Analyzing the New Man of Steel's Wardrobe

Right after the shocking announcement that Laurence Fishburne would be changing the race of Daily Planet editor Perry White, Zack Snyder drops the ultimate teaser item. He has seen fit to give us the first image of Henry Cavill in the Superman outfit -- and in action! Even if it is just staged action, it still gives us a feel of what we can expect from "Superman: Man of Steel."

There was a lot of senseless questions about having a British actor play the Man of Steel and looks can be deceiving, but from this first sneak peek both of my thumbs are pointing straight up. Cavill definitely has the body build and facial shape needed to resemble Superman. As long as he does not open his mouth and sound like Mr. Bean, we should be all right.

Overall, the Superman suit looks fine. There is not much you can do different to something that has such an iconic look without getting a whole lot of fanboys and girls angry. I must say it sure does look very leathery and sweat inducing. I hope that is not the same material his parents sent him to Earth swaddled in for a blanket. In addition, what is up with the "Spider-man suit" pattern all over it? Apparently, Peter Parker had a garage sale and Superman's Earthly mom went to it.

I have two other very small complaints. What is up with the plastic-looking hair? Is it some new cool style? Is it the "wet, but not really wet" look? And where's the curl in the front? Why does every new version of the Man of Steel omit his curl? First "Smallville" did it and now it looks like Snyder's movie will too.

You can't judge a book by its cover, but the background set used for this first image from "Superman: Man of Steel" appears to look a bit synthetic and "noirish." Are they trying to give the movie a strange faux-realistic comic book look? Is this some new style that director Snyder is going for?

Although I refuse to get my hopes up over a staged photo of the super hero from "Superman: Man of Steel," it admittedly does get the blood pumping and kick up the excitement level a bit. I am not hoping for a bomb here. I really want a good Superman movie. It is just after "Sucker Punch," I have become a little disenchanted with Zack Snyder. The only thing that keeps me even half-optimistic about this movie is the fact that Christopher Nolan is involved. We will all see what comes of all this when "Superman: Man of Steel" is released on June 14, 2013.

"Superman: Man of Steel" stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon, Antje Traue, Russell Crowe, Julia Ormond, Harry Lennix, Christopher Meloni and Laurence Fishburne. David S. Goyer wrote the screenplay from a story by Christopher Nolan and Goyer.

For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:

Interview with 'Cowboys & Aliens' Graphic Novel Writer Fred Van Lente
Interview with 'Cowboys & Aliens' Creator Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
Aliens Invade Moscow in 'The Darkest Hour'