The past few years have seen a lot of discussion about canon, between the return of the Star Wars franchise to theaters and the rise of the comic book film. It’s a hot topic for what can and cannot make sense on screen. And one character that seems to be at the top of that debate is Superman and his portrayal in Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel. With the character about to return to the screen in Batman V Superman, Snyder is still out defending his vision for the hero and knocking at critics who say he is ignoring the canon of the “real” Man of Steel.
During an appearance on the Hall Of Justice podcast this week, Snyder reiterated his stance on Superman as a character and why he believes he was true to the character with his story in Man Of Steel:
“People are always like ‘You changed Superman.’ If you’re a comic book fan, you know that I didn’t change Superman. If you know the true canon, you know that I didn’t change Superman. If you’re a fan of the old movies, yeah, I changed him a bit…
“My point is that we don’t take liberties [from the characters’ comic origins]…what we’ve done is create a place where they can really be the mythological characters as designed in the comic books,” he also said, adding, “…the thesis of Superman for me, that you can’t just have superheroes knock around and have there be no consequences.”
A number of critics who shared their opinion when Man Of Steel released included creators who worked on the character for many years, so it’s risky to call on canon to support your defense. But at the same time, take a quick look at the current canon for DC Comics. There is a point where you’ll likely say that none of it makes any sense if you attempt to dig in. What is there is the basic hallmarks of the character and what it takes to make them the heroes they’re known as. Man Of Steel seems to attempt to tell that tale and give a road map for Superman into his role for the larger DC Universe we’re about to see.
If you’re interested in listening to the entire podcast, it is embedded below. With only a month left before Batman V Superman hits theaters, maybe he’ll soon be defending it for a few years. Or maybe he’ll be vindicated.
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