Strip Talk #37: No equal for Henry Cavill as Superman

Old folks usually say you don’t miss someone until they’re gone. Henry Cavill hasn’t been Superman for a number of years and was ousted from the role approximately five minutes ago and I miss him.
You know, if there were a viable alternative, I could stomach this ridiculous decision. Cavill stepped into the role after the massive disappointment of Brandon Routh, and we let it slide because we were already familiar with Cavill and what he could bring to the table. Sure, he was Mr. Charles Brandon in the Tudors on Showtime and Edmund Dantes’ son in The Count of Monte Cristo, but there was something there, even if he’s British. Yes, I admit I can now wrap my head around a British Superman. But he had something that Routh did not: Charisma. Cavill brings a certain something to the role that was all but shaped by the venerable late Christopher Reeve, and it wasn’t hard to see that Cavill loved the work and wanted to do the memory of Reeve right without also pretending to be him. Routh tried and failed to do this, and it was a sad sight to witness.
So, forgive me if I’m a little bitter about the foolishness that James Gunn and Peter What’s His Name are peddling by getting rid of Cavill. It seems petty, ignorant, and simpleminded in execution and dumb at the highest level of thought. Why get rid of something and someone who worked? Cavill is a fan of the comics, knows the material and gives everything in the role every time he’s sucked into a nonsensical story that needs remakes to straighten out – see Justice League. He’s donned the tights and cape with aplomb, but his considerable talents have been wasted and now thrown out with baby and the bath water. Call me a cynic, but I don’t have the time or attention for whatever Gunn and Peter What’s His Name are cooking, selling, crafting, or scheming. I want no parts of whoever they’ve got stepping into the role, and I’ll simply acknowledge Cavill as this generation’s best choice alongside Reeve as my generation’s best choice. Gunn and Peter What’s His Name can keep that bargain-bin Kryptonite they’re selling as the next choice for Superman.

Lyndsey Beatty is editor-in-chief of Gaming Insurrection. She can be reached by email at lyndseyb@gaminginsurrection.com

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