Batman vs. Superman

313,778 Views | 2333 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by Brian Earl Spilner
israeliag
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I don't have access to youtube at the moment, but has no one posted the Kill Bill Vol. 2 scene where Bill explains what makes Superman's costume work?

quote:
Bill: As you know, l'm quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology... The mythology is not only great, it's unique.
The Bride: [who still has a needle in her leg] How long does this **** take to go into effect?
Bill: About two minutes, just long enough for me to finish my point. Now, a staple of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When that character wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic Superman stands alone. Superman didn't become Superman. Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent. He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Sorta like Beatrix Kiddo and Mrs. Tommy Plimpton.
The Bride: Aso. The point emerges.
Bill: You would've worn the costume of Arlene Plimpton. But you were born Beatrix Kiddo. And every morning when you woke up, you'd still be Beatrix Kiddo. Oh, you can take the needle out.
The Bride: [does so] Are you calling me a superhero?
Bill: I'm calling you a killer. A natural born killer. You always have been, and you always will be. Moving to El Paso, working in a used record store, goin' to the movies with Tommy, clipping coupons. That's you, trying to disguise yourself as a worker bee That's you tryin' to blend in with the hive. But you're not a worker bee. You're a renegade killer bee. And no matter how much beer you drank or barbecue you ate or how fat your ass got, nothing in the world would ever change that.
Sex Panther
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Great scene
Vander
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quote:
Actually, at the risk of taking this in an even nerdier direction, here's how I'd tackle a new Superman take...

Something else that has never made sense to me is why Superman ages exactly like the rest of us. Wouldn't the sun not only affect his muscles and all that, but also the aging process? Since he's super-human, give him a super-long life span. And I know certain comics have explored that angle, with him living basically forever, but they still had him reach maturity in roughly the same amount of time it takes a normal human to reach his 20s/30s. So why not expand that? What if he arrives on Earth in the early 1900s? And for the sake of this example, let's say he ages twice as slowly as we do. So by 1950, he'd look like a 25-year-old man. Have a montage of him being a reporter at The Daily Planet during that time, when the disguise element was more believable. But then he has to quit eventually - after 10-15 years or so - when maybe a few people start to really recognize that he's not aging. Maybe they even finally put two and two together. Point is, you could still honor that disguise element, but then take the bulk of the story in a completely different direction, and fast forward to modern day. Where is Superman living now? Who is Clark Kent now? Did finally own up to his identity, or he is *just* Superman? I obviously haven't thought this all the way through, but I just feel like that angle is ripe for exploring, and would be something fresh. You could honor the vintage elements of Superman/Clark Kent, but also explore this whole other Wolverine-esque element of man who's been alive - and will continue to live - a lot longer than the rest of us. Alienate him in that way even more.


He doesn't age. He hits 25 and in most continuities stops aging completely or ages so slowly as to be negligible. His cellular regeneration is on the level of Wolverine's due to sunlight absorption and the more sunlight he absorbs the more powerful he gets.

To deal with this, Clark Kent is usually killed off or he comes out to the world and reveals his identity after everyone he grew up with dies.

Not too many stories deal with this from an emotional point of view though and don't really cover what it's going to be like for him and Wonder Woman as they outlive everyone they know or will ever know. I imagine they would pull back from civilization and withdraw because let's face it, immortality in their case is more of a curse than a blessing.
Vander
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quote:
^ I mean, he still has to eat and live somewhere, right? I guess he could just live at the Fortress of Solitude, though. And could fairly easily kill whatever food he needed. But I love even asking that question. If Superman is going to succeed in pop culture going forward, those kinds of questions need to seriously be considered. He needs to be completely re-thought, while still remaining true to the basic essence of his character.


He doesn't need food, sunlight provides all of the energy he will ever need. He only eats it because he likes the taste. Since his body violates physics and the Carnot cycle, it is also beyond 100% efficient in that it produces no wastes and can actually output vastly more energy than what should be possible for his body's surface area to absorb.
Sex Panther
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So Superman doesn't poop?
swimmerbabe11
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quote:
^ I mean, he still has to eat and live somewhere, right? I guess he could just live at the Fortress of Solitude, though. And could fairly easily kill whatever food he needed. But I love even asking that question. If Superman is going to succeed in pop culture going forward, those kinds of questions need to seriously be considered. He needs to be completely re-thought, while still remaining true to the basic essence of his character.



He was raised by humans. He loves the human race and works a normal dweeby job because he wants to feel apart. It would be lonely to be the last of your kind. Would you really want to live at the Fortress of Solitude and only come out when its time to fight some jerk? Clark Kent is as much of his identity as he is. Its holding on to his childhood perception of who he was supposed to be.
Aggies76
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I agree with you swimmerbabe. Clark Kent of Smallville is his true identity. Superman is the job that he is compelled to do.
OilAg03
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I agree... That's what makes his interaction / juxtaposition with Batman so great. Bruce Wayne is his costume, while Batman is who he really is.

Both want the same thing, but they get there by totally different ways.
TCTTS
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I completely agree with everything you guys are saying. I should clarify that I don't want to distil Superman down to only one identity. My only point was that in the year 2014, Clark Kent's disguise of glasses and a slight change in persona is really dumb. I'm all for Clark having a job and having a disguise, I just think those two things need to be re-imagined for modern times.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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Jobs Superman could have that would allow him to keep his secret identity:


Welder

Rodeo Clown

The Banker on "Deal or No Deal"

Member of Daft Punk

Phone Sex Operator

TexAgs Moderator

Sea Pony 07
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He could be Mickey Mouse or any other character at a theme park...and if he gets really desperate, there is always drag.
YouBet
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The perfect job for Clark is as a member of one of those traveling Christian strong man shows.
israeliag
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Luchador
FL_Ag1998
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He just needs to get a job being a Superman impersonator at a theme park, birthday parties. Built in excuse - "Pffft, who me? No, I just look like Superman, that's why I got the job. If I was really Superman, would I be working an 8 year-old's party?".
Aggie_Journalist
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quote:
I completely agree with everything you guys are saying. I should clarify that I don't want to distil Superman down to only one identity. My only point was that in the year 2014, Clark Kent's disguise of glasses and a slight change in persona is really dumb. I'm all for Clark having a job and having a disguise, I just think those two things need to be re-imagined for modern times.
So Google Glasses, right?
swimmerbabe11
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How do you suggest that though?

People would revolt if you gave superman a mask, which is how almost every other superhero functions, at least those with an alter ego.
It would be impossible and even sillier to make him also wear a mustache or a wig..a cap wouldn't work because no one wears a cap every day.
Besides, it would take out a lot of the social commentary about how people don't appreciate the 'hidden' talents of those around them


Maybe his hair could change to black when he dons his cape? but how would you explain that?
Bruce Almighty
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I think when it comes to things like that, you just have to accept things for what they are. In real life, anyone with half a brain would know Bruce Wayne was Batman.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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Why can't he just get a job as Superman? Why bother being Clark Kent at all now that everyone knows Superman exists?

Go work with NASA, help humans colonize other worlds, give us some of that Kryptonian science you're hoarding and let us explore the universe.

Ornithopter
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They need Superman to have some sort of cloaking thing that completely changes his appearance when he puts on his glasses. Even go so far as to have a second actor portray Clark Kent.
TCTTS
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http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/notyetamovie/news/?a=107331
FL_Ag1998
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Can't quite tell, is that like a cross between the Nolan "tumbler" batmobile, and the Burton vintage style?
Simplebay
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Are there 2, or will one just be getting the axe?

Simplebay
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Oh hai

AliasMan02
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quote:
Can't quite tell, is that like a cross between the Nolan "tumbler" batmobile, and the Burton vintage style?


It honestly looks almost exactly like the Batmobile in the new Arkham game.
AgMarauder04
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Looks like the Biggy from Halo.
FL_Ag1998
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Pretty cool. But IMO too close to Nolan's version. They needed to go way different so people aren't even tempted to compare this Batman to Nolan's.
Sex Panther
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quote:
Pretty cool. But IMO too close to Nolan's version. They needed to go way different so people aren't even tempted to compare this Batman to Nolan's.

agreed
Brian Earl Spilner
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Blanco Jimenez
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quote:
Pretty cool. But IMO too close to Nolan's version. They needed to go way different so people aren't even tempted to compare this Batman to Nolan's.
I think Nolan changed the game in regards to the Batmobile. I think from here on out for a long time, it is going to have a military/armored car feel because the Tumbler was such a hit.
Fat Bib Fortuna
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There are certain elements of the Nolan Batmobile that would be hard to get away from - the big, heavy duty tires, the feeling that it's more of a tank than a car, based on the firepower available to bad guys, etc.

Still, it does remind me a lot of the Tumbler, but it also makes me wonder - how important is it to the overall scope of the movie that the Batmobile be seen as this unique, fascinating thing? In a perfect world, the real "ummph" of the movie is the conflict between Batman & Superman's beliefs; not the look of Batman's car.
So many dummies are going to be so confused as to why Christian Bale isn't Batman, I doubt they're going to notice a lot of difference in what he's driving around.
TCTTS
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TCTTS
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Seeing those newest pics, it is weird how close it is to the Tumbler. That said, I still really, really like it. A curved body is too '90s. And something way more unassuming - like a suped-up "regular" car - may have worked in a stand-alone Batman movie, but in a world where he's battling Superman and whoever else, I think the only way to go that really makes sense is something like this.
SUPAGGIE
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Why is the bat mobile tan and not black or grey?
TCTTS
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Three reasons...

1) sh*tty lighting

2) sh*tty cell phone pic

3) purposeful dust/debris

It was an action scene, so I'm sure it just got dirty / they wanted it dirty. When clean and in the proper lighting, I'm almost positive it's black/gray.
AgMarauder04
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quote:
Three reasons...

1) sh*tty lighting

2) sh*tty cell phone pic

3) purposeful dust/debris

It was an action scene, so I'm sure it just got dirty / they wanted it dirty. When clean and in the proper lighting, I'm almost positive it's black/gray.

The tan is clearly dust. You can see the black from underneath.
 
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