3. Superman
As Seen In... The
Superman Movies (1978-Present) I think it's safe to say that Superman is relatively "boring" in pretty much all interpretations, in both movies and comic books alike. That's the territory that comes along with being an invincible alien from another planet, I guess, but the whole "Superman is boring" thing has been doing the rounds since the character's original inception back in the '30s. I'm merely bringing it up here because it's something that I happen to agree with. Fact is, Superman is still massively popular and iconic, presumably because writers have found other ways to make this character interesting, short of giving him a huge personality overhaul. How do they do it, then? Usually by way of other, more interesting characters (mostly villains). There's nothing wrong with doing that, of course... it's presumably the only way that writers can tackle the whole "perfection" aspect associated with this character. You can't exactly take the powers away from a guy called "Superman," can you? But what's fun about perfection, exactly? Not much, right? We like to see characters who change, or are able to fall and pick themselves back up again. And that's where Superman ultimately suffers. Aside from the fact that he's pretty much untouchable (Kryptonite aside, whatever), he also happens to be in possession of a rather rigid personality. That's to say, if you met Clark Kent in the street, you'd think you were talking to the first successful robot man. He's not a stiff, exactly, but he's certainly too far nice and polite (too
perfect) to be interesting. That's not to say that Superman has no redeeming qualities: his origin story is certainly interesting, and his position as the most powerful person on the planet is ripe for intelligent exploration. I'd just like to see a Superman that was more of a.. well, "man." You know, with some honest-to-God traits, quirks, likes, dislikes, and perhaps even a sense of humour. Can this year's
Man of Steel deliver all that? I'd certainly like to see 'em try.