If new pictures from the set of the Superman movie reboot “Man of Steel” last week have taught us anything, it’s that hard-bodied star Henry Cavill looks the part. But (thinly) covering those bulging biceps is a blue suit that has been the talk of the web. The easy comparison is to the new Spider-Man suit Andrew Garfield will wear in “The Amazing Spider-Man” next year — so let’s go ahead and make that comparison, shall we?
When we’ll see it
Spider-Man: “The Amazing Spider-Man” swings into theaters July 3.
Superman: “Man of Steel” is due June 14, 2013.
Impressions so far
Spider-Man: Spider-Man’s creator Stan Lee went on record saying Garfield “looks just perfect to me,” Eonline.com reports, and co-star Emma Stone has offered a thumbs-up. Judging from limited publicity photos, the texture could be a plus, lending the wall-crawler a springy, Slinky-like look as he leaps and glides.
Superman: Said Cavill of donning the suit for the first time, “I thought ‘OK, holy hell, this is real, it’s not a joke anymore.” Uh, we’ll consider that a positive? Overall reaction seems to be kinder than the reception for a photo of what appeared to be Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman suit in “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Updates from the original
Spider-Man: Instead of being roughly half red, half blue, the new suit uses the red as more of an accent from the neck down, most dramatically in the dagger-like streak that runs down Spidey’s torso. The new suit also tones down the raised lines that made Tobey Maguire look a little like a spreadsheet in “Spider-Man 3.”
Superman: The biggest change here is that Big Blue has at long last decided to wear his underwear inside his pants — goodbye, red trim; hello, solid blue bottom. The suit also looks to be a darker blue than in the past. And it also looks to have been painted onto Cavill’s body. (When did Superman become Mystique?)
Verdict
Both fall short of the bar set by the “Dark Knight” version of the Bat-suit, but we’re going to give the edge to the bright and still-sleek look of Spider-Man.
— Tribune Newspapers
