Superman “The Man of Steel”

The issue of “destiny” also crops-up in the forthcoming Zack-Snyder- helmed, David S. Goyer/Christopher-Nolan-penned Superman reinterpretation The Man of Steel. Think McFly Think reports that this time around, Kal-El isn’t just any Kryptonian refugee, but rather a full-fledged prince, who is somehow preordained to save Earth from destruction. This isn’t necessarily as significant an alteration to the legend as the aforementioned Spider-Man re-envisioning, but it may add a layer of mysticism that will feel out of place in what’s supposed to be straight sci-fi/comic book movie. Then again, Superman has never been the most complex or compelling superhero, as Brian Singer’s underwhelming Superman Returns made painfully clear, so maybe a new layer to his backstory could actually provide some much-needed depth. These deviations from the accepted Superman origin mythology are reportedly holdovers from an earlier J. J. Abrams script, Superman: Flyby, which apparently contained other, far more radical, plot elements.

The success of The Avengers and intense anticipation for The Dark Knight Rises have both, no doubt, weakened interest in The Amazing Spider-Man, but who’s to say it can’t still turn out to be a dark horse success? All anyone really has to go on are a few trailers and blind conjecture. Predictions about The Man of Steel are even more futile, given that it’s not scheduled for release until summer 2013. That said, the project has a powerful asset in Nolan. Hopefully he can redefine and reinvigorate the last son of Krypton as he did with Batman.