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2005 Movie News Archives

April 28, 2005: Superman Celebrities React to New Superman Costume

Superman fans have been pretty vocal in response to the release of a photo showing the new Superman costume for "Superman Returns", but what do some of the people in the industry think of it? The Superman Homepage went out and asked a variety of different people who have been connected with the Man of Steel over the years, what they think of the new costume. Here are quotes from those who have responded so far...

Jeph Loeb (Writer of "Superman/Batman" comic, writer/creative consultant on "Smallville"):
I think we wait to see it in the movie. Didn't they do something like this with the Batman costume and it wasn't like that at all?

Sandy Collora (Director/Creator of "World's Finest" movie trailer):
The first word that came to my mind when I saw that picture was: Weak. That, in my opinion, is the best and simplest way to describe that costume... Secondly, in all the interviews I've read, including the USA Today article, Singer refers to, and describes the costume as being something very "traditional". Well, sorry guys, it's not. To me, the only thing traditional about that costume is the fact that it's blue and red, and they didn't even get that right, as I feel the red is too dark. There's nothing traditional whatsoever about the neckline, which by the way, is "designed" to hide the fact that he's wearing the muscle suit underneath it. The sculpted, three dimensional symbol, the S on the belt, the rubber cape, the silly little S texture (yes, that's what it is) all over the suit and not only the position, but the design of the shorts are in no way, shape or form, traditional.

Mark Millar (Comic book writer):
My first reaction was sheer horror, but I'm over-sensitive in this regard when it comes to Superman. Just the fact that they've deviated from the classic costume for the first time since the end of the Golden Age sent a shock-wave through my soul, but I've since calmed down and am starting to even think it might be a good idea. As a boy, one of the things I enjoyed doing was tracing the subtle differences from the 1938 Superman to the present day. I kind of liked the fact that the hair was a little different, trained myself to draw the Golden Age chest emblem and found old photos of the 1940s toys (some of which even had Superman in yellow and green costumes) very primal and fascinating. What intrigued me is that regardless of how different they were they still looked like Superman. It's like we were chipping away at the rock until we finally found the real thing and for each new generation of fans this should be slightly different. I suppose it would be depressing if we saw a Superman movie from ten generations in the future and he, thread for thread, looked exactly like the one we loved in 1978. George Reeves morphed into Christopher Reeve in the public imagination and I suppose we can only offer the same chance to Brandon Routh. That said, I'm not without my reservations. I love the new colour scheme and the retro-40s vibe it gives, but feel the neck-line is a couple of inches too high and he looks a little like I looked when I tucked a towel into the back of my sweater when I watched the old cartoons. Also, I think his hair is a little too much like the 1990s Superman-mullet I loathed with a passion and can only hope that someone takes a shaver to the back and gives him a nice Curt Swan-style trim. Otherwise, it looks good. The blue contacts help him a lot and he doesn't look anything like as sleazy as he did in the publicity pictures. I'd still have preferred Jim Caviezel, if only so I hadn't had to cough up a grand to my friends at the multiple sclerosis centre. In a nutshell? I'm cautiously optimistic after seeing this picture.

Noel Neill (Lois Lane in the Superman Serials and "The Avdentures of Superman" TV series):
To be honest with you, I like the new Superman costume a lot. It doesn't stray too far from the suits worn by Kirk, George, Chris, Dean or Gerard, and it looks very timely for today's generation of viewers. It certainly gets my vote of endorsement. It's a different world than the world I knew when we first filmed Superman in 1948, but the vision and theme of the creators remain intact. The suit really is a great melding of the "then" with the "now."

Scott Cranford (official Town Superman for Metropolis Illinois Superman Celebration):
I was glad to see that the suit was kept traditional. Fans who are nitpicking about the size of the S or the texture of the belt have no idea what could have happened had the Man of Steel fallen into different hands. Although the film supposedly picks up after Superman II, Brandon Routh still needed a uniform that separates him from actors that have played Superman in the past so I can understand why they made minor changes. It's very Fleischer-esque. I like the 3D emblem. I hope those muscles are real.

2005 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2005 organized into 5 categories:

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April 28, 2005: Superman Celebrities React to New Superman Costume

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