Oh So much Superman what to choose what to choose?

[Lindsay Lombardi]

Hello,

I'm currently teaching a unit on the mythological and societal context of Superheroes in American pop culture.

We are currently reading Death of Superman I would like to compliment the reading with a film as a comparison.  However I can't decide which Superman film to use, or if I should utilize some Smallville episodes.

I was wondering if I should use the Christopher Reeve films from '78, smallville episodes, an animated film version, or the most recent Superman film (which I didn't love).


If I'm leaving anything out that would be a good supplement I'm all ears.


I found the attached image and that I'd share.

-Lindsay

[Stergios Botzakis]

If you want a graphic novel version in the future, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's All-Star Superman series from the past couple of years was very well received and quite good, I think. I think the mythological links would be good speaking points, too. As a bonus, Superman does run into a couple of mythical characters, Hercules and Atlas, in one of the issues. The series is available in 2 trades (it ran 12 issues) or one big edition.

For their currency, I'd probably go with Smallville or the latest movie version. I don't think they are the best done versions but they do shed different light into the story that might make for good discussion in the context of mythology. I didn't watch much Smallville past the first few episodes, so I don't know if there'd be stronger ones to use but the pilot one would work well, I think.