Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Kal-L(?) of Earth 2

I really like this sketch of what the new Earth 2's Superman is going to look like.  This is exactly what a 21st Century update of Clark's iconic costume should have been.  Gone are the problematic-for-management trunks.  Gone is the original, open-for-potential-copyright-issues logo.  Yet the costume as a whole looks exactly like what Superman should be wearing, and it's done in a manner that's been similarly effective for many of the numerous updates Batman has had to his attire over the decades.






This is a Superman I can see as the face of the DC Universe, leader of the Justice League and an inspiration for others to take up the mantle (said even despite my misgivings about Superman as a storytelling device and my sympathy for Luthor's point of view).  This is the Superman that DC should be hard selling to new readers and showing off in the new movie.

It's a look that's powerful and imposing while managing to be distinctive in it's simplicity.  I like how the logo flows into the cape, which drapes over his shoulders.  I like the streamlined, lightweight aspect to it, conveying a Superman unencumbered by anything unnecessary.  I like how it pulls this off yet manages to consist of simple, blocky shapes that a child could replicate in the margins of his textbooks. 

Strong.  Bold.  Classic.  Simple.

If a revamp had to happen then this is what the "real" Superman should look like.