Superman: The Man of Steel. To many, he may be the greatest superhero ever created. He represents a man who had suffered from loss since he was an infant. He would use that loss to encourage himself towards healing the world, and defeating any villain that stood in his way.
Many would think he would be the most popular superhero in the world. However, that title belongs to Batman. This is majorly due to the release of the 2006 blockbuster “The Dark Knight”, which boasted Batman’s already high relevancy even higher. Many think that Superman’s latest cinematic outing, “Man of Steel” will be just as big. But the question is, will it be bigger?
This’ll be split into three categories: story, staff and cultural impact. First, lets delve into the story.
“The Dark Knight” brought us into the world of a man who grew up without the two people he loved the most, his mother and father. Through that pain, he used his resources and fighting skills to save the people of Gotham of the same pain.
In “Man of Steel”, while we’ll see Superman express his pain and use his resources to battle evil, he is not the dark soul that Batman is. Despite his past and powers, he is merely a man who wants to see peace in the world, and he believes that he is the key to that peace.
This is how I see “Steel” topping “Knight” in story, because while many in this day in age can relate to Batman’s dark reality, I feel like Superman would be the one to show that even though some may not believe it, the dream of peace and togetherness will never die.
As far as staff goes, “Steel” and “Knight” have much in common thanks to the now-household name of Christopher Nolan. “The Dark Knight” is unarguably Nolan’s biggest directorial film, and many felt that “The Dark Knight Rises” would be his last foray in DC lore. This was until he was revealed to be the producer of “Man of Steel,” which would definitely draw dollars towards Superman’s newest adventure.
Zack Snyder was revealed to be “Man of Steel”’s director, which will end up, in my opinion, being the wings or anchor of this picture. While Snyder has achieved directorial gold in “Watchmen” and “300,” his other films have failed to reach success both financially in critically. However, those who have close relations to the picture believe Snyder just might have pulled it off again with “Steel.”
As far as cultural impact goes, it will take a lot of willpower to top “The Dark Knight,” as well at Batman, period.
In this light, it’s more Superman vs. Batman than “Steel” vs. “Knight.” Let’s face it, as great as Superman is, Batman is The Dude, and “The Dark Knight” made that even clearer by pushing him into the top of the A-list of popular culture icons. Plus, while the “Dark Knight” trilogy and the Superman films both have achieved much success financially, Superman’s films have had little to no success critically.
In addition, the “The Dark Knight” is seen as one of the best films ever made, while Superman’s latest, “Superman Returns,” is seen as one of the worst. Add this to Superman’s high decline in popularity thanks to his films, as well as DC Comics’ high decline in their comics, and it’s easy to have doubts that he’ll have any chance of topping the Caped Crusader.
Overall, it looks to be a toss-up, but many things point to “Man of Steel” having at least a fair chance at outshining “The Dark Knight.”
With “Justice League” quickly approaching, and Steel having a close relation with that film, moviegoers may want to see what leads up to the big team-up. Plus, rumors say that the “Dark Knight” trilogy may connect with “JL” after all. We’ll just have to wait to see the end result, but all signs point to the end result being a spectacular sight to see.
