LogFAQs > #910356537

Well, I'm playing the long game with the list and considering what is actually popular in the 80s. In the 80s, it was already considered that Superman is passe. With a large stretch of darker, brooding films, shows and especially comics, giving Lex the win so that in Superman Returns, I can have Superman actually return in a big way... I feel there's something there.

I'm not really interested in telling All-Star Superman in an era where no one wants All-Star Superman. All-Star Superman comes out of the reconstruction era of comics, and you can't get to that point without 9/11 and What's So Funny? trumpeting Authority. In its time, this is the right call. We're sending Superman off on a thinker's note. We're playing up for an Oscar here, giving Hackman his shot at Best Supporting, and playing into WHAT IS CURRENT AT THE TIME. Which is where I think you are really missing the point.

The DCCU movies played poorly in their time. Sure, there are other corrections you can make, but people also don't want to see grim 'n' gritty right now. Real world superhero movies tend to follow the trends of comic books pretty closely. Look at DC's popularity with positive superhero stories in comparison with the movies being rejected in darker storytelling now. Then look at 1989's Batman being very well-received in a time when darker projects are definitely being well-received. By 1987, which is Superman IV, the pulse of the people are trending towards a darker, more complex hero. The big sellers are Platoon, Untouchables, Lethal Weapon... people aren't looking for Superman at that point. So by following the trends in comics, I'm actually hitting the vein of what is working in pop culture.

And, again, I'm playing the long game. The reason Lex winning is so ESPECIALLY perfect in this situation is that, in 2006, I get to do Superman Returns, a direct sequel to the series.
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"It is too easy being monsters. Let us try to be human." ~Victor Frankenstein, Penny Dreadful