I’ve always been a sucker for Superman. As per my answers to the Final 5, I would choose DC over Marvel (not that I don’t enjoy a good Marvel story, by any means), and while I would probably claim Batman as my preferred superhero (if for no other reason than it is fun to put on a cape and jump off tables or around corners and whatnot whilst exclaiming “I’m Batman!”), Superman would run a close second. There is just something that speaks to the kid inside about a nigh-invulnerable hero racing off to save the day. And everything that makes Superman the epitome of superhero icons that he is can be seen in full display in the original blockbuster superhero movie, 1978’s Superman.

For those of you who may not remember (or are too young to know about it – sigh, I feel old), the movie has the entire beginning of the Superman story, from his Kryptonian father Jor-el (played for massive amounts of money by none other than Marlon Brando) placing the baby Kal-el into a spaceship before the planet is destroyed, to somewhat-awkward-teenaged Clark Kent on his farm in Smallville, to Superman revealing himself to the world while mild-mannered Clark Kent simultaneously gets a job at the Daily Planet and meets Lois Lane. All the proper elements of a Superman origin story – which take up about half of the movie (setting the standard for many other origin-story superhero movies to come).

The rest of the movie is suitably epic, as is warranted for The Man of Steel. Some superhero movies try to be more character-driven (or something) with plots that are much smaller in focus (possibly too small) – the first Spider-Man movie comes to mind (the grand showdown between the Green Goblin and Spider-Man is due to the fact that the Green Goblin may possibly perhaps want to do… something… in the future and Spider-Man may possibly perhaps get in the way of that… maybe? Really? That’s it? Hmmm… that’s a review for another time, I suppose), but Superman is an epic character with epic powers, and so there is an epic plot to match. Lex Luthor (one of the best and most iconic superhero villains, right up there with The Joker and Magneto) wants to cause the entire west coast of the US to sink into the ocean, leaving behind vast swaths of new oceanfront land owned by none other than himself, and the only one who can stop him is the newly-arrived-to-Metropolis Superman.

The movie has a lot going for it besides the epicness of the plot (I really need to find an alternate word to use besides “epic”, and yet despite hours upon hours [read: quick search online] of searching thesauruses [thesauri?], nothing seems to fit Superman as well as “epic”). Big name stars? Check, with the aforementioned Marlon Brando and Oscar-winning Gene Hackman as Lex. Breakout star? Check, with the previously unknown Christopher Reeve flat out owning the role, effortlessly switching between Clark Kent and Superman and making each character believable. Big Budget, as would be necessary to support the plot? Check, as reports ar that even the main title/credit sequence cost more than most movies’ entire budgets at the time. And there is one aspect of the movie which I think is underrated when it comes to lessons on “How to Make a Superhero Movie”; that being:

The music. One can listen to the opening fanfare and know that it is Superman. The score by John Williams excellently matches with the character, which enhances the overall experience of the movie. Many more recent superhero movies lack that identifiable theme – again, Spider-Man comes to mind (could you listen to music from the first Spider-Man movie [or any of them, really], and know that it was from that movie? I couldn’t.) – which is a fault. It is not necessarily a “Gah! This movie is ruined” level fault, but having a special theme just adds something… well… special, and Superman is one of the best examples of this.

But that’s not to say that the movie is perfect. There are several problems, some inherent in the script, and others which are inherent in the Superman character. The big issue is that Superman’s powers are not consistent (a problem that comes up in almost every Superman movie/show/comic), particularly his speed. We see at the end of the movie him flying fast enough to circle the globe several times a second, and yet earlier, he had trouble chasing down one of the nuclear missiles launched by Lex. Much as I like the character, the need to modify his powers to the level of whatever the plot demands has always bugged me, and I really hope that someday a movie is made that maintains consistency with Superman’s capabilities. And speaking of his powers, the movie doesn’t once feature Supes’ heat vision! He’s got frickin’ laser beams from his eyes! How do you not showcase that?!

The introduction of Kryptonite was not well handled either, in my opinion. Somehow Lex comes to the conclusion that pieces of Superman’s home world would be able to hurt him, and even I, master of the logical-chain-of-thought-that-is-not-logical, can’t figure out what made Lex assume that (true as it was). It is just weak writing, when there were better, more rational ways of introducing kryptonite into the story. Though, to be fair, the use of kryptonite was consistent, at least, unlike many other Superman shows (including the ill-conceived recent follow-up to this movie, Superman Returns) where sometimes a tiny bit of the glowing green rock can put Superman at Death’s Door while other times massive amounts of kryptonite just weaken him slightly.

But despite the issues, the movie still stands as one of the best examples of a superhero movie ever made. It continues to hold up well due to the story, the acting, and the presentation. Even today, the viewer is pulled into the movie such that the somewhat-on-the-cheesy-side special effects aren’t distracting or detrimental. If you haven’t ever seen the original Superman movie, or just haven’t seen it in a while amongst the plethora of recent superhero/comic book outings, I highly recommend watching it. It is good enough to make you switch out your black Batman cape for a red Superman cape and go jumping off tables and around corners exclaiming “I’m Superman!”

-- K. Burtt