It proves that they don't really know much about comic books, which is fine. But Marvel and DC are two different companies. A knock on DC has always been that they're old and stodgy. Marvel is young and hip. Of course now they're both old and stodgy. But the point of Marvel was to be the anti-DC in every way and…

don't forget magic!

I think the perceptions people (critics) had about this movie going in, with Nolan's involvement, along with the reverence for the first two Donner movies is clouding perspective. When it was first announced with Goyer/Nolan's involvement, there was talk of a darker take on the character. So everyone took that to mean…

Superman killed Zod in Superman 2! It's not controversial, people are just dullards. As for the product placement, I actually went in expecting way worse because I had heard the movie had already made $170 million in corporate sponsorship and tie ins.

EXACTLY! Not to mention the fact that this rampant destruction of major world cities happens EVERY SINGLE WEEK IN COMIC BOOKS! Also, we have a Superman not aware of his powers. The guy is still hitching rides on Lexcorp semi trunks, presumably because he's unaware he can run so fast that people wouldn't be able to see…

Man of Steel is better than Superman 2 and as good as the first one. But they're different movies, with different tones. It's like how I can say that the first Burton Batman movie is great. But the Nolan movies surpassed it. Not just because the tone was different but because someone finally got the character right.…

It depends on what happens this weekend. If the box office is still good that means word of mouth is spreading about the movie and people are ignoring the critics, which I feel they should since most critics are wrong about this movie. Superman Returns was a pretty big success for WB, but the fan response was tepid.…

I think those things made him interesting at some point in his history. But comics have evolved and the world has changed. What has made Superman interesting to the first generation that read him was that they were in the throes of the Great Depression and he was fighting bank robbers and muggers and evil businessmen.…

puncturedjesus…doesn't Superman love humanity in this movie? He destroys the last vestiges of his race and all those embryos in the Genesis machine in order to save Earth and the people on Earth. Even though all his life he has been taught to fear what the people of Earth would think of him, he still saves them…

Mark Waid is very talented, but he's also a malcontent in a lot of ways. He's always complaining about something DC/WB did or is going to do with Superman.

They did make a good Superman movie, it's called Man of Steel. People complain that he's a boring character. He's handsome, invulnerable and he had two sets of great parents. He has previously, on film, had no emotional core other than just being a really good guy who fights for "truth, justice and the American way"…

The space squid would never have played on screen…I just thought they could have done a better job with making the ending mean the same thing as it did in the comics.

I think that between the love/reverence for the Donner movies and then everyone assuming that since it was Nolan, and hearing rumors about "dark" Superman that lazy critics already had half of their review written before they saw the movie.

I'm quite surprised that the AV Club is so entrenched in this concept. Anyone who has read a Superman comic book over the last 15 years, maybe even longer, would know that Superman has changed as a character and is really nothing like the Richard Donner depiction. While it seems as if Superman Returns had much better…

Unregistered4life…I think the point of the Perry subplot is maybe to show Superman inspiring people? Also did it really last that long? It was like 3 minutes. And what is he supposed to do? Why wouldn't he save her? Perry White isn't an asshole.

It's shorter than Dark Knight and DK Rises and 2 minutes longer than Begins. It also has nearly the same structure of Begins from the time-jumping origin to the reuniting with loved ones, loved ones who are then put in harms way and/or kidnapped, the use of non-hero types to help defeat the villains plan for…

It was the best depiction of Jor-El and Lara sending their son away from a dying planet. It was so emotionally impactful.

What I don't get is how critics were willing to buy into Batman after the Burton movies. The first two were certainly dark, but they also had a pretty severe comic thread running through them. The last two were garbage on par with the Adam West series. Is it just more well-known by the general public that Batman, in…

Excellent point. I think the "singular interpretation" that you're referring to is the Donner movies. That is the standard. I guess that makes sense in that it's really the only Superman character moviegoers have seen. Superman is a different character. He has always changed. He started off fighting evil bankers and…

Yeah, if you want Daily Planet office politics then read a weekly Superman comic book. I'm sure we'll get more of it in the second movie.