Retrospective 1983

Superman III

Superman III is 1983's superhero show that most people will remember (although they may cringe at its mentioning). Sadly, at least in my mind, this marked the end of the first golden age of superhero films. The Superman series had been phenomenal. Superman I was epic, and II even with its flaws stands as my favorite Superman movie to date. Superman III took a respectable hero and surrounded him with bumbler and idiots. Just check out this "comedic" opening sequence where apparently everyone in Metropolis is a freaking moron:

Having said that, at least Superman III had some redeeming aspects. Dark Superman was an interesting turn, and the Superman vs Clark Kent fight was pretty cool even though it may not really make sense. Also, the part when the supercomputer turns that chick into a robot used to freak me out.

So, even though Superman III was a big step down for the franchise, it didn't kill the film series and I would say it deserves to exist (hey, its embezzlement plot even inspired the plot for Office Space). The same can't really be said for 1983's other offering.

The Return of Captain Invincible

Oh dear. Part comedy, part action, and part musical... Not really a good mix. The Return Of Captain Invincible (don't mind the title, this isn't a sequel) was about a hero forced into retirement by McCarthy (because of his red "commie" cape and for flying without a license). Years later, he was called back into service when Mr. Midnight stole a government hypno-ray. Its just really not a very good movie, the songs are weird and not very good, and its hard to tell if this is supposed to be a parody or not. I mean, its about as silly as Superman III which wasn't a parody (or at least wasn't supposed to be). Lets just say its no accident most people haven't heard of this one.



So, 1983 wasn't a great year for heroes. And even I, who have a soft spot for Superman III, admit the genre would probably only be helped if this year were erased from the time line.