What People Get WRONG about Superman... | Video Essay

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Which Superman is your favorite? And what type of Superman movie do you want to see next??? A HUUUUGE thank you to my subscribers for waiting patiently with this one. I'm working on upping the quality of my videos and integrating actual footage of me talking to camera so it's a new type of workflow. I'm really happy with how this video turned out but also know there a bunch more I can do to improve, and want you all to know I'm dedicated to growing this channel and turning it into something really special. Let me know what you think of this video, and what sort of topics you'd like to see covered in the future. THANKS EVERYONE!!! - Dylan from The Writer's Block (incredibly distant cousin of Jenny from the regular block).

[@maybelore]

Superman from Superman the animated series is my favorite. There might be a better one that I don't know about but he's the best one I've seen. I especially like the episode where Clark Kent "dies" and his unwillingness to give up being Clark, or the episode where he invites J'ohn J'onzz over for Christmas. and his friendship with Batman is amazing that Batman is definitely my favorite Batman.

[@amonnmusic]

Superman from Justice League Unlimited or Superman from Superman VS The Elite. They both show that Superman is a flawed and interesting character

[@vilstef6988]

When he gets mad and punches harder, Superman is his most boring. His empathy and his human heart are his greatest powers.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Yes!

[@robertgregory6436]

do you think Clark Kent is Super Mans critique on the human race?

[@Hashbrown1682]

Superman is the best example of: "To test a man's true character, give him power"

[@DAEDAEANT]

People seem to view Superman like how Lex Luthor sees him and I feel like that says a lot about our society right now

[@Byrdstar6423-un3me]

People worship Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos...says a lot about society doesn't it?

[@StareachValcin]

A great video that shows respect to Superman, how he's a great hero, and why the world needs the type of person Superman truly is.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Thank you!!! Means a lot to know its connecting with people

[@StareachValcin]

@@TheWritersBlockOfficial you are welcome. This video connects well with people who really love Superman and respect what he stands for.

[@gibbs615]

Right on!😉👍🏿

[@KalKratos]

I appreciate that you said Clark is the real person and Superman is the mask. So many people take Bill's Superman monologue in Kill Bill Vol 2 to heart and think that is the reality. I like it better when Clark is unassuming, but reasonably unassuming. Not the ridiculous way Christopher Reeve portrayed Clark. The way I see Clark's disguise working is because Superman doesn't wear a mask, people don't even think that he has a civilian identity. And another reason is I'm reminded of a story about Emilia Clarke and the cast of Game of Thrones. She and some of the other cast were walking together and encountered some fans of the show. The fans were excited and asked Emilia to take a picture of the fans with the cast not realizing who she was, because they didn't recognize her without her platinum blonde hair in a casual setting. The reason nobody can connect Superman as Clark Kent is because nobody expects Superman to be one of us.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Exactly!

[@BaithNa]

Excellent video but this entire discussion can be summed up in one sentence; "People who say Superman is boring because he's too powerful, don't understand Superman, super heroes or even storytelling" Zack Snyder and his sycophant cultists arw probably the epitome of people that doesn't understand these things.

[@MrLim-wq2gn]

Superman is one of my Favorite Superhero of all time. you either love him or hate him. you gotta respect him.

[@posefile8873]

This is why Jonathan Kent dying in Superman: The Motion Picture was exceptionally better than the crap death they gave him in Man of Steel. Clark COULD have saved his father in MOS, but Jonathan dying from a heart attack in S:TMP proves that no matter how powerful Clark is…. he’s NO GOD. And this is the ultimate humbling experience for humanity that even Clark cannot escape.

[@lifeisliterary]

One of the best Superman vids I’ve ever seen! Loved it

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

That means a lot thank you!

[@MrLim-wq2gn]

5:45 "Superman is what I can do. Clark Kent is what I am,"

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Exactly!

[@mikem1765]

More people must see this.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Thanks!

[@kristophersingleton7483]

Hey everybody captain America is back!!! Lol! He’s talking about superman lol

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

I understood that reference

[@paulieboy6644]

Superman is culturally an Earthling, but his alien identity is very important to him, how he sees himself. Ironically, this struggle magnifies his humanity.

[@petermj1098]

The House of El made the “Super”. The Kents made the “man”.

[@robertlauncher]

Feels like the original Donner film is still the best theatrical adaptation after all these years.

[@gibbs615]

Great video man!👍🏿 Yes we still need a great inspirational superhero like Superman who's was always known as the world's greatest superhero for years in the DC universe. Problem with cynical people these days is they can't see past his powers and see his other virtues he's always had.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Thank you! This video is one of my worse performing one's but the people that KZbin does show it to seem to really enjoy it and it means a whole lot to see other Superman Fans finding it meaningful!

[@gibbs615]

@@TheWritersBlockOfficial Yeah Superman was always my favorite since I was little and he's one of the ones who inspired me to be the good guy in life😉

[@MCLegoboy]

I just want a good movie where Superman is not killing people and can give a smile to someone other than Lois and his mom. Let him be a bit hokey from time to time. Have Metropolis be in awe when he goes flying by, like when people watch Spider-Man swinging overhead in the Raimi movies. I want to see the Superman that Freddy Freeman loves in Shazam. What things has Superman done that gives him hope and makes him his favorite Superhero? What makes Superman want to share a crappy school lunch with a kid that he's never met during Clark's lunch break? Give me _that_ Superman. If Zack Snyder was implying that Superman feels bad he can't be everywhere for everyone, it came off more as pity and reluctance. He looks like he is only doing it out of obligation, not because it's the right thing to do because he can do something about it. And maybe he shouldn't be so laissez-faire about collateral damage in his fights. His villains should be the ones that do the most damage, he should only be wrecking things when he feels he needs to in order to stop the villain. Like, don't punch the guy through a building, try and stay in one spot, yank out a light post, and smack them into the ground, try to minimize the destruction taking place so that the city doesn't get too mad at the damage caused. Hurray, Superman saved us, but also half the city's gone... What might be great in showcasing his power isn't great in showcasing his character. They need to go hand in hand.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

great points! I think that's why for me while I enjoy the Zack Snyder Movies, I've always looked at them like a What If scenario (especially since they were kind of building to an Injustice/Apocalypse type story). Superheroes are so fascinating because you can stretch them really far in some aspects but certain parts of their character feel incredibly rigid. You see a similar thing with the beloved characters in Star Wars, but even then people are split. Some look at jaded Luke as a logical progression based on him disappearing in episode 7. Others feel like Luke Skywalker is the Star Wars equivalent of Superman and therefore should NEVER falter or have doubts. It's hard to say who is right, but it's very much just a gut feeling one way or the other whether a story/character feels or doesn't feel like Superman.

[@MCLegoboy]

​@@TheWritersBlockOfficial It's interesting that you bring up Luke because Grumpy Luke is kind of my favorite version of him. He's more interesting to me in Return of the Jedi than in A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back because he is a bit darker, so then seeing him completely give up and resisting the call to action was so much more interesting than just a rehash of Dagobah type sessions with Rey. We can also point some measure of blame at JJ Abrams for having put Luke on this island, being more concerned with the mystery of it all than the answer. Rian gave an answer, one that I found quite satisfying because Luke has never really lived his own life, and it makes sense to me why he'd turn out this way, even to the chagrin of Mark Hamill. He was always working on the farm, something he didn't want and bored him, and then he suddenly decides he wants to be a Jedi like his father, so he's trying more to be his father than himself (to be fair, he didn't know the truth of what happened), then felt the responsibility of restarting the Jedi Order, which then subsequently collapsed. I wouldn't say that the Jedi ruined his life, but he's lied to about his family, he's then asked to kill his father rather than try to help him, then when everything goes wrong with his family at the center of it and he goes searching for guidance, he discovers that the Jedi have always been a bunch of hypocrites and balance is not a simple science (or at least that's how he perceives it), of course he gives up, he feels like the last 30 years of his life have just been in vain. Now George also had the idea of having Luke go off on his own and seclude himself, but we don't know the exact specifics of how similar his version and the one we got would have been. I don't know how people would have reacted had George's story treatments been used because on the one hand, we have the Prequels that plenty of people were vocally against (I've heard people say that Yoda with a lightsaber ruins his character), but then also as the creator of Star Wars, is it not his right to do with what he will with the characters? I could see people still getting upset, but maybe the disdain wouldn't be as strong because it's just George doing what George does, can't leave nothing well enough alone because the movies won't stop getting edited and everything has been changed again from being about Luke to it all being about Vader to then multiple chosen ones and midichlorians and blaaaarrrg! But back to Luke, The Last Jedi doesn't paint him as what he's doing as actually good or healthy. It is acknowledging that there is something wrong and that he needed to be reminded there is still hope to be found in darkness. People get too hung up on the idea that Luke could ever make a mistake, but he's still susceptible to the Dark Side. They focus on Kylo Ren's version of the story in the hut than what actually happened. Luke mentions that fear came over him, that he didn't want to lose everything he had built, that it was to preserve his legacy, and then those feelings left him. George mentions the Dark Side as always being about greed and fear, and everything Luke mentions in the third telling of that night in Ben's hut was about himself and his fear. People then also forget that Luke is redeemed, that he becomes the character everyone had been waiting for. Projecting himself across the Galaxy and nonviolently achieving his goals is one of the most badass Jedi things anyone could ever do, and far more emotionally moving over whatever Forced Unleashed thing the more negatively critical folks wanted. With all that said, man, The Force Awakens makes no sense to me as a logical continuation from Return of the Jedi (we're missing at least one movie or at least making use of the worldbuilding from the Prequels to properly set the playing field), so yeah, The Last Jedi makes sense to me after how crazy things were set up. It also pays lip service to the Prequels, and Luke is not wrong about the Jedi of the Prequels (maybe a little hyperbolic), so it felt like the ship being righted... until it wasn't with Episode IX, but that's a whole thing you've already made a video on I'm sure.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

A) Haven't done a video on the sequels yet specifically but very much am excited to work on that in the near future. Definitely I want to make sure I handle that with as much tact and nuance as possible considering how volatile discussions of such topics can be on KZbin B) SPOILERS FOR WHEN THAT VIDEO EXITS but Grumpy Luke is also my favorite. I agree that it feels very much like a logical progression. I was fully on the hype train of the sequels through for 7 and 8. 9 is a fun star wars film but feels flat as a finale to the saga. I have this pitch that I either want to incorporate for a longform video or its own new style of video, but it would basically be imagine if episode 9 was solely a Indiana Jones style star wars flick with the treasure hunt being much more integral to the plot throughout the whole thing. We really get to feel out the unified dynamics of the core group (Poe, Finn, Rey), meanwhile we have a subplot of Rey's powers being kinda out of control. We all assume this is going to be the end of the franchise cause Star Wars works in trilogies, but then it ends on a cliffhanger (probably Rey isolates herself and Kylo doesn't turn full good but can't be alligned with the first order anymore). Then after it premieres its revealed we'd get a Star Wars Episode X and that movie can just focus on rapping up the saga in a cohesive manner (and get the obligatory Zuko Redemption arc more fleshed out for Kylo/Ben). C)Thank you for the in depth comments you leave. This whole channel was created to inspire more thoughtful and nuanced discussions so it's more encouraging than you can imagine to see the results of that starting to pay off

[@MCLegoboy]

@@TheWritersBlockOfficial Yeah, I keep writing such longer comments on these types of topics. I actually had someone say I should make KZbin videos since I write so much (I also type up reviews of things and copypasta them into a few Discord servers), and I get that, I'm a terrible reader (the irony), and I really should, but I've just burnt myself out on editing videos. And I've only ever used Windows Movie Maker! I'm sure I've exhausted every trick to make that thing look pretty good for LEGO set reviews, but editing videos together, I just can't bring myself to do it anymore. I probably just need to shake things up with "essays" that are really just my brain vomiting up thoughts, so I just need to script, record, and figure out how I want the videos to look. I really should start doing that so I don't have to keep typing up some of the same things again and again and again. Most likely wouldn't stop me from writing mega-comments anyway.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

If you ever are making a big push into it let me know and I'll help out in whatever ways I can. Writing takes a lot of different forms and I totally get the mix of wanting to share, wanting to just write for you, or wanting to write but not do the other parts of making a video. You do what brings you the most joy man

[@andrewphan8002]

Really goooood points, wish someone would adapt him better for live action, it’s been done well animated

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

People focus on the flashy parts in live action when really we need like a low budget indie or at least those sensibilities. I have hoe for hope for the upcoming james gunn film

[@wl3217]

​@@TheWritersBlockOfficialSuperman: Secret Identity would be perfect imho

[@eagelcat]

Superman is not boring just hard Wright ✌️😁

[@VianoCorp]

Damn who knew the guy behind this channel looked so kissable

[@DumasMoran]

Thank you for this video. I second everything in it, and raise you the fact that Superman is written as boring when he knows the extent of his power. And he is always written this way. He should always still have a bit of hidden fear that whatever villain he's facing could overpower him, but he's always written as 0% doubt as to his ability to be the strongest/toughest. That was the reason the Doomsday "Death of" story was so impactful. When a space threat arises, of course Clark takes it upon himself to go take care of it, as he's apparently the most able, but he should always be of the mind that he may not come back. Not, like, "Hey, I got this. Brb." That is boring. And yeah even when Superman DOES take a night off with Lois, you know he can still hear people dying that he could have saved. How intense is THAT?!

[@Morariu94]

Brilliant video. You said a lot of very important things in a very short amount of time, and I'm really impressed you managed to keep it so short yet so profound. I love the discussion around the modern myth of Superman and what he, like most other modern myths, tell about us collectively. It's fascinating stuff.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Hey thank you! This video hasn't performed as well as some of my others, but it was one of my favorites to make. Im really glad it connected with you!

[@MrLim-wq2gn]

I know many people don't like Superman because he is overpowered he really was. But the fact he is ridiculously Overpowered and can swat aside the Justice League without a effort but he is a Humble person and is a protector of the weak. that's what makes him amazing. Because any human being with a power like that would fall to base desire and becomes objectively evil.

[@akirasuzami9847]

Christopher Reeve was the best Superman and he was Superman last in 1987. If we had one similar to him, Superman wouldn’t seem boring.

[@Uptomyknees]

Yes.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Why does yes with a period feel so much more meaningful then without? Writing is weird. Thank you once again for what you've done for superman

[@MrLim-wq2gn]

Superman is a simple person who just wants to help people he sees's himself as an equal and treats people the way he wants to be treated with respect. It's his warm heart of empathy and understanding that wins over me. He is more mindful. kind. and passionate. Superman might be Overpowered but he knows how to control it and respects it.

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

Exactly!

[@JohnKingston557]

The fact that u used Jostice League footage irks me so bad. Please stop. But yh, power doesn't corrupt people. Corrupted people seek power.

[@PandaNinjaguy]

Face reveal poggers

[@VianoCorp]

PogO

[@eagelcat]

We are Clark cent al most no one is Batman and the best of of us are super man ✌️😁

[@eingoluq]

Snyder made superman boring

[@beechannel_6686]

Snyder's Superman is what made me appreciate the character's original upbringing.

[@dukeheavens9990]

Facts

[@Truck_Kun_Driver]

Every time I see Josstice League 2017 I CRINGE a bit.

[@aydenghramm8483]

Whether Superman is boring isn’t objective. There are plenty of people who actually understand Superman and have read his stuff (and comprehended it) and still hate or don’t like him.

[@havardhelgesen2906]

Guessing you haven’t read the Invincible comic when you characterised Omni man with that phrase? It’s a partial fit I guess, but far from perfect

[@olagokeawoyele564]

You lost me at ...Superman is not an Alien !!!?? 🤣 Please ....

[@TheWritersBlockOfficial]

How so?

[@olagokeawoyele564]

@@TheWritersBlockOfficial because the very thing that underlines and defines the character, you've chosen to relegate to fit a past era's narrative about him. I would surmise, his upbringing is intrinsically tied to his being an Alien !! You statement, seeks to place the kart before the house so to speak...but, that's your opinion, and I respect that