Clark Kent, Frequent Flyer

Having seen Superman Returns, Lee Goldberg writes, in part:

...I couldn't get past Brandon Routh's irritating and pointless Christopher Reeve impersonation. It struck me as a particularly stupid idea... it would be like doing a James Bond movie and hiring someone to do a Sean Connery impersonation. The imitation works for satire...but for a drama? I don't understand the thinking behind it. Why couldn't they just let Routh create his own, unique portrayal?

My comment:

I got the impression that Singer was afraid to mess with what poeple liked about the 1978 and '80 movies.

I've always preferred the idea that Clark Kent was the genuine character--embodying an immigrant's wish to live the American Dream--and Superman was the disguise he wore to fight crime on ths side.

I enjoyed Deborah Joy LeVine's concept in the first season of LOIS & CLARK, where Kent had used his power of flight to travel the world, developing a journalist's interest in various cultures before deciding to settle in Metropolis. Here was a character who could go toe-to-toe with Lois Lane and be attractive to her on his own, without the tights and cape.

Singer reduced Clark to a goofy disguise with very little screen time. He shouldn't have waited for a sequel to tell his own story.