The Pitch - All Star Superman

And here we are at the end of the journey; we've done a film about Superman's morality, one about his humanity, and now, we do one about his divinity. Superman, being the creation of two Jewish American Immigrants during the Great Depression, is a prophetic figure, with more than a few elements of Moses going into him. As the writing of the character passed through more than a few Gentile hands over the 75 years of his tenure, Superman has become more associated with Jesus by many, but thematically, he has always leaned towards the prophetic more than messianic. Remember Superman is The Man of Tomorrow, the example that lights the way for us to follow, more so than the Lamb who will suffer to free us from ourselves. With this in mind, let's take a look at how Superman will die for our sins. 

To address the Kryptonian elephant in the Phantom Zone, yes, there is an animated adaptation of the All Star Superman comic, which is great and needs no replacing. What we'll be doing with our All Star Superman (in fact, I think there's a decent argument to be made that this film should have a different title, like "Superman - Son of Earth", but for the purposes of this article, I stuck with the original) is taking some of the elements and themes of the graphic novel and expanding upon them with what's happened previously. All Star Superman reads as an anthology, with Superman completing his Herculean labors in the face of impending death, which is a great framing device, but doesn't necessarily translate to film. Whilst a five- or twelve-act classical structure would work, three acts is the default for film because it works for most audiences and All Star Superman is really about hope, not tragedy. For those hoping for a 1:1 live action adaptation of the graphic novel, sorry, but that's not what I'm about. 

At the close of the last film, Superman had to part with the closest thing he would ever have to a son and Lex Luthor was arrested for crimes against humanity. As All Star Superman opens, Luthor is on trial and Professor Quintus Quintum is in a space ship heading for the sun. Our version of Quintum is a little more grounded, think a tech-sector wunderkind trying to privatise space travel, but he's still a big Superman fan. Just as Luthor is sentenced to death, an explosion happens on Quitum's spacecraft and it begins to spiral into the sun, but never fear, Superman is here! Supes rescues Quintum and crew, but as he goes back to save the computer, a secondary device detonates, a device containing Krytonite! In an instant, Superman's cells are exposed to more direct Yellow Solar Energy than ever before, increasing his powers, but also starting to destroy his body. Superman is dying. 

With help from Professor Quintum, Superman figures out that he has around a month before his body is overwhelmed with Solar Energy, we get a little montage showing off his increased strength and durability, maybe a little something to indicate that he's become even faster somehow. We're not really going to dwell on how powerful Supes is, because it's boring and doesn't matter all that much to the narrative. For the fans of the comic, we'll only really be adapting parts of the story, Lois visiting the Fortress of Solitude, Lois getting powers, the interview with Luthor, Bar-El and Lilo, and the extended finale with Superman curing cancer and fighting Luthor. Everything will be a bit more grounded than in the comic, because we're aiming for a broad audience, but I think the MCU has kind of lifted just how much people will let superheroes get away with. 

As we've already laid in Kandor, the Phantom Zone and the Fortress of Solitude, so there won't be long-winded explanations of any of those happening, this All Star Superman is almost a mood piece, a requiem for an icon. There will be action scenes, especially the blow-out with Luthor in the 3rd act, and I think it would be worth adding in some more references, like the "I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard" speech from Justice League Unlimited and "The Son becomes the Father" dubbed in via recordings of Marlon Brando, but the message is the point. We're not shying away from the ridiculous, Superman will cure kids of cancer using microscopic Kryptonian doctors, we'll see Krypto and Superman will end the film by flying into the sun to restart it. The Son becomes the father and the father becomes the Sun. 

So why make something so "out-there"? Each of the films in this series has had a point to make, the first was about why Superman is stronger because he doesn't kill, the second is about legacy and family. This film is about Superman as a secular saint. Not even kidding. Superman is the Man of Tomorrow, the shining light to lead the way, who we should aspire to become, and that's what this film is about. I hope you enjoyed this little run of articles, not sure when I'll be looking at pitching films again, but it may be a while. 

In the post credits-sequence of the film, we see Professor Quintum and his staff at the Fortress of Solitude, working at the Phantom Zone Projector. The picture on the Projector gradually clears to reveal Chris Kent floating in the void.