Today, Friends Ken and James dragged me to a movie theater to watch

78/2510. Superman (2025)

It's the first time I've seen Superman in a theater since Superman Returns (which I really, strongly dislike). And I have to say... it's okay.

To explain why my rating is more-or-less "meh," may I remind you that a few years ago, there was a then-new movie adaptation of the book Emma (which I really, strongly love). But the reviewers for that movie kept harping on how accurate to the Jane Austen source material it was, which, in hindsight, only proved that they themselves weren't particularly familiar with the source material. Maybe they read the Cliff's Notes version.

This Superman is kind of like that.

Sure, it's got a lot of silly comic-booky elements, but it really is a typically James Gunn script that isn't particularly interested in being accurate to any characterizations, stories, or even costumes that have ever appeared in the pages of any DC Comics. (Particularly Krypto. I just couldn't get past Krypto being a shaggy, simple-minded dog. In the comics, he is neither, and, as much as I love dogs, this movie never gives me a reason to forget that. And don't even get me started on the character assassination of Supergirl in service to what must have been a Superboy and the Ravers fanboy in-joke.)

All the reviews for the movie, both good and bad, praise both Lois Lane and Krypto. I certainly agree about Rachel Brosnahan, who was as underused as Lois always is, but I find it surprising that more aren't singling out Mister Terrific being terrific (in a modern take of a blaxploitation superhero). There are several moments where it actually feels like his movie and I am there for it.

But I recognize that all of the things I have to complain about are more a feature than a bug of these sorts of blockbuster movies, especially in the superhero genre. Gunn's muddled plot moves real fast and hopes you wont notice that nothing really lines up, a fact that Gunn himself lampoons with a final post-credit scene. If that sort of tongue-in-cheek metafictional humor floats your boat, this is definitely for you.

Even though Superman often seems superfluous in his own movie, it still is the best live-action Superman film in 40 years. Take that however you will.

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Welcome to June, the 18th annual Wriphe.com Superman Month!

I'm typing this without my left index finger, which I cut while washing my car. (I'll never make that mistake again. Stay dirty, car!) My injury made me wonder when was the first time in comics we actually see Superman bleeding. So I went looking.

As you can see in the above panel from his two-page origin story published in Superman #1, Summer 1939, Superman's skin was essentially impenetrable from the get-go, so the opportunities for him to visibly bleed have always been few and far between.

If those aforementioned bursting shells led to any bloodshed, it was always hidden by smoke and debris. When Superman needed to give blood to save Lois Lane's life in 1940's Superman #6, he had to give the doctor a hand. Literally.

But that wasn't technically an injury, so I kept looking for something that could hurt Superman that wasn't Superman.

Magic was an early weakness (bloodlessly stealing Superman's powers multiple times in 1942), but Kryptonite wasn't introduced into the comics until 1949 in Superman #61. (Like many elements of the Superman mythos, Kryptonite first appeared in 1943 on the Adventures of Superman radio show.) It usually just made Superman weak and fall down. He doesn't even scrape his knees.

March 1960's Action Comics #262 would introduce Superman's immediate weakness under a red sun. In that issue Clark Kent gets stung by a bee for the first time. Two years later, a bare-knuckle boxing match against Lex Luthor on the planet Lexor under a red sun would give Superman a face full of bruises, but still no visible blood. This might be because beginning in 1954, the Comics Code Authority strictly forbid showing, among many other things, "All scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism, masochism." Bloodless injuries were no longer optional.

Action Comics #49, June 1942

The code would relax beginning in 1971, and by the time Superman was beaten to "death" by Doomsday in 1993's Superman #75, blood was everywhere. (The 90s were a violent time.) Unfortunately for Superman, the Code was nowhere to be found on the cover of 1978's All New Collectors' Edition #C-56, better known as "Superman Vs. Muhammad Ali." In that issue, following a different boxing match under a red sun, Superman gets beaten so badly by Ali that he bleeds all over his pillow. If there's a lesson here, it's probably that Superman should give up boxing.

For whatever reason, that bloody pillow was removed in a re-colored 2010 reprinting. But that's okay. I'm sure it wasn't the first time Superman unwillingly bled on panel anyway. Because after four (delightful) hours of looking through comics and comics websites, I found this sequence in 1976's Superman #297:

Ouch! Be careful where you put those fingers, Superman.

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It's June 2021, which means it's also the 15th annual Wriphe.com Superman Month!

Since the 1970s, June is also Pride Month. If only there was a comic book from yesteryear that in ironic hindsight put the two things together....

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #3, July-August 1958

Silver Age comic books are renowned for their silly nonsense stories, and this is no exception. Don't worry, though. It has a happy ending when Superman finds a way for everyone to get in on the Pride action.

Superman is everyone's ally!

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As my father's late mother would have said, there's always time for picture shows!

104. (1543.) John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
Seeing this in a theater was my treat to Dad treat before his heart surgery, and it was a worthwhile experience... if you like bloody murder-fest actioners, which Dad certainly does. Unlike many reviewers, I thought it was better than Chapter 2. Kill 'em all, John.

105. (1544.) Lady of Burlesque (1943)
A very enjoyable B-picture murder mystery based on a book written by, of all people, the burlesque queen Gypsy Rose Lee. You go, girl! The protagonist is played by Barbara Stanwyck, who I should mention is the greatest actress who should have played Lois Lane but didn't.

107. (1546.) The Bishop Misbehaves (1935)
This film is more a comedic crime caper than the sort of whodunit it's lampooning. Disappointed by the lack of mystery, I found it a bit tedious. Your mileage may vary.

108. (1547.) Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
If this film is to be believed, America is almost as responsible for Pearl Harbor as the Japanese. Another case of victim blaming? From what I've read, the history is pretty solid.

The Pause That Refreshes... before thousands die in a surprise attack: Coke!

109. (1548.) Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Historical accuracy has no relationship with this film. They couldn't even keep Kong's height consistent. I suspect if plays well with the Pacific Rim crowd. I liked the style, but most 1960s comic books were better written.

110. (1549.) Get Out (2017)
I can see why this was such a big hit. More psychological thriller than horror, it is very well made and a lot of fun. It drags a bit late when the writing is on the wall and you're waiting for the reckoning that is obviously coming, but I found that reckoning to be plenty satisfying enough to make up for the wait.

More to come.

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Not everyone loves Superman month, especially not that fickle Lois Lane.

(By the way, in case you were unaware, Tom Peyer is the writer and editor-in-chief of Ahoy Comics, and has been making some great comics lately. I whole-heartedly recommend The Wrong Earth to anyone who enjoyed Adam West's Batman.)

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Today marks the start of the 13th annual Wriphe.com Superman Month!

Is this the year I finally make it to the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois? Probably not. It's next weekend, and I already have other plans.

Their guests of honor will include original Supergirl, Helen Slater, and Erica Durance, Smallville's Lois Lane. Their lists of guest artists, however, leaves something to be desired compared to past years. I guess they do have to save something for next year.

Out of curiosity, I took a look at the Greater Metropolis Convention & Visitors Bureau website to see what else there might be to do in town between autograph sessions underneath the Superman Statue. Metropolis isn't a big town, and the Visitors Bureau only lists 15 total "sights and attractions." Of course the big draw is the Harrah's Casino (which I haven't visited) and the Super Museum & Gift Shop (which I have and highly recommend). They also have a bowling alley, gym, state park, and microbrewery. I guess the town isn't big enough to support a full sized brewery.

Their most unusual non-Superman offering might be the Mermet Springs "full service dive site" inside an abandoned stone quarry that includes "the jet airplane from the movie U.S. Marshals." That short sells what they offer, as the Mermet Springs website lists 2 additional planes and 10 other man made objects to swim around. Not counting Jimmy Olsen.

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June is Superman Month at Wriphe.com!

"And what good timing it is this year, as June will see the relaunch of the DC Comics line. Again!"

That's how I've opened Superman month for the past two years. This year, however, the Superman reboot took place March. DC is speeding up the pace.

Less than a year after killing off the unpopular "New 52" Superman, DC brought him (and his Lois Lane) back and merged him with the old, previously reborn Superman in Action Comics #976 to make a new, third Superman. (Really, the fourth, if you want to count the original, pre-Bronze Age Superman as a separate character (which DC most definitely does)). This new new Superman has some of the memories and history of every previous Superman, which gives him a new power: super confusing.

(Note: They restored Action Comics numbering when they brought back the old Superman last year, but they didn't have the dignity to reset it to 1 again after they rebooted Superman for the third time in three years. Because marketing.)

Anyway, I don't know what happened after that. I stopped paying attention. I was still reading because DC had reverted to publishing "my" Superman again. But they took that away, and now I get to save some money for other things, like mandatory health insurance premiums. Hooray?

Getting old sucks.

But then, Superman already knows all about that.

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Final batch of July movies:

125. (662.) How Green Was My Valley (1941)
This film won a Best Picture Oscar (actually, the category was called "Outstanding Motion Picture" in '41), beating Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, Sergeant York, Suspicion, and four other films that were also probably better than How Green Was My Valley. If you can't tell, I didn't like it.

127. (664.) If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)
This comedy, on the other hand, was completely charming. I love the leads, the scenery, the ending, heck, I liked everything about it.

128. (665.) Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
I figured that since there was a newer Die Hard movie out, I was finally allowed to see this. I don't think the director understood what made the earlier films in the series so memorable: John McClain isn't Superman, he's just the right person at the wrong place at the right time. (I thought the elevator scene was the worst thing the movie could give me until we got to the scene with the F-35.) It's not terrible for a loud, dumb action film, it just isn't as good as any of the preceding Die Hard films.

129. (666.) Nancy Drew... Reporter (1939)
The highlight of this charming film is Nancy's justification for her own mischief: "A reporter has the right to do things an ordinary person shouldn't." Well said, Lois Lane.

130. (667.) The Unsuspected (1947)
The audience knows who the killer is, but the characters are slow to learn as they die, one by one. Good suspense.

131. (668.) Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
A British musical set in World War I. Perhaps it is best described as "violently anti-war." (In many ways it reminded me of the video game Bioshock Infinite. Coincidence?)

132. (669.) The Wheeler Dealers (1963)
James Garner as a fast-talking millionaire. Good stuff.

133. (670.) Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (1939)
Finally, Ms. Drew crosses the line from detective to criminal, and her poor boyfriend pays the price. Repeatedly. Nancy is painfully off-model here, but the film is still fun.

134. (671.) The Dark Corner (1946)
Something rang false about this noir detective film for me. Perhaps Lucille Ball was too quick with a quip, but more likely the hero was too bland and cliche. In any event, it failed to grab my interest until it started throwing people out of windows.

I told you last week that I saw 4 actors in 3 movies each last month. One of them was Jack Benny. If you were counting (and why would you be doing that?), you may have realized that the other three were the principal cast of the Nancy Drew films: Bonita Granville, Frankie Thomas, and John Litel. (Technically I saw Frank Orth 3 times as well, but as Police Captain Tweedy had only a cameo appearance in the second film, I'm only giving him partial credit.)

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I'm not the only one who seems to be celebrating Superman on his blog this month. The following images came from posts at other blogs I regularly visit.

The first panel comes from DC Comics Presents #61 (1983) by way of Mike Sterling's Progressive Ruin. It really does sum up everything else I love about Superman.

Meanwhile, Siskoid's Blog of Geekery shows the other side of Superman, Superman #109 (1956), which I also love.

That's right, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are out for dinner at the Gay Metropolis Supper Club. (I've discussed my affinity for Superman's adventures at Gay places before.) The Silver Age was a different time.

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Twenty-four movies were watched by me in September. I think 12 is too many to post at a time, so I'll break 'em up into groups of 8.

151. (458.) Julie & Julia (2009)
Meryl Streep as Julia Child is fantastic and endearing. Amy Adams as some other bitch is just irritating. (This is the girl they chose to play Lois Lane in Man of Steel? Really?) Otherwise, this movie depicts blogging as sort of a narcissistic shouting into empty space in the vain hope that someone will hear the echo, which is pretty darn accurate.

152. (459.) Dan in Real Life (2007)
Lonely, lovable, loser? It's the role Steve Carrel was typecast to play! Dane Cook was also appropriately typecast as the douche, a role he was born to play!

153. (460.) Murder, He Says (1945)
This Fred MacMurray slapstick comedy really should have had a different name. It is far more Marx Brothers than Sam Spade.

154. (461.) The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
I think I've said this before, but Walter Matthau is another one of those actors (John Wayne, Gene Hackman) that I hated as a kid but love as an adult. He gives a great "everyman" performance in this well crafted thriller.

155. (462.) The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
I watched the original and the sequel back-to-back. The sequel has nothing to recommend it over the original except, perhaps, James Gandolfini channeling an Eliot Spitzer/Micheal Bloomberg composite. Travolta is terrible in his now all-too-familiar over-the-top villain role. Ugh.

156. (463.) Bangkok Revenge (2011)
Dad isn't picky about his movies. Sometimes that's good, as it gets us this lump of coal. I classify it as an unrefined but entertaining martial arts movie.

157. (464.) Dawn of the Dragonslayer (2011)
Sometimes Dad's indiscretion gets us this kind of lump of crap. More romance than action, mainly because there is almost no action. Plus, when the dragons do show up, they look bad!

158. (465.) The Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)
The third movie chosen by father on the same night. I think he liked it more than I did. I know that it was supposed to be the Eastern fairy tale, but it felt too artificial for my tastes.

More to come.

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