Comment on Supergirl 2026 storyline
CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 2 weeks agoI think that’s kind of the main issue with any character that has Superman-level powers, they’re so OP that it sort of limits what you can do to keep the story interesting. You basically have:
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Try to make the powers irrelevant and embroil them in a complicated psychological/moral issue (great if it works but difficult to pull off and not especially visually interesting for a superhero movie.)
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Create an enemy with the same power level as them (then you just basically have two invincible characters bouncing off each other and smashing everything around them (visually interesting but essentially no stakes.)
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Have them lose their powers in some convoluted way and then get them back at the climax of the movie to do an ass-kicking scene (which seems to be the default.)
I think it’s the same problem that The Boys TV show had - at first there was kind of a tension about them just being normal people and Homelander being so powerful that he could hear their heartbeats from half a mile away and level the entire city they were hiding in if he knew they were there, but the longer it went on the more preposterous it got that he hadn’t just squished them yet. Especially when the show has them meet face-to-face multiple times and he either lets them go because reasons or they escape somehow.
RoidingOldMan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t think that’s true at all, and there are nearly 100 years of Superman comics full of stuff that doesn’t fit that. I feel like you are commenting on the movies specifically and coming to the conclusion that these are the ONLY choices.
When they make a movie, they are OBSESSED with the 2nd idea. An enemy with equal power. Which is why we’ve seen 2 movies starring general Zod, despite him not being that major of a character. It’s why we got Doomsday in the Justice League movie. Hollywood filmmakers are clearly in love with the idea of two super people bouncing off buildings for 90 minutes. In the comics though, this would be boring as hell. “Essentially no stakes” as you put it. Correct. It’s boring. I hate that the movies always want Superman to become this. Because it’s not what the comics are like at all.
There are many options you have missed. There are limits to Superman’s powers. Remember that these are from detective comics. A good Superman comic involves a mystery for Clark Kent/Superman to solve. Like who is supplying Intergang with weapons. A good episode from the kids cartoon show starts with Clark Kent being assassinated, then Superman trying to figure out who did it and why. Superman Red Son (which has a cartoon movie with some changes), puts Superman in the USSR instead of Kansas, for truth, justice, and the communist way. Again, not remotely any of the 3 plot lines you have suggested.
Superman (2025) did a great job with this. Yes you’ve got an “equal” super-being for him to fight (Hollywood wouldn’t accept anything less), but ultimately it’s about Lex Luthor and the plot behind it all.
The Boys is a poorly written show that loves violence. They ran out of ideas within a couple years. Not surprised at all that everyone hated the ending. They wrote themselves into a corner very early on. They were always pushing the idea that violence was the answer, very unlike Superman in nearly every way. The fact that you see this as comparable to Superman is pretty frustrating. Frankly I think the whole show is a bit of a middle finger to Superman. It’s literally a show about how much they think Superman sucks.