But then the film series recapitulated earlier cycles and became comic and finally low-budget. An attempted revival in 2006 with Superman Returns didn’t seem to succeed very well. It seemed okay to me, but I did think Superman and Lois were awfully young, especially after the relative sophistication of the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman TV series, which I liked a lot ( as above: Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher.) Though I didn’t watch it regularly when it was broadcast, I enjoyed seeing it consecutively on DVDs.

Superman’s many handlers haven’t always served him well. There’s anticipation that Nolan will darken him as he did Batman, but that’s not the character who fulfills his nature and counters his isolation when “he brings his distinctive strengths into the services of others, he takes his rightful place in the larger community.” (Mark Waid, quoted by De Haven.) Camping him up doesn’t work either.