8 Terrible Mistakes That Almost Ruined Superman For Everyone

If you were asked to name a few words that defined Superman - whether the character or the actual comic itself - a select few would likely spring to mind. "Hopeful" would for sure would be on there, along with words like "colourful", "inspiring", and maybe even "tragic", once you consider the character's origin, but certainly not words like "dour", "washed-out" or "cynical", although you could certainly understand why someone would, given most mainstream depictions of Superman from 2013 onwards have failed to convey the character's most inspiring qualities.

2013's Man of Steel - a production spearheaded by filmmakers Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and perennial superhero-misunderstander David S. Goyer - kicked off what was a fairly miserable decade for Superman, due in part to an effort to 'un-bore' the character after 2006's disappointing Superman Returns reboot.

Snyder, who brought a visual pomp to previous comic book adaptations in 300 and Watchmen respectively, was seen as the man to do the un-boring. Warner Bros. were increasingly desperate to catch up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe after the disaster that was Martin Campbell's Green Lantern, and so Man of Steel had to do two things. One: it had to "modernise" Superman (lol), and two; it also had to lay the foundations for a new onscreen superhero universe.

Man of Steel is the film the rest of the DCEU is founded on, and given it's such a miserable film, both visually and narratively speaking, it shouldn't have come as any surprise that subsequent entries in the franchise also stumbled. Those first few films after Man of Steel all had to follow its style visually and tonally, setting DC Film back years in the process, but arguably the biggest victim here is Henry Cavill, who so obviously has the potential to bring to life a more colourful and heartwarming version of Superman, but has yet to be given the opportunity to do so.