Clark Kent lived his entire life hiding who he was and what he was capable of, because he desperately wanted to call Earth his home. He was lost and confused, and afraid Earth would reject him. When the chips were down, when he was truly needed, Clark Kent put on the blue suit and appeared before the people of Earth as Superman. Given every reason to join them, Kal El rejected Krypton and chose Earth. Clark Kent is just a mask he wears to fool himself. Kal El is a man he never was. He is, was, and ever will be Superman. He chose Earth as his home, and nothing has the power to take that home away from him.
Man of Steel absolutely understood Superman.
Rorinthas wrote:
Sometimes I wonder if we aren't turning into a bunch of old purists whose best days are behind us. maybe its just us collectively getting older.
Mostly this.
The DC movies have not quite been up to the standards of the Avengers movies, or the standalone films that led into them. They haven't been pure trash, though. For the most part, comic books simply aren't high art. There are some exceptions, but most of the are pretty basic and we shouldn't be expecting cinematic masterpieces out of their movie adaptations.
Marvel has figured out how to present a superhero story that captivates audiences. DC has not, for two reasons.
1) Marvel attaches people to the project who understand why the comics have endured. They diverge from the comic canon and upset purists, but they capture the essence of why the audience loves the character. Deadpool was brilliant, and was portrayed by the perfect actor. Cap began as nothing more than a jingoistic piece of wartime propaganda, and grew to embody everything good about the United States. Jessica Jones, for all of her strength, is tormented and afraid, but she has the courage to keep going after the Purple Man. The DC movies are not as adept at finding why you love that character. (Although Man of Steel did - Kal El chose Earth over Krypton).
2) DC characters are much more basic. Here is a man or woman with superpowers, and usually way more powerful than the Marvel characters. Most Marvel characters are just regular people with one or two special attributes. Cyclops is a professional athlete that can shoot lasers out of his face. Charles Xavier is Stephen Hawking with telepathy. They are threatened by their opponents. Wolverine is unkillable, but that doesn't enable him to actually succeed, it just enables him to keep trying. Contrast that to the likes of Superman. DC characters tend to be much more powerful than their Marvel counterparts, and deus ex plays a much larger role.
This may be why appeasing purists is a bigger deal for the DC movies. They aren't as good at showing the characters we love, so they have to get the story right. Marvel showed us Deadpool being Deadpool and doing Deadpool things, and it didn't matter if they changed part of the story. Also, everyone is tired of seeing Superman and Batman all the time. DC wants to milk the cow. Marvel keeps showing us new characters. DC needed to bring out Wonder Woman ten years ago.
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