Superman Returns

For a Batgirl, I have a lot of Supers on my mind recently. Today while doing nothing but staring into space, I forget for what reason, I found myself in the midst of a fantasy. In it, I was one of any number of people rushing to the.. oh wait a minute. Spoilers for the movie.

So I was one of any number of people rushing to the hospital after Superman falls. And I was taking my personal SAD lamp. SAD as in Seasonal Affective Disorder which can be helped with a special UV spectrum lamp. So there I was offering my lamp, not knowing if the hospital had enough, thinking they might only have one. And one would never be enough to help Superman.

And in the middle of the fantasy I realized that in the movie they never thought of that. Sure they took the kryptonite out. But even knowing it was the Man of Steel, they still tried to use needles on him. And then realized they were helpless to do anything but put him quietly in a room. Luckily the room seemed to be south facing and he got sunlight through the blinds for a full day - during which Lois showed up with her wee bit of a son.

I know I'm a Batman fangirl. I know my favourite part of Superman Returns was the bit on the news where I got to hear that he'd also briefly visited Gotham.

So I didn't pay attention to Lois fainting, other than having a glim memory of Lois fainting in the original movie. A thought which was confirmed a few weeks later when I caught the first movie on cable. I didn't wonder at James Marsden having to play 'straight guy the girl doesn't really love and sure as hell doesn't deserve'. I was just wondering who the hell Richard White was in comics canon. I still haven't taken the time to find out if he's solely a movieverse character or not.

My last major thoughts about the movie, prior to this spell of daydreaming, was me thinking that perhaps Lois had crippled her son on purpose so she wouldn't have to remember who his father was. I never thought he wasn't Superman's son. And I was told that I had a suspicious and perhaps a touch villainous mind for thinking that Lois would convince her son he had asthma and pump him full of drugs to prevent him from being different.

Now as I think about my daydream, wherein everyone knows that kryptonite kills Superman, but no one thought of or seems to know that sunlight would help him. I wonder just what the movie was trying to say, other than 'Here's Superman'; like something from the Johnny Carson show.

I'm open to people telling me. I went, I watched but I didn't really absorb anything. I mean if you ask me about Batman Begins, I can talk your ear off for at least two hours, mixing in comics canon, and Else verses' and what happened in the movie and how they played to what strengths and what psychological needs and... I can go on.

But Superman was just a movie. I'm not sure if this is just because I'm not a particular Superman fan or if it's that Christopher Reeve is my Superman and so I just don't get excited when I see any other representation. Maybe I held myself back, wanting to give Routh a chance and I held back too far so now I don't have much of an opinion? I'm not sure.

I know I did miss Reeve's Clark Kent. I missed the sense of humor and good natured joy in his bumbling and niceness and clumsiness. I missed the wickedness in his eyes, a bit of mischief whenever he played Clark seconds after Superman had been spotted or talked to by the other major characters. I missed the glee. But I can't expect another actor to interpret the role in the same way. Is that lack of expectation holding me back?

I don't want to mourn 'Superman' forever. I mean, I don't want to look at the upcoming movies that are bound to happen and feel like it's something to watch, when I distinctly remember I used to get excited about Superman. Not as much as Batman, but excited.

Poking around I see comments on the new uniform and on how the new Lois Lane seems to lack bite. And I hesitate to agree or disagree. Margo Kidder was my childhood Lois Lane. I'm not sure I have an ultimate fantasy Lois Lane. There are bits and pieces of her in various representations. Though oddly enough the character and representation of Chloe Sullivan in Smallville comes closest.

I've just been hit with the strong feeling like I'm missing something; discussion, emotion, something when it comes to the new movie.