6 Ways Superman: The Movie Deviated from the Comics (That You Never Knew About)

We all think of Superman: The Movie as the gold-standard of comic book film adaptations – but the question is, it it? The release of – and backlash aimed at – Man of Steel has inspired me to analyze Superman’s first movie to find the answer, and AP2HYC has been gracious enough to allow me to share it with you.

At the time of its release, Superman: The Movie deviated heavily from the comic books source material. Not only did it present its own original ideas, but it also contradicted the comics published at the time.

6. Krypton and Jor-El

In the comics, Krypton was a futuristic utopia, like the sort seen in the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930’s. Conversely, the movie depicted it as an ice world with a dome as the only visible structure on its surface. Also, at the time of the movies release, Jor-El was always drawn having dark hair and wearing a green outfit with a sun on his chest, a red bandana on his head, and, sometimes, a red cape. In the movie, he wore black and white outfits that had the Superman S-shield on the chest and he had a full head of white hair.

5. Zod

While Zod wasn’t the main villain in Superman’s first appearance on the silver screen, he and his two followers did appear in one scene early in the film. However, Faora and Jax-Ur, were replaced by Ursa and Non. Additionally the movie altered their outfits from the ones in the comics to ones made entirely of leather.

4. Clark’s Childhood

In the comic books, Kal-El’s ship was a large red and blue cylinder, while in the movie it was a white star (probably to follow with the Kryptonian crystal technology). The movie also neglected Clark’s time as Superboy when he was a teenager (although many versions since, including some comic continuities, have ignored this part of Clark’s life as well). Additionally, Jonathan and Martha Kent, died from a rare tropical illness in the original comics, but in the movie, only Jonathan died (from a heart attack), while Martha remained alive well into Clark’s adulthood.

3. The Fortress of Solitude

In the comics, the Fortress of Solitude was carved into the side of a mountain in the Arctic and had a giant door that needed a giant yellow key to open it. In the movie, it was an ice fortress Clark built using a green crystal from Krypton. The fact that the crystal could have easily been mistaken for Kryptonite didn’t help matters much either. 

2. Lex Luthor

 

In the comic books, Lex was a contemporary of Superboy (much like in the TV series Smallville) and the ruler of the planet Lexor. In the movie, he was a criminal mastermind who sought to destroy California in a real state scheme for profit. We won’t mention the hair/bald issue.

1. The Daily Planet

Clark Kent has always been the Daily Planet’s crack reporter, working alongside Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White. Right? Actually, in the comic books, Clark Kent worked as an anchorman at WGBS, whereas in the movie he worked as a newspaper reporter for the Daily Planet. I guess it’s easier to believe no one recognises a newspaper reporter than one who’s face is on every TV in Metropolis each evening…

 

There are far more differences between Superman: The Movie and the comics I could list, but these are more than enough to prove that this film is not the faithful adaptation many believe it is. In fact, despite these deviations and liberties, people still consider Superman: The Movie to be the best adaptation of a comic book ever made, and several changes have since become canon for the character (Smallville especially drew almost equally from the comics and the film series). This is a positive contrast to the negative reaction to Man of Steel, which many vocal critics in the audience consider a failure due to its deviations from the same source material.

Ultimately, does it really matter how much like the comics the movies are, whether it is conceptually or aesthetically? I think all that really matters is that they retain the spirit of the character and the story.