Brandon Routh as Superman

"Superman Returns" offers a traditional, invincible man of steel. But on screen and off, it’s a different place for his kind of heroics.

By Henderson Bazley

For the last 60 years, Superman has been the hero of comic books, radio, film, Broadway and television. The new movie "Superman Returns" will feature actors (Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Parker Posey, with newcomer Brandon Routh in the title role), but undeniably, its star power is vested in those recognizable blue and red tights.

The June release of "Superman Returns" will end a long, arduous quest to re-launch the first and greatest superhero of the Silver Screen. The last big-screen adventure, 1987’s "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" was a poor final production for the franchise, and in the years since a different sort of hero has filled the void. Characters such as Batman, Spider-Man, and the X-Men made it big at the box office and redefined the definition of "superhero."

Debuting in the 1930s, when Americans liked their heroes like they liked their steaks: tough, thick and all-American, Superman is a character from another time. Today we prefer our heroes flawed, wrapped in dangerous black leather, fighting authority or wrestling with emotional strife.

Sometimes, they even lose.

Then there’s Superman, with his firm dimpled chin and his spit curl. The problem with Superman is that he doesn't have enough problems. He's practically invincible, and the guy can freeze stuff with his breath. What problems can he possibly have?

So the question for the ambitious $200-million revival of the champion of truth and justice is not "What took so long?" The question is: "Will Superman fly?"

Re-franchising the franchise

The return of Superman to the Silver Screen has been building … er stumbling for the past for 11 years.

At one point, Nicolas Cage, Brendan Fraiser, James Caviezel (Passion of the Christ), even Tom Welling of "Smallville" were considered to put on the tights. For actors, "goofy" is always a deep concern when it comes to men in tights, (especially ones where the underwear are on the outside).

So is typecasting. The first live-action Superman on screen was Kirk Alyn, but the first man to truly define the role was George Reeves. Reeves became famously bitter about the power the role exerted on his career. He often said he despised the costume he wore for "The Adventures of Superman" and noted that many children would try to test his invulnerability by kicking or punching him.In one instance, a young boy made a visit to the set with a loaded gun and said that he was going to shoot bullets off Superman's chest!

Directors came and went — Tim Burton, Wolfgang Petersen, McG and Brett Ratner. Scripts with wildly different plots (Superman dies, Superman turns evil, Superman fights Batman) and varying degrees of separation from the familiar mythology (Superman's home planet never really blew up, Superman wears a different costume, Superman can't fly), all out the window.

The problem was in the details of his return. How do you make Superman interesting? Prior directors, producers and writers wanted the old war horse to ride in new fashion, except for one, Bryan Singer.

Singer, the man who finally ended up with the director's job for Superman's 21st century revival, loved the 1978 "Superman: The Movie" with Christopher Reeve. Hence his version compliments the Richard Donner film.

The Fortress of Solitude, Superman's Arctic headquarters and the Kent farm in Kansas have been carefully designed to remind audiences of the one that Donner shot. John Williams' theme music from the original is used. Both Jack Larson (Jimmy Olsen) and Noel Neill ( Lois Lane) from the 50s TV series "The Adventures of Superman" have cameo roles. Even the late Marlon Brando, who played Jor-El (Superman's father in the first film), is heard in "Superman Returns".

Today's cynicism and expectations of darker hero tales are reflected in the plot of "Superman Returns." A huge crystalline spaceship (again a nod to the original franchise) crashes near a Kansas farm. But this time, instead of an infant, the passenger is a grown man. Superman has been gone from Earth for five years on a failed quest to learn more about his origins. In his absence, his adopted world grew sour toward its hero. Even Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), now a single mom engaged to a new man, is riding high in her journalism career after an award-winning Daily Planet series critical of the missing Superman.

"In a sense, the movie is about what happens when an old romance returns unexpectedly and also the anger we all have toward people that let us down or leave us behind," Singer says. "This is about the obstacles that befall an idealistic man. It's about an old-fashioned hero in a modern world that isn't sure it wants him. Things have moved on, people have moved on. Superman is the same, but the world is changed. And that's what makes the movie interesting."

Has Singer found a way for America's first superhero to reconnect with us? Is his human side really very interesting anyway? He's not tragic. Should he be less powerful or more powerful? Is Superman still a representation of an America that doesn't exist any more?

What makes Superman so great is that he is probably one of the most "realistic" characters there is. His powers may be extraordinary, but his real identity is one that is easily attainable. He’s adopted. He is not a millionaire playboy, but a reporter for a major newspaper. His occupation touches crime, politics, corruption, which are the daily lives of everyone. In today's world it's easy to call stories with tragic endings more "realistic", but in my opinion, Superman is interesting because we can make a connection with his "secret" identity.

Of course, these reasons only touch the surface of Superman's popularity. After 60 years, Superman is still the premiere superhero of the 21st century. His popularity will continue into the next millennium.

Superman is back, can you hear it? "Look … up in the sky … "