Boo for Superman

I finally got around to watching the latest Superman movie last night. I thought the Zack Snyder movies with Henry Cavill were the best, where Superman was humanized, and his relationships were emphasized. As a comic book fan, I was worried about the new one, and, unfortunately, my fears were legitimate.

While the new one touched on the issue of whether one person--a superhuman in particular--has the right to “bring justice” without any oversight, that interesting issue was brought up but never really addressed.

Throughout the movie, Superman gets his butt kicked but always survives, leaving little suspense. His girlfriend, buddy, dog, and parents are never in danger. The situations are never more complex, and no better explained, than those in the old Batman TV series or the 1970s Superman movies with Christopher Reeve. Lex Luthor wants to take over the world. He wants to destroy Superman. He has a very pretty but very stupid girlfriend. He can clone Superman and open up a gateway to another universe but can’t seem to figure out how to use ChatGPT to control his anti-Superman, so he has to transmit verbal commands in real time, which is actually a key plot point. Everyone in this universe is a goofy caricature including the Daily Planet staff, monsters, the other superheroes, his parents, his superdog Krypto, and Superman himself.

The only good thing I can say is that they used my concept. I can’t find proof, but I once wrote to one of the directors about one of the upcoming Superman movies with the solution to why the reporters at the Daily Planet including Lois Lane don’t recognize Clark Kent as Superman. His glasses! They incorporate an advanced technology that distorts people’s vision of his face. That was mentioned in the movie! As a Superman fan since age 8, I had pondered this question a lot. For full disclosure, I did some research and it turns out that some comics had discussed his “hypno glasses,” but as far as I’m concerned, I’m the inventor! Time to file another patent. Or at least get some recognition from Superman fans.

About the author

Bob Zeidman is the creator of the field of software forensics and the founder of several successful high-tech Silicon Valley firms including Zeidman Consulting and Software Analysis and Forensic Engineering. He is the author of textbooks on engineering and intellectual property as well as award-winning screenplays and novels. His latest book is Election Hacks, the true story of how he challenged his own beliefs about voting machine hacking in the 2020 presidential election and made international news.