With the New 52 far behind, I can look back on it with 更多 nuanced eyes and give my opinion. Here it goes...
While the decision to significantly modify Superman's status quo in the New 52 is not one I agree with, it is one I can understand. 超人 had become such an iconic character not only to DC, but to modern culture, that it was a major challenge to write him as an emotionally compelling protagonist in a dramatic story. 由 taking him out of his comfort zone, 超人 could be portrayed as a 更多 fallible and human character and adapt to a world that may no longer see his ideals as relevant. Easier 说 than done, apparently. In his own books, he came off as immature and reckless and in Justice League, he could be an outright bully. The writers were 更多 interested in portraying their own versions of 超人 instead of delivering a single, 更多 cohesive narrative; which was a huge problem of the New 52 as a whole. Truth was the absolute nadir in quality regarding New 52 Superman.
His supporting cast suffered as well. Jonathan and Martha Kent were dead and the Daily Planet crew was a non-entity in most stories. It seemed that the only characters from the 超人 franchise that influenced the DCU at large in a significant way were 超人 himself and, to a lesser extent, Lex Luthor. Lois Lane got the rawest deal, however. Superman's relationship with Lois, which had been the 心 and soul of the 超人 stories and the most human element of both characters for a long time, had been ignored. Instead, DC pushed a Superman/Wonder Woman romance. Don't get me wrong, a Superman/Wonder Woman romance has always been a beautiful what-if for both characters and in canon it was quite enjoyable, but it simply didn't have the longevity 或者 emotional pathos as Clark/Lois. To Clark/Diana's credit, their book was 更多 enjoyable and fun than the mainstream 超人 and Wonder Woman 图书 at the time.
I'm not really fond of the suit either. While I wasn't really upset about the removal of the red trunks (it's just a minor detail on the suit, let's all calm down), I disliked the armored look, the excessive seamlines and the high collar, which made the suit look weird and needlessly complicated on-page. It says something about this 设计 when DC moved away from it and used the classic suit as the baseline for future designs.
Ultimately, New 52 超人 feels like the product of trends and focus groups. DC was so adamant in making 超人 appealing towards modern audiences, especially the young male crowd and anyone who didn't know 超人 beyond the most basic concepts of the character. If that was the intent, then they were trying too hard. Personally, I think the New 52's ideas and concepts for 超人 were better utilized in the DC Extended Universe. There, 超人 felt 更多 believable and his character development was 更多 organic. This all might be inherent to the cinematic medium as a whole than something exclusive to the DCEU but I prefer the DCEU 超人 over the New 52 Superman. Any day, no 问题 asked.
While there were good stories (Doomed, Unchained, Superman/Wonder Woman), the New 52 was ultimately a period that is best left behind, at least as far as 超人 is concerned.
While the decision to significantly modify Superman's status quo in the New 52 is not one I agree with, it is one I can understand. 超人 had become such an iconic character not only to DC, but to modern culture, that it was a major challenge to write him as an emotionally compelling protagonist in a dramatic story. 由 taking him out of his comfort zone, 超人 could be portrayed as a 更多 fallible and human character and adapt to a world that may no longer see his ideals as relevant. Easier 说 than done, apparently. In his own books, he came off as immature and reckless and in Justice League, he could be an outright bully. The writers were 更多 interested in portraying their own versions of 超人 instead of delivering a single, 更多 cohesive narrative; which was a huge problem of the New 52 as a whole. Truth was the absolute nadir in quality regarding New 52 Superman.
His supporting cast suffered as well. Jonathan and Martha Kent were dead and the Daily Planet crew was a non-entity in most stories. It seemed that the only characters from the 超人 franchise that influenced the DCU at large in a significant way were 超人 himself and, to a lesser extent, Lex Luthor. Lois Lane got the rawest deal, however. Superman's relationship with Lois, which had been the 心 and soul of the 超人 stories and the most human element of both characters for a long time, had been ignored. Instead, DC pushed a Superman/Wonder Woman romance. Don't get me wrong, a Superman/Wonder Woman romance has always been a beautiful what-if for both characters and in canon it was quite enjoyable, but it simply didn't have the longevity 或者 emotional pathos as Clark/Lois. To Clark/Diana's credit, their book was 更多 enjoyable and fun than the mainstream 超人 and Wonder Woman 图书 at the time.
I'm not really fond of the suit either. While I wasn't really upset about the removal of the red trunks (it's just a minor detail on the suit, let's all calm down), I disliked the armored look, the excessive seamlines and the high collar, which made the suit look weird and needlessly complicated on-page. It says something about this 设计 when DC moved away from it and used the classic suit as the baseline for future designs.
Ultimately, New 52 超人 feels like the product of trends and focus groups. DC was so adamant in making 超人 appealing towards modern audiences, especially the young male crowd and anyone who didn't know 超人 beyond the most basic concepts of the character. If that was the intent, then they were trying too hard. Personally, I think the New 52's ideas and concepts for 超人 were better utilized in the DC Extended Universe. There, 超人 felt 更多 believable and his character development was 更多 organic. This all might be inherent to the cinematic medium as a whole than something exclusive to the DCEU but I prefer the DCEU 超人 over the New 52 Superman. Any day, no 问题 asked.
While there were good stories (Doomed, Unchained, Superman/Wonder Woman), the New 52 was ultimately a period that is best left behind, at least as far as 超人 is concerned.
