So why was it ok for Donnerman to beat up truckers, but not for Snyderman?

[The World]

So Chris Reeves Supes after getting his powers back trashes these two guys because they made him look bad infront of his GF. Everybody is pretty much cool with that for some reason or another which I guess I can see through the lens of silver age shenanigans although less creative than how he would have done it. But everyone lost their minds because he trashed the truck of a guy who was harassing a waitress. Why was the former okay even though everything that happened in it was Clark's own fault?



And can we accept this as proof that Superman is in fact being forced to become softer over time by people despite no one else really getting hit with this.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

I hated it there too (actually a lot more).

[DochaDocha]

Everyone I've interacted with who is aware of both scenes and had a problem with one had a problem with the other. That's my experience, anyway.

[Superlad93]

It can't be dumb as rocks in both versions? In both scenes he kind of sucks, and is way to extra no matter how you slice it.

[titansupes]

I like both, though the Snyder one a little less (purely because I don't see how the trucker would see his truck being destroyed as a consequence of his loutish behaviour). But still, both good to fine.

[Kuwagaton]

It was kind of ridiculous. It could have been worse, but unfortunately it was still in a movie heavily criticized for wanton destruction.

[Powerboy]

So Chris Reeves Supes after getting his powers back trashes these two guys because they made him look bad infront of his GF. Everybody is pretty much cool with that for some reason or another which I guess I can see through the lens of silver age shenanigans although less creative than how he would have done it. But everyone lost their minds because he trashed the truck of a guy who was harassing a waitress. Why was the former okay even though everything that happened in it was Clark's own fault?

And can we accept this as proof that Superman is in fact being forced to become softer over time by people despite no one else really getting hit with this.

It wasn't okay. It was the worst part of the movie. Worse than even the Amnesia Kiss. Worse than (depending on your point of view) beating up or killing Zod and crushing his hand after his powers were gone. Well, actually, it was about the same as beating up Zod. There is no possible motive for going back and beating up that truck driver except revenge and Superman shouldn't give in to the desire for revenge.

Had the Internet somehow existed back then, I think the criticism over that scene would have been overwhelming.

[Jon Clark]

Looking at both in the cold light of day- I can't approve of either.

In 1981 the trucker was like Steve Lombard. The whole diner scene came off as cartoon humor where you didn't really expect any real consequences like the guy being hospitalized or the diner owner suffering financially from the damage.
In 2013 the trucker was still a jerk, but Clark's "revenge" seemed a little more realistic and thus I actually thought about things like "How does he get a new truck to maintain his job?"

[Soubhagya]

Both are bad. I have more problem with Reeve's version then Cavill's.

Reeve's Superman: Superman is supposed to be better then all of us. Here he stoops down to petty revenge. There was no need to get back at that person. It serves no purpose other then fulfilling a personal vendetta. He appears like a bully. He was weak so was beaten up. Now he is strong so he beat him up. What about being better then such people?

Cavill's Superman: Here his intention seems nobler. After this the guy would think twice before mistreating women. I think this is why Superman actually broke the truck. He has been mistreated before but have never done something like this. How the guy gets a job i don't care much. If by getting a job he gets money and uses that to misbehave with women that's better for him. Simply because i have money and have 'strength' gives me no right to treat women like this and misbehave with people who give me good advice. Superman is about using his powers wisely. He seems to have put thought into this. But even then its problematic. What if he had kids at home? And there is anger mixed with it due to his mistreatment. Is the only way to keep such people in line by taking such drastic measures? These are questions one can't ignore.

So, i am not okay with both. Reeve's version fails completely in my opinion. I can't stand by this decision in any way. Cavill's version is better. By this the trucker won't badly behave with women. (Hopefully). But the questions that i mentioned does not allow me to stand by this though i want to.

As the narratives in their respective films: Cavill's scene is better served. The point of the scene was that he was searching for the answers (Which was so much stressed by his father Jonathan. Odd. What about using your powers for the good of others pa Kent?). But even during that search he was trying to help people. This is very 'Superman like'. He has absolutely no reason to use his powers for other's benefit. But he did that all the time. Reeve's scene is not good. We as an audience are supposed to cheer when the bully gets its comeuppance. Its very 'UnSuperman like'. It might work for some but it does not for me.

Cavill's version gets dispproportionate hate. Some fans simply want to hate him. I have problems with this version. But not so much that i can't see the good here. Reeve's version is like the moon. Moon is so beautiful that people ignore its spots. Though fans don't forget that. For some the spots increases moon's beauty while for others it decreases it.

[Agniwolf]

Both are bad. I have more problem with Reeve's version then Cavill's.

Reeve's Superman: Superman is supposed to be better then all of us. Here he stoops down to petty revenge. There was no need to get back at that person. It serves no purpose other then fulfilling a personal vendetta. He appears like a bully. He was weak so was beaten up. Now he is strong so he beat him up. What about being better then such people?

Cavill's Superman: Here his intention seems nobler. After this the guy would think twice before mistreating women. I think this is why Superman actually broke the truck. He has been mistreated before but have never done something like this. How the guy gets a job i don't care much. If by getting a job he gets money and uses that to misbehave with women that's better for him. Simply because i have money and have 'strength' gives me no right to treat women like this and misbehave with people who give me good advice. Superman is about using his powers wisely. He seems to have put thought into this. But even then its problematic. What if he had kids at home? And there is anger mixed with it due to his mistreatment. Is the only way to keep such people in line by taking such drastic measures? These are questions one can't ignore.

So, i am not okay with both. Reeve's version fails completely in my opinion. I can't stand by this decision in any way. Cavill's version is better. By this the trucker won't badly behave with women. (Hopefully). But the questions that i mentioned does not allow me to stand by this though i want to.

As the narratives in their respective films: Cavill's scene is better served. The point of the scene was that he was searching for the answers (Which was so much stressed by his father Jonathan. Odd. What about using your powers for the good of others pa Kent?). But even during that search he was trying to help people. This is very 'Superman like'. He has absolutely no reason to use his powers for other's benefit. But he did that all the time. Reeve's scene is not good. We as an audience are supposed to cheer when the bully gets its comeuppance. Its very 'UnSuperman like'. It might work for some but it does not for me.

Cavill's version gets dispproportionate hate. Some fans simply want to hate him. I have problems with this version. But not so much that i can't see the good here. Reeve's version is like the moon. Moon is so beautiful that people ignore its spots. Though fans don't forget that. For some the spots increases moon's beauty while for others it decreases it.

were is the upvote button when you need it?

[Jim Kelly]

I feel like I'm coming in on the middle of an argument that the OP was having with someone, without having heard what led up to this. Not knowing the context, I can only assume the OP got a bum steer from someone. So let me set the record straight. That ending scene for SUPERMAN II was never okay. I've never seen anyone defending it. It's always pointed out as a WTF moment in SUPERMAN II.

It's a wrong note and it feels wrong because it doesn't fit with the established characters of Superman/Clark from those first two Christopher Reeve movies. Just because SUPERMAN II was successful at the box office doesn't mean everything in the movie passed muster.

I don't think you can blame that error on the "Silver Age"--the people writing the Richard Lester movie in 1980 were not thumbing through old comic books from the 1960s for their ideas. The Lester movie breaks several rules of the comic book world. But it replicates a lot of tropes from the motion pictures. And that's how to best make sense of it--it plays to the audience's ironic position in regard to the movie, rather than working according to the internal sense of the narrative.

The OP is generalizing and assuming that everyone is defending every single thing in the Donner and Lester movies, while attacking every single think in the Snyder movies. That's just not the case. And it's an overreaction to assume so.

[rpmaluki]

As far as I am aware NOBODY likes the ending in Superman II. Clark looked like a bully and sullied his rep quite a bit.

[Soubhagya]

It looks like nobody likes that Donner movie ending. Its no surprise. I agree with Jim Kelly. I don't think any version of Superman does this. There maybe a few exceptions (we are talking of a character with multiple books over 80 years) but that is definitely out of character from i believe 99.99 percent iterations, possibly even more. This looks more like a movie trope. Bullies get their comeuppance. It happens a lot in the movies. The problem here is that the 'victim' is Superman.

Edit: I take back '99.99 %'. I have not read so much of comics to form an opinion. It appears that there are fans who have no problems with it. So i take back the word 'nobody' too. I do know that Superman is not someone who gets back to people who have offended him personally. Superman in my mind is Superman not simply due to his powers but also in how he uses it. I forgot about the payment to the owners. He really is like that moon. Beating up the bully is one of the 'spots' that i am dead against. But he backed that with a payment for the damages. How can you hate that guy?

were is the upvote button when you need it?

Thanks!

[titansupes]

I'm always very surprised to see people so against Superman giving bullies what for.

Clark going back an inflicting some pretty harmless, cartoon violence on the trucker (who clearly has a history of bullying/beating people) could (we don't know) make him think twice about pulling that again. "Man, I'd like to mess up this guy... But what if he's like that dweeb with the glasses..." etc. It could bring him down a notch, or stop him entirely. Plus, the only thing that was damaged was the jukebox, which Clark paid for. It's a very Golden Age thing to do (or even pre-Crisis in general, maybe Morrison N52). Plus, fun gag and catharsis for the audience.

The other Clark destroying the guy's truck/livelihood... What's that got to do with harassing a waitress? In his mind, they're two separate incidents, with the truck being some freak accident. Nothing about it would make him think twice about his behaviour. But, in terms of the movie, it was a fun little gag/bit of catharsis for the audience.

[Jon Clark]

What's that got to do with harassing a waitress? In his mind, they're two separate incidents, with the truck being some freak accident. Nothing about it would make him think twice about his behaviour.

If you think about it, the trucker now had to hang around a little longer waiting for some other transportation before he could leave. Clark may have just subjected the waitress to more harassment while the trucker is stuck waiting.