The Occasional Solipsist

I try to take as few of these quizzes I come across as possible, and this one in particular was about as insipid as they come. But after taking it, I didn't turn out to be Chloe or anything so I figured it was worth a post.

The damn writer's strike means I'll see my last new Smallville episode for a long time (maybe ever) within the next week, and I am so bummed about that. But I can console myself with the fact that according to the folks at Buddytv, whoever they are, I am Clark Kent.

Labels: narcissism, smallville, superman

In Canada in an election year, we don't get the benefit of having to figure out which of the candidates is the least corrupt and vote for that one knowing we're going to get screwed anyway. Here we just vote for whatever goof is going to make us look the least stupid. To date we haven't had a lot of success in the department. Names like Chretien, Harper and Mulroney come immediately to mind.

That's why I'm urging my American friends to vote Zod in 2008. That's right, General Zod, of the Superman mythology.

I actually can't see why Americans wouldn't vote for this guy. At least he comes right out and admits to being a dictator. None of this weapons of mass destruction horseshit, or appeals to his constituant's outrage over a terrorist attack to justify war. And if war was necessary it would only last as long as it took for his nukes to hit their taret. And he probaly wouldn't even care about oil or money or land, because it would all be his anyways.

Yup, when its time to hit the polls, remember Zod.

Labels: politics, superman

A friend of mine and I had a chat last night about the idea of the Batman vs Superman movie, an idea which has been around at least as long as the graphic novel that detailed the penultimate battle between the two heroes: The Dark Knight Returns.

The two have always had a fascinating relationship in the comics, and the idea of them squaring off is diverting for comic fans, but let's be honest here: We're talking about fucking Superman here. Batman is cool, and he's always been a personal fave (my list goes something like Superman, Green Lantern, Flash and then probably Bats), but pitting some ninja trained no-power with some cool gadgets against The Man of Steel? Come on. No contest.

This all came up because there is a sweet little easter egg in the new I Am Legend movie in the form of a billboard for the fictional Batman vs Superman movie. Apparently its a little in-joke to the screenwriter for Legend that at one time was involved in a version of the Bats/Supes movie. Full story here.

This same buddy of mine sent me a link to a site that tries to take a contest between the two superheroes seriously, and gives a breakdown of each's strengths and weaknesses, as well as the chance to vote on who you think would win. Check it out here, even though deep down, everyone has to know that Superman would win.

Labels: comics, superman

So I read on a few forums that Chloe's demise in this season's finale of Smallville may be short-lived and that her character might be returning next season. Personally I think she's dead and won't be coming back so that the show can return to something resembling the comics' continuity in time to wrap up the show at the end of next year.

Superman-to-be notwithstanding, she was the best character on the show and I have not so secretly always hoped the writers would say to hell with continuity and just have Chloe and Clark end up together. Maybe even have Chloe take over Lois' body or merge together with her or something. Stranger things have certainly happened on this show. (Countess Isabelle Thoreaux anyone?) And maybe that's even what happened in the moment of her 'death'. We won't know for sure what the hell happened there until next year, when we also get to see more of Bizarro.

But if I had been asked if anything could possibly make up for killing off Chloe, my favourite female character on tv besides Rose Tyler (and she's a whole other story), my answer would have been a resounding 'no'. That is, until I found out that next season, a certain Kryptonian cousin will be taking her place.



No idea yet what multiverse they're pulling her story out of, but however it works out, any Supergirl is a good Supergirl.

More here.

Labels: comics, smallville, superman

I've been thinking lately about how strange the recent friendships that I've made might seem to the uninitiated. Most of my so called friendships, outside of those with Superwife's family and a few real world friends, are entirely of the online variety.

To single out a few, there's a couple in Florida, Joe and Em that I talk back and forth with regularly on either my or their blogs, a hilarious mommy blogger and fellow Canuck named Jen, a good friend Michael who is as much of a fan of Superman as I am, (and that's saying something), and a guy that I work with named Shane, who owns a burgeoning DVD review company. I have never met any of these people, and all things being equal, I likely wouldn't.

Just funny how the relationships that used to (seem to) matter to me have faded away with hardly a whimper, but the relationships I have with my online pals seem to have a lot more strength to them than they rightfully should.

Shane, btw is doing something that I really wish I could do; he's going to Comic-Con this year, and as much as I really like the guy, I'm a pretty dirty shade of green about the whole thing.

But that's why I'm so stoked about this Moviethon thing he and his business partner have cooked up. Its a way for the two of them to raise money to go to Comic Con while allowing contributors the thrill of forcing them to watch some really shitty movies. Any one donating anything via Paypal, (even a buck) selects the worst movie they can think of, and at the end of June, Shane and his bud have to sit in a room and watch the 10 worst of the worst in a row, in one sitting. So far for my entry I'm trying to decide between Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Grease, Hudson Hawk, It's Pat: The Movie, Weekend at Bernie's, Gigli, Howard the Duck, or anything at all by Uwe Boll. It'll be worth the few bucks if they even have to sit through one of those.

If you're interested, check it out here.

Labels: comics, everything else, superman

Labels: comics, superman

I hope that amongst the regular stories about some celebrity's boobs and where she was when they popped out in front of a flock of paparazzi, everyone managed to hear about one of the single most important discoveries ever, the discovery of a planet only 20.5 light years away that may be capable of sustaining life very much like we know it.

In case you turned the tv off after the boob story, here's a link.

Hmm, let's see.

Red dwarf star? Check.

Higher relative mass and gravity? Check.

Kryptonite core? Unconfirmed. So far.

Labels: everything else, superman

I've been on a bit of a Justice League kick lately. Been playing JL Heroes on my PSP, and just read Matt Wagner's Trinity, (which is AWESOME by the way). I'm still trying to work my way through Infinite Crisis while avoiding all the spoilers I can, which is harder than you'd think since I live online so much.

I also recently finished watching the entire series of Justice League (aka Justice League Unlimited), and after watching all the episodes in only a few weeks, I can appreciate what a great show it is. Or was I guess, now that its finished its run.

It is, first of all, a cartoon that is in no way whatsoever for the kiddies. Unless you like your kiddies watching their favourite superheroes/villains beat the holy shit out of each other or die in every other frame, to say nothing of all of the gratuitous shots of Wonder Woman's cartoon cleavage. I'm 32 and I'm not even sure that I should have been watching it.

But the show was very faithful to the comics that inspired them, even though they had to take a few liberties. There were almost 70 years of continuity to deal with after all.

Anyway, I was kind of bummed after watching the final ep, because there really aren't a lot of good shows for the superhero geek out there. Well, there is Heroes. And Smallville. In particular this season's episode of Smallville 'Justice' which retold the JL origin story. Ok, I may expect too much. Either way, I was stoked to find out that I and people like me can look forward to more JL action in the future.

Turns out the chances are good that a Justice League movie is coming to a theater near me.

And if that doesn't happen, at least they'll be making new JL cartoons. Good casting choices too.

Labels: comics, smallville, superman

A woman walks into a bar and sits down, she notices a man sitting a couple seats down. She watches as he takes a shot, runs to the window, jumps out, flies around the building and then sits back down.

Astounded the woman asked how he did this.

He answered, "magic shot." She tells him to do it again to prove it.

He slams another shot and repeats his performance.

The man looks at her and says "go ahead give it a try." The woman orders a shot, slams it, runs and jumps out the window and falls to her death.

The bartender looks over at the man and says "You know Superman, you can be a real asshole when you're drunk."

Labels: funny, superman

So maybe it turns out that Joe Shuster, Canadian and co-creator of Superman, was less of a creator of iconic mythology and more of a prophesier of future events.

He was just off by about 10,000 years.

A meteorite of unknown origin was recovered in a spot in western Kansas that coincides pretty close bang on to where the town of Smallville is in Superman mythology.

Now I'm not saying that there is proof that anything else crashed along with the group of meteors that this one was a part of. Anything like a man with Superpowers and a benevolent drive to protect mankind from itself. I'm not saying that at all.

I'm just saying that I had a bit of a geekasm when I read the headline 'Rare meteorite found in Kansas field'.

Although it goes without saying that we might want to keep an eye on the researchers for any 'meteor rock' induced superpowers.

Labels: smallville, superman

"An essential characteristic of the superhero mythology is, there's the superhero, and there's the alter ego. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spider-Man is actually Peter Parker. When he wakes up in the morning, he's Peter Parker. He has to put on a costume to become Spider-Man. And it is in that characteristic that Superman stands alone. Superman did not become Superman, Superman was born Superman. When Superman wakes up in the morning, he's Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red "S", that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears, the glasses, the business suit, that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak, he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race."
-Bill (David Carradine) from Kill Bill Vol.2

I don't know if I entirely agree with cynical Bill, but the quote makes a good point about The Man of Steel: The man that everyone calls Clark Kent was born to be Superman.

I watched the movie Superman Returns at a drive-in theater with Superwife and my one year old daughter a few nights ago, and it was everything I could have hoped for, and then some. And if you run a search on this blog on the words Superman or Smallville, you'll get an idea of just how high my expectations were.

In a few words: I am a lifelong Superman fan.

And if director Bryan Singer's epic story of the return of Superman doesn't disappoint a fanboy like me, how can it go wrong with the rest of the world?



There are so many little nuances to this movie that make it so great, such an homage to all of the Superman canon that has come before. The initial credits, carefully recreated to mirror those from the 1978 movie; the little snippets of dialogue culled from earlier movies; the recasting of Marlon Brando as Jor-El (see my entry about that masterstroke here); the salute to Action Comics #1 (see photo above); the masterful reworking of the Superman score that everyone knows by heart; the gorgeous special effects; I could go on and on.

The bottom line is that Superman Returns is a triumphant re-imagination of the world's most iconic and beloved superhero. Bryan Singer is to be commended for his careful and loving treatment of the legend of the last son of Krypton.

Here's a (mostly) spoiler free review from Scifi.com.

If you like your reviews spoiler-full (you've been warned!) check out supermanhomepage.com.

And finally a good friend of mine has some very well-written thoughts on Big Blue's Return on his blog here, including an excellent recap of the pertinent events from Superman I and II that directly affect the plot of Superman Returns. And as a parent, his use of Jor-El's words to a young Clark/Kal-El can't help but tear me up everytime I read them.

I think it would take some work to find someone who wasn't aware of the mythology of Superman, regardless of the corner of the world you're looking. Everybody has heard of Superman. In fact, Superwife and I were recently watching a special on aid in South Africa and one of the poverty stricken children waiting in line for a meal was wearing a (way too large) Superman t-shirt. It made me realize just how global the mythology of this character really has become.

What I'm driving at is that Superman is a legend that has touched millions of people across the world and that it would take a lot to satisfy the myriad facets of the character and his exploits that those people have come to enjoy so much over the years. I think that the movie Superman Returns is the best possible realization of that goal, and it is the one movie that I will be recommending to everyone I know, all summer.

I'll finish this love-in about Superman Returns with one of my favourite movie quotes ever, delivered by Brando to a then-young Clark on what he can do for humanity:

"They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all — their capacity for good — I have sent them you, my only son."

Labels: movies, scifi, superman

Every fan of the Superman movies remembers Marlon Brando's turn as Jor-El, Superman's Kryptonian father.

In my estimation he was memorable more for the over-acting than anything else. But that's likely what made it impossible for Brian Singer to cast anyone else in the role for the upcoming Superman Returns.

So what do you do when the actor you need for the part has been dead for over 2 years?

No, you don't dig him up, as one of my more creepy little voices wants to suggest.

You spend a ridiculous amount of money and time securing the rights to use the dead man's likeness and then painstakingly re-create the actor's movements and voice using old footage and very high tech CG animation.

Check out how Brando was brought back to life in this video.

I for one can't wait to see how it turns out when the movie hits theaters next week.

Labels: movies, scifi, superman

It was reported today that actor Nicolas Cage, star of great movies like Faceoff and Kiss of Death, and crapfests like Matchstick Men, 3000 Miles to Graceland, and pretty much every other movie he's made to date, has become a father to a healthy baby boy.

Normally this isn't the sort of thing you'd see on this blog.

I kind of hate celebrities, and the fact that western global culture is obsessed with celebrities and every facet of their lives. I'd go so far as to say that if i came across a 'celebrity' I would be more likely to laugh at them than be overcome by any desire that they acknowledge me in any way. In my world the real celebrities are the doctors working on a cure for cancer, the people of The Planetary Society, the people who want to effect positive change in the world for no reason other than because the species benefits from their efforts.

However.

Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-El.

Again, that name is Kal-El, as in the fictional sole survivor of the doomed planet Krypton. You might know him better as Superman.

So Mr. Cage, as much as I think actors are disgustingly glorified in our society, I have to tip my hat to you. In a world where my wife wouldn't have divorced me just for suggesting it, and if we had a son instead of a daughter, I would have named my boy the same thing: Start him off right.

Labels: superman