Why Superman on Film?

With Superman existing in so many forms, and being a character whose legacy in comic book history is unmatched, why have a site focused exclusively on the Man of Steel’s adventures on screen? Because that’s where the Last Son of Krypton first captured my imagination, creating a lifelong love that’s been central to who I am.

Growing up, I wasn’t a comic book kid. My introduction to the Man of Steel was Superman: The Movie, which I caught in reruns on TV in the 80s since I had been born five years after the film premiered in 1978.

I’ll never forget my first experience watching him on the big screen in the summer on 1987. I had just turned four, and my mother took me to the Elmwood theater on Queens Boulevard for a matinee showing of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

It wasn’t just the first Superman movie I remember seeing in theaters, it’s the first movie I remember seeing in my life. Period. Everything I’d seen on TV, prior to turning four, vanished into the ether. This was the one that stuck.

A packed theater. Superman saving lives. A villain capable of hurting and striking fear in our hero (and in little boys). Our hero fallen and resurrected. A triumphant, hopeful finish. And my mom at my side.

I went for a whole emotional ride that day, and that event singlehandedly sparked my love of Superman and Film.

I suddenly wanted to learn as much as possible about Superman, collect his toys, and learn how the movies were made (and when I could expect to see the next one).

Of course, my tastes have evolved quite a bit since I was four, so I know Quest for Peace wasn’t the height of cinema. But it was my entry point to so much of what I love to this day, so it’ll always hold a special place for me.

I next recall reading an issue of Variety in the mid-90s where they revealed Tim Burton was directing a film called Superman Lives that was going to somewhat adapt the events of the Death of Superman comic event. It had been around eight years since Superman IV had come out and now there was FINALLY a Superman movie to look forward to!

Then…that got scrapped, and a rollercoaster was set in motion. Because following news and rumors about Superman Lives eventually morphed into following the development of Wolfgang Petersen’s Superman versus Batman, which then evolved into McG’s Superman: Flyby, that then gave way to Brett Ratner’s proposed Superman reboot, before the studio finally ended up making Superman Returns with Bryan Singer.

After that, I checked news sites every day waiting for something about Singer’s proposed sequel Man of Steel, which stalled out and eventually transformed into Zack Snyder’s 2013 reboot.

My complicated thoughts on Snyder’s film, coupled with my lifelong passion for Superman, inspired me to become a film reporter and blogger at the end of that year, and eventually I began podcasting too.

Tracking Superman’s often bumpy road to the big screen has been one of the great passions of my life, and this site will now be the home for my takes on all of the upcoming twists and turns in Superman’s adventures to a screen near you.