Zack Snyder's Superman isn't 'Dark,' He's 'Relatable'

[CBR News]

Producer Deborah Snyder has a different idea about whether "Man of Steel" and "Batman v Superman" dragged the hero into grim and gritty territory.


Full article here.

[Sacred Knight]

Superman's relatable already, without forcing it. If you can't find those nuances and subtleties, then that's on you as the creator.

[FlashingSabre]

Superman's relatable already, without forcing it. If you can't find those nuances and subtleties, then that's on you as the creator.

Agreed. Making him clinically depressed is not the answer. All that does is make him a drag to watch.

[Krysmopompas]

Agreed. Making him clinically depressed is not the answer. All that does is make him a drag to watch.

Agreed x2. When Captain America is more Superman than Superman, there's a problem.

[Kilgore Trout]

Agreed x2. When Captain America is more Superman than Superman, there's a problem.

No lie on Marvel's Captain America being a Superman's Superman. But I still don't get how Superman is relatable. Is it just his ability to be depressed? Or because his Mom's name is Martha? Or is it his ability to fly? Or his super speed? Or his super strength? Or the way he shoots fricken laser beams out of his eyes? Or is it because he's from another planet that makes him like us?

I always thought the best Superman portrayal's were INSPIRATIONAL not RELATABLE...

[Krysmopompas]

No lie on Marvel's Captain America being a Superman's Superman. But I still don't get how Superman is relatable. Is it just his ability to be depressed? Or because his Mom's name is Martha? Or is it his ability to fly? Or his super speed? Or his super strength? Or the way he shoots fricken laser beams out of his eyes? Or is it because he's from another planet that makes him like us?

I always thought the best Superman portrayal's were INSPIRATIONAL not RELATABLE...

That's it! Superman is who we'd ASPIRE to be, not who we ARE. That's why was so popular...at least until recently??

[Mahr Vehl]

The problem is when you start heaping more and more down-to-earth attributes on Superman, the more bland and boring he becomes.

Superman is supposed to be larger than life. The average Joe on the street is supposed to be staggered by Superman's force of will and ideals. The rest of the world can be "grounded" around Superman, but he himself can never be grounded. He can fly in literal and metaphorical sense. This guy is an alien, but his ideals and character are not 'alien' to us. Superman tells us there is an aspect of him we can aspire to if only we try.

This is something that so many writers fail to understand about his character.

[cfoshin]

Interesting discussion. I admired how the DC U at least tried to go in a more grounded and realistic direction for their films, I liked Man of Steel alot- this was the Honest Superman movie. They tried to really portray what it was like to be an alien on earth with no idea why you were there. I thought the whole boy scout thing from Returns and what people thought he should be was actually a little off-putting. He really developed as a character. People don't act like that....and really he was acting more like what we saw in the New 52, around the time the film was made. It wasn't some completely non canonical take. Hell he even killed Zod AND TWO OTHERS in the comics in the 80s...AFTER he took away their powers. That was canon WELL before Snyder came on board.

[dei1c3]

Just more proof that the Snyders don't understand this character.

[superduperman]

How does making him a killer make him "relatable"? How does giving him a dark costume make him "relatable"? Or making him standoffish to his fellow man? What really happened was WB saw the money a dark Batman drew in and thought it applies to everyone. It doesn't. Let's just put all our cards on the table: WB keeps giving Superman to people who want to be working with Batman. We saw it with cartoons in the nineties and we're seeing it today with the movies.

[Kenletwo]

My problem with MOS and BvsS is the whole Hamlet impersonation. Maybe you should have let the bus load of kids drown; maybe you should be Earths' hero ... or not.

Plus, the whole "realistic" superbattle damage and casualties. If I wanted drawn out emotional angst and pathos, I'd be watching 70's European art films. Gritty, bloody, subdued-color violence is depressing. That's not a terrible thing in an urban drama or a war movie, but the dissonance between that and a world with the wonder-factor of super powers kind of sets my teeth on edge.

[rpi]

Who wants a relatable Superman or Batman? These are superheroes. They need to be BETTER, not "relatable". Such BS.

[GigiFusc]

I think in the context of an ongoing comic book series, you do have time and space to show a Superman going through a tough time. And even in a movie, you can do that. But that can't BE the whole movie. Because a movie lasts 2, 3 hours and that's all you get for years! You can't just build on that next week.

[MagnusRex]

""That’s the great thing about our Superman. He is more relatable," Snyder said. "Someone said, 'It’s so dark,' and I go, 'Well, is it dark? He’s going through real problems that we go through as people every day.' To me that’s not dark, that’s life. We’re complicated people. And we’re making him in that way more relatable."

This sounds like some Ayn Rand type bs right here

[NightMage]

No lie on Marvel's Captain America being a Superman's Superman. But I still don't get how Superman is relatable. Is it just his ability to be depressed? Or because his Mom's name is Martha? Or is it his ability to fly? Or his super speed? Or his super strength? Or the way he shoots fricken laser beams out of his eyes? Or is it because he's from another planet that makes him like us?

I always thought the best Superman portrayal's were INSPIRATIONAL not RELATABLE...

This; Snyder still doesn't get it, does he?