It's all simple in concept until it doesn't make money. I wouldn't accuse Tim Burton and co. of not giving a shit about the characters but the reality is Batman Returns made a lot less than Batman (not to mention complaints from stupid parents who can't read MPAA ratings) so Joel Schumacher was brought in. Same thing with Bryan Singer. The only thing he did wrong in WB's eyes was make a film that underperformed financially.
Nolan got a pass because there was a huge return on investment. If BvS made a billion dollars WB would've insisted Batman kill everyone he laid eyes on in Justice League.
Should have responded earlier, but all those films mentioned had issues.
Tim Burton wasn't really a fan of Batman. While I love his style in terms of Gotham, he never really understood the characters and his autism kept him from being able to read most comics. Returns suffered from him being let off the leash to do whatever he wanted to do. He made a very bizarre film that had Penguin as some mutant monster man that bites people's noses off and Catwoman going from a bugler to some spiritual being that has nine lives. Tim needed to be reeled in a little like with the first as the Burton-isms were a little too much.
Superman Returns was boring as sin. Bryan Singer made a sad continuation that was more about Donner than Superman. The plot sucked as it was yet another Lex real estate scheme, but this time it was mixed in with a weird Superman cuck-to-stalker plot. It really did a disservice to both Supes and Donner.
As for Man of Steel, it also suffered from a weak, derivative plot (It is Zod, again), though I think its worst sin was the "realism". The big fight scenes probably could have worked had there been more color and Synder decided to not try and make the destruction reminiscent of 9/11. The movie is too much of a product of the Dark Knight era to really work as a Superman film. Also, I think
@el bandito loco put it best:
I don't love (or even really like) that movie, but I think those two arguments have always been the least of it's problems. Pa Kent and Superman himself being sort of a reluctant lost weirdo unsure of himself are much worse.
This is incorrect, sorry. Superman interacting with other characters in his world is one of the most interesting aspects of his character. Maybe they revere him, maybe they're annoyed by him, maybe they're intimidated, but I would expect they respect what he does and can do. He doesn't exist in a vacuum, and when I see any of the earlier comic movies from the 90s/2000s it becomes super obvious early into the movie that licensing is the reason we get a Spiderman movie without Ironman or Fantastic 4 or the New Warriors in background shots.
The superhero universes take away from the universe of the specific hero. It works a bit more with Marvel as past Spider-Man and the X-Men, most of Marvel really lacks a distinct location, cast and rogue gallery. For DC, each hero has their own well-defined city, cast and rogues. Constantly mashing action figures would take away the distinctness of each hero. In a superhero cinematic universe, the team-ups should be relegated to their own event films - primarily Justice League. Past that, we should have films exploring the uniqueness of their respective IP, not cluttering it with others.
In the case of Superman, he is just below Batman in having a large wealth of material to use. It would suck to miss out on the variety of villains and allies Superman has because writers decide cramming in the Flash is better. I already pointed out how Mercy got axed for the authority bitch in this new film, which is such a sad loss given how great she can usually be for Lex. I would say the same for them going hard on other heroes when I would rather see Clark interact with his cousin, or his clone, or the wide variety of people that make up the Super family yet get shafted every adaptation.
Same goes for all the other DC heroes. With Flash, I want to see the rogues, Gorilla City and all the crazy time travel alternate dimension bullshit. With Green Lantern, I want to see the Galaxy and all the various Lantern cores and their respective planets. With Wonder Woman, I want to see the Greek Gods and all the Greek/Amazon magic. Gives these characters their own trilogies to really express what makes them so unique to DC.
Luthor should be a central character in any Superman story. Superman: The Animated Series or Season 1 of Lois & Clark are the best examples of what I'm talking about. He's not always the main villain of the story but he's a constant thorn in Superman's side and usually the main cause of most of his issues.
Exactly, Lex should be there but not always the centre villian, even though most problems can be traced back to him.
A good DC universe should really go through the trials of Lex Luthor. Lex having a character arc where he ups the stakes for Superman and the JL, only to then end with him “being the one to save the world” is the perfect Luthor. Luthor should be a piece of shit, but there has to be something there to bring out the side of the man that pushes humanity forward.
