Christopher Reeve's Superman was the first real super hero movie that made it into the spotlight and captivated the nation. The film is responsible for creating the iconic image of Superman's fortress of solutude as a crystalline structure. The following films, while generally agreed upon by the public (and Christopher Reeve himself) to have dwindled in quality, the films still tried to tackle various causes, such as humanity's problem with nuclear arms. As for the man himself, what's there to say about him that hasn't been said before? Christopher Reeve often said in interviews that he was not Superman, that he played the part and played it well. But we know better. Christopher Reeve was not Superman; Superman wishes he was Mr. Reeve. A strong activist, he stood for environmental causes and fought against systemic injustice. When he endured his horsing accident, paralyzing him from the neck down, he used the remaining 9 years of his life to advocate for disability rights and has several legislative acts named after him and his wife. His life shows that just because something tragic happens to you doesn't mean you can't make something beautiful out of it all. He embodied the character and power of Superman as a human being more than he ever could have imagined.

While this scene from Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is more idealistic than realistic, I've always appreciated it. Superman gives a speech effectively saying that he loves Earth, his true home, so much that he doesn't want to see it fall to destruction, and as such he will be removing all of the planet's nuclear bombs with the endorsement of the United Nations. While this, as a strategy, wouldn't hold up in real life because you'd still have scared people building more bombs once the old ones were done away with, it is still a scene that I can appreciate. Even Superman himself has this realization by the end of the film when he states that humans will have to reach the point that they want peace so bad they will do anything to demand it, not just have peace handed to them. It shows Superman as someone that tries to save people not just through his powers, but through his influence, which is often how real change is made in our world. Change is often slow, and what is better than changing the landscape to have no bombs is changing the heart to no longer need them. The Superman in this film advocates for change, and Christopher Reeve plays the part so well that he forgot to stop playing it when he walked off set, with him using the remaining years of his life to advocate for a variety of causes, most notably, medical research and disability rights.

While divisive, I actually really like the black Superman suit. After Doomsday kills Superman, the character eventually comes back, but he is weak and needs to recover. Knowing that Superman gains his power from the yellow sun, and that black absorbs the most light, Superman dons a black suit for the purpose of absorbing more light so he can recover quicker. I'm not a fan of the fact that, because this Superman was weaker, the comics decided to make him rely on firearms to balance out his lack of strength. Superman isn't a gun guy in my book. This suit design actually made an appearance in Snyder's cut of the Justice League which was nice to see.

Also a controversial writing choice, in one comic Superman gets split into two beings, dubbed Superman Blue and Superman Red. While the comics didn't fully utilize the potential of this concept (or so I've heard), I think this idea has a lot of merits to it and could be a compelling story in its own right. It would be a breath of fresh air to see a film in the DCU one day that utilizes this concept for a film or two and makes the best of it.