If you want to get an argument started in the DC universe then just say anything about Henry Cavill playing Superman and it’s bound to happen. Sam Barsanti of AV Club has more to say on this matter. To be honest though he wasn’t the worst and apart from the whole mustache fiasco that occurred during Justice League, he did play a fairly solid character given that he didn’t exactly get the opportunity to follow through with the part as some people might have liked. Plus, Clark Kent being an aimless drifter didn’t really seem to settle well with a lot of people since it didn’t seem to go along with the idea that Superman was a true icon and was a paragon of virtue. Let’s face it, destroying a person’s truck, no matter that he deserved it, doesn’t really say ‘superhero’. But apart from that Cavill was not the worst that’s ever donned the suit, and the criticism of the suit itself is kind of hard to really acknowledge since it’s not so horrible that one can’t tell what it means and what it’s meant to represent. The questions that are given on CinemaSins and that are echoed by so many seem to be posed out of spite and speculation more than anything.
The truth is that Cavill is still up for playing the part if anyone is interested in bringing him back. As Corey Chichizola of CinemaBlend has reported Cavill still has a lot that he thinks he can offer to the role so long as he’s invited back, but he didn’t give much else on what he would like to do other than to deliver a bit more truth to the character. At this point nothing is really being planned and DC almost looks as though it’s going the standalone movie route since trying to emulate the MCU didn’t really work out all that well. Even with people trying to petition for the Snyder cut of Justice League to be released it’s still Marvel’s ballgame at the moment when it comes to the big screen, and a return to the man of steel and whatever he has planned could be a while in coming yet. Eventually it might be feasible for the Justice League to return, but it would likely be best if it underwent a reboot of its own, so it could be some time before such a thing happens. In the meantime there are other enemies and allies that Superman could meet up with since he is one of the most prominent characters in the DC universe, some might say the MOST prominent since he kicked things off in a big way.
As far as who’s most suited to play the hero Cavill is at this moment the front-runner for a lot of people for a few reasons. One is that he has the powerful build and look of Superman, and so long as we don’t see any horrible CGI smiles again in the future things could possibly proceed in a positive way since he does seem to embody the hero in a big way. He can play an intelligent individual, he has the capability of dialing things down a notch, though it’s yet to be seen in this role, and he simply has a better big screen appearance when it comes to being Superman than Brandon Routh, Tyler Hoechlin, or Dean Cain. While each individual that’s put on the suit throughout the years has done their best, and Hoechlin is perhaps one of the best on TV, Cavill really came out and created a character that is somehow vulnerable in ways that some people feel isn’t necessary for Superman but still makes him feel at least a little easier to relate to. The fact that he’s so overpowered is something that a lot of people won’t get over any time soon since it’s true, the Kryptonian is as close to being the be-all, end-all of superheroes. But as we’ve seen he does have weaknesses and he does have shortcomings, though playing on them and using them as advantages takes a devious and clever mind to first figure them out and then apply pressure to them so that Superman is rendered at least somewhat helpless. Lex Luthor is of course one of his greatest opponents not just because he’s intelligent and ruthless, but because Superman has made it a point not to take out his enemies unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you’ll recall, people hit the roof when he killed Zod in the Man of Steel.
But that’s what this hero needs, a little dirtying up and a way to make him easy to relate to for other people that want to see something other than a goody-goody that will just beat people into submission time and again. No one is saying that Superman has to go as dark as Batman, but seeing him taking a slightly harder edge to round out his character might be nice, and it would be great to see him humbled a bit now and again to remind us that he is made of flesh and blood, not actual steel.
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