‘MAN OF STEEL’ Poster and Footage Ignites Comic-Con

After the “wholesome” Christopher Reeves’ films and what many consider as too “campy” of a reworking in Superman Returns, Warner Bros. and DC have decided to once again delve into the mythos of Superman with the upcoming Man Of Steel.  Under the direction of Zack Snyder and with Christopher Nolan producing, the film looks to present a more serious and moodier interpretation of the boy from Krypton if the new poster and footage shown at Comic-Con is any indication.  While the footage shown won’t be available to be seen online – though there are rumors that a trailer will premiere with The Dark Knight Rises this Friday – the poster can be seen below.  Comic fans may notice that the composition is eerily similar to a specific painting done by comics legend Alex Ross.  Both the poster and the painting by Alex Ross can be seen below.

I was able to view a bootleg version of the trailer online (don’t tell anyone). The footage begins with Russell Crowe’s voice over simple images of a young boy running around in a field with a towel tied around his neck and clothes blowing on a clothes line in the wind.  Crowe talks of his expectations for the boy before the voice of Kevin Costner picks up where he leaves off.  Costner’s foucs is more encouraging Clark to find out what kind of man he wants to be.  All the while we are treated to scenes of a young Clark Kent saving some drowning children from a sinking school bus, a bizarre shot of Clark completely covered in flames and who looks to be naked, Superman kissing Lois, Superman (in his suit) being handcuffed and taken away by cops, a bearded Clark Kent looking older in an arctic setting, and the final image of him walking straight into a firing squad with guns ready to fire.  Between the swelling music (which some have said is from Inception while I believe it is from The Thin Red Line) and the more character-driven tone of the trailer, Man of Steel seems to have more of Nolan’s stamp on the film compared to the slow-motion visuals we have come to expect from Snyder.  We will have to see how the film plays out compared to the earlier explorations of Superman next year when the film is released.