"The Flash" (2023)

Yesterday, I received an early Christmas present from my former roommate Jessica. It was a Blu-ray of The Flash (2023).

The movie stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne and Sasha Calle as Supergirl.

The IMDb summary:

Barry Allen uses his super speed to change the past, but his attempt to save his family creates a world without super heroes, forcing him to race for his life in order to save the future.

I viewed the movie for the second time today. I wasn't expecting too much from reading much skuttlebutt against it before seeing it the first time (yesterday). I don't feel the negative reviews expressed were justified. Was it a perfect movie? No. But I found it very entertaining.

While trying to change the past (to save his mother's life), Barry opens up a multi-verse of different times. It was fun seeing Keaton don the cape and cowl and great to see George Reeves, Chris Reeve, Helen Slater and Adam West representing the different universes. Oddly, this also included the Superman that never was, Nicholas Cage.

Gal Gadot made a cameo as Wonder Woman at the beginning. 

Overall, I would grade The Flash somewhere around A- or B+. 

"Man of Steel" (2013)

When Man of Steel came out in 2013, I heard so many complaints about it (the Superman costume was one of them, but it was the least of the issues) that I didn't bother to go see it.

However, since we have been in the midst of a heat wave, I decided to buy it on Blu-ray along with Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). It was the "ultimate edition". I saw Batman vs. Superman when it came out and enjoyed it even though it also had some things longtime Superman and Batman fans did quibble about. More on that movie in another blog post.

On Man of Steel, it was an interesting re-telling of the Superman mythos. 

According to Wikipedia:

With the imminent destruction of Krypton, their home planet, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife seek to preserve their race by sending their infant son to Earth. The child's spacecraft lands at the farm of Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane) Kent, who name him Clark and raise him as their own son. Though his extraordinary abilities have led to the adult Clark (Henry Cavill) living on the fringe of society, he finds he must become a hero to save those he loves from a dire threat.

It was the above, but it was primarily Superman vs. General Zod. The fights between the two seemed overly long, but at least it was not a silly cartoon as Superman: The Movie (1978) was. There was very little humor in it and played with deadly seriousness. I like Henry Cavill's Superman/Clark Kent much more than the late Christopher Reeve's. Reeve's Superman was okay, but his Clark Kent was too buffoonish. Cavill's Superman/Clark Kent were more like George Reeves during the Adventures of Superman 1951 season.

The special effects were far superior than in Superman: The Movie. 

As things turned out, the Superman costume didn't bother me as much as thought it would, although the cape was too long and dragged on the ground. Long capes may work for Batman, but not Superman.

All in all, Man of Steel was a more satisfying movie than the 1978 Superman: The Movie.

I give the movie an A. 

Superman Canyon

Above, the eastern end of Superman Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Last evening, I decided to have dinner in Gallup. When I got on Interstate 40 to head into Gallup, I saw that there was a huge line of traffic in the eastbound lanes stretching from Coolidge to almost the McGaffey exit.

Anticipating that the traffic won't clear by the time I headed back (and monitoring the situation on my phone), I took an alternate route home.

This route, in the Navajo Nation, took me past Superman Canyon northeast of Gallup.

Why is this called Superman Canyon? Scenes from Superman (1978) were filmed there.

According to Filmedthere.com:

The scenes shown below are from when Lois dies in the earthquake. Superman turns back time to fix everything and bring Lois back. The location is located on Superman Canyon Rd, in Gallup, NM. From I-40, you need to be on Route 66. find State Rd. 43A also known as Superman Canyon Rd. About 4-4.5 miles up the road is the movie scene location.

 

Above, Christopher Reeve and Margo Kidder in Superman Canyon in 1978. Photo by Warner Bros.

My route took me past Superman Canyon at the eastern end from the route stated above.

Along the way, I pulled over and took a couple of pictures of the canyon. 

Above, another view of the eastern end of Superman Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.

Book: "With Thanks To Superman"

Today, I finished reading Brian McKernan's new book, With Thanks To Superman (The Parrville Press, ISBN: 979-8-218-05811-1). Actually, the full title is With Thanks To Superman: 40 Years of Interviews, Reports, and Observations. That is exactly what the book contains.

As the introduction of the book states: Just what the world needs right now: Another Superman book. But this one's different.

Let's start with the cover. It has author McKernan with a Superman statue with an outer space background. The face on the Superman figure looks more like Mr. Spock from Star Trek (the ears even look kind of pointy due to the lighting) than Superman. So if one wonders what Leonard Nimoy would look like as Superman, this'll give one a good idea. 

As I said, the book is quite a bit different than other Superman books. It is essentially a fan's "memoirs" of being a Superman fan who attended celebrations, seminars and conducted interviews with stars such as Christopher Reeve, Gerard Christopher and Bob Holiday and collected some Man of Steel related memorabilia. 

Above, yours truly after finishing the book.

In case one has lived in a vacuum over the past 40 years, Christopher Reeve appeared as Superman in four feature movies, Gerard Christopher appeared as Superboy in a syndicated television series and Bob Holiday appeared as Superman in a Broadway musical. 

The book takes a look at several incarnations of Superman (or Superboy) over the years. Along with those, it also looks at how Superman appeared in advertising. The music of Superman gets spotlighted.

The "Golden Anniversary of Superman" in 1988 gets a chapter as does the CBS television special celebrating that anniversary. (I wasn't happy with that special as it was too campy.)

Events celebrating the Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves includes one for the premiere of the show by Nick At Night as well as the 2014 Superman Celebration that included a plaque dedication in Tarzana and a big luncheon in Los Angeles among others. (Yours truly appears in text and photo on pages 146-147.)

The book also focuses on prominent fans who have promoted Superman over the years such as Jim Hambrick, Jim Nolt, Jim Bowers, Fred Shay and others. 

With Thanks To Superman is an enjoyable read for fellow Superman fans. Yes, it's another Superman book, but it is different than the others and would fit in quite nicely with the others in one's collection.

My grade: A.

With Thanks To Superman is available at Amazon ($15.00 paperback).

George Reeves: 63rd Anniversary

Above, George Reeves poses with his rifle collection about 72 hours
 before his death on June 16, 1959. Armand Vaquer collection photo.

63 years ago today, actor George Reeves was found dead in his upstairs bedroom at his Benedict Canyon home of an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

It is amazing that Reeves still has a following of fans these 60+ years. More George Reeves Facebook fan pages are popping up all the time. 

Above, George Reeves former Benedict Canyon home in March 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today, there seems to be more Superman movies and television shows with different actors portraying the Man of Steel. Despite that, George Reeves and Christopher Reeve still lead the pack in fan esteem to this day.

Today, raise a glass in salute to George Reeves. 

Superman Canyon Found

Above, the rock formations I was looking for. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A few weeks ago, I took a drive to the area of McKinley County north of the mesas that are across from Jamestown.

One of the routes was New Mexico Highway 566. A little north of Red Rock Park and Church Rock near Gallup, I saw some interesting rock formations at a bend in the road. I was wondering if they had a name and details on their formation. So I did a search. This area is about 15 miles from my home.

Above, Superman Canyon Road intersects with NM 566 about a half mile north of this spot. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While doing so, I found that the route on NM 566 goes through an area called "Superman Canyon". Looking through a slideshow of LocationsHub, the rock formations are included. The actual Superman Canyon is west of NM 566.

The area nearby was used in the 1978 Superman movie for the scenes of the death of Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). (See Filmed There's page on this.)

Above, the general area of Superman Canyon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The road into Superman Canyon is Superman Canyon Road (Navajo Route 511), which appears to be inside of the Navajo Nation. The canyon itself is ten miles long and Superman Canyon Road does intersect with NM 566.

Well, while this is interesting movie location trivia, I still haven't found what the rock formations are. It is also interesting to find something that one wasn't even looking for.

DC May Produce Comics Based On George Reeves Version

Above, George Reeves as Superman.

For the baby boomer generation, George Reeves is the one and only Superman in their eyes.

Yesterday, DC Comics representatives indicated that the publisher is looking to produce a comic series of Superman based on the George Reeves Adventures of Superman television show of the 1950s.

Bleeding Cool reported:

During the “DC Meet the Publishers” panel at New York Comic Con today, representatives from DC Comics indicated that the company is looking into making Superman stories based off George Reeves‘s take on the character. Reeves, not related to fellow Superman actor Christopher Reeve, was the first actor to have the pleasure of portraying the iconic man of steel for the Adventures of Superman tv show in the 1950s.

To read more, go here. 

Margot Kidder

Many news outlets have written that Margot Kidder was the "definitive" Lois Lane. While I thought she did an excellent job, I wouldn't say she was "definitive". She was better as Lois Lane than Christopher Reeve was as Superman. He was good as the Man of Steel, but I just couldn't stand his take as Clark Kent.

If anyone was a "definitive" Lois Lane, my vote goes to Phyllis Coates, who played Lois during the first season of Adventures of Superman in the 1950s. I just feel the chemistry between Coates and George Reeves was perfect. In second place (which is not an insult to her memory) was Noel Neill, who was first to play the role in the Kirk Alyn serials and Kidder (yes, a tie). Teri Hatcher comes in a close third. The rest, nothing memorable about them.

Kidder died yesterday at the age of 69. It was reported by The Guardian that the cause of her death was throat cancer. 69 is much too young (especially so since I am five years younger) of an age to die.

She had her demons, such as being bi-polar, but she persevered through the tough times and continued acting and appearing at fan conventions. I have met Phyllis Coates and was a friend of Noel Neill, but I never had the privilege of meeting Margot Kidder.

Passing at 69 is too young and too soon. Apparently, someone upstairs had other plans for her.

Rest in peace.

Superman Mural Up For Auction

Above, the Superman mural last November. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The giant Superman mural mounted on the outside of the Super Museum in Metropolis, Illinois is up for auction at eBay. It will be auctioned in three sections. The first section to be auctioned is the panel featuring Dean Cain and George Reeves.

According to Morgan Siebert on Facebook:

Our old mural is up on ebay, we started each panel at $1. We are using whatever funds we raise from these auctions to help cover museum renovation from the storm damage from March. There are 3 panels so 3 chances to own a part of Super Museum history. Happy bidding!! This one features Dean Cain and George Reeves.

Above, the mural (left) on the Super Museum wall facing the Superman Statue across the square. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The mural's eBay page reads:

Up for Auction!

Once in a lifetime chance to own a piece of the Super Museum in Metropolis IL!

This Mural was used on the side of the Super Museum in Metropolis for 10 years!

Countless numbers of people have had their photo taken with this sign!

Chances are you know someone who has a picture of this sign!

We are selling this sign because it has begun to show signs of age and heavy wear, there is some damage on the corners of these panels from removal.

and to help pay for the replacement which we have already bought and hung up in its place.

These signs will be ending on June 7th 2017

The afternoon before the start of annual "Superman Celebration"

It is made out of 3 Panels of Alucobond that is 1/2" Thick 

This first panel is110.4"x60" 

This panel Features Dean Cain and George Reeves! 

The top of the panel has the word STOP

The bottom part of the panel says 

"Rican Hero"

This was the end panel on the right

Panel #3 of #3

We are starting this panel at $1 and just see where it goes!

There is no shipping on these panels.

They are local-pickup only

To bid, go here (4 days left).

Alex Ross Imaginary Art

A couple of nice illustrations by artist Alex Ross are being circulated in different Facebook Superman fan pages and by individual fans.

The first is Christopher Reeve and George Reeves at a telephone booth (remember those?):

The rendering is nicely done and detailed, right down to George Reeves's pinky ring.


Next, is George Reeves flying over Adam West and Burt Ward:

The Super Museum

Above, the main entrance to the Super Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Following my visit to the Noel Neill Lois Lane statue, I headed to Harrah's Casino alongside the Ohio River for breakfast.

After breakfast, I went to the square next to the Massac County Court House where the giant Superman statue and Super Museum are located.

Above, yours truly with the Superman statue, who is ready for Christmas.

Upon arrival, I found that the Superman statue was wearing a Santa Claus hat. There were already Christmas decorations on the fence surrounding it. A couple were viewing the statue and photographing it. They asked me to take some of them with the statue, so I obliged. I had them take some of me with it as well.

Above, the store of the Super Museum. Photo by Armnd Vaquer.

Once we were done picture-taking, I headed off to the Super Museum. Inside, is a large store filled with all kinds of Superman and super-hero goods. I bought a magnet for The Beast.

While roaming around the store, I ran into Noel's biographer, Larry Thomas Ward. I didn't recognize him right off as he had his hair cut much shorter than the last time I saw him two years ago.

Above, Larry Ward talks to museum owner Jim Hambrick's daughter. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

We exchanged greetings and he marveled that I drove all the way from L.A. to Metropolis.

I then paid my admission fee (just $5.00) to enter the museum. Before going in, I asked the lady at the counter if it is okay to photograph inside. It turned out that she's the daughter of the museum's owner/operator Jim Hambrick. She said that I can take all the pictures I wanted. (I always ask permission to take photos whenever I go into a museum. Some allow it and some don't.)

"Relics" From the Adventures of Superman TV Show:

Upon entering the museum, I first saw a big display case of assorted Superman toys. I made a right turn and immediately came upon the Adventures of Superman television show section. It contained many photographs and props from the show. I took some photos of the displays.

I then headed down to the next section, which was (more or less) dedicated to the first screen Superman, Kirk Alyn.

Above, Kirk Alyn Superman display. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Following this, I headed further where I found props and memorabilia from the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, including one of his costumes.

Above, a Christopher Reeve Superman costume. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Next, was a section dedicated to the Broadway Superman show of the 1960s.

Ahead was a new separate room of Superman items which was dominated by a huge figure of Doomsday, the "critter" that killed Superman in the comic books in 1992.

Above, the Supergirl room. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Then, I reached a room dedicated to Supergirl. All incarnations of the Supergirl character were in this room, mainly the Helen Slater Supergirl movie. If there were anything pertaining to the current Supergirl television series in there, I certainly didn't see any.

Above, an actual "lead" mask from "The Man In The Lead Mask" episode. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Further on, was another section of photographs and memorabilia from the George Reeves Adventures of Superman television show including a "flying pan" from 1951-53, a "lead" mask from the 1953 episode, "The Man In The Lead Mask", a color George Reeves Superman costume and the "Mr. Kryptonite" costume worn by Gene LeBell in 1957 during a county fair tour.

Above, a George Reeves color Superman costume. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, a costume worn by Gene LeBell during the 1957 county fair
tour with George Reeves and Noel Neill. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Also in this section were some original art by Curt Swan, Dick Giodano and others. There were more Superman memorabilia from over the years in this section, mainly toys and figures.

Above, the "flying pan" device used by George Reeves from 1951 to 1953. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After this, I exited the museum and re-entered the store.

The museum is a must-see for Superman fans of all ages.  It is worth a visit!

Above, this is just a small fraction of the Superman goods on display. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I took many more photos inside the Super Museum. I will probably post them in a separate blog post in the near-future.

For the museum's website, go here.

Superman T-Shirt October 2015 Price List

Good friend Charlie Rose has a new price list on George Reeves and Christopher Reeve Superman t-shirts:

You may be able to see the price list in a larger format if you right-click and save.

To order, contact Charlie at: charliecrose@gmail.com

George Reeves - Christopher Reeve Tribute Comics

The word legendary is often too easily tossed about these days. Sometimes it is a fitting description of someone, and sometimes it isn't.

In the cases of Superman actors George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, it is a fitting description.

As such, Bluewater Productions is producing two comic books in tribute to Reeve and Reeves.

Here's what the Superman Homepage says about the books:

Bluewater Productions is releasing a new comic book biographies on two legendary men of steel, Christopher Reeve and George Reeves. Tribute: Christopher Reeve is released this week in conjunction with the release of the Man of Steel DVD. 

In January is releasing another comic book on the life of another hero, Tribute: George Reeves written and drawn by M. Anthony Gerardo . The book can be pre-ordered on iTunes and Comic Flea Market today.

To read the full story on the Tribute books, go here.

Superman and The Gipper

In 1940, Ronald Reagan played the part of the ill-fated football player George Gipp, whose nickname was "The Gipper" in Knute Rockne All American.  Pat O'Brien played the title role.  The movie was distributed by Warner Bros.

In an uncredited role, future Superman actor George Reeves played a distraught player on Rockne's team.

To date, I have not seen any stills from this movie showing Reagan and Reeves together.  I did manage to make the below screen capture of a scene from the movie showing both Reagan and Reeves.

It was due to this movie that Reagan also became known as "The Gipper."

Above, Ronald Reagan as George Gipp talks with Pat O'Brien as Knute Rockne.
In the background at right, is actor George Reeves (circled).

Reagan didn't just only meet one Superman, here's another one as this White House photo shows:

Above, Christopher Reeve and President Reagan at the White House.

Superman's Patriotic Imagery

Superman's association with the U.S. flag and patriotism dates back to his beginnings in the late 1930s and 1940s.

In the 1940s, Superman was depicted in comic book covers as a morale booster for U.S. troops fighting in the European and Pacific theaters of World War II.


This association continued in the 1950s with the opening of the Adventures of Superman television show. The show's opening depicts a resolute Superman (George Reeves) standing in front of the American flag.

In 1953, Adventures of Superman's producers made a special episode, "Stamp Day For Superman" that was donated to the Department of The Treasury. In this episode, not shown on television, Superman tells elementary school children of the virtues of buying Savings Stamps to help their country.

The photo below from "Stamp Day For Superman" shows Superman with the U.S. flag and the word "citizenship" in the background. Would this Superman renounce his U.S. citizenship? Not likely!





Christopher Reeve's Superman also continued with this association. In Superman 2, the Man of Steel returns the White House's flag and pole to the Executive Mansion's roof after defeating three Kryptonian Phantom Zone criminals.



The comic books of the Modern Age also depicted Superman as an American patriot. The comic book cover at right of Superman unabashedly patriotic was produced after DC Comics re-booted the Superman character (along with other super-heroes in their stable) in the late 1980s. And the one below left is a more recent cover.












These images only scratch the surface. There are many more such depictions of Superman's patriotism. With all this ingrained imagery over the years, it is small wonder why the reports of Superman renouncing his U.S. citizenship in Action Comics #900 has some people upset. That's why it is tricky business to tamper with an iconic character.


One final point.

One of Superman's abilities is a super-intellect. Granted, even one with a superior intellect could get frustrated over some government policies. Rather than get angry and renounce his citizenship, he would shrug it off and logically figure that administrations come and go and policies change with each administrative change. He would also use his influence to get the ones he disagrees with changed. A person with his super-intellect would not act rashly and renounce his citizenship. It comes off as some politically correct internationalist bullplop. I wonder if DC's writers even considered this.

The storyline just rings hollow.

Thoughts On The Superman Re-Boot

by Armand Vaquer


It will be interesting to see how Brit Henry Cavill (above) fills Superman's red boots in the upcoming Superman re-boot movie.

Will he be able to suppress his British accent enough to convincingly convey that he was raised in the midwestern section of the United States?



To me, for a super-hero movie to work is that the actor has to look and act as if the comic book character stepped out of the pages of the comic and onto the silver screen. In the post-Kirk Alyn era, only George Reeves (left) and Christopher Reeve (below, right) had that quality (although I despise Reeve's Clark Kent portrayal). None of the other Supermen had this quality. Dean Cain didn't look at all like Superman and his costume was wrong (especially the buckle and boots).






Brandon Routh did not convince me that he was Superman (Superboy, maybe). Cavill looks more mature and more like Superman than does Routh, in my opinion. How he handles the role is an open question. We will have to wait and see.

Another thing that would have to happen for me to be convinced that I am watching Superman on screen in the new movie: jettison the Routh Superman costume with that awful collar, dark coloring and those awful Speedo trunks! The costume would have to look more like Christopher Reeve's costume with its bright colors.

Above, Brandon Routh in his awful costume from "Superman Returns."

Will the producers take note? Again we'll have to wait and see.