How do you actually make an interesting story around a superhero who is basically immortal and morally perfect? These were just two of the many problems that Zack Snyder had to juggle while writing the script for Man of Steel, a film that gave us a rather different version of the Superman most people are used to. The topic came up during a discussion panel on Snydercon where the director spoke quite extensively about the problems with the character.
“My whole take on Superman is … my intention is not that Superman’s angry, it’s more that he is troubled by Earth, because Earth is problematic to him. The whole idea of Superman in its iconographic form … the potential is that he doesn’t have any problems, right? He’s a god on Earth and he can pretty much do whatever he wants and … we don’t have a lot to say about it. Which is Lex’s problem with him and … Batman’s problem with him.”
Snyder explained how, in his opinion, it’s about creating problems that directly affect Superman himself and force him into action.
“So, for Superman, the real work is to make him have problems. That’s the work of Superman — make him have, whether it be romantic issues … or whether it’s moral conundrums about what his role is as far as interfering in the lives of humans or not … and also all the stuff that we all, in some ways, experience on a small scale as just humans. That’s really the work of making a Superman movie relatable … you want to be where he is emotionally having to grapple with his own humanity.”
Of all the movies over the years, which one do you think has best captured Superman and had an engaging story to offer?
