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Superman (DC Extended Universe)

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henry Cavill portrays the character.

Clark Joseph Kent, best known by his superhero persona Superman, portrayed by Henry Cavill, is a central character in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). Based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name, He first appeared in Man of Steel released in 2013, which serves as an origin story for the character. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie explores Clark Kent's (Superman's alter ego) upbringing, the discovery of his superhuman abilities, and his struggles with identity and purpose while grappling with the legacy of his Kryptonian heritage.

Superman's character in the DCEU is characterized by his internal conflict as he balances his role as a hero with his vulnerability and the expectations placed upon him by society. Henry Cavill's portrayal received praise for bringing depth and a modern take to the iconic superhero.

As of in October 2023, there have been discussions and plans for further developments in the Superman lore within the DCEU, including potential sequels and a new direction under the leadership of James Gunn and Peter Safran. However, specific details changed since then, so Cavil was confirmed to no longer return as the character in future DC projects. David Corenswet will play a new version of Superman in the rebooted DC Universe.[1]

Overview

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Man of Steel

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See the main article: Man of Steel (movie)

Clark is born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, but his parents Jor-El and Lara send him away to Earth before the planet blows up due to bad practices by the Kryptonians such as population control and over-mining the planet's inside. He is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent, who raise him as their son Clark Kent. Despite being bullied a lot, Clark is raised with a strong moral compass by the Kents and gains powers due to being a Kryptonian on Earth. He occasionally uses his powers to save his classmates, but Jonathan tells him to hide them until the time is right and also tells him of his otherworldly origin.

After Jonathan dies in a tornado refusing Clark's help, Clark travels the world for many years, trying to find meaning in life and discover his origins. After using his powers to help others several times, he discovers an alien spaceship in the Arctic Circle that happens to be from Krypton, in addition to meeting and saving Lois Lane. Using a key that Jonathan gave him, Clark turns on the ship, finds an AI program modelled on Jor-El, and learns about his heritage and how to fly. This unfortunately catches the attention of General Zod, who survived Krypton's explosion. Clark is forced overcome his doubts, accept his powers, and become Superman to defend Earth against Zod.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

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See the main article: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Despite winning and killing Zod, then getting a new job at the Daily Planet and dating Lois, Clark struggles with the responsibility of being Superman, especially as some people pointed out the large amount of damage his fight with Zod caused. Some people like Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne come to see Superman as bad, and some people in the United States Government are also scared of him. Clark reaches his lowest point as he is unable to stop a bomb from Luthor that kills many people in the U.S. Capitol building, and Bruce, who is also Batman, is persuaded that Superman caused the explosion and needs to die.

Superman and Batman come to fight because of Luthor's plan, and Batman almost kills Superman by using his one weakness, kryptonite. Lois convinces the two not to fight and that Luthor was turning them against each other. Luthor uses his "backup plan" and unleashes Doomsday. Despite help from Diana Prince / Wonder Woman, Doomsday is too much for the weakened Superman, who dies taking down the monster.

Justice League

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Main articles: Justice League (movie) and Zack Snyder's Justice League

Bruce Wayne feels guilty for almost killing Superman and misunderstanding him and is more guilt-ridden after Superman's death. He and Diana form the Justice League in Superman's absence, recruiting Barry Allen, Victor Stone, and Arthur Curry, but struggle to fend off a new threat from Steppenwolf. When Victor reveals that the technology Steppenwolf is after can also bring Superman back to life, the team does so, and with Superman's help, they defeat Steppenwolf and save Earth for now. After being brought back to life, Superman continues to help the other heroes.

Behind the scenes

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When making a new movie series on Superman, separate from the Christopher Reeve / Brandon Routh series, The Dark Knight producer Christopher Nolan wanted to modernize Superman for 21st Century audiences and make him "more like an everyday person", similar to the Golden Age of Comics.[2] The new movie series on Superman gradually turned into what became the DC Extended Universe.

English actor Henry Cavill, who tried out for the part of Superman in Superman Returns, was cast in the role for Zack Snyder's Man of Steel.[3] Cavill became the first non-American actor to play Superman on the big screen, and liked the new storyline of Superman trying to find himself and deal with feeling alone.[4] To get ready for the role, Cavill weight trained two hours per day and ate 5,000 calories worth of protein-heavy food to gain muscle.[5]

Superman's Man of Steel suit on display at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con. Notice the lack of red trunks.

Superman's suit was reimagined for Snyder's movie series, using a "chain mail" pattern that made it look both high-tech and ancient at the same time. Notably, the suit worn by Cavill did not have the "red underwear" typically seen on the outside of Superman's suit.[6]

When Man of Steel was first shown, some critics noticed an effort to compare Superman's story to that of Jesus,[7] and Superman even dies and comes back to life like Jesus did, but it was also contrasted as Clark has a hard time dealing with people treating him like a god in the movies.[8]

In the theatrical version of Justice League, replacement director Joss Whedon simplified Superman's storyline and brought him back to reshoot many of his scenes. Cavill had to grow a mustache due to making another movie, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, at the time with Paramount Pictures. Because Paramount wouldn't let Cavill shave it off, Warner Bros. decided to digitally erase Cavill's mustache for the Justice League reshoots, resulting in an awkward appearance for Superman that was heavily made fun of.[9]

Snyder later released his version of Justice League, titled Zack Snyder's Justice League, completely dumping Whedon's reshoots and adding other scenes he shot that were not used. Superman's suit was colored black through CGI in reference to the "Death of Superman" comics storyline.[10] Instead of saying the "corny jokes" Whedon added, Superman is simply more confident in the "Snyder Cut".

Cavill returned one final time to cameo in Black Adam, after years of not touching the character of Superman.[11] This was supposed to lead to more appearances as Superman before that got cancelled by James Gunn.[1]

Reception

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Cosplayer dressed as Henry Cavill's Superman at the Brussels Comic Con 2022

Henry Cavill's portrayal of Superman in the DCEU was generally well received but sparked discussion among critics. While some people liked the modernization of the character and showing how Clark Kent would realistically act in our world,[8] others thought he was "joyless" and "stiff", especially in Batman v Superman.[12] Some others had an issue with how he caused so much damage to Metropolis during his fight with General Zod in Man of Steel and was forced to kill him,[13] though others commented that this was part of Superman's learning process.[12]

In the theatrical version of Justice League, critics noted that Superman suddenly became like how he was typically shown in the comics and in the Christopher Reeve movie series, but were confused by how suddenly it happened. They noted that this was due to the changes Joss Whedon made. Many people also made fun of Superman's "CGI lip" on the internet.[9] After viewing the "Snyder Cut", they thought that Superman's storyline was more natural when taking the Man of Steel and Batman v Superman into account. Superman's brief appearance was noted as one of the highlights of the Snyder Cut.[14]

After a while, fans became convinced that Warner Bros. was not treating Cavill fairly and demanded that he return as Superman.[15] They were pleased when Cavill initially said he was coming back for good after appearing in Black Adam but were disappointed and even angered when James Gunn canceled those plans.[16][17] The Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Deadpool & Wolverine references this by having Cavill cameo as a different version of Wolverine.[18]

Appearances

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Movie appearances

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Year Movie Portrayed by
2013 Man of Steel Henry Cavill
2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
2017 Justice League
2019 Shazam! Body double
2021 Zack Snyder's Justice League Henry Cavill
2022 Black Adam (uncredited cameo)
2023 The Flash (uncredited cameo through CGI) Body double

Television appearances

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Year Television series Seasons Episodes Portrayed
2022-present Peacemaker 1 8 Body double

Sources

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kit, Aaron Couch, Borys; Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (2022-12-15). "James Gunn Writing Superman Movie". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2022-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ↑ Outlaw, Kofi (March 10, 2010). "Chris Nolan Talks Superman Reboot & Batman 3". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Henry Cavill to Play Superman!!". Superhero Hype!. January 30, 2011. Archived from the original on December 24, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
  4. ↑ Goldberg, Matt (April 11, 2012). "Zack Snyder Making Man of Steel "Edgy" Like The Dark Knight". Collider. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ Wales, George (August 3, 2011). "Henry Cavill talks Man Of Steel and James Bond". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Michael Wilkinson Discusses Costume Design in Man of Steel". Clothes on Film. 2013-06-21. Archived from the original on 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  7. ↑ Child, Ben (June 19, 2013). "Man of Steel marketing campaign seeks to align Superman with Jesus". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved April 2, 2014. Hollywood studio Warner Bros is targeting Christian audiences in the US with a campaign for its superhero blockbuster Man of Steel that explicitly compares Superman to Jesus. The studio has teamed up with a specialist marketing firm with the aim of encouraging pastors to utilise Zack Snyder's comic book reboot in sermons. It has set up a special website touting a nine-page pamphlet entitled Jesus – the Original Superhero.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Corliss, Richard (June 12, 2013). "'Man of Steel': Super Man ... or Human God?". Time. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ben Travis (August 1, 2018). "Mission Impossible Fallout Director Originally Agreed For Henry Cavill To Shave Moustache For Justice League". Empire. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  10. ↑ Woburn, Daniel (2020-08-16). "How Superman Gets the Black Suit in Justice League". ScreenRant. Archived from the original on 2022-10-07. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  11. ↑ Kit, Aaron Couch, Borys; Couch, Aaron; Kit, Borys (2022-10-24). "Henry Cavill Confirms He Is "Back as Superman" for Future DC Movies". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2022-10-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Holmes, Adam (2016-01-27). "How Superman Has Changed In Batman V Superman". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on 2021-03-18. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  13. ↑ "Neal Adams Slams Man of Steel & Superman Returns". Cosmic Book News. January 7, 2014. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Zack Snyder's Justice League Review – IGN". 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  15. ↑ "Fans call for Henry Cavill's return as Superman with a world-wide trend - Daily Planet". dailyplanetdc.com. 2021-01-10. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  16. ↑ "Fans React to Henry Cavill Confirming Return as Superman". Complex. Archived from the original on 2023-02-03. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  17. ↑ Fay Watson (2022-12-15). "DC fans devastated by Henry Cavill's exit as Superman – and want him to play Bond instead". gamesradar. Archived from the original on 2022-12-22. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  18. ↑ Craig, David. "Deadpool & Wolverine multiverse scene includes one huge shock". Radio Times. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
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