It's utterly baffling to me how Superman purists can be confused as to why Superman has less cinematic presence and popularity than Batman or other heroes and refuse to see themselves and their rigid standards for the character as responsible for that in anyway.

They staunchly refuse to let him grow or develop past 1978 or the Silver Age. They won't let him struggle or be vulnerable or doubt himself or be human and relatable in any of the ways that heroes are supposed to be and which all the most popular heroes have been.

Even Brandon Routh, who had the perfect blend of dramatic gravity and midwestern charm, got shit for his version being "dour" because he struggled with his place in the world and felt alone.

They won't allow Clark to be human. They insist he must be above humanity at all times.

I'm not strawmanning as I've seen fans say exactly that, that Clark is an aspirational figure who must be a goal for people to reach rather than someone to whom we can relate or see ourselves in

They want Clark to have all the good parts of humanity but none of the bad stuff.

I don't know what the key for Superman's cinematic success and I don't think anyone else does either. Even when a film does well, as MOS did, fans find a way to undermine it by saying it should have done better or would have if they'd done this or that or whatever.

But I think we can all agree that the current method of expecting a perfect adaptation from the start and disavowing and abandoning any version that doesn't reach the arbitrary goals fans set for it right away and then waiting ten years for another one isn't working.

If you're a Superman fan who doesn't see any issue with the behavior thus far or the expectation fans have, that's fine. You do you.

But don't start wondering why it hasn't been leading to cinematic success or why directors don't want to tackle the character the way many have.

There's an inevitable point where you just have to ask if this standard for the character and behavior is really working anymore or if it ever did to begin with.