SUPERMAN ENEMY : LEX LUTHOR

Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Superman. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, he first appeared in Action Comics #23 (April 1940). Luthor is described as "a power-mad, evil scientist" of high intelligence and incredible technological prowess. His goals typically center on killing Superman, usually as a stepping stone to world domination. Though he periodically wears a powered exoskeleton, Luthor has traditionally lacked superpowers or a dual identity.


The character was originally depicted as a mad scientist who, in the vein of pulp novels, wreaks havoc on the world with his futuristic weaponry. In his earliest appearances, Luthor is shown with a full head of red hair; despite this, the character later became hairless as the result of an artist's mistake. A 1960 story by Jerry Siegel expanded upon Luthor's origin and motivations, revealing him to be a childhood friend of Superboy's who lost his hair when Superboy accidentally destroyed his laboratory; Luthor vowed revenge.

Following the 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, the character was re-imagined as a Machiavellian industrialist and white-collar criminal, even briefly serving as President of the United States. In recent years, various writers have revived Luthor's mad scientist persona from the 1940s. The character was ranked as the 8th greatest villain by Wizard on its "100 Greatest Villains of All Time" list. IGN's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time ranked Lex Luthor as

SUPERMAN

Superman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc. (later DC Comics) in 1938, the character first appeared in Action Comics #1 (June 1938) and subsequently appeared in various radio serials, television programs, films, newspaper strips, and video games. With the success of his adventures, Superman helped to create the superhero genre and establish its primacy within the American comic book.[1] The character's appearance is distinctive and iconic: a blue, red and yellow costume, complete with cape, with a stylized "S" shield on his chest. This shield is now typically used across media to symbolize the character.
The original story of Superman relates that he was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton, before being rocketed to Earth as an infant by his scientist father Jor-El, moments before Krypton's destruction. Discovered and adopted by a Kansas farmer and his wife, the child is raised as Clark Kent and imbued with a strong moral compass. Very early he started to display superhuman abilities, which upon reaching maturity he resolved to use for the benefit of humanity.

SUPERMAN

While sometimes referred to less than flatteringly as "the big blue Boy Scout" by some of his fellow superheroes, Superman has also been referred to as "The Man of Steel", "The Man of Tomorrow", and "The Last Son of Krypton" over the years. As Clark Kent, Superman lives among humans as a "mild-mannered reporter" for the Metropolis newspaper Daily Planet (Daily Star in the earliest stories). There he works alongside reporter Lois Lane, with whom he is romantically linked. This relationship has been consummated by marriage on numerous occasions across various media, and this union is now firmly established within mainstream comics' continuity.
DC Comics slowly expanded the character's supporting cast, powers, and trappings throughout the years. Superman's backstory was altered to allow for adventures as Superboy, and other survivors of Krypton were created, including Supergirl and Krypto the Superdog. In addition, Superman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media, from radio to television and film, perhaps most notably portrayed by Christopher Reeve in both Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie in 1978, and the sequel Superman II in 1981, which garnered critical praise and became Warner Bros.'s most successful feature films of their time. However, the next two sequels, Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, did not perform as well at the box office. The motion picture Superman Returns was released in 2006, which although relatively unsuccessful within the United States, returned a performance at the international box office which exceeded expectations. It has been confirmed that a new Superman film will be released, with Henry Cavill portraying Superman. In the seven decades since Superman's debut, the character has been revamped and updated several times.
A significant overhaul occurred in 1986, when John Byrne revamped and "retconned" the character, reducing Superman's powers and erasing several characters from the canon, in a move that attracted media attention. Press coverage was again garnered by DC Comics in the 1990s with The Death of Superman, a storyline which saw the character killed (and later restored to life).
Superman has fascinated scholars, with cultural theorists, commentators, and critics alike exploring the character's impact and role in the United States and the rest of the world. Umberto Eco discussed the mythic qualities of the character in the early 1960s, and Larry Niven has pondered the implications of a sexual relationship the character might enjoy with Lois Lane. The character's ownership has often been the subject of dispute, with Siegel and Shuster twice suing for the return of legal ownership. The copyright is again currently in dispute, with changes in copyright law allowing Siegel's wife and daughter to claim a share of the copyright, a move DC parent company Warner Bros. disputes.

SUPERMAN RETURN, THE MAN OF STEEL IS BACK

Zack Snyder (Los Angeles Times)It’s official: Zack Snyder will direct the Warner Bros. revival of Superman, the first and most famous costumed superhero of them all. The director of “300” and “Watchmen” will work side-by-side with producers Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, the tandem that pulled the Batman character back toward cinematic credibility with the films “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” the latter grossing more than $1 billion at theaters worldwide. David S. Goyer (“Batman Begins”) is writing the script and shares the story credit with Nolan.

The 44-year-old Snyder sounded thrilled Monday over the phone. “I feel awesome,” he said before correcting himself. “I feel super awesome.”

SUPERMAN RETURN WALLPAPER

Snyder has shown a flair for kinetic hyper-reality and he says that in recent days he finds that he “lays awake at night” thinking about the ways to present a Man of Steel who flies across the skylines of a city called Metropolis. He declined to talk about the story or the casting — “He has to be a man … that’s as far as I’ve gotten” — but he said the film production will target a holiday 2012 release.
The producing team also includes Charles Roven (“The Dark Knight”) and Deborah Snyder , the director’s wife and filmmaking partner. Thomas Tull of Legendary Pictures will executive produce. Snyder is best known for R-rated fare — with the exception of the just-released “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” — but he said his passion for comics and a character that dates back to 1938 likely earned him the coveted job of relaunching the signature franchise.

“I can’t say why they came to me other than the fact that they know I have a fondness for the character and a real desire to understand him and present him to a new audience,” Snyder said. “The challenge is huge but you know with Chris and Emma and Debbie I have a lot of people I can rely on. And Chris and David have given this the shape with a great story. It is a hard character to crack.”

Snyder met Nolan at ShoWest in Las Vegas in March and their conversations about the possibilities of the Superman revival gathered momentum through the months. The modern superhero cinema puts an emphasis on dark antiheroes and haunted souls, such as Batman and Wolverine, or lovable hard-luck cases, such as Spider-Man and Hellboy while Superman has been dismissively described as a “big blue Boy Scout” for his wholesome aura and that classic mission statement of fighting for ”truth, justice and the American way.” The perception that the character may have a bigger past than future may have been reinforced by the solid but unspectacular success of Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns“ in 2006.


Snyder said the modern movie mode does present a challenge in a pop-culture era of Red Dead Redemption and “Inception” but he refuses to think that a character that rivals Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus in recognizability can ever be considered a relic. “I think he is viable, yes,” Snyder said. “He endures. We all want to know, ‘How will he come to us now?’ He is the biggest and the baddest of them all. The greatest of them all, right? We all want to know how the next chapter takes shape. I want to know how it will take shape.”

– Geoff Boucher

SUPERMAN RETURNS

Cast: Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, James Marsden, Parker Posey, Frank Langella, Sam Huntington, Eva Marie Saint, Marlon Brando, Kal Penn, Tristan Lake Leabu, David Fabrizio, Ian Roberts, Vincent Stone, Jack Larson, Noel Neill, James Karen, Stephan Bender, Peta Wilson, Jeff Truman, Barbara Angell, Ian Bliss, Ansuya Nathan, Richard Branson, Sam Branson

SUPERMAN RETURNS

Director: Bryan Singer
Executive Producer: William Fay, Chris Lee, Scott Mednick, Thomas Tull
Producer: Gilbert Adler, John Peters, Bryan Singer
Co-Producer: Stephen Jones
Length: 154 Minutes
Script: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Bryan Singer
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Comic, Sci-Fi
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 26, 2006 (Indonesia)
Music: John Ottman
Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel
Film Editing: Elliot Graham, John Ottman
Casting: Roger Mussenden, Ann Robinson
Distributor: Warner Bross. Pictures
Movies: Superman Returns - Sunday, 09 July 2006, 13:30 pm, Row M, Seat 15, Studio 01, Malang Town Square (MATOS 21), INR: 17,500