10 Terrific Scenes From Otherwise Terrible Comic Book Movies
5. Superman Finally Returns (Superman Returns)
Warner Bros.
While Superman Returns ultimately turned out to be something of a cinematic snooze-fest when it released in 2006, it wasn't short on nostalgia.
A thematic sequel to the Christopher Reeve films, Bryan Singer's Superman tribute actually had a lot going for it. Brandon Routh was a fine fit to emulate Reeve, Kate Bosworth was a great Lois Lane, and the film did a fine job of capturing the vibe of the Richard Donner productions, particularly when the Man of Steel finally does return from his hiatus.
With a plane full of civilians hurtling towards Metropolis, Supes jumps into action and extinguishes the flames, catching the craft in free-fall and setting it down gently on a baseball field. The actual sequence involving the passengers being hurtled around onboard is really well shot too, particularly when the craft starts spiralling out of control.
The rest of the film might've been short on moments like these, but there's no denying the sense of wonder that accompanied those opening minutes of Singer's Supes reboot.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
