Tim Burton / Nic Cage Superman FINALLY REVEALED!

[matt]

Don't care for any of them.

[MAVERICK]

Fresh off the reveal of the Tim Burton Superman movie designs, here now are costume concepts for the scrapped JJ Abrams Superman movie:

[Valentine Smith]

ok...I like all of those. I don't love them. But I'd be ok with any of them in a movie, provided the actor wears it with authority.

They look like an alien costume. It's almost Flash Gordon-y and regal. I love it, and it's absolutely how they should try to sell the suit if it's supposed to be of alien origin.

[Deleted]

I'm not a fan of the high collar, and the "belt buckle" looks like it's part of a navel piercing in half the pics, but I like the idea. I've always thought integrating the shield into the cape could look cool. It seems like they were really going to run with the idea that the shield is an alien symbol that just happens to resemble an S.

[Jor-L5150]

some of those coustumes for mcg and abrams suit look tolerable, i am not at all in love with them- but it could be worse.

the thing is, even with a slick costume if the story is heinous then it won't matter. the best we'll get is maybe some cool action figures that will look neat out of context, but then we remember a zombie superman or a kryptonian lex and resent it and burn our action figures with a cigarette lighter.

[Deleted]

The Abrams script got more things right than it was given credit for. I loved the way they wrote Lois and Clark; it read like a fresh update of the dynamic from the original films. The Krypton stuff was a fatal flaw, though. The script grinds to a screeching halt whenever the story shifts back to Ty-Zor, Jor-El and the robot turtle. It also could have done without the awkward attempts to shoehorn a "modernized" Lex Luthor into the story.

[ye5man]

Drawings are one thing; I wonder how a select few would have reacted had Routh actually wore a costume like that?

[Valentine Smith]

I'm firmly of the mindset that Superman's costume could use a tweak or three for a new film.

It has always, always, always annoyed me, since childhood, the concept of "my Mommy made it for me", and that the "S" stands for Superman. If the crest is Kryptonian, then make the suit Kryptonian in origin.

The first one of those designs in particular looks like it could be a Kryptonian military uniform, something ceremonial, scientific official clothing, etc. And it's still recognizably Superman. It's not edgy, or hip looking. In fact, it's got kind of a retro sci-fi vibe to it.

Now, I don't think a redesign that drastic would have worked within the story of Superman Returns, but in a Superman movie where his Kryptonian heritage is an important part of the plot, then this is the way to go!

[Jimbo]

I guess those guys really disliked the idea of a belt, but felt the need to reference that there was a belt in the past.

I think you have to go all or nothing. They obviously did not like the red underwear, so a belt by itself would have looked weird. As it is though, it looks strange for another reason. Those sketches make it look like Superman has a huge yellow belly button or a tumor.

[Valentine Smith]

There was a rendering posted recently that was very similar to these, but around the "non-belt" was also a field of red, which breaks up the blue a bit, but still isn't underwear. It helped solve the weird non-belt issues as well.

I don't like the ones with the single...thing in the middle. The ones with three look a bit more natural.

[jak321]

The first design is kinda cool.

Hopefully we'll get to see the costume that was made for George Miller's Justice League film.

[crazy_asian_man]

I agree with Jimbo--- It's either all or nothing, when it comes to Supes' design. While I wasn't crazy about a few of the alterations Singer did in SR, it wasn't nearly as radical as any of these.

DC comics played around with different looks for Superman over the years---- then ALWAYS ending up coming close to the original, after all was said and done. Why fix what's not broken?

If you want to modernize something or make it look splashy, then have the villains wear costumes that are really out there, as a contrast and as an interesting visual energy to put into the picture.
But- to me, Supes should visually be the same- an icon is an icon.

The simplicity and elegance of the Superman costume helps reinforce the idea of the character's essentially pure and simple nature. (My op).

[Valentine Smith]

Nothing about these redesigns is all that much different, though. Are the red underpants REALLY all that necessary? If they changed the colors, removed the emblem, got rid of the cape, etc, I could see it.

Christ, look how much different Batman's costume is in every single live action incarnation since 1989.. He looks like freaking RoboCop. And Batman's costume was as virtually unchanged as Superman's for 50 years, and suddenly he shows up on screen in black battle armor.

None of these designs is anywhere near as radical as that. And again, it's all about context. If you're pushing a Superman movie focusing on Superman's alien heritage (which the Abrams script certainly did), and the costume itself is almost a plot point in that regard, then these designs make sense. And they're all recognizably Superman. In fact, they're far more recognizably Superman than any of the batsuits that Bale has worn are recognizably Batman. You take the ears off those cowls and he's a space marine in a cape!

I mean, I totally understand if you just don't like 'em. But I think for the purpose of a new franchise, I'd be perfectly satisfied with some tweaks to Superman's look. (wouldn't want anything more drastic than what we've seen here) I'm more concerned with the actor's physicality, demeanor, and bearing while wearing the suit. And I also don't want it to look like thick, molded, whatever, as I think it diminishes Superman's impact as a PHYSICAL presence. (just look at how imposing Reeve looks when he's handing over the burglar to Officer Mooney in STM).

I liked Routh's suit, but didn't love it. The most faithful Superman costume you'll ever see in live-action was Gerard Christopher's Superboy suit, but that just wouldn't cut it on the big screen these days.

[Kamdan]

It has always, always, always annoyed me, since childhood, the concept of "my Mommy made it for me", and that the "S" stands for Superman. If the crest is Kryptonian, then make the suit Kryptonian in origin.

Why is that the way you feel? It doesn't bother me any, because a HUMAN artist actually created that 'S' shield. I couldn't swallow the fact that it was an alien symbol as well, because you can see the 'S' as plain as you can see the nose on his face. At least Alex Ross in Kingdom Come tried to give some sort of an alien look, which could be used as the real Krypton symbol, that inspires Clark to adapt it to resemble the 'S' shield we all know.

[Valentine Smith]

eh, y'know...I'm just being a wanker looking for "realism" hahaha!

Actually, since my first exposure to Superman was STM at a very young age (3, I think), even though I clearly saw it as an "S", I accepted the idea that it had something to do with Krypton. The comics came soon after for me.

As I've gotten older, I've latched on more and more to the concept that unless the suit has some deeper meaning, it's a bit silly for a humble guy like Clark to put it on and call himself "SUPERMAN". But, if it's got some heritage to it, and of course, a reporter looking for a headline is gonna see what looks like an "S" and, well...there you have it.

But again, it's context. The Abrams script is pretty explicit about the suit's alien origins, so that's why I'm into the kinda future-y vibe of those.

Actually, the only one I really, really like is the top one. In fact, I'd LOVE to see that in live action.

[Keith]

Bunch more pics from Cage/Burton movie posted by Steve Johnson.

[matt]

All those designs and costumes are just plain horrible. Seriously what were they thinking? How is anyone supposed to walk or move in that costume?

[Jimbo]

WB soooo should have made that. Just imagine how humble it would have made them after the fact.

[stargazer01]

Don't they know who Superman is?!?

I mean, that's HORRIBLE! That's NOT Superman, not even close. Maybe a villain could look like that but Superman? GEEEZ!


Seriously, Donner got Superman right, it only needed a few tweeks here and there to update him and his world. Singer had a very good idea, he just needed to make it a bit more exciting for younger audiences and the fanboys, imo.

[ye5man]

he just needed to make it a bit more exciting for younger audiences and the fanboys, imo.

Fixed

[Valentine Smith]

It's funny, as I've read most of the scripts associated with this era of the project. They're all, almost universally, terrible. But, the big armor Superman thing is mostly for when he's "wearing" what is essentially, the Eradicator from the comics. So, while it still looks stupid here, at least it's not supposed to be Superman for the whole movie.

Nonetheless, it was still an excuse to try to make Superman a toy franchise like the Batflicks were at the time.

[Deleted]

True. These suits are full of all the wretched design excess that infected the Batfilms, but it wasn't meant to be the default Superman look. The "Eradicator" suit was similar in purpose to Batman Forever's sonar Batsuit; it was a 3rd act plot device/toy commercial.

The one thing I sort of dig about it is that it truly seems alien; it's a different take on the glowing crystal aesthetic Donner's Krypton was known for. It completely lacks the elegant simplicity of the earlier Krypton designs, and I'm sure it would've looked like a teenager's Four Loko-induced vomiting session on screen in 1998, but it's interesting.

[mavcon75]

<looking at all of the designs......>
no
no
no
NO
NO
NO
NO
FU@KING heck NO!!
<pauses for puking>
<pauses for cleaning it up>
<looks at Nic Cage body mold wearing an "S" shield>
<pauses to puke again>
<passes out>
<wakes up to see the picture again>
<shoots self in head>


I think that says it all

[Keith]

6 Storyboards for Superman Lives.



Edward Scissorhands meets the Hulk? WTF?


This one above is actually pretty cool

[Valentine Smith]

Interesting, based on the date, if my calculations are correct, these would correspond with the Kevin Smith script. Which actually...is better than all of the other possibilities from that period (Gilroy, Lemkin, Poirier, Wisher, etc).

I'd really love to see all of these.