Future of DC Films (DCEU)

[Victοr]

I bet Cavill regrets passing on the MCU roles (were they Hyperion, Sentry, Reed, Doom or Captain Britain) now.

This is just embarassing at this point... Call me when they do a proper New Gods film or Green Lantern Trilogy with Hal N' Pals. I'd take a Deathstroke project as well (mostly to get a doll). Beyond that, I don't care about yet another reboot of Batman, and nothing else interests me from DC (barring Vertigo and early WildStorm of course), so... Bring me my Space Operas, dammit!

If they just have to do a black Superman for whatever reason, they should skip Val Zod. I was reading Earth 2 at the time and have his first appearance in print and everything, but he's a somehow even more bland Miles. I'd say I don't know how that's possible, but he was created by Tom Taylor whom I loathe, while Miles was a Bendis creation who used to have some talent, so it kinda makes sense. He's not even a character, just a walking prop. Typical "wimpy guy scared to assume the mantle who eventually embraces it" and beyond that he ***** Power Girl. That's his whole character. Gods & Monsters Superman was a Zod-like Supes, and he was a genuinely interesting character that I'd love to see more of. Val Zod? No thanks. He's got a great costume though, I'll give him that. Blue looks better with the white/silver secondary colour; it makes him look more regal.

Anyway, for my money, if they really wanna be [current day] so badly, they should do Calvin Ellis. I actually really like the guy and he makes more sense to me than regular Superman. Imagine being a "god" with a quantum computer brain, and spending your time being a journalist. It's honestly insulting. It's partly why I never got into Superman. He pisses me off with how he wastes his potential. Meanwhile Ellis became POTUS. He's got robots with his likeness so that he can be everywhere, he's got a cool costume and generally uses his powers to the max while not going full dictator (another Tom Taylor nonsense, InJustine, which I dislike as well). If they do a Calvin Superman film, I'm game. Especially if they go full Morrison and fill it with the weird sci-fi/Multiversity stuff his version tangles with. But Val Zod or "Clark Kent... but he's black!111!!", no thank you. And as I said I don't even like regular/Clark Kent Superman. I'm just not a fan of stunt casting. Oh, how they ruined my Kang... But yeah, I'd actually watch a President Superman film. Same way I'd love a Blue Marvel one if it starred Denzel. President Superman and Super Scientist Superman appeal to me more. I love MiracleMan too, and I always thought Sentry had potential. Hyperion is underrated as well. Honestly, I like the Quasi-Superman much more than the original flavour.

Whatever, I think this would look cool in dolly form, provided it was accompanied by a good performance (and the actor was handsome; remember my Dreamworks Kang Rule...):

 

[chrisstbh]

Poor Cavill can't even go back to the Witcher either.

He didn’t leave The Witcher for Superman

 

[jye4ever]

So when WB announces all of the new actors for Gunn’s JL at the next SDCC I fully expect them all to be replaced by NYCC

That is literally WB without having to make anything up

 

[jye4ever]

Wait wait wait WHY THE HELL has Gunn now announced that he met with Affleck to direct a DC movie!

Ironwez is right WB is incapable of pulling 100% away from Snyder.

As soon as they get rid of Cavill they go and announce that Affleck is in talks with them about directing…wut!

Sorry to break it to you WB and James Gun but Affleck will forever be tied to the ZS universe just like Cavill, Gadot, Momoa and Ezra are.

If WB intentions are to be 100% as far away from ZS as humanly possible then bringing Affleck back is a really dumb idea.

Wait it’s WB….DUMB makes perfect sense.

 

[Dave_W]

I bet Cavill regrets passing on the MCU roles (were they Hyperion, Sentry, Reed, Doom or Captain Britain) now.

This is just embarassing at this point... Call me when they do a proper New Gods film or Green Lantern Trilogy with Hal N' Pals. I'd take a Deathstroke project as well (mostly to get a doll). Beyond that, I don't care about yet another reboot of Batman, and nothing else interests me from DC (barring Vertigo and early WildStorm of course), so... Bring me my Space Operas, dammit!

If they just have to do a black Superman for whatever reason, they should skip Val Zod. I was reading Earth 2 at the time and have his first appearance in print and everything, but he's a somehow even more bland Miles. I'd say I don't know how that's possible, but he was created by Tom Taylor whom I loathe, while Miles was a Bendis creation who used to have some talent, so it kinda makes sense. He's not even a character, just a walking prop. Typical "wimpy guy scared to assume the mantle who eventually embraces it" and beyond that he ***** Power Girl. That's his whole character. Gods & Monsters Superman was a Zod-like Supes, and he was a genuinely interesting character that I'd love to see more of. Val Zod? No thanks. He's got a great costume though, I'll give him that. Blue looks better with the white/silver secondary colour; it makes him look more regal.

Anyway, for my money, if they really wanna be [current day] so badly, they should do Calvin Ellis. I actually really like the guy and he makes more sense to me than regular Superman. Imagine being a "god" with a quantum computer brain, and spending your time being a journalist. It's honestly insulting. It's partly why I never got into Superman. He pisses me off with how he wastes his potential. Meanwhile Ellis became POTUS. He's got robots with his likeness so that he can be everywhere, he's got a cool costume and generally uses his powers to the max while not going full dictator (another Tom Taylor nonsense, InJustine, which I dislike as well). If they do a Calvin Superman film, I'm game. Especially if they go full Morrison and fill it with the weird sci-fi/Multiversity stuff his version tangles with. But Val Zod or "Clark Kent... but he's black!111!!", no thank you. And as I said I don't even like regular/Clark Kent Superman. I'm just not a fan of stunt casting. Oh, how they ruined my Kang... But yeah, I'd actually watch a President Superman film. Same way I'd love a Blue Marvel one if it starred Denzel. President Superman and Super Scientist Superman appeal to me more. I love MiracleMan too, and I always thought Sentry had potential. Hyperion is underrated as well. Honestly, I like the Quasi-Superman much more than the original flavour.

Whatever, I think this would look cool in dolly form, provided it was accompanied by a good performance (and the actor was handsome; remember my Dreamworks Kang Rule...):

See, to me this is the most boring version (admittedly I've don't know much about it so my opinion might be worthless) but one of the main complaints is Superman is too powerful, he's not relatable, so what do they do with this version? They make him President of the USA. So he's the most powerful man in the world physically and politically. Yawn. Regular Superman hasn't been tapped into properly yet, why add an extra dimension to him if they can't get the basics right?

 

[jye4ever]

See, to me this is the most boring version (admittedly I've don't know much about it so my opinion might be worthless) but one of the main complaints is Superman is too powerful, he's not relatable, so what do they do with this version? They make him President of the USA. So he's the most powerful man in the world physically and politically. Yawn. Regular Superman hasn't been tapped into properly yet, why add an extra dimension to him if they can't get the basics right?

Well I got news for you if a real Super being does arrive there will be 8 billion slaves building pyramids in their likeness and they wouldn’t want it done with modern machinery it would all have to be done by hand and rope lol

While being a slave I would still laugh if it was a white male super being that arrived I would be like damn even a space alien is a freaking white slaver lol

Hopefully it’s a hot chick that enslaves us I would give 100% before I dropped dead 3 minutes after I started.

 

[csutkakoma]

Wait wait wait WHY THE HELL has Gunn now announced that he met with Affleck to direct a DC movie!

Ironwez is right WB is incapable of pulling 100% away from Snyder.

As soon as they get rid of Cavill they go and announce that Affleck is in talks with them about directing…wut!

Sorry to break it to you WB and James Gun but Affleck will forever be tied to the ZS universe just like Cavill, Gadot, Momoa and Ezra are.

If WB intentions are to be 100% as far away from ZS as humanly possible then bringing Affleck back is a really dumb idea.

Wait it’s WB….DUMB makes perfect sense.

Why is it a problem? Honest question. He is not acting. He is directing which is a totaly different thing and nothing to do with the Synderverse. Also I don't think the general audience even know who is directing which movie usually.

 

[jye4ever]

Why is it a problem? Honest question. He is not acting. He is directing which is a totaly different thing and nothing to do with the Synderverse.

Affleck can be seperated from ZSDC about as much as Christopher Reeve, Michael Keaton and RDJ can from their own set of films and respective roles.

Think about it they brought Keaton back to play the same Tim Burton Batman from 34 years ago not some brand new Batman.

Inseparable.

 

[goatchumby]

I'm not sure that such a radical reinvention of these characters will happen right out of the gate given that it's Zas behind the curtain. Don't get me wrong ZSJL was quite impressive and surprisingly cathartic, but if Gunn can guide the narrative and give us a tonally inspiring and (dare I say) fun Supes to build this world off of then I'm all for some new direction. Dour Bats already works and will be a given.

Oh, and hopefully they pump the brakes on the multiverse stuff for a little bit. IMO this new DC could benefit from some solid foundation to glue it together, and the multiverse Deux ex Machina has been making things a bit soupy with the MCU lately.

 

[csutkakoma]

Affleck can be seperated from ZSDC about as much as Christopher Reeve, Michael Keaton and RDJ can from their own set of films and respective roles.

Think about it they brought Keaton back to play the same Tim Burton Batman from 34 years ago not some brand new Batman.

Inseparable.

Here I have to disagree. As an actor yes but as a director no.

 

[Victοr]

See, to me this is the most boring version (admittedly I've don't know much about it so my opinion might be worthless) but one of the main complaints is Superman is too powerful, he's not relatable, so what do they do with this version? They make him President of the USA. So he's the most powerful man in the world physically and politically. Yawn. Regular Superman hasn't been tapped into properly yet, why add an extra dimension to him if they can't get the basics right?

Superman's problem for me was never his power; it was his attitude/character/etc. I'm a Silver Surfer fan, right? He's even more powerful, and even more preachy at times. But he's not restrained on Earth, he traverses the cosmos. And he contrasts the preachyness with some nice introspective (albeit hollow and cape-y) monologues and all-out action. You take Superman, and he's pretty close to a physical god, whose personality oscillates between "aw shucks" farmboy in the big city, and omnipotent god too scared to take a stance lest he hinder mankind and blablabla. To me that's bollocks. You want the "demigod who is actually a good normal guy" type, then scale back his powers back to the Golden Age. Have him as a strongman with some extra bits and pieces who just wants to help. But the moment you do the Quantum Computer Brain in the body of a god, then you've gone far beyond the norm, and the character needs to either be the biggest change on the planet since life arose, or just **** off to space. Surfer works because despite being vastly more powerful than Superman, his role and character and entirely different. He's lost in the vastness of the cosmos. He's not primarily concerned with saving old ladies or humanity. He's used to showcase the entirety of existence. Meanwhile Superman saves kittens from trees, stops alien invaders, warlords and blablaba, without actually affecting anything. I know that the same could be said for many other overpowered characters but again, they have different roles. They're not Superman. They don't care, or they're not as powerful, or such and such and such. Superman's core is the issue.

I don't think Superman is inherently boring, or even mind that he's a good guy. I've said it before that I gravitate more towards characters who are kinda ****-ish/jerks, like Doom, Namor, Stark, etc, but that's not the problem here. I just think the contradiction is nonsense. Kinda powerful Brick/Strongman Superman trying to make a difference? Sure. But Reed Richards with a god's powers, whose primary concern is saving humanity, and who just spends his days as a journalist is insulting to me. Reed's a science autist with internal rules which stop him from actually bringing about some techno-utopia. He could, but he won't. He's not even primarily a superhero, he's a scientist. Superman however is supposed to be THE superheo. Superman must actually have an impact. Until that happens, to me, he's a broken character at best, and a genuine insult at worst.

Calvin works for me because while he's the "humanity has to figure things out without me interefering" type like the classic Kent, he follows his internal compass and has a hand on the affairs of the world. He's not a dictator, but he knows what powers he has and he uses them to guide people without actively taking a role as Superman, the overpowered god enforcing his will. It's not the extra power that's the problem, it's that Superman as a character, as is, makes no sense no matter how you look at him. When he can beat some meta multiversal machine purely by singing and shattering the universal vibrations, or he can see the frequencies the universal particles follow, and all he does is kill time being a journo and screwing some shrew, then I'm rooting for Lex simply because such a waste is an insult.

 

[Dave_W]

Superman's problem for me was never his power; it was his attitude/character/etc. I'm a Silver Surfer fan, right? He's even more powerful, and even more preachy at times. But he's not restrained on Earth, he traverses the cosmos. And he contrasts the preachyness with some nice introspective (albeit hollow and cape-y) monologues and all-out action. You take Superman, and he's pretty close to a physical god, whose personality oscillates between "aw shucks" farmboy in the big city, and omnipotent god too scared to take a stance lest he hinder mankind and blablabla. To me that's bollocks. You want the "demigod who is actually a good normal guy" type, then scale back his powers back to the Golden Age. Have him as a strongman with some extra bits and pieces who just wants to help. But the moment you do the Quantum Computer Brain in the body of a god, then you've gone far beyond the norm, and the character needs to either be the biggest change on the planet since life arose, or just **** off to space. Surfer works because despite being vastly more powerful than Superman, his role and character and entirely different. He's lost in the vastness of the cosmos. He's not primarily concerned with saving old ladies or humanity. He's used to showcase the entirety of existence. Meanwhile Superman saves kittens from trees, stops alien invaders, warlords and blablaba, without actually affecting anything. I know that the same could be said for many other overpowered characters but again, they have different roles. They're not Superman. They don't care, or they're not as powerful, or such and such and such. Superman's core is the issue.

I don't think Superman is inherently boring, or even mind that he's a good guy. I've said it before that I gravitate more towards characters who are kinda ****-ish/jerks, like Doom, Namor, Stark, etc, but that's not the problem here. I just think the contradiction is nonsense. Kinda powerful Brick/Strongman Superman trying to make a difference? Sure. But Reed Richards with a god's powers, whose primary concern is saving humanity, and who just spends his days as a journalist is insulting to me. Reed's a science autist with internal rules which stop him from actually bringing about some techno-utopia. He could, but he won't. He's not even primarily a superhero, he's a scientist. Superman however is supposed to be THE superheo. Superman must actually have an impact. Until that happens, to me, he's a broken character at best, and a genuine insult at worst.

Calvin works for me because while he's the "humanity has to figure things out without me interefering" type like the classic Kent, he follows his internal compass and has a hand on the affairs of the world. He's not a dictator, but he knows what powers he has and he uses them to guide people without actively taking a role as Superman, the overpowered god enforcing his will. It's not the extra power that's the problem, it's that Superman as a character, as is, makes no sense no matter how you look at him. When he can beat some meta multiversal machine purely by singing and shattering the universal vibrations, or he can see the frequencies the universal particles follow, and all he does is kill time being a journo and screwing some shrew, then I'm rooting for Lex simply because such a waste is an insult.

I like the whole "I've got all these powers, but I'd just rather be normal, but I have a responsibility, but I can't just take over and do it all for them" He's too powerful, his weaknesses have to be emotional/psychological. Having him be President so he can fix things without being heavy handed and do it through more democratic, representative channels just fills in the hole that creates that conflict.

Is there any point in being both Superman and President? That seems like an ego thing. "The world needs me to be both, because I'm the only one who can lead properly" That just isn't 'Superman' to me, I just can't get into that take. He's already a Mary Sue, he needs dialing back, not making President.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

The reboot is dead already

 

[Victοr]

I like the whole "I've got all these powers, but I'd just rather be normal, but I have a responsibility, but I can't just take over and do it all for them" He's too powerful, his weaknesses have to be emotional/psychological. Having him be President so he can fix things without being heavy handed and do it through more democratic, representative channels just fills in the hole that creates that conflict.

I find it illogical. If he genuinely cares, he'll use his powers. To spent the whole time brooding yet refuse to use them for anything beyond punching is asinine. He's supposed to be Luthor level smart, and also have all the resources from the Fortress plus the knowledge from Krypton. The man should've realistically solved everything. Yes, he'd have to "take over" in some way or another. He doesn't want to do that? Fine, I get it. Then stop brooding over it. Stop pretending. And thus we're now at an uber-powerful alien just kinda dicking around Earth as a journalist for... reasons. Riveting...

Is there any point in being both Superman and President? That seems like an ego thing. "The world needs me to be both, because I'm the only one who can lead properly"

Well... yeah. He's got the powers. He's got the capacity. If he doesn't use them to change literally anything, then he's a coward. If he's too afraid to upset the balance, he should **** off to space. I won't accept anything else. He's skirting his responsibilities otherwise and that I can't accept and congratulate. Ellis found a good enough balance and it works for me.

That just isn't 'Superman' to me, I just can't get into that take. He's already a Mary Sue, he needs dialing back, not making President.

So scale down his powers. No super-giga-mega-ultra genius. No "lmao my singing affects the foundations of the universe". Just a very strong flying brick with some bells and whistles and a gifted intellect trying to make a difference. That I can accept. That I have no problem with. But you can't have your ultimate "my dad can beat up your dad" power-fantasy, and have him be a swell guy, and have him do nothing while brooding over it. It's nonsensical.

 

[Alatar]

I think it’s conceivable that they write off—i.e., cancel—Shazam 2, Aquaman 2, The Flash, and Blue Beetle.

https://www.screendaily.com/news/wa...scovery (WBD) has,and make Wall Street happy.

 

[Dave_W]

I find it illogical. If he genuinely cares, he'll use his powers. To spent the whole time brooding yet refuse to use them for anything beyond punching is asinine. He's supposed to be Luthor level smart, and also have all the resources from the Fortress plus the knowledge from Krypton. The man should've realistically solved everything. Yes, he'd have to "take over" in some way or another. He doesn't want to do that? Fine, I get it. Then stop brooding over it. Stop pretending. And thus we're now at an uber-powerful alien just kinda dicking around Earth as a journalist for... reasons. Riveting...


Well... yeah. He's got the powers. He's got the capacity. If he doesn't use them to change literally anything, then he's a coward. If he's too afraid to upset the balance, he should **** off to space. I won't accept anything else. He's skirting his responsibilities otherwise and that I can't accept and congratulate. Ellis found a good enough balance and it works for me.


So scale down his powers. No super-giga-mega-ultra genius. No "lmao my singing affects the foundations of the universe". Just a very strong flying brick with some bells and whistles and a gifted intellect trying to make a difference. That I can accept. That I have no problem with. But you can't have your ultimate "my dad can beat up your dad" power-fantasy, and have him be a swell guy, and have him do nothing while brooding over it. It's nonsensical.

I guess I'll have to read some actual Calvin Harris stuff to help change my mind, because on the surface it seems even more nonsensical. "Sorry guys, I can't be President today and get involved in some world leader political stuff, I gotta fight giant robots." A black Superman who is also President seems like the ultimate power-fantasy. Someone like Lex being President I can understand because he craves power and that's as powerful as he could get. For a God to also want to be President? Is being God-like not enough?

 

[Alatar]

Well, the total reboot news for the DCU has definitely put a damper on my 1/6 DC figure collecting! I prize my Snyderverse collection and look forward to Cyborg completing the lineup in Feb/Mar. But I can’t deny that my ability to take pleasure in it will be hurt by the Snyderverse continuity not continuing and getting some sort of completion. Sadly, I’m experiencing the collection as a bit of a bitter pill now. Such is life, and I’m sure that will change over time somewhat. But man. This is a bummer.

I don’t know how you all feel but I’m not at all looking forward to James Gunn’s… Superboy? He said he’s writing the script for a movie with Superman set during a younger period of his life. With MoS we had the Cavill origin of Superman in his 20s. So what does he mean by younger? Or I guess perhaps with Cavill at 39 years old, if he means where after ZSJL leaves off then maybe he’s referring to writing a new Superman just starting out his career again.

I think James Gunn was a poor choice for creative lead of the DCU. Or at least I should say his filmography doesn’t click with what I want for DC. That’s really more my problem with him. I know that other directors will do their thing under him, but his tone as a director isn’t right for DC. I loved GotG, yes. But I didn’t care for GotG Vol. 2, TSS, or Peacemaker. I’m not a fan of non-stop adolescent humor. Best I can see Gunn is a one trick pony. I think he more or less basically just got lucky with all pistons firing for his approach in GotG.

I’ll still watch what happens with the rebooted DCU but my excitement level is less than zero. I’m very cynical about it, actually.

 

[T8OO]

Well, the total reboot news for the DCU has definitely put a damper on my 1/6 DC figure collecting! I prize my Snyderverse collection and look forward to Cyborg completing the lineup in Feb/Mar. But I can’t deny that my ability to take pleasure in it will be hurt by the Snyderverse continuity not continuing and getting some sort of completion. Sadly, I’m experiencing the collection as a bit of a bitter pill now. Such is life, and I’m sure that will change over time somewhat. But man. This is a bummer.

I don’t know how you all feel but I’m not at all looking forward to James Gunn’s… Superboy? He said he’s writing the script for a movie with Superman set during a younger period of his life. With MoS we had the Cavill origin of Superman in his 20s. So what does he mean by younger? Or I guess perhaps with Cavill at 39 years old, if he means where after ZSJL leaves off then maybe he’s referring to writing a new Superman just starting out his career again.

I think James Gunn was a poor choice for creative lead of the DCU. His filmography doesn’t click with what I want for DC. I know that other directors will do their thing under him, but his tone as a director isn’t right for DC. I loved GotG, yes. But I didn’t care for GotG Vol. 2, TSS, or Peacemaker. I’m not a fan of non-stop adolescent humor. Best I can see Gunn is a one trick pony. I think he more or less basically just got lucky with all pistons firing for his approach in GotG.

I’ll still watch what happens with the rebooted DCU but my excitement level is less than zero. I’m very cynical about it, actually.

I didn't start collecting until after Snyder had left. I collected the JL pieces because I believed in his version and what it could have been. It is a ******* shame it's not getting finished but it doesn't take away what we did get. An amazing trilogy. My collection reflects those movies.

 

[csutkakoma]

Well, the total reboot news for the DCU has definitely put a damper on my 1/6 DC figure collecting! I prize my Snyderverse collection and look forward to Cyborg completing the lineup in Feb/Mar. But I can’t deny that my ability to take pleasure in it will be hurt by the Snyderverse continuity not continuing and getting some sort of completion. Sadly, I’m experiencing the collection as a bit of a bitter pill now. Such is life, and I’m sure that will change over time somewhat. But man. This is a bummer.

I don’t know how you all feel but I’m not at all looking forward to James Gunn’s… Superboy? He said he’s writing the script for a movie with Superman set during a younger period of his life. With MoS we had the Cavill origin of Superman in his 20s. So what does he mean by younger? Or I guess perhaps with Cavill at 39 years old, if he means where after ZSJL leaves off then maybe he’s referring to writing a new Superman just starting out his career again.

I think James Gunn was a poor choice for creative lead of the DCU. Or at least I should say his filmography doesn’t click with what I want for DC. That’s really more my problem with him. I know that other directors will do their thing under him, but his tone as a director isn’t right for DC. I loved GotG, yes. But I didn’t care for GotG Vol. 2, TSS, or Peacemaker. I’m not a fan of non-stop adolescent humor. Best I can see Gunn is a one trick pony. I think he more or less basically just got lucky with all pistons firing for his approach in GotG.

I’ll still watch what happens with the rebooted DCU but my excitement level is less than zero. I’m very cynical about it, actually.

He said it is not an origin story at all. Superman will be in his year one or two probably which is fine. Cavil sadly is way too old for an other 10 years. We will see how it goes but I think it is for the better. The Snyderverse was a faliure all in all. Or more like the DCEU as a whole. I know it is a wishful thinking to get Henry back but Henry is from the overall bad era and sadly if they want any goodwill back they need to start all over again.

I think Gunn watching the universe as a whole. I like Cavil but this is for the best. And yeah the timing of the annuncment is a little weird but it had to be made right now because the shitstorm has to die down before the new start.

 

[Victοr]

I guess I'll have to read some actual Calvin Harris stuff to help change my mind, because on the surface it seems even more nonsensical.

There's only Action Comics #9 (the New 52 numbering) and The Multiversity. There's also a spin-off mini from the Multiversity DC published recently, but I haven't read a DC book since Morrison's GL ended, as they're utter trash. The current event (yet another Crisis after "Final Crisis"...) is about an uber-ultra-mega darkness controlling Darkseid and other generic dark villains, and which has possessed Deathstroke and is... Yeah, you get the point.

Still, if you read that one single issue, you'll see if you like him or not, since there's not much else out there.

"Sorry guys, I can't be President today and get involved in some world leader political stuff, I gotta fight giant robots."

He's got robots for that. You know those robot helpers Superman has in his Fortress? The Ellis version has them too, similar to Red Son's Brainiac, but also stores them in the White House, and they're perfect copies, so that he can take care of both Superman and POTUS business.

A black Superman who is also President seems like the ultimate power-fantasy.

Nah, nothing will ever be as much of a power fantasy as Wakanda is. Literally "we're the best and always were, and we've cured cancer but you honkeys are too stupid to get it" ever since Hudlin's run. The guy had Panther, Falcon, Cage and Blade all team up because "black power", as if they weren't singular characters with their own personalities and backgrounds. Literally the thing Supreme Power criticized with Blur and Nighthawk. Cage literally shouts how he ****** Black Cat while fighting ninjas. The Doom issue has T'Challa say he's not a "Keebler Elf" so of course he hates European clothing and architecture. It was an awful run that ruined everything Priest built. And yet, because it popularised the "Wakanda Forever" portrayal, it's become THE defining run. Gone are any drawbacks/flaws vital to any cape, and an empty self-inserting power fantasy is as all that remains. Wakanda literally has a PAN-GALACTIC EMPIRE now. The supposed Wakandan Empire makes the Galactic Empire, the Federation and the Imperium look like chumps. Scale wise at least; we've not really seen any feats. They're players in Marvel's cosmic sandbox, alongside the Kree and whatnot. They're never in any danger. They just show up to be the big dogs. Meanwhile Tony's drunk and broke again, Namor's got no kingdom, the FF are also broke, so is Spider-Man, and the only other "earthly kingdom with super tech", Latveria, is run by a tyrant and populated by normal people, not an uber-advanced group of ethnonationalist geniuses who flex 24/7. If that's not a power fantasy, I don't know what is.

A Superman who becomes POTUS and happens to be a black human looking alien, instead of a white human looking alien, isn't anywhere near close all that. Superman is inherently a power fantasy, sure. If anyone likes Superman simply because of the powers and self-inserts as "The Super-Man", then they've created their own version of the character in their heads, no matter the portrayal. POTUS Superman isn't any more or less a power fantasy, since any version of Superman could use his powers and achieve the same thing. Super-Heroes are singular power fantasies that appeal to you for X, Y, etc reasons. But when you single out a group and create a power fantasy that has it as its core, instead of a specific individual, it goes beyond the realms of self-insertism. If I made a comic/movie/game where my specific people/country/group are the bestest ever and the only reason why we're not ruling the world is because we're too gracious, and it was all portrayed as in the right, it'd be seen as an empty and cringy power fantasy, not much else. Old Wakanda used to be Eastern African Latveria, but without a madman in charge. Modern Wakanda is "my dad can beat up your dad" in the form of a country.

Someone like Lex being President I can understand because he craves power and that's as powerful as he could get. For a God to also want to be President? Is being God-like not enough?

If Superman's that powerful, then he can either be a bystander, therefore wasting his gifts and skirting his responsibility, flee and remove himself from the equation, become a shepherd/guide, or go full-on god. Ellis is the guide type. Injustine Superman is the god tyrant. Luthor wants power because he's selfish. Superman would use the position to do some good. It's a job/title, it comes down to how you use it, especially in the realm of capes. To me the "aw shucks gee we golly I wish I could use my ultramegagiga brain and ultramegagiga powers to provide the world with clean energy and maybe off some genocidal dictators, but that'd infringe on human agency, so I'll just save some firefighters, try to bang Lois, and look super sad for not doing anything more" approach is insulting, so I don't really care for Superman as is. I don't need him to be edgy, I don't mind that he's a good guy trying to help, but if that's the angle you wanna go with, tone down the powers significantly.