-
Recent Posts
- 42 (2013) vs. Remember the Titans (2000)
- Admission (2013) vs. About a Boy (2002)
- Oz the Great and Powerful (2012) vs. The NeverEnding Story (1984)
- Dark Skies (2013) vs. Dark Skies (1996)
- Oscar Wrap-Up 2013
- A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) vs. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- Oscar Smack-a-thon!
- The Tiersky Top Ten, 2012
- Smackdown Smacks Down the 2013 Oscar Nominees
- Broken City (2013) vs. City Hall (1996)
- Men of Steel (Smackdown’s Superman Smashup)
- Les Miserables (2012) vs. The Fugitive (1993)
Recent Comments
- celebrated chef julia child can cook rumali roti9 on Spider-Man Gets New Threads
- Luke Samorano on Les Miserables (2012) vs. The Fugitive (1993)
- ryan mercer writer on Men of Steel (Smackdown’s Superman Smashup)
- diane on The Walking Dead (AMC) -vs- Falling Skies (TNT)
- last Kings clothing | on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) -vs- The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965)
- Sometimes it is really difficult to find a fun craft for kids of all ages. It can be particularly tough when you have a wide range of ages. Finding a project that is interesting for older kids that have more coordination and ability and yet simple enough on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012) -vs- Time After Time (1979)
- instant loans online on Battleship (2012)
- instant payday loans on Hugo (2011) -vs- Pinocchio (1940)
- instant loans on Smackdown Smacks Down the 2013 Oscar Nominees
- instant loan on X-Men: First Class (2011) -vs- X-Men (2000)
Tag Archives: Superman
Men of Steel (Smackdown’s Superman Smashup)
If you count Christopher Reeve (ignoring the earlier Kirk Alyn “Superman”) as the original fully-realized film Superman in 1978′s “Superman: The Movie”, that makes Brandon Routh’s 2006 “Superman Returns” the reboot and 2013′s “Man of Steel” the reboot of the reboot.
But don’t forget the TV Supermans: George Reeves from “Adventures of Superman” to John Haymes Newton and Gerard Christopher in “Superboy” to Dean Cain in “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” to Tom Welling in “Smallville.”
Our latest Smashup pays tribute to the reality that we’re almost getting to the point where as many actors have played Superman/Clark Kent as have played Hamlet. Continue reading
Posted in Blockbuster, Book Adaptation, Comic Book, Major Star Vehicle, Re-Make, Smackdown News
Tagged alien, blockbuster, book adaptation, box office, films, remake, sci-fi, sequel, superhero, Superman
1 Comment
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) -vs- Batman Begins (2005)
These two characters are flagship iconic brands for the Marvel and DC universes. It’s almost impossible to conceive of either of them really existing properly without what these characters bring to the table, whether that table is part of the Avengers or the Justice League.
Batman has clearly outstripped Captain America in overall name recognition in our times (although that could change), but both characters are equally important in what they mean to their caretakers.
Like the new Green Lantern, X-Men: First Class and Thor from earlier in the summer, Captain America: The First Avenger is an origin story. So, too, was Batman Begins when it came out in 2005. Captain America hopes to launch a franchise while Batman re-booted a faded franchise by starting over.
Despite my historical embrace of the First Avenger, I promise as a former honorary junior member of the Justice League of America, I am perfectly capable of rendering a judgment for the Dark Knight if he’s deserving. So then — which of these origin films is the most successful adaptation from the page to the stage? Here’s the Tale of the Tape, matching up with the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con. Continue reading
RESULTS! The SmackPoll: Comic-Con Superhero Edition
THE RESULTS ARE IN. All the fighters have entered the ring now in this “Summer of Smackdown!” With the release of Captain America this weekend, the battle for blockbuster superiority is now in full swing. So far Thor has dropped the hammer on the competition, taking in over $446M since its international release.
From the beginning, we’ve had our SmackPoll up, asking our readers which film they think will go down as the best super-hero film of the summer. No, it’s not scientific, nor even a real fair fight given the staggered release dates, but it is kind of surprising. As of today, the film that just was released Captain America: The First Avenger is in first place, followed by Thor, followed by X-Men: First Class and it’s DC’s Green Lantern at the back of the pack.
The poll will stay open until the end of Comic-Con on Sunday at 5:00pm PST. If you’re in attendance, or following things on the Internet, pass the poll around to your friends and, now that Captain America is out, let’s see if he can hang on to his lead. Continue reading
Posted in Action, Comic Book
Tagged Batman, blockbuster, book adaptation, box office, Captain America, Comic-Con, ComicCon, DC, film, films, Green Lantern, Iron Man, Marvel, SDCC, Stan Lee, superhero, Superman, Thor, X-Men
Leave a comment
Thor (2011) -vs- Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (1980 | 2006)
Down here in Australia, we actually got Thor in our theaters a full two weeks before the God of Thunder finally visited the United States. Along with our Aussie pride that the title character is played by local lad Chris Hemsworth, that still doesn’t quite equal what our American friends may be feeling over the success of Seal Team Six, but we take our thrills where we find them.
Comic book heroes coming to blows is a concept as old as the medium itself, but this Smackdown pits entire universes against each other. Thor versus Superman. Marvel versus DC. Yes!
The extraterrestrial Superman is the most recognizable comic book character ever created and Thor, the mythically awesome Stan Lee-created Asgardian God who comes to Earth, are the powerhouse figures of their respective comic book universes. DC Comics has published Superman since 1939, while Thor has been around since Marvel introduced him in 1962. Both have incredible powers. Superman derives his incredible strength and abilities from his proximity to Earth’s yellow sun, while Thor’s powers come from his family lineage as a Norse God (who may be an extraterrestrial himself) — the God of Thunder, to be exact. Continue reading
Posted in Action, Comic Book
Tagged blockbuster, Director's Cut, Richard Donner, superhero, Superman, Thor
9 Comments
Lois & Clark: The (Old) New Adventures of Superman
I have so many great memories about the Man-of-Steel, it’s hard to know where to start. Like… being a six year old buying a Superman comic from a magazine rack in a drug store… Running home to watch George Reeves in a syndicated re-run of the first TV series… Standing in line for hours to watch Superman: The Movie starring Christopher Reeve.
Nothing compares, though, with working on that first season of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. It ranks as one of the greatest creative satisfactions I’ve had in the series TV business.
I had first worked with Deborah Joy LeVine (she received the WGA “Developed By” credit) on an ABC law series called Equal Justice. A gifted writer, she had written an exceptional pilot that ABC had picked up and, at the same time, ordered a half-dozen back-up scripts. So before film was even being shot, Deborah Joy, her brother Dan and I were throwing “super” ideas around every day in a little trailer on the Warner Brothers lot. Continue reading
Posted in Comic Book, Commentary, Television, TV Smack
Tagged comedy, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, romantic comedy, superhero, Superman
2 Comments
Let’s At Least Agree on Truth and Justice…
http://youtu.be/pvZpkh7sEdw
UPDATE (5/3/11): In one of the most spectacular examples of bad timing imaginable, Superman has renounced his America citizenship when the world’s attention is focused on the United States military’s success in taking out Osama bin Laden. Nobody at DC Comics can be happy about this. But in this post, done the day before Osama’s death, we questioned whether they had the tone right on their decision in the first place, even if they felt it was the inevitable evolution of their character.
Like a lot of people, I was taken by surprise hearing the news that Superman has renounced his American citizenship. Honestly, this felt more striking than even the news in the early ’90s that D.C. Comics planned to “kill” him. Of course, in the comic book universe death is not forever while this new “citizen of the world” orientation probably is.
In short: In Action Comics #900, Superman tries to intervene in Iranian protests but gets perceived as a tool of the United States. He gets peeved and announces he will go to the United Nations and renounce his citizenship. Aside from the obvious inflammatory nature of this to some people (most of whom do not read Superman anyway), I can’t get the image out of my head of Superman talking to the U.N. in that dreadful fourth installment of the Christopher Reeve film series, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Continue reading
Superman -vs- The American Way?
For years, Superman has been heralded as the champion of “truth, justice, and the American way.” But the editorial staff at DC Comics has dared to challenge this ideal by creating a controversy of global proportions. What does it mean for the U.S. if Superman is no longer American?
This week, Superman made news headlines by declaring that he intends to go before the United Nations and renounce his American citizenship. In “The Incident,” a story featured in the 900th issue of Action Comics, Superman is questioned by the U.S. national security advisor regarding the hero’s recent appearance in Iran.
What happened was this: Superman heard about protests in Tehran against Ahmadinejad’s administration. Knowing that past protests had led to violence and protest leaders being arrested, he decided to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. He landed at the protest and stood — neither moving nor speaking — for 24 hours. Then he left.
Considering the already tense state of affairs between the U.S. and Iran — not to mention the situation in countries like Egypt, Libya, and Syria — it’s no surprise that Superman’s simple appearance at a protest could spark concern from both governments. To Iran, this must have looked like America holding a nuclear bomb over their heads.
Continue reading
Smack Classix Week: Superman
Superman: Crisis of Conscience?
In news that’s rocking the world from Smallville to Metropolis, Superman renounces his American citizenship at the same time Osama bin Laden gets taken down by U.S. forces.
This week, Movie Smackdown! calls out the Man-of-Steel in new essays, a new Smackdown with Thor, and some stories from our own archives. Check it out, something new every day: Continue reading
Superman -vs- Clark Kent
How clueless do you have to be to not realize that Superman and Clark Kent look exactly alike?
That’s the question for the ages — something that has haunted every version of Superman since he debuted as a comic book character in 1938. His was one of the original “secret identities” and the concept involved the Man of Steel being accepted by everyone as an alien visitor (who looks human) known as Superman. Even so, no problem there. Part two got tricky…
When he put on a pair of glasses and a business suit and acted a little differently in order to pass as Clark Kent, however, it seemed that nobody realized they were the same person. As comic book films have gotten more and more realistic, the cognitive dissonance we experience in enjoying the character has grown greater and greater.
Back in 1994, I got a chance to wrestle with that conundrum for a while when I was supervising producer of the first season of ABC’s Lois & Clark. Now it looks like it’s Christopher Nolan’s turn since he’s been tapped as the Chosen One for the latest Superman feature reboot. He’s probably already obsessing on this and many other issues and, maybe, just maybe, he’s going to take the license to fix this one. I think he can — even while keeping the original conceit — and we’ll get to that in a minute… Continue reading
Posted in Comic Book, Television
Tagged Batman, Christopher Nolan, Clark Kent, Comic books, Comics, DC, Lois and Clark, Lois Lane, Stan Lee, Superman, The Dark Knight, Warner Brothers
2 Comments
“Don’t call me Chief!”
This week, the Daily Planet has lost its editor-in-chief. We at the Smackdown mourn the loss of Jackie Cooper.
Cooper, a child-actor in the Depression era and later a TV executive and producer, died this week at the age of 88. And though he had a score of acting credits, his name evokes just one image for me: Perry White, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet.
In all four of the Christopher Reeve Superman films, Cooper played Clark Kent’s boss at Metropolis’ number one newspaper. And though Perry White is most known for his signature catch phrase “Don’t call me Chief!” (most always aimed at poor Jimmy Olsen), he didn’t utter those words in Superman: The Movie. Instead, a mix-up with the morning coffee and the sugar gave us the humorous line “Don’t call me ‘sugar’!” instead. Continue reading →