The Semiotics and Ideology of The Dark Knight Returns Part 2

Hello All, 

Since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set to premiere soon (or has already premiered IDK when you're reading this) and the massive internet discussions I've been having about the character has forced me to dig-up and old old graduate paper.  

I want to apologize for some of the content.  I wouldn't write a paper like this today but at the time I had like three 15+ page papers due that week so it was a bit rushed.  

I've added some silly photos to keep you awake while reading this piece of academia. 

Without further explanation, if you're having trouble sleeping please give part 2 a read. 

Batman knows what needs to be done to save Gotham from crime.   Batman is the truth.  Unlike Plato, who is forever searching for truth.  Batman’s actions show him as the anti-platonic character.  He believes he knows what’s best for the people of Gotham City.  He goes against what the politicians say and makes the decision to protect the people of Gotham from themselves.  When the nuclear winter happens and the people of Gotham City begin to riot Batman takes control of the disbanded mutant gang.  “Tonight we are the law.  Tonight I am the law” (Miller p.173).  He elects himself the lawmaker of Gotham, feeling he knows what is best for the people. 

Another example of Batman’s anti-platonic nature is how he would interrogate people he needed to get information from.  He carried one villain all the way to the top of skyscraper with the threat of dropping him if he didn’t give Batman the information he needed.  “It was tough work, carrying two hundred and twenty pounds of sociopath to the top of Gotham Towers the highest spot in the city.  The scream alone is worth it” (Miller p.68).  Plato would not consider this an appropriate way to gain information.  He feels that it is immoral to threaten to hurt someone just to get information about something you need.  Jay Gordon states that Plato “suggests that rhetoric can be a genuine techne provided the rhetor’s goal is conceived properly”  (Gordon p.153).  Batman’s goal is to gain information but Plato would not agree that this is a proper way of achieving that goal.  

The real reason they went non-toxic.

This is also highlighted in another interrogation Batman commits on a criminal whose arm is injured.  The criminal starts complain about the rights that he has and Batman responds by saying “You’ve got a piece of glass shoved into a major artery in your arm.  Right now you’re bleeding to death.  Right now I’m the only one in the world that can get you to a hospital in time” (Miller p.45).  Plato would be completely against the way this person is treated.  Batman does not allow the person to exercise his rights.  Batman works outside the law unlike Plato who demands that people do the right thing.   That type of treatment of a person is wrong, no matter what goal the interrogator might have.  

Batman uses his power over the mutant gang to take control of the situation and lead them in his crusade to save the people of Gotham City from themselves.  “Just his voice.  Just Him” (Miller p 174).  This would contradict Plato’s view on rhetoric.  Judith Ann Abrams surmizes “Plato believes that the speaker, audience and environment, subject matter, discourse, and underlying motivation all combine to create the stage for true rhetoric.  Plato concludes that without any one of these components, the art of rhetoric would be degraded to the art of flattery” (Abrams).  Plato believes that all these specific elements are needed to use rhetoric appropriately.  Batman proves Plato wrong with the speech he gives to the mutants who are about to join in on the riots happening in Gotham.  According to the character in the story Carrie Kelly, all it takes is his voice to rouse everyone into submission.  

Sorry, I got distracted while trying to find topical pictures. 

During Batman’s battle with Superman he says, “you gave them the power that should have been ours”  (Miller p.192).  Batman being the anti-platonic character he is, is working against the government laws and is fighting the system.  Superman is working with the government and doing what they ask of him.  “You always know just what to say.  ‘Yes’ you always say yes to anyone with a badge or a flag”  (Miller p.190).  This is what Batman says to Superman.  

Superman is representational of the American people.  Batman is telling America to stop saying yes to the government and start saying no.  It is time for the people to control their own lives instead of the government controlling it for them.  Bernard believs “the social, however, rests upon a vast array of artifacts, trivially material ones as well as signs, verbal and non-verbal” (Bernard p.47).  Superman is the symbol or “artifact” for the American people.  Just the insignia of the “S” on his costume is enough for people to recognize him.   He is also reflective of America because he is the most powerful being on earth.  This is expressed in Batman’s description of Superman.  “There’s just the sun and the sky and him, like he’s the only reason it’s all here”(Miller p.118).  Like many people in America, they believe that the United States is the only nation that means anything in the world.  Superman thinks that everything works so smoothly because he is there to make sure it does.  

Superman is the people’s reflection of this idea he has the power to do whatever he wants and chooses to follow his country.  Through this discourse Miller is pointing out how the American people say yes to the government, which they have the power to control.   Batman wants them to control themselves and say no to the government.  Plato does not believe it is possible for people to guide themselves in life and they need to follow and be led by someone or something.  

Uhh insert sarcastic comment here.

If Bruce Wayne never fell into that cave and encountered that bat when he was a child he would not have grown up to be Batman.  This relates to the idea of cause and effect or what is called ‘causal law.’  I.A. Ricahrs definition of causal law is “put very simply, a causal law may be taken as saying that, under certain conditions, of two events if one happens the other does”  (Richards p.1284).  Bruce Wayne would have never associated the bat as a sign of fear unless he had encountered it in a situation where he was scared.  

            Batman considers himself an answer to the problems in society that the politicians fail to address.  Throughout the story politicians keep passing the responsibility onto others about actions that need to be taken to help people.  When a reporter asks the president about his view on Batman, the president immediately shifts the responsibility.  “That’s a right big state all its own and it’s got its own solid, clear-headed governor, yes, it does”  (Miller p.108).  The governor says it is the mayor’s responsibility and the mayor says it is up to the police commissioner to determine what should be done with Batman.  “And so the Batman buck is passed”  (Miller p.108).  Since some of the voters like Batman and others dislike him trickery is used by politicians to avoid making a decision.   They do not want to receive any negative feedback on such a controversial person like Batman.  

            Word choice is emphasized throughout the graphic novel commenting on how politicians use words to persuade the Americans public.  “American tr—excuse me heroic American troops are now engaged in direct combat with soviet forces”  (Miller p.119).  This is an example of how politicians use specific words to invoke emotions from people.  When the president was broadcasting his announcement he was going to say Americans troops and changed it to heroic American troops because the implied meaning creates more sympathy for the people fighting.  It is a way for the politician to keep people from objecting to the fighting.  If they put their sympathy in the place of the soldiers than they cannot protest what is going on.  

The word heroic conjures the sympathy of the American people.  The sympathy they feel will keep them from protesting the fighting because they do not want to dishonor the heroic troops.  The word heroic works well with I. A. Richards and C.K. Ogden’s triangle (Richards & Ogden p1275).  The word “heroic American troops” is the symbol, because the word heroic and American is used the reference applied to that symbol is that American troops are doing a brave deed for their county.  That makes the referent heroic American troops fighting honorably for their county.  The symbol “heroic American troops” and the referent “American troops fighting honorably for their county” are not directly related.  That relation is done through the viewers’ brain.  When the president added the word heroic to statement he was making, the meaning of everything being said was shifted so he could manipulate and also get support from the American people.  

What does this conjure up?

Another attack on the nature of politics is said by Batman when he is throwing a gas pellet at a criminal.  “This stuff has a name that’s as long as your arm.  It was developed by the military during one of our more contemptible wars” (Miller p.49).  This is an example of how deadly weapons are developed during wartime.  It is attacking how technology can take huge strives when there is a war.  How the need to kill the enemy is so important.  

Through the use of semiotics and ideology the character of Batman is iconic in his anti-platonic features.  The bat is used in the story as a sign against those who prey on the weak and helpless.  Batman uses this sign to lead people to rise up and take control of their lives.  He doesn’t follow or do what he is told like his superhero counterpart Superman.  He believes the power belongs to everyone and should not be given away at any cost.  

The political discourse in the graphic novel points out issues concerning society as a whole.  The manipulation that is committed by politicians is addressed throughout the story.  Also shown is how politicians’ choice of terminology can affect a persons view on a subject manner.  The fear of a nuclear strike from an attacking country is something that plagues society today.  Superman symbolizing the American people and how the United States government controls its people is brought into focus. The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller has very explicit rhetorical and political messages that cannot be ignored. 

Is this really a surprise from a bunch of dudes that wear tights? I'm not judging and neither should you.

Works Cited 

I wish a picture of Danny Devito could be used in place of all Works Cited

Abrams, Judith Ann.  “Plato’s Rhetoric as Rendered by the Pentad.” Rhetoric Society 

Quarterly 11. 1 (1981) 24-28. EBSCO.

Bernard, Jeff.  “Inside/Outside, Ideology, and Culture.” Semiotica 148. 1-4 (2004) 47-68.

EBSCO.

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Gordon, Jay.  “Techne and Technical Communication: Toward a Dialogue” Technical 

Communication Quarterly 11. 2 (2002) 147-164. EBSCO.

            Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Miller, Frank, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley. The Dark Knight Returns. New York: DC 

Comics, 2002.

Mowatt, Raoul V.  “Batman gathers fellow heroes to set things right in DK2” Chicago

Tribune (IL) 08/30/2002. (2002) EBSCO.

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Noth, Winfried.  “Semiotics of Ideology.” Semiotica 148. 1-4 (2004) 11-21. EBSCO.

            Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Radford, Bill.  “Batman fans eager for return of the Dark Knight.” Gazette, The 

(Colorado Springs, CO) 12/06/2001. (2001) EBSCO.

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Richards, I.A. “The Philosophy of Rhetoric.” The Rhetorical Tradition Readings from 

Classical Times to the Present Second Edition. Ed. Patricia Bizzell, and Bruce Herzberg, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 1281-1294.

Richards, I.A. and C.K. Ogden. “The Meaning of Meaning.” The Rhetorical Tradition 

Readings from Classical Times to the Present Second Edition. Ed. Patricia Bizzell, and Bruce Herzberg, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 1273-1280.

Thomas, Harry.  “The Dark Knight.” Rolling Stone 867 (2001) 98. EBSCO. 

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Written by 

Joseph Ammendolea

Owner/President

“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®

ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

The Semiotics and Ideology of The Dark Knight Returns Part 1

Hello All, 

Since Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set to premiere soon (or has already premiered IDK when you're reading this) and the massive internet discussions I've been having about the character has forced me to dig-up and old old graduate paper.  

I want to apologize for some of the content.  I wouldn't write a paper like this today but at the time I had like three 15+ page papers due that week so it was a bit rushed.  

I've added some silly photos to keep you awake while reading this piece of academia. 

Without further explanation, if you're having trouble sleeping please give it a read. 

            When studying semiotics and ideology it is important to understand how closely associated the two things are and what they mean.  Jeff Bernard states “sign work causes the transformation of an already socially given (signatum), mediated by a material antithesis (signans), to a social result, i.e. the sign itself” (Bernard p.47).  Signs have applied meanings based on what society mandates.  The meaning that certain signs have, come from the idea that is placed on it by society. 

            There is a debate about what comes first ideology or semiotics Winifired Noth says “if an ‘ideology’, in its broadest sense, is ‘a system of ideas’, semiotics, the study of sign systems, is predestined to make essential contributions to the study of ideologies”  (Noth p.11).  Semiotics is an important aspect in the study of ideology.  It is not possible to study ideology and how ideas come to being without understanding the signs that are involved in those ideas. 

             Eero Tarasti believes that semiotics comes before ideology “in the history of semiotics, the concept of ideology arises in many contexts.  Of course, its weight varies greatly with different scholars and periods”  (Tarasti p.23).  When studying semiotics it is very common for the idea of ideology to come into focus.  Whatever the case may be semiotics and ideology are very closely associated with one another.  Which makes analyzing the two separately difficult.  For the purpose of this paper is not important to determine which comes first. 

A quick Google search has provided me this picture of Eero Tarasti.  I;m not sure if he's the dude on the left or the right though.  

This paper will highlight the use of signs and political discourse in Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.   It will show how Batman is an anti-platonic character through his actions and the use of semiotics.  The Dark Knight Returns It is a story about a retired vigilante known as Batman living in a city riddled with fear and crime.  Bill Radford describes it as “an aging Batman who returns from retirement to face a world filled with ineffectual politicians, murderous teen gangs, twisted villains from his past and a new police commissioner opposed to his style of vigilantism” (Radford).  The story is a commentary on American cities in the twentieth century. 

Watching the world around him Batman realizes that he alone has the power to change things for the better.  He returns to wage his “one-man war against crime” (Miller p.11).  Harry Thomas descibes the story as taking place “back in 1986 when Ronald Reagan was president, the Cold War was at full boil and comic-book artist Frank Miller wrote and drew a graphic novel called The Dark Knight Returns” (Thomas p.98).

            The Dark Knight Returns dealt with the issues that surrounded 1980s America.  “A scorching condemnation of its times, Miller's Batman was rage incarnate, a half-nuts citizen-soldier who kicked Superman's ass for kissing up to Reagan” (Thomas p.98).  It was a politically charged graphic novel telling people to take control of their own destinies.  According to Raoul Mowatt “Miller took numerous jabs at pop and political culture of the time” (Mowatt).  The political discourse in the book creates Batman as being the anti-platonic character that expressed to people not to follow but to lead. 

With this image one could argue that Batman is the Charioteer in the Phadrus and thus the definition of a platonic persona leading people to their destiny and also completely ruining my argument but fuck you it was the mid 2000s and I was trying to get a grade, okay!!! 

            There are semiotics all throughout the graphic novel.  Commissioner Gordon describes what he sees when he looks at doorways in Gotham.  “Me, I can’t look at that doorway over there without thinking about the seventy-two corpses I’ve found in spots like that” (Miller p.58).  To him a doorway is no longer just a doorway.  He associates certain doorways with all the murder sites he has witnessed in his police career.  A doorway has a different meaning to him than it would for other people.  

When looking at the Batman’s alter ego Bruce Wayne he chose the icon of the bat because it is the creature he most fears.  He is placing his own meaning on the sign that others may not share.  The bat is described by Bruce Wayne as “Gliding with ancient grace unwilling to retreat” (Miller p.19).  When he sees a bat he thinks of it as a terrifying unyielding creature.  To him a bat represent something more then a nocturnal animal that flies.  “When you came for me in the cave I was just six years old” (Miller p.187).  He remembers an instance in his childhood when he first saw a bat and how much it terrified him. 

I am so fucking scared right now!

To him the bat is a sign, the animal is the signified, and the fear that is brought on in his mind when seeing a bat is the signifying.  “Eyes gleaming, untouched by love or joy or sorrow breath hot with the taste of fallen foes the stench of dead things, damned things”  (Miller p.19).  He talks about the bats breathe smelling like the things it had killed and eaten.  He refers to those things as damned just like the criminals that he hunts are damned.  “Surely the fiercest survivor glaring, hating claiming me as his own” (Miller p.19).  He embraces the fear he has of the bat and uses it as his symbol against criminals.  He wants the criminals to feel the same fear he felt when he first encountered the bat.  The fear from the bat is the meaning he assigns to it and wants criminals to associate with as well. 

The bat is to Bruce Wayne what Batman becomes to criminals.  Batman is a sign of fear against those who commit acts of injustice.  Commissioner Gordon describes just what Batman is a symbol for in the war against crime and why he supported him.  Gordon talks about Pearl Harbor to explain what Batman means to the people of Gotham and to himself.  “Hell, we were scared.  We didn’t even have an army.  So there we were, lying in bed pulling the sheets over our head and there was Roosevelt, on the radio, strong and sure, taking fear and turning it into a fighting spirit.  Almost over night we had our army”  (Miller p.36).  Gordon goes on to talk about how years later he heard rumors that Roosevelt new that Pearl Harbor was going to be attack and how he was so conflicted that the President would let so many innocent people die.  “It bounced back and forth in my head until I realized I couldn’t judge it.  It was too big.  He was to big”  (Miller 36). 

You can't get more badass than Barry Bostwick playing you in a movie.

This supports the claim that Batman is more then just a man in a costume but he is a symbol for all people to follow.  His presence is what inspires people to do the right thing.  Commissioner Gordon believes that Batman is the answer to the crime problem in Gotham City.  As Tarasti states “value is something that does not exist in an ‘absolute’ manner, but only as a part of structure, as does any sign or term” (Tarasti p.33).  The value that is put on a sign is not definite or permanent.  The people looking at that sign associate the respective meaning to it.  The value that is placed on Roosevelt and Batman is different for different people.  For Gordon, Batman is the structure for putting an end to the crime that consumes Gotham City.

Tarasti goes on to state that “values ‘rest’, so to speak, upon facts.  If there are two completely identical physical facts, such as two painting in an art exhibition, and if one of them is said to be of excellent quality, then the same must be said about the other” (Tarasti p.38).  Gordon believes that Roosevelt is a great man.  He sees Batman as someone who is identical to Roosevelt in what he is doing.  Therefore he is assigning the same value to Batman that everyone assigns to Roosevelt.  “What is involved is a logical relationship between values and facts” (Tarasti p.38).  Gordon is logically relating the two figures as something iconic and too large for him to try and control. 

I'm just using this picture in the hopes it increases my web traffic. 

Works Cited

I wish a picture of Danny Devito could be used in place of all Works Cited

Abrams, Judith Ann.  “Plato’s Rhetoric as Rendered by the Pentad.” Rhetoric Society

Quarterly 11. 1 (1981) 24-28. EBSCO.

Bernard, Jeff.  “Inside/Outside, Ideology, and Culture.” Semiotica 148. 1-4 (2004) 47-68.

EBSCO.

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Gordon, Jay.  “Techne and Technical Communication: Toward a Dialogue” Technical

Communication Quarterly 11. 2 (2002) 147-164. EBSCO.

            Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Miller, Frank, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley. The Dark Knight Returns. New York: DC

Comics, 2002.

Mowatt, Raoul V.  “Batman gathers fellow heroes to set things right in DK2” Chicago

Tribune (IL) 08/30/2002. (2002) EBSCO.

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Noth, Winfried.  “Semiotics of Ideology.” Semiotica 148. 1-4 (2004) 11-21. EBSCO.

            Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Radford, Bill.  “Batman fans eager for return of the Dark Knight.” Gazette, The

(Colorado Springs, CO) 12/06/2001. (2001) EBSCO.

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Richards, I.A. “The Philosophy of Rhetoric.” The Rhetorical Tradition Readings from

Classical Times to the Present Second Edition. Ed. Patricia Bizzell, and Bruce Herzberg, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 1281-1294.

Richards, I.A. and C.K. Ogden. “The Meaning of Meaning.” The Rhetorical Tradition

Readings from Classical Times to the Present Second Edition. Ed. Patricia Bizzell, and Bruce Herzberg, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001. 1273-1280.

Thomas, Harry.  “The Dark Knight.” Rolling Stone 867 (2001) 98. EBSCO.

Hofstra U Lib., Hempstead. 16 May 2006 <http://search.epnet.com>

Written by 

Joseph Ammendolea

Owner/President

“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®

ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com

Catherine Mary Stewart and the Goddesses of Zelda at Eternal Con

Dave has his best interview ever with Catherine Mary Stewart.




Stephanie chats it up with some lovely cosplayers.

My Thoughts on Superman Film/TV

This isn’t as organized as I would prefer, I am just testing the written blog waters out right now.  

My Thoughts on Superman Film/TV

The best version of Superman I ever saw is a tie between The Max Fleisher cartoons and The Adventures of Superman cartoon.  With the Adventures of Superman being heavily influenced by Fleisher’s early work.  In both versions Superman is just strong enough to get the job done but it’s a bit of a challenge.  So it keeps it interesting.  In regarding to The Adventures of Superman version, in the last episode of Justin League Unlimited they establish that Superman is never really weak, he is always being as careful as he can not to misuse his power and possibly hurt or kill someone, even a villain.  Both version show Clark Kent as a normal person not a nerd. 

Mild Mannered does not = Nerd!

Clark Kent is this dude that if you ever met him you would not really think twice about him.  He’s one of those dudes that never helps the party but they certainly don’t hurt it.  He’s just there.  Christopher Reeves’ CK was too nerdy for my taste. Brandon Routh wasn’t terrible (he was doing a pre-crisis version of the character).  

Christopher Reeves’ CK was slightly less nerdy in Superman III and IV. Christopher Reeves’ Superman was pre-crises DC.  Dean Cain’s Superman from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, was based of John Byrnes Man of Steel.  Reeves did not have that comic incarnation of Superman to work off of until the mid 80s.  I am guessing that is why Clark’s nerdness was toned down in III and IV.  

Also I and II were filmed at the same time.  They stopped production halfway through II due to budget and then when the movie was a hit they started it up again replacing Richard Donner with Rudy Lester.  In order for Lester to get a director credit he needed to film ¾ of the movie so a lot of it was reworked. There is a Donner cut of Superman II that was released a few years ago.  I am curious to see what he did.   I am guessing Reeves either filmed all or some of his Clark parts before they restarted shooting and to remain consistent he just had the character stay that way. Another factoid is that Gene Hackman technically never filmed anything for Superman II, they used look-a-likes and voice doubles and the footage they had from Superman I.  

Let’s examine the Bryan Singer Superman Returns movie.  When it comes to that movie I get the impression that Singer wasn’t a Superman comic book fan.  He was a Superman the feature film fan. That reflects in how the movie was made.  Let’s not forget he was doing a loose sequel for I and II.  Even with that who wants to watch Lex Luthor try to pull off the same real estate scam in a different way.  He just traded beach front property on the West Coast in Superman I to creating his own property in the Atlantic Ocean. I would say Singer gets points for the effort but he should have stayed with X-Men.  When he made the switch we got a crappy X-Men 3 movie (maybe I’ll get more detailed in another blog) and a mediocre Superman Returns movie.  

My point here is that Singer didn’t reference the comic book material enough.  The best comparison is Chris Nolan’s Batman Begins.  Nolan took Batman and made a story, he than incorporated every bit of the comics book into the story where it made to do so.  He didn't do it just for the sake of doing it. He did it when he needed to mentor for Batman so he used Henri Dukard/Ra’s al Ghul.  He needed a crooked cop so he used Arnold Flass.  All characters in the book.  Nolan had the plot and placed the pieces where needed.  When it came to the character Rachel Dawes (not commenting on casting choice), Nolan created an original character because no one in the comic book mythology really fit the bill.  Singer’s Superman didn’t have that, neither did Richard Donner’s, but at least Donner was ground breaking for finally taking a superhero movie seriously. 

Chris Nolan is Awesome

I am really Jazzed about this Man of Steel movie being produced by Chris Nolan (The Batman Begins/Dark Knight director).  The director Zach Snyder (300/Watchman director.  He did recently direct this awful movie Sucker Punch, but everyone is allowed a clunker here and there.  Let’s just hope he learns from it). It’s supposed to be a trilogy chronicling Superman’s entire life starting with the explosion of krypton going all the way to Superman losing his powers when the Earth’s sun turns red.  

It is even carrying the name Man of Steel which is telling me that they want to base it off the John Byrne version.  Much like how Nolan called his first movie Batman Begins, pretty much saying this is the real beginning of Batman and the Tim Burton/Joel Shumaker versions were not the real story.  He followed it up with the title The Dark Knight.  Both titles infer the comics that heavily influenced how they wrote the story.  Batman Year One and The Dark Knight Returns (my favorite book ever).  

I am nervous about Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent.  He’s really flaky with his movies.  He might be okay as long as he doesn’t try to do an accent.  Isn’t Diane Lane (Martha Kent) way younger than Kostner too? She is a total hottie though.

Superman and TV

Superman: The Animated Series

The Best television incarnation of Superman is hands down Bruce Timm’s Superman: The Animated Series.  It was watching the comic in cartoon format.  They didn’t shy away from making changes to the comic book but only did it when it made sense to the story.  They never just did it for the fun of it. The show had it all, Superman as the Boy Scout and Clark Kent as the real person.  He would even call himself Clark in the costume.  Clark Kent was the man putting on the facade of Superman not only to help people but also inspire them.  Superman does what he does to show the world that you can be the most powerful person in the world and use that power for good. 

Smallville

Smallville was a fresh new take when it started with minor annoyances (Lana’s boyfriend Whitney) but it never really improved, in fact as the years went on it looked like the effects budget kept getting cut.  They started cheeping on the action. It was just bad conversation among pretty people.  If I wanted that I’d watch 90210.  

Let’s say the show Jumped the Shark around Season 5 when they killed Jonathan Kent off.  The only reason they did that was because he was killed in the movie.  Jonathan was still alive in the comic at the time.  The animated series didn’t make the mistake of killing the dad, nor did Lois and Clark.  For some reason the show needed to kill Clark’s dad, even though the better acting on the show came from Clark and Jonathan.  They could have killed the mom off; her pep talks weren’t as good as dear old dads.  They should have killed Lana off.  She got way annoying from season 5 on. Who could deal with that constant Dawson, Pacy, Joey romance? We all knew he was going to end up with Lois, why waste our time? Just kill the girl. They really missed a chance for better character development there.  People expect their parents to die, even if it’s early in life however tragic it is (and it is sad), it makes sense.  When people you are in love with die, that devastates you a million times more.  Totally missed 1 of like a million good writing opportunities there Smallville writing team!

The problem really stemmed from it trying to hard to be a prequel to the original movies (Pre-crises DC Comics).  I am sure it’s obvious by now that I am a bigger fan of the John Byrne Man of Steel incarnation of Superman.  Superman is the facade and Clark Kent is the man.  He puts on this ultra good Boy Scout persona to be an example to others.  In reality Clark Kent suffers the same feelings as anyone else.  Smallville spent 10 years showing how Clark becomes Superman and at the end basically stated he’s no longer Clark.  Clark is this nerdy dude and he is only himself when he’s Superman.  Not to mention they pulled in everyone and their grandmother that ever had anything to do with those original movies.  It’s another clear cut case of people who were Superman film fans and not Superman comic fans.  

Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

I recently rewatched the first season of Lois and Clark and I am starting to think that show was the best live action version of Clark Kent that I have seen.  My wife really likes the show too.  It’s Clark Kent as the main person, a regular dude.  He becomes the persona of Superman to be an example to others and help people while still living a normal life.  Let’s remember mild mannered does not translate to nerd. 

The Best Lois Lane

Let’s just end this with a best Lois Lane actress list.

Dana Delany in Superman the Animated Series. 

Teri Hatcher from Lois and Clark

Erica Durance in Smallville (Excluding the series finally Air Force One heroes speech.  [I really don’t blame her for that. She did the best with what they gave her writing-wise]).

Kate Bosworth in Superman Returns was at least pleasant to look at.

Margot Kidder in the original Superman Movies is in last place, mostly because of looks.  She was an ugly Lois Lane! (In real life she’d be a fine looking woman, in movie world I cringe).

I never watched the 1950s Superman show.  I can’t comment on that Lois.

Okay I am stopping here because I can go on for a few hours about this!

Written by

Joseph Ammendolea
Owner/President

“I Like To Play With Toys” Productions®

ILikeToPlayWithToysProductions@Yahoo.com