Hollywood Reporter: An appeals court has delivered a huge victory to Warner Bros. that will likely allow the studio to control the future of the Superman franchise.
On Thursday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that a lower court was wrong to deny Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Comics' contention that it had a deal in 2001 with the estate of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel. As a result, a federal judge's 2008 ruling to allow the Siegel estate to recapture Superman rights is about to be wiped out.
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Some may say this a question of greed - DC comics robbing the poor widows and children of these comic artists. Or that the family should've been content with their original settlement and not went with such a greedy and ambitious appeal. But it's bigger than that because Superman is bigger than dollar signs, court dates, or legal riff raff. Superman has become an everyman for the comic book and entertainment industry. He is the hero who everyone measures up to. A litmas test for every comic character that has come, gone, or will be. No one compares to Superman. As a symbol for pure good enduring over evil he is invincble and eternal. Every generation has their Superman they look up to. He has been played by different actors in various mediums and has subtly changed and shifted as the comic book industry changes with trends. Sure you can define who Superman is but its a greater task considering what Superman is. This lawsuit could've changed all that. The reprcussions of this case would've put disected Superman, the siegels would own certain trats and Warner (DC) would retain control of others. This would limit new stories or events in Superman's life by the power of the other parties veto. Or one could pull their aspects from the character. Specifics that have made SUperman become the force his is today would be constraints and limititations. He can break steel chains but can't break red tape.
This decision puts Superman entirely back into the hands of DC Comics. I'm not saying they are saints or defending all of their aspirations in court but they know what's best for the Man of Steel because they understand how the world wants their heroes. Considering everything they've done since the 30s they have a good track record so far (if you ignore Superman Returns.) DC's sole control ensures Superman will belong to everyone as long as they are interested. So what about theater? What if Shakespeare's offspring claimed the original folio and all interpretations of it as theirs. We all get bothered when Beckett's estate shut downs brilliantly devised productions of his work. Certain things are bigger than their creators and should be left as such. Humans yearn for ideals, for universal truths, and for purity. Superman is no different.
So when I first read this article I was interested. There were times when it did seem like the original creators were a little greedy and just wanted control over what they created. Then DC/WB wanted control so they could continue to create Superman. Both side could be argued and both side have valid points to be considered.
From my feelings of reading that article, seems like DC is willing to give the creators and creators family some royalty for character of Superman. But leaving control of Superman with DC. I agree with Matt on that DC has been creating heros and coping with the times of the world very well. So leave the Man of Steel in the DC universe, I feel like that is where he belongs.
This is a hard one for me to pick a side mostly because I'm totally on the Wanrner bros. side here, but I feel bad picking the large corporation over the little man. Its cool that we have a law in place to allow artists to regain control of a concept, but it was definitely Warner bros. that made Superman what he is today. If there was some sort of settlement in 2001 then they should have been satisfied with it. I really don't think its fair in this case for the original artist to take issue with something they sold just because it makes tons of money now especially since Warner Bros. seems more then happy to pay them some agreed upon settlement money.
In a way this is very similar to the Godfather case a few months ago, Paramount vs the Puzo estate, the Puzo estate wanted to continue to capitalize by releasing a new book and there was talk of another movie but Paramount wanted to keep the Godfather line the way it was. Which is where this differs in at least some way, as it is likely that a win for the Siegels may have ended Superman as we know him, but instead he will now live on as he should.
It may look like WB is the bad guy here, but that's not so true if you look at the bigger picture. While the compensation for Superman that the co-creators received might have been small, it is important to note that the contract they signed was when it was just a comic book and almost undiscovered. It was DC Comics that took the character and developed it into the empire that it is today. Yes, credit should go to the original creators for coming up with the concept, but most of the hard work that went into creating this Kryptonian into the most beloved caped crusader was done by the production studio and it's creative teams. They have the right to reap the financial gains.
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