“That’s my favorite Clark”: Fans Who Hated Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel Will Like 1 Batman Animated Series for Giving us a Christopher Reeve Version of Superman

In the 90 years since his creation, Superman has had many different versions. There have been many to stand out from these, for good and bad reasons. Perhaps one of the most controversial has to be Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel, which is a darker version of the character. While many fans loved the fresher approach, there were many fundamental changes made that completely went against the character’s philosophy.

On the other hand, the DC Animated Universe has done an excellent job of capturing the essence of Clark Kent. Superman: The Animated Series is the perfect example of this, being regarded as one of the most accurate versions of Kent.

Alan Burnett, who worked on the 1996 series, also helped design the Kryptonian in the 2004 series, The Batman. His approach to the character would make many fans very happy, especially those who were disappointed by the Zack Snyder film and liked Christopher Reeve’s version.

The Batman’s Approach to Superman

During an interview with DC Animated, Alan Burnett was asked about how he would be approaching the character of Superman in The Batman. Despite the series focusing on the Caped Crusader, it also featured the Kryptonian, as well as other members of the Justice League, and the Bat Family. The writer revealed that their approach to the Kryptonian would be a lot more standoffish, especially in his interactions with the Bat.

“We’ve made Superman a tad bit less friendly – more the inscrutable alien, especially with Batman. In our story Batman’s already joined the League. Superman doesn’t give a flying fig about it. We’ve also gone back to Clark as the loveable klutz. Very Christopher Reeve. That’s my favorite Clark.”

Interestingly enough, this version of the character was not interested in joining the Justice League, a team he usually heads. Burnett also revealed that the character would be a little more conventional, being the adorable, clumsy alien.

He then added that the character would take a page out of Christopher Reeve’s book, with there being a stark difference in the personalities of his two identities. This was a very wise decision, considering his version of Clark Kent has been regarded as one of the best.

Superman—The Jester

Alan Burnett then went on to talk about the personality of Superman in The Batman. He revealed that the character would be almost comically clumsy and foolish. In perfect Sad-Clown Paradox style, the reasoning for this was his desperate need to be a part of humanity. He wants to be accepted so badly that he does not care that he is making a fool of himself. As long as people are laughing at him, they are looking at him.

“Superman wants to be part of humanity so bad, he’ll even act the fool. That’s probably how he sees us: a bunch of idiots. You know, as tragic as the first act is in the Superman story – Krypton blowing up and all that – the second act is all comedy.”

Burnett further added that the alias the Kryptonian makes for himself is a perfect indicator of what he thinks of humanity. Going for a Jester-like approach may be an indicator that he believes humans to be fools. As tragic as it sounds, the klutz approach has become an iconic part of the character.