It occurred to me today that I don't think Superman should talk much. Superman's most widely viewed and acceded takes are the 1940s cartoon, 90's cartoon, and first movie. In all of these there are large stretches of time where Superman isn't really talking at all. He's mainly just emoting and moving. Now most would interpret this as Superman clearly being the strong silent type. I think that's a mistake and can easily lead to a wooden take with far too much "weight of the world" on his brow. I actually think Superman, at his best, is akin to a Chuck Jones cartoon where movement, facial expression, body langue, and the ability to emote are all that matter.
It's not about if the character smiles all the time or not. That's meaningless fluff. Take a look at the 90's cartoon (or just recall it). That Superman, as Superman, didn't do much smiling at all, but you'd never in a million years call that show dark or depressing. The same is true for the 40's cartoon. The personality and character was shown through his movement and reactions. Take a look at this scene from the 90's show (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAGYquZMDJg). He literally only says 6 words the whole time ("I didn't realize there were rules"). Yeah you totally
get him, and a complete sense of personality from him. He's almost like Samurai Jack in a lot of ways. A small smirk is all that's needed to get across and idea or a turn of the tables.
This brings me to my next point: Clark Kent is the key. Superman is about action and reaction in the moment. He's a serialize adventure hero so he works with the idea of "live performance" planing. Basically he comes up with his moves as he goes along. However, Clark Kent is where we/him are given a reprieve, time to refocus, reflect, and air out ideas. This is where Superman gets the bulk of his lines. BUT the main idea should be that the lines are snappy, clever, and informative. The 90's show does this PERFECTLY. Remember the clip I just posted? Well, just before it, Lois and Clark and having some small talk (and we clearly see where Clark's mind is at) and Lois puts on a plastic poncho and Clark looks at her funny. Lois assumes that it's for fashion reasons. Then in the scene that I posted, Superman is covered in plastic. Nothing needed to be said or explained. The perfect amount of information was given to get the idea into our heads, and we were able to do it while adding to the character both Clark and Lois.
Then check out this scene (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylw46a-2MD0) to see all of the ideas I've presented played out in full.
I don't think the DCEU has the wrong idea with keeping Superman largely silent, but I do think that they don't compensate well enough with good body language, expression, and emoting direction. To be clear, I'm not saying that it's not there, but I'm saying that it's not played up to the level that he needs to be to stave off complaints of a mute Superman. I think Man of Steel was a great step in the right direction when it came to this, but it was undercut by quite a few things.
Superman isn't The Doctor who's main character defining aspect is that he doesn't shut up about how smart he is. Superman isn't Spider-Man. Superman doesn't need to explain to the bad guy how he beat him. But since he's none of those, Superman has to be very expressive in his body language and facial expressions at key moments. This goes for all media he's in, I feel. This is why I go for a Frank Quitely over a Jim Lee. Yes, Lee's art can be stunning as a still, but you detract from the dynamic nature of Superman, and in effect you detract from his overall personality. I think BVS was airing more on the side of Lee than it should've.
I think DC should really keep this sort of thing in mind when they're picking artist, animators, and directors for Superman related work. Think Chuck Jones when you think Superman.