Voices From Krypton

Part 2: "Superman: Man of Tomorrow" with Writer Tim Sheridan

Superman: Man of Tomorrow turned out to be an exciting rebooting of DC’s animated films, taking the Man of Steel back to his earliest days in Metropolis and establishing his still to evolve relationships with Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. In between, of course, dealing with Lobo and Parasite while being mentored by Martian Manhunter. As such, it’s an intriguing mix of characters, which is one of the topics discussed with the film’s screenwriter, Tim Sheridan.

Over the course of the second installment of our three-part conversation with Tim, he also reflects on the influence of Richard Donner’s iconic 1978 film Superman: The Movie, and, interestingly enough, shares that his approach to Superman, Lobo and Martian Manhunter definitely took a cue from the original Star Trek‘s triumvirate of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy. And as if all of that isn’t enough, there’s his belief that Lois and Jonathan and Martha Kent provide the greatest window into who Superman is.

Brandon Routh on Superman's Relevancy in Today's World

Back in 2018 during the 40th anniversary Superman Celebration that was held in Metropolis, Illinois, we had the opportunity to sit down with actor Brandon Routh, who, of course, portrayed the Man of Steel in 2006’s Superman Returns. Since that film he’s been portraying Ray Palmer/The Atom in the Arrowverse, especially on DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, and had the opportunity to make his triumphant return as Superman on the CW’s recent crossover event, Crisis on Infinite Earths.

When we sat down to talk, Brandon had just come off the main stage where he spoke to fans, the love they obviously felt for him and his take on Superman palpable. That connection is where the conversation began, and from there we went on to discuss the character’s continuing relevancy in today’s world.

Part 1: "Superman: Man of Tomorrow" Writer Tim Sheridan

For over 20 years, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has produced more than three dozen animated adventures featuring the heroes of DC Comics. It kicked off in 2007 with Superman: Doomsday and there’s something fitting in the fact that when they essentially rebooted the whole thing, it was with 2020’s Superman: Man of Tomorrow. Here’s how they describe the film: “It’s the dawn of a new age of heroes and Metropolis has just met its first. But as Daily Planet intern Clark Kent, working alongside reporter Lois Lane, secretly wields his alien powers in the battle for good, there’s even greater trouble on the horizon. Follow the budding hero as he engages in bloody battles with intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo and fights for his life to halt the attack of power-hungry alien Parasite. The world will learn about Superman … but first, Superman must save the world.”

Gerry Conway Remembers "Superman vs. Spider-Man"

Back in 1976 America was celebrating its Bicentennial, but comics fans were rejoicing over the fact that for the first time Superman and Spider-Man, flagship characters of DC and Marvel Comics, were brought together for the first time. In this episode of the VFK podcast, Gerry Conway, the man who wrote that historic pairing, reflects on how it all came together. 

MAN OF STEEL: Comments From Michael Shannon and Amy Adams

In an interview with The Canadian Press, actor Michael Shannon was asked about his role of General Zod in Man of Steel (which will probably be the case until the film is released next June). While he didn't say much, he would allow, "It was a jump for me, because that's such a huge responsibility in such a big film. I was suspicious of it originally and it did in fact take a while for me to finally get the job - a lot of people had to sign off on it. It wasn't something I pursued necessarily, it kind of just surprised me. But once I finally got the job and started working on it I was very happy to be doing it. I'm sure excited for it to come out because not only will it be a blockbuster, but I think it's going to be a really great movie."
   Meanwhile, Amy Adams was interviewed by Collider and revealed about the film and her role of Lois Lane, "It was great. It was really good. Henry [Cavill] - I hope you guys love him as Superman - worked so hard. He is just yummy and really committed to the role. He really did a good job. I haven't seen the final cut and I have only seen a couple of the teasers. So I am with you guys. I know it because I was there but there was so much that I wasn't involved in that I can't wait to see. [Lois] is definitely a pistol still and she definitely gets herself in a lot of trouble still. But she is not as competitive, I would say, with Clark."

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Play Batman?

No doubt for the next week or so the Internet is going to be on fire with word that Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be interested in playing Batman in Warner/DC's currently-in-development Justice League film, but watching the original source video from MTV you can see exactly how the question was posed to him.

 

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

JL8 #5 by Yale Stewart

To enlarge the image, click on it. To check out all of Yale Stewart's JL8 comic strips, click HERE.

JL8 #4 by Yale Stewart

To enlarge the image, just click on it. To check out all of Yale Stewart's JL8 comic strips, click HERE.

SMALLVILLE: Real Town Trying to Get Its Name Changed

1OneMinuteNews reports the following: "Christopher Wietrick, from Hutchinson, Kansas, wants to change the name of their sleepy little farm town to Smallville. Yes, that's the fictitious Kansas town where Clark Kent became Superman. It's cool, odd and they better rock it out to get people to flock to basically the middle of nowhere. The most important part is that it's for fun and for charity as Christopher states in his comment below... all proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Club, and that's the coolest part. Sounds like a good place. Come to think of it, this is a lot like our expectations and obsession with politics and finding our own superman. Someone who can solve the country's problems in a single four year bound! We think that a name change will do the trick, make everything new and different. Are we crazy? Maybe... but it's fun. It's why we go see a new movie about the same superhero time after time, sequel after sequel, over and over. It's the American way!"

 

JL8 #3 by Yale Stewart

To enlarge the image, just click on it. And to check out all of Yale Stewart's JL8 comic strips, click HERE.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN: Episode 1 - "Superman On Earth"

We're not sure how long Warner Bros. will allow this to remain on YouTube, but here for your viewing pleasure is the premiere episode of the George Reeves series, The Adventures of Superman. For a couple of generations he truly was the Man of Steel.

JUSTICE LEAGUE: Katie Cassidy Introduces "Arrow" Footage

Arrow, based on DC Comics' Green Arrow character, will be debuting on the CW October 10th, and in this video series co-star Katie Cassidy previews some footage from the premiere episode.

JUSTICE LEAGUE ON FILM: Wonder Woman Series in Development?

Vulture is reporting that a new Wonder Woman series is in the earliest stages of development at the CW, home of Smallville and this fall's Arrow. Notes the stie, "Our sources say the new take on the comic book crime fighter is being written by Allan Heinberg (Grey's Anatomy, The O.C.) under the working title Amazon. Unlike past TV incarnations, it will focus on Wonder Woman as a young, budding superhero, rather than a fully formed defender of liberty. (Think Smallville, but instead of a 'no tights, no flights' rule, this show might have a "no bracelets, no crown" mandate.) Heinberg seems a logical candidate for the job: His resume includes work on the kinds of soapy dramas the CW favors as well as comic-geek street cred (he wrote the Young Avengers comic book series back in 2005). It should be noted that CW is only developing a script at this point; no pilot production has been greenlit or even contractually guaranteed." For more, click HERE.

MAN OF STEEL: Michael Shannon on Working With Henry Cavill

In an interview with MTV News, actor Michael Shannon (General Zod in Man of Steel) discusses the bit of footage from the film that he's seen, and shares his feeling about working with Henry Cavill. He describes the situation as one in which he's standing there with Superman as opposed to someone pretending to be Superman.

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

JL8 #2 by Yale Stewart

Click on image to enlarge. To see all of Yale Stewart's JL8 comic strips, click HERE.

MAN OF STEEL: 6 of 10 Mistakes From Superman Returns to Avoid

Whatculture.com has come up with a list of 10 things that Zack Snyder's Man of Steel must avoid from Bryan Singer's 2006 production of Superman Returns. We present itmes 6-10 of that list.
10. METROPOLIS: Superman Returns tried very hard – mostly successfully – to establish Metropolis as a city that is in every way a match for a real-life metropolis like New York City. (Something that Tim Burton famously ignored by creating a shockingly empty Gotham City for his 1989 Batman). What the movie forgets to do, is to populate this Metropolis with real people. People who react to the events around them in a believable way. That doesn’t just mean running away from a gas line exploding underneath your feet, screaming in terror, and managing to only come across as either victims or apathetic. Other than for a few newspaper articles and a nice standing ovation at a ballgame, Metropolis hardly seems to acknowledge or care that the hero of their city has returned. We have to know what it is that Superman spends his life protecting, if we’re going to be asked to care about the outcome. A hero is nothing if he has nothing worthwhile to save. Man of Steel owes us a Metropolis with some character.

CLEVVER MOVIES: Video Report on Recent Henry Cavill Interview

Clevver Movies has issued this video report on the recent Cineplex interview with actor Henry Cavill regarding his portrayal of Superman in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel.

.

JL8#1 by Yale Stewart

JL8 (formerly known as Little League) is Yale Stewart's wonderful online comic that takes the Justice League characters and puts them in elementary school. Why DC/Warners hasn't picked this one up for an animated series is anyone's guess. But in the meantime, take a look at strip #1. To check them all out, click HERE. And to see a larger version of the strip, just click on it.

MICHAEL SHANNON: Iceman Trailer

Michael Shannon, who plays General zod in Man of Steel, will next be seen in The Iceman, which is based on the true story of contract killer Kuklinski and spans from the 1960s to the 1980s. Also starring is Winona Ryder, Ray Liotta and Captain America himself, Chris Evans.

SUPERMAN VS. WONDER WOMAN: Injustice - Gods Among Us Walkthrough

One minute they're locking lips on the cover of Justice League #12, the next they're beating the crap out fo each other in the game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Checkout the game's walkthrough featuring a battle between Superman and Wonder Woman.