Superduperman

I'm very interested to see how the new Superman Returns movie does. Bryan Singer is certainly the premiere choice for Director, as the first two X-Men movies are top-of-the-line comic book adaptations. I thought #1 was the first Hollywood movie to feel like it was happening in the same world as the actual Marvel comics. Costumes may have been updated but the atmosphere was all X-Men, translated seamlessly into film.

Meanwhile, there's Superman is a Dick.

These are vintage DC Silver Age (early 1960's) Superman family covers, Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger classics (plus a smattering of other artists), all of which are a little bit sicko.

Superman wants to short circuit Pat Boone's pop star career. Like Peter in the New Testament, he denies knowing Jimmy Olsen, and on other covers punishes him uncompassionately to "teach him a lesson". He's cruel to Lois Lane as well, mocking her when she's old and he and Lana Lang are still young, arm-in-arm, laughing. He makes Lois think he's a blackmailer and blindfolds her. He prosecutes Lois for murder while Batman thought-bubbles, "I'm save Lois from the death house!"

The old covers all strive to have great, arresting concepts, the kind that would make a ten year-old pick it up off the news rack and plunk down his ten cent allowance. What's odd isn't just the irony of taste change over forty years, it's that some of the attitudes -- Superman looks on smiling, Lois unaware as she's forced to be Cinderella, scrubbing the floor in tears -- they just seem kinda...'50's berserk.

Is Superman the slim/trim Brandon Routh of the new movie, or is his the berserk '50's dad musclehead?

Or is he just Superduper?