Countdown to Superman: Man of Steel (2013)

While Superman Returns didn't wow audiences. The Christopher Nolan Batman/Dark Knight movies were critical and commercial successes. So much so that Nolan was a producer on a new, rebooted Superman movie. Early on Nolan and director Zack Snyder considered having this movie linked with Nolan's Dark Knight series, the title certainly suggested it. They ultimately dropped the idea. The then became the genesis of what has been called the DC Extended Universe or the DCEU, or most often, the Snyder-verse. 

Man of Steel is a reboot and introduces British actor Henry Cavill to the role of Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent. Look, if you read this blog I am going to assume you know who he is even though I have not talked about him here before. Cavill is great as Superman. He is even a good Clark. His portrayal was needed to escape the long shadow of Christopher Reeve, while still being (mostly) true to Superman. Cavil also delivers one of my favorite Superman lines ever, "I grew up in Kansas, General. I am as American as it gets." Coming from an adopted alien played by a British actor. 

I say "mostly" because the most significant criticism of his performance and indeed the director's vision here was that this Superman was a little too dark both in tone and, frankly, color palette.  Jumping to the end here, yes, Superman kills Zod. BUT if you remember correctly, he also kills a depowered Zod in Superman II, the Donner cut, and implies he is left to die in the Lester cut.  Personally, I would have rather he find a way to get him back into the Phantom Zone, but no one is paying me to write movies.

On to other bits.

WHO do you get to play Jor-El following Marlon Brando? Well, Russell Crowe is not a bad place to start. Kevin Costner plays Jonathan Kent equally well. A lot has been made about Jonathan not letting Clark save him. And yeah, it was kind of stupid. I *get* what the director is trying to do here by "Uncle Ben"ing him. I mean Jonathan dies in every version of Superman except for the ABC series "Lois & Clark" so that show that superman can learn a lesson without it resulting in the death of someone. Oddly enough he has to kill Zod to get him to stop. So was the lesson learned? Was the lesson for him or us?  Again, I get what the director is trying to do here, I just don't think the execution is good.

Amy Adams is fantastic. I never considered a red-head Lois before, but here we are. For the record, my favorite Lois Lane is Elizabeth "Bitsie" Tulloch from "Superman & Lois." Though Erica Durance from "Smallville" is also great. The interactions between her and Cavill's Superman are great.

Michael Shannon's Zod is closer to what we might see in the comics. He feels like the ruthless General bent on a coup. Now that his world is dead, he will conquer and remake our world. 

Diane Lane is great as Martha Kent, one of the best, to be honest. She brings enough presence to the role to be the mother of an Earth-bound God. Well. Mostly Earth-bound. 

The movie is long on action, and unfortunately, it's a story we've seen before.

I liked Cavill as Superman. I liked the idea of the Snyderverse. But I am also glad we are moving on to something new. 

The Smallville scenes were filmed in Plano, IL. Not far from where my wife grew up, and not far from where the fictional Midvale would be in the Supergirl movie. Would this count as a cameo?

Cameos

Sadly, here the movie falls down. Look, it's a Superman tradition, and one that should be honored.

Marc McClure, Jimmy Olsen from the Salkind movies, does make a cameo later on as two different characters in  Justice League (2017) and  Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021). I'll mention that one later on. Marc also makes cameos in Smallville. Smallville, like Supergirl, was great for this.

Gearing up for #RPGaDAY2025 in August

 August is around the corner. Gods? Really, didn't summer just start? Anyway, August is coming up and that means #RPGaDAY2025 is near. Dave Chapman over at Autocratik, along with CastingShadowsBlog, have announced the topics for this year. 

Here is the text version of the topics.

1) Patron
2) Prompt
3) Tavern
4) Message
5) Ancient
6) Motive
7) Journey
8) Explore
9) Inspire
10) Origin
11) Flavor
12) Path
13) Darkness
14) Mystery
15) Deceive
16) Overcome
17) Renew
18) Sign
19) Destiny
20) Enter
21) Unexpected
22) Ally
23) Recent
24) Reveal
25) Challenge
26) Nemesis
27) Tactic
28) Suspense
29) Connect
30) Experience
31) Reward

Question Prompts (roll D6)
1) Who
2) What
3) Where
4) When
5) Why
6) How

Mood Prompts (roll D10)
1) Envious
2) Nostalgic
3) Proud
4) Enthusiastic
5) Confident
6) Optimistic
7) Lucky
8) Grateful
9) Contemplative
10) Excited

Subject Prompts (roll D8)
1) Adventure
2) Character
3) Genre
4) Rule
5) Accessory
6) Art
7) Person
8) Lesson

As always, these look fun and I hope to have something good for each one.

Countdown to Superman: Superman Returns (2006)

 Twenty or so years later Legendary Pictures revives the Superman series. Complete with opening credits just like the Salkind movies and John Williams' score.  Bryan Singer is one of our producers.

Brando is back, posthumously, using some of the same lines/voice tracks we would also see/hear in the Donner Cut of Superman II (out the same year).

Also, back are Noel Neill and Jack Larson (Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, respectively, from the TV series of Superman), and weirdly enough, Martha Kent is back too, who was supposed to have been dead in Superman IV.

Oh, the plot. Ok, so Superman has been gone for five years, seeking out the remains of Krypton, looking for any survivors. Lex Luthor married a tycoon (played by the above mentioned Noel Neill), and Lois has a Pulitzer Prize for writing about how we don't need Superman anymore. Oh, and a five year old son. 

Lex is played, rather well, really, by Kevin Spacey. Spacey is *problematic* but damn, he is great here. While he is certainly channeling Gene Hackman, he is 

Brandon Routh is not just a good Superman, he is a good Clark Kent in the style of Christopher Reeve. He is wearing blue contact lens as Superman, which is a nice touch.

Both actors embody their predecessors fairly perfectly. It goes beyond saying the only actor who can pull off Brando as Jor-El is dead, CGI Brando.

The movie is good, better than I remembered to be honest, it just doesn't bring anything new to the table. It has "rebound relationship" energy about it, which was never fair to Brandon Routh. He really redeems himself in the Arrowverse. The movie has the problem of being slow and a little boring in places. 

Sadly, I never bought Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. I mean, she is a good actress, just not as Lois. Parker Posey, though, is great as always. I know she can be an acquired taste, but she is great.

The special effects are good, what you would expect from the 2000s, but this look really good. The first Superman movie had the tag line "You Will Believe a Man Can Fly," and this one does exactly that, but it takes a lot more than special effects to tell a story, and this might be a good case in point. 

BTW. HOW is that Lois, who historically has a penchant for getting into trouble, lived for 5 years without Superman? I guess Lex was still in prison. 

I do like the idea of the Fortress of Kryptonite, very Lex. 

The movie's ending scene is very much the same as one of the Christopher Reeve's one. 

Cameos

I mentioned Noel Neill and Jack Larson already. Brandon Routh would later go on to play Ray Plamer "The Atom" in the Arrowverse to what I felt was his redemption arc. He also plays an older Superman in the Arrowverse. This Superman is a combination of this Superman and the Kingdom Come Superman. 

The "Gotham Knights" baseball team is a nice touch in the post Batman-movies world. And Perry White's "Great Ceaser's Ghost!" was fun as well. 

Jason, Lois and Superman's son, suffers from asthma, which I think is a nod to Christopher Reeve himself who suffered from it as a child. 

There are also plenty of scenes in this movie that feel cribbed right out of Grant Morrison's and Frank Quitely's "All Star Superman." No surprise, it was a big hit back then. 

The biggest cameo is, of course, the Salkin Superman movies look and feel. This is part love letter, part homage. 

This movie, such as it is, marks the end of the first "Cinematic Universe"that began in 1978.

Monstrous Mondays: Gnomi, The Occult Gnome

 It is Monday again. My coffee is hot, and my brain is bursting with ideas from the weekend. 

I have often discussed the occult spirits of the alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher Paracelsus. To recap, they are undines (water), sylphs (air), gnomes (earth), and salamanders (fire). These creatures are familiar to anyone who has ever played D&D, but they are not exactly the same in D&D as they are in Paracelsus' work ("A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits").

Now we can say that Salamanders, as shown in the AD&D Monster Manual, are pretty much as Paracelsus would have them, if a little more dangerous. Slyphs are not far off, and Undines, well I covered them a while back. That leaves the odd one out, Gnomes.

Gnomes in all D&D are a species related to dwarves and are about the size of halflings. Over the years, they have become more fae-like, but their essential character stays the same.  I touched on this idea a little bit WAY back in the beginning of this blog. In trying to align gnomes more closely to witchcraft and alchemy, partially due to the writings of Paracelsus.

In truth, his gnome is closer to the AD&D Pech. But I think there is room in the world for one more gnome-like creature. 

Gnomi (Earth Elemental Gnome)
Smallest of the Earth Elementals; Friends of Beasts and Burrow

FREQUENCY: Uncommon
NO. APPEARING: 2–12 (3d6)
ARMOR CLASS: 4
MOVE: 6”
HIT DICE: 1+2
% IN LAIR: 70%
TREASURE TYPE: Q (x5), U
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1–4 (by tiny weapon or touch)
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Meld into earth, burrow, beast command
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Infravision (90’), camouflage, immune to petrification
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%
INTELLIGENCE: Average to High
ALIGNMENT: Neutral (Good tendencies)
SIZE: S (18–20” tall)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

DESCRIPTION: The Gnomi are the smallest and most elusive of all gnome-kin, standing no more than two handspans high. Their origins lie not in the mortal races, but in the ancient Paracelsian philosophies, where they were named as the Earth’s true elementals, sentient spirits of stone, root, and burrow.

They appear as squat, bearded figures with oversized hands, ruddy skin, and craggy features like worn granite. Always garbed in earthen-toned clothes and tall red or blue caps, they blend easily into the woodland underbrush or hillside burrows they call home.

COMBAT: Though not martial by nature, gnomi will defend their homes and animal companions with cunning and fierce determination.

Meld into Earth (3/day): As passwall or meld into stone. The gnomi may phase into soil or stone to escape danger or spy unseen.

Burrow (1” rate): Can tunnel through soft earth or loam without tools or collapsing walls. It is rumored that there elder gnomi who can burrow through solid stone including granite. 

Beast Command (2/day): May cast animal friendship or speak with animals to summon aid. Burrowing mammals (badgers, moles, voles) will often arrive to assist. Some gnomi even have large animals, like foxes, they can use as steeds. 

Camouflage: When motionless, Gnomi surprise on 1–4 out of 6 in natural settings.

HABITAT/SOCIETY: Gnomi dwell in hidden burrows deep in wooded hills or beneath ancient roots. Their homes are small but immaculate, filled with luminous fungi, crystals, and sleeping animals. They craft with gem dust and petrified wood, often trading tiny enchantments for fresh cream or silver buttons.

They maintain deep ties to elemental earth, druids, and witches. Some witches speak of earning a Gnomi’s trust through rituals of bread and salt, and that such a bond grants the witch access to rare earth spells or burrow magic.

ECOLOGY

Gnomi serve as caretakers of soil and seed, watching for disturbances in the root-tunnels of foxes and worms alike. They abhor undead, pollution, and unnatural mining. If slain, a Gnomi crumbles into fertile loam, often sprouting flowers the next day. 

They despise kobolds, of whom they have an ancient feud with. But they tolerate knockers, who they think are way too serious. They also hate trolls, but this has nothing to do with territory. Gnomi find trolls to be large, lumbering oafs and they can't resist pulling pranks on them. A favorite game of young gnomi is "Troll tripping."

Good-natured folk, they appear to be kin to common gnomes and speak the same languages they do. Gnomes think of them as their "country cousins." Maybe not sophisticated, but wise in the ways of earth, root, and stone. 

They are highly sought as familiars by Earth-witches and alchemists, but rarely agree to such bonds unless honored with reverence and true need.

Optional: Gnomic Magic

A witch or magic-user who befriends a Gnomi may add the following rare spells to their repertoire, with the GM’s discretion:

• Detect Metals (as detect magic, but only for veins or ores)
• Stone Whispers (commune with stone to learn the history of a site)
• Salt Circle (minor warding vs. unclean spirits, undead)
• Petrify Insect (preserve a specimen instantly)
• Lead to Gold (illusory glamor on lead, fool’s gold unless renewed daily)

Gnomi do not keep spellbooks because the "rocks and stones teach them magic."

--

Not quite sure if I captured the complete Occult feel of the Gnomi here. I got into a groove and this is what I came up with.  But I like this and will keep it. 

Countdown to Superman: Superman IV The Quest for Peace (1987)

 A lot has happened in the last four years. The Salkinds sold the rights to the Superman movies to Cannon Movie Group, and they convinced Christopher Reeve to return by promising him creative control and funding for another movie. It worked. Reeve got his anti-nuclear weapons message in and both movies were made.

We also get to see Superman's ability to speak many languages in this one. 

Again, I think this one is better than I remembered. Reeve shows off some much better acting chops. Maybe it is me, but even at the beginning of the movie, it feels like the end. 

Don't get me wrong, it is bad. But not as bad as I remembered. 

Mariel Hemingway costars as tabloid heiress and an attempt to "sex-up" the series. She plays Lacy Warfield, who is taking over the Daily Planet. The whole double date of Clark/Lacy and  Superman/Lois is a little too "Three's Company" for me. Take a drink every time she says "Daddy" and you'll be dead by the end of the movie. 

Jon Cryer, who up to this point had primarily been in teen comedies, appears here as Lex's nephew Lenny. Is he Lena's son? His parents are never mentioned, but that might be fun given the future Supergirl/Arrowverse connections. 

Nuclear Man gets a lot of grief, but honestly, the idea is no stranger than some ideas about Bizzaro. I mean that is basically how Bizzaro was created in the Superman animated series and how some versions of Superboy were created. Indeed, an early version of Nuclear Man was more Bizzaro-like. Unlike some of the made-for-the-movie characters, Nuclear Man does make an appearance in the comics. 

The two spend a lot of the last half of the movie fighting, as expected, really.  

Mark Pillow, the actor (but not voice) of Nuclear Man, has made a name for himself in the fine wine industry. 

The headline of "Superman Dead?" in this is a spoiler for the comics' Death of Superman a few years later. 

Supeman finally defeats Nuclear Man by moving the moon to block the sun and then dumping him into a nuclear reactor. Perry White defeats Warfield and gets the Daily Planet back.  

The final speech is very optimistic. Makes me miss 1987. 

Funny note, Superman tells Luthor, "See you in 20" at the end. The sequel, Superman Returns, was released in 2006. So, a year off for good behavior?

Cameos

Jon Cryer would later return in the Arrowverse as one of the best Lex Luthors I have seen. And I have seen them all.

This would be Christopher Reeve's last turn as Superman. In 1995 he had a riding accident leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. He would later appear as Dr. Virgil Swann, a Stephen Hawking-like character on the Smallville TV series.  

Countdown to Superman: Superman III (1983)

 Ok. We all know this one is not great. But it has somethings going for it.

First, Richard Pryor is a comic genius, and he is still pretty funny here. He is also a huge Superman fan, which is what got him this role.

Secondly, we really get to see some acting chops from Christopher Reeve here. The scenes of him being evil and fighting his "evil self" are always talked about (rightly so), but rarely mentioned, and even better, in my mind, is his acting as Clark in Smallville. Maybe he has a better grip on his character here, though I would argue Reeve was born to play Clark/Superman from the start. 

Richard Pryor is playing Gus Gorman a computer genius. A computer genius who programs in BASIC, but hey it was 1983. I guess Gorman was supposed to have been the human version of Brainiac but the producers nixed the idea because audiences would know who he was. Like we knew who Gus Gorman is/was.  I mean, don't me wrong. I love Richard Pryor and Gus is not a bad character. Although I can see why we may never see him in any Superman media again. And honestly, sometimes he is a bit too much "Richard Pryor" in this. 

Interesting aside, Pamela Stephenson who plays Lorelei Ambrosia, the "smart blonde, pretending to be dumb" has a Ph.D. in psychology. She is also married to comedian Billy Connolly. Another, people freaking out over gasoline at $2 a gallon. 

The story itself is not terrible; the execution is. In fact, the "Superman" scenes are much better than I remembered. 

Is it me, or are "evil Superman's" darker outfit colors exactly the same as Cavil's in "Man of Steel?"

And of course, everyone remembers the final scene where Gus's supercomputer comes to life and assimilates Vera Webster. Yeah, not as scary as everyone thought it was really. Gus gets off kind of easy here in the end. 

This one did not have much of Lois Lane/Margot Kidder in it.

Cameos

Ok this one is a bit of a stretch but the wind-up peguins from the opening credits get a mention in the Zack Snyder Justice League movie. 

A far better one is Annette O'Toole here as Lana Lang and later in Smallville as Martha Kent, adoptive mother of Clark Kent. Apparently, the casting directors were unaware that she had already been part of Superman history before. 

Countdown to Superman: Supergirl (1984)

A sidestep tonight, mostly because I need to work up the courage to deal with the last two Superman movies. Though, admittedly, this one is not much better.  

Ok, so Helen Slater is playing Kara Zor-El, Kal-El's cousin, aka Supergirl. She is more or less the unknown here. Speaking of which, where is Superman? Oh, he is on a "peacekeeping mission" to a galaxy several hundred trillion light years away." Ok. Why...oh never mind, it is better than the proposed idea for this movie with a sex scene between Superman and Supergirl. I think I read that in Starlog.

Anyway. Supergirl ends up in Chicago, of all place,s where the Omegahedron, the powersource from Argo City (that she lost) ends up in the hands of two would-be witches played by Faye Dunaway and Brenda Vaccaro, and their sidekick played by Peter Cook. Even Supergirl's mother was played by Mia Farrow. Her mentor is even played by Peter O'Toole.  Helen Slater might have been the biggest unknown here.

Ok. I kind of forgot how bad this movie was. I mean I knew, but damn. Also, did A&W sponsor this? Lots of product placement in this one. It's remarkable how many great actors are in this, yet it's still so bad. 

According to the map Kara is using to look for the Omegahedron, Midvale is just a bit north of Peroria, IL (home of tomorrow night's guest Richard Pryor), and south of Ottawa, IL (near where "Man of Steel" was filmed for the Smallville scenes.  So, an area I'm familiar with. Funny, I don't remember a Midvale there. 

Ok, so I did like the magic aspect of it. Magic and Superman are sometimes an ify mix, but given everything else, it works here. There is even a great example of the "Mirror Image" spell. 

There's little point in going through the plot here, as the story is thin at best. 

The Shadow Demon is kind of cool looking.

Don't get me wrong, Helen Slater was awfully fun as Supergirl. Melissa Benoist is still my favorite Supergirl, but Slater was still fun.

Cameos

Helen Slater will go on to play Kara's Earth mother, Dr. Eliza Danvers, in the Supergirl CW series. Marc McClure plays Jimmy Olsen, but that shouldn't really count. The Supergirl series is a great one for repeat cameos.