its place. But is this not also true for the film itself? Most people I’ve talked to felt the ending to the movie was unfulfilling. I’d be willing to see a special edition of The Matrix Revolutions with Mega Smith included as the alternate ending, provided there was an extended battle sequence filmed to fill in for what the video game couldn’t show in cinematic footage. Maybe even throw in a last minute fight on top of the broken head of the Mega Smith between Oracle Smith and Neo. You know, to add that last minute flavor of required dialogue and old fashioned fist fighting between good guy and bad topped with a spectacular demise of one or both men. It may just be wishful thinking, but I hope the Wachowski brothers consider it. With all the advances in CGI technology, they wouldn’t need to hire Keanu Reeves and Hugo Weaving to reprise their roles for the new ending; that is, if they refused to reprise their roles. If they agreed, great, film the scenes with the original stars and more power to them. Release the whole set as a cheap DVD movie purchase or a two-for-one deal as a Blockbuster movie rental. It would certainly do some justice to the trilogy.

Further thoughts...

This is a trilogy of movies that will not likely see further sequels. Explicitly stated several times, this is all there will be. There might possibly be remakes, but that wouldn’t be the same. The closest you can get to a sequel with these movies is the ongoing story of The Matrix Online and a few of The Matrix Comics episodes. Too bad for Agent Smith, I must say. That’s one character I’d certainly like to see again, if not in a sequel, then at least in a film version of the grandiose ending that the video game provided us. Give one to the fans and Agent Smith. After all the guy has been through, he deserves to go out with something more than a bang.