As
I’ve written here before, the super hero I followed closely early in my comic
book reading days and later for a big chunk of my adult life was Superman. While
my original captivation with the Man of Steel was the iconic costume and the
cool super powers, it was the concept of Clark Kent that intrigued me most, the
mild mannered man no one suspects of hiding a most extraordinary secret. When I
was young and felt like an outcast, Clark Kent was as much my hero as
Superman.
After moving away from Superman for a few years, I returned to the character
when John Byrne stepped in to relaunch the character and I stayed for nearly 20
years after that. The heyday of that time came under the stewardship of editor
Mike Carlin with 4 interlinked monthly titles building story arc narratives and
one of the most impressive supporting casts in comics. The mythology of
Superman was being rebuilt piece by piece, classic elements of the Silver Age
being restored with a modern twist.
I
would say I drifted away from Superman about 5 or 6 years ago but in many ways,
I felt like I was being pushed. The so-called “New 52” Superman did nothing to
reverse that although I did following Grant Morrison’s run on Action
Comics.
As
Superman struggled for a direction in the comics, there were similar conflicts
on what to do with Superman as a film star.
The
first two Superman movies are considered in their own ways as classics and
Christopher Reeve was perfect casting as Clark Kent and Superman. But while
Reeve continued to enchant as the Man of Steel and his mild mannered alter ego,
the next two films suffered from diminished quality of writing and special effects.
The Superrman movie franchise went from distinguished achievements in film to
little more than life action cartoons.
In
1989, along came Batman. Directed by Tim Burton, it was a revelation to what a
comic book super hero movie could be. It also scored a gazillion dollars so naturally
not only would sequels be on the way but perhaps other comic book super hero
movies. Perhaps Superman could soar once more on the silver screen?
So
Tim Burton was handed the keys to the Superman franchise with Nicolas Cage on
board as Kal-El, AKA Clark Kent, AKA Superman. And if Cage seems an odd casting
choice for the Man of Steel, so too was casting Michal Keaton as Batman. Still,
Nic Cage as Superman? Tim Burton directing? Who could imagine such a thing?
Apparently
a lot of people did and we get to hear what they have to say about Superman
Lives, the years in the making and ultimately doomed production in the form of
a documentary called The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? I’ve been
meaning to see this for some time and had an opportunity to do so when I
stumbled across it on Showtime this past Sunday.
Superman
Lives began as a screenplay from filmmaker and occasional comic book writer
Kevin Smith. A balls to wall fangasm of Superman’s comic book mythology brought
to life on the big screen, Kevin’s script included Lex Luthor, Braniac, Batman
and other heroes of the Justice League with the central conflict of the movie:
Superman vs. Doomsday. Superman defeats Doomsday at the cost of his own life.
But Superman comes back from the dead thanks to Kryptonian super science just
in time to stop another menace to the Earth. When asked to suggest a director
for Superman Lives, Kevin Smith suggested Tim Burton. Whether or not Smith had
any influence on getting Burton on board, it did have the ironic consequence of
removing Kevin Smith from the project. Seems Tim Burton didn’t care for the
screenplay.
And
from there the dramas behind the scenes continued. Burton brought in
screenwriter and frequent collaborator Henry Strick for another pass at the screenplay only to
have to fire Strick due to pressure from the powers that be at Warner Brothers.
And a third writer was brought on board. Despite the revolving door at the
scriptwriter position, Superman Lives continued forward in fits and starts.
Concept art, costume designs, storyboards were being drafted with strange new
visions of Krypton, alien creatures, Superman’s foes and of Superman himself. It
was all wild and wonderful, weird but enticing. Executive producer Jon Peters noted
that “Superman Lives would’ve been laughed off the screen or it would’ve been the
biggest thing ever", there was no middle ground.
But
Warner Bros. remained nervous about this production. Yes, Tim Burton struck box
office gold with Batman in 1989 but almost tarnished that gold with Batman
Returns which looked more like a Tim Burton film than the first one but was less commercial. Yes,
Michael Keaton had been an unconventional choice to play Batman but maybe
Nicolas Cage was too out there. Meanwhile, Batman Forever restored Batman as a premium
moneymaker under the guidance of the more mainstream director Joel Schumacher
and the more conventionally handsome Val Kilmer as Batman.
Perhaps
Warner Bros. could’ve toughed out their
bad case of nerves and let Tim Burton do his thing if not for all the
bombs. A string of movies with high profile releases backed by massive budgets
crashed and burned. Among the bombs Warner Bros. was reeling from included
Batman and Robin. Yep, the super hero who had started it all back in 1989
brought it screeching to a halt a decade later. Warner Bros. was already
nervous about Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage; now they were skittish of the whole
super hero film genre.
So
the plug was pulled and Superman Lives lived no more.
Watching
the documentary, I was struck by the level of creativity and talent that went
into developing the movie we never got to see. Would Superman Lives have
succeeded if could’ve moved forward? Or did the studio execs at Warner dodge a
very expensive bullet? It’s hard to tell. Sometimes the public embraces
creative risks and sometimes it doesn’t. Still, loved or hated, Superman Lives
would’ve been different, unique.
Instead
when the Man of Steel did soar once more on our movie screens, it was the
decidedly tepid Superman Returns. Bryan Singer who had successfully brought the
X-Men to the big screen did not chart a new path with his next super hero
project. Instead, he paid homage to the first Superman movies, staging Superman
Returns as a defacto sequel to Superman II. Despite some strong performances
from Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor and the underrated Brandon Routh, Superman
Returns gave us more of what we had seen before. Man of Steel from two years
ago gave us a distinctive vision of the Superman mythos but one that was
distressingly short on joy and wonder. (Yes,
I did describe Man of Steel as the best Superman movie to date here and here, but honestly
people, that’s a really low bar to jump over.) Henry Cavill was perfect to play
the Man of Steel; perhaps a bit too perfect.
Oh,
what kind of offbeat path would Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage had taken Superman?
Thanks to The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?, we have a glimpse at what might’ve been. If Superman Lives had made to the screen, whether as a
success or a failure, the results would’ve still been amazing.
Thanks
for popping by. A new post is coming up on
the blog tomorrow. Until then, remember to be good to one another.
Dave-El
I’m
So Glad My Suffering Amuses You
 |
| Superman Lives would be director Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage during a costume test. |
J❂RD❂N 
