The Scene

New 'Man of Steel' Poster Raises More Questions

Published on Tuesday, December 04 2012
Written by Katie Marzullo
 
Meet your new emo, red underpants-less Superman!
 
Earlier this summer, we got our first taste of what producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder have in mind for their much-anticipated Superman reboot, Man of Steel… and it was kind of gloomy. Although it’s unwise to jump to any concrete conclusions based on teaser trailers (and, in some cases, official trailers), it seems pretty evident that Supes is getting the full Dark Knight treatment. A recently released new poster seems to support that theory (above)…
 
As you can see, our favorite Son of Krypton is not depicted exactly superhero-like here. Instead of zipping around the skies at the speed of light or lifting entire skyscrapers over his head or anything cool like that… he’s being led away by authorities. In handcuffs. Like a common criminal.
 
If you’re like me, you’re asking yourself why he doesn’t just bust out of those puny cuffs like the badass he is! One of only 2 possible explanations come to mind: (1) There are tiny traces of Kryptonite lacing the cuffs which make Supes unable to resist; or (2) he is being led away of his own free will, meaning he is taking the fall for someone or something else. Whatta guy!
 
At any rate, it’s tough to see our favorite all-American superhero in this light (literallty and figuratively; did J.J. Abrams take this photo?? Ha.), all vulnerable and stuff… Perhaps even more unsettling than the thought of an angsty Superman is the image of him pantsless. Well, sort of… That is, he now sports a more consistent blue bodysuit minus his trademark red underoos, something director Snyder apparently wasn’t too happy about. Perhaps the powers-that-be found the red speedo a bit too, um, distracting? (Honestly, I think it’s more distracting without it!)
 
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Umm, check that...
 
Now, Nolan insists that Man of Steel will bear no resemblance to his Dark Knight trilogy, but I have seen no evidence of that as yet; all signs seem to point to a Superman who is taking a page out of Batman’s brooding book. It might make for more interesting villains (see: Heath Ledger’s Joker and Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face), but for my money, Superman is at his best when he’s the Big Blue Boy Scout!
 
 
- Katie Marzullo, YH Staff Editor