Flickering Myth’s Greatest Comic Book Movies: #5 – Superman: The Movie (1978)

And so, as we reach the top five of our countdown of the Greatest Comic Book Movies, we come to the granddaddy of the superhero movie, Richard Donner’s 1978 classic Superman, which saw a then-unknown Christopher Reeve making his first appearance in what would become his signature role as the Man of Steel. Scripted by The Godfather author Mario Puzo, Superman details the origins of the Last Son of Krypton, from a strange young Kansas farmboy through to mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent, culminating of course with his emergence as the World’s Greatest Superhero, as he seeks to prevent the megalomaniac Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) from sinking the West Coast of the United States by detonating a nuclear missile.

The then-most expensive film of all time with a budget of $55 million, Superman proved to be an enormous hit at the box office, pulling in over $300 million globally, and receiving three Academy Award nominations, as well as a Special Achievement Award for its outstanding visual effects. As a result of its success, Warner Bros. resumed production on Superman II (which had originally been shot back-to-back with Superman), although Donner was controversially replaced on the sequel by Richard Lester, having criticised producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind in the run up to the film’s release.

In addition to reprising the role for Superman II, Reeve would return for two more less successful sequels, Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and while a fifth movie was rumoured, Warner Bros. eventually decided to reboot the series in the 1990s, going through several failed attempts before Bryan Singer delivered the quasi-sequel Superman Returns in 2006. Meanwhile, Superman will return to screens this year, with Henry Cavill taking flight in the Zack Snyder-directed reboot Man of Steel.

Superman marks the third and highest appearance in our chart for the Man of Steel, with Superman Returns coming in at #42 and Superman II at #19.