Friday, March 15, 2013

Superman Vs. The Elite

Creator: Joe Kelly (DC Comics/Warner Bros.)
Ship: Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane

Has anyone here seen Superman Vs. The Elite?


It's an animated movie based on the comic book story What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?  Both are written by Joe Kelly.  It's basically a look at idealistic heroes versus the darker, more violent anti-heroes that became so popular in comics all of a sudden.

The Elite, led by Manchester Black
In the story, Superman meets The Elite, a group of--well, dark and violent anti-heroes.  They believe in simply killing their opponents.  This philosophy, naturally, puts them at odds with Superman, and things escalate to the point where they end up challenging the man of steel to a duel to the death.  Since they are willing to kill and he is not, it seems as though there can only be one outcome.

Superman and Lois are married in this one.  While the relationship isn't really the centerpiece of the story, I think it does contribute a lot to the tension: by the end of the story, Superman's life is on the line.  If he were single, this would just be standard stakes for your typical Saturday-Morning Cartoon slug-fest.  Since he's married here, however, and since we can see how the situation is affecting Lois, the stakes are even higher: two lives may be wrecked, not just one.  If he dies, he leaves Lois behind as a widow.  Now it's drama.

Since this is more of an action story than any kind of romance, Lois and Clark's relationship can, at a glance, seem fairly frigid on the surface. I thought so, until I realized that Lois' comment about Clark needing cold showers wouldn't make any sense as a threat (even a mock-threat) if he were already taking them, if you know what I mean.  We also get a glimpse, towards the beginning, of just why Clark needs someone like her ("Someone's got to look after your S.") and, towards the end, why she needs someone like him.

Overall, Superman Vs. The Elite is a good movie, and while the relationship between Clark and Lois isn't center-stage, it is present.  Lois is a major supporting character here, and her role serves to better the story significantly.  Of course, one can always want more, but hey: at least we're not being beat over the head with the old "Superheroes shouldn't marry" stick.  I'd call this a step in the right direction.