Superman’s Dark Past

Charles Moss

Since the official teaser trailer forBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicedebuted online in April, fans and critics alike have been discussing the kind of Superman Zack Snyder is going to depict in hisMan of Steelsequel.1. teaser trailer: 先行预告片；Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:《蝙蝠侠大战超人：正义黎明》，是电影《超人：钢铁之躯》的续集，由扎克·施奈德执导，将于2016年3月上映；debut: 首次公开；critic: 批评家；Zack Snyder: 扎克·施奈德（1966— ），美国导演、监制及编剧，代表作品有《斯巴达300勇士》、《守望者》以及该句中提到的《超人：钢铁之躯》等；depict: 描绘，刻画；sequel: 续集。The controversy stems from Snyder’s decision to cast Superman as a brooding,Dark Knight-like character,2. controversy: 争议，论战；stem from: 起源于；cast: 塑造；brooding: 忧虑的，沉思的；Dark Knight: 电影《黑暗骑士》，改编自DC漫画公司的经典超级英雄漫画《蝙蝠侠》。who cares more about beating up bad guys than saving people. The casting split has proved divisive among Superman fans: Some love the new incarnation, citing him as an edgier, more realistic version of the character.3. casting split: 人物塑造上（与以往形象）的割裂；divisive: 造成不和的，引起纷争的；incarnation: 化身，典型；cite sb. as: 把某人称为……；edgier: edgy的比较级，更奇特的，不寻常的，有趣的。

But Snyder’s is a different Superman than the one fans grew up with, and many have no problem expressing their outrage4. outrage: 愤怒。over it. Even Mark Waid, the author ofSuperman: Birthright(one of the comics the original film is based on),voiced his concern aboutMan of Steel’sturn toward bleakness when it came out in 2013:5. Mark Waid: 马克·韦德（1962— ）美国漫画作者，该句中《超人：天赋使命》的作者；voice: v. 发言，说出；bleakness: 阴郁，惨淡无望。

With the exception of the first-flight beat—the smile Superman gets when he first takes to the air—it’s utterly joyless.6. utterly: 完全，全然；joyless: 不高兴的，不快乐的。 From start to finish.Utterly. Joyless. And I just have no interest in relentless7. relentless: 不间断的，无休止的。 joyless from a guy who can fly.

But what many fans don’t realize is that Superman hasn’t always been the Big, Blue Boy Scout8. Big, Blue Boy Scout: 大号蓝色童子军，是超人的昵称，蓝色是指超人的服装颜色，而美国童子军的原则是“可靠、忠诚、有益、友善、谦恭、仁慈、服从、快乐、节俭、勇敢、整洁与虔诚”，这里亦比喻超人为道德卫士。they’ve come to know and love. In fact, in the very early stages of the character’s development, he wasn’t a hero at all, but a villain9. villain: 恶棍，坏人。. And even after Superman became an enforcer of good in his earlier years, his brand of justice was as gray, morally speaking, as the color palette Snyder’s films embrace.10. 即使超人在早年成为正道的卫士后，他所标榜的正义从道德上讲也处在灰色地带，正如施奈德导演的影片中选定的色调。enforcer of good: 行善者；color palette: 调色板；embrace: 采纳。In other words, the newest incarnation of Superman isn’t so much a betrayal of the character’s origins as it is a perhaps unwitting return to them.11. betrayal: 背离；unwitting: 无意的。

In Bradford Wright’s bookComic Book Nation12. Bradford Wright: 布拉德福德·赖特，马里兰大学欧洲司的副教授，该句提到他所著《漫画之国：美国青年文化的转型》讨论了20世纪美国社会中漫画工业的发展史及其影响。, the author writes:

Audiences familiar with the rather stiff and morally upright character that Superman would later become would be surprised to discover that Siegel and Shuster’s original character was actually a tough and cynicalwise guy… 13. 观众所熟知的是后来那个相当刻板、道德上刚正不阿的超人，而他们会惊奇地发现，西格尔和舒斯特笔下原型其实是个暴力、愤世嫉俗的家伙。stiff: 呆板的，严厉的；upright:刚正不阿的；Siegel and Shuster: 杰里·西格尔（Jerry Siegel）和乔·舒斯特（Joe Shuster），是超人漫画的原作者，两人在高中时创作了最初的超人漫画；tough: 有暴力倾向的；cynical: 愤世嫉俗的。 Superman took to crime-fighting with an adolescent glee, routinely taking the opportunity to mock and humiliate his adversaries as he thrashed them.14. 超人在打击犯罪时，都带着一种幼稚的、幸灾乐祸的欢欣，常常在暴打敌人的同时寻机嘲弄和羞辱他们。crimefighting: 打击犯罪；adolescent: 青春期的，未成熟的；glee: 欣喜，高兴（常指幸灾乐祸）；routinely: 照例地，常规地；mock: 嘲弄，嘲笑；humiliate: 羞辱；adversary: 对手，敌手；thrash: 暴打。

《蝙蝠侠大战超人：正义黎明》电影海报

《超人：钢铁之躯》剧照

The early Superman not only makes threats, he also delivers on15. deliver on: 履行。them. In one story, a madman with a container of poisonous gas drops it on the floor as Superman advances toward16. advance toward: 朝……前进。him. As the gas fills the air, choking the man, Superman watches him die saying,“You’re only getting a taste of the fate you planned to doom others to,” effectively being a murderer by purposely refusing to save him.17. 当毒气在空中弥散，使那个男人窒息时，超人看着他死去，说道：“你只是尝到一丝命运的味道，而这正是你为别人计划的厄运，”然而超人的袖手旁观不加救助就是实实在在的谋杀。choke: 呛，使窒息；doom: 使毁灭。In another scenario,Superman threatens to leave two criminals hanging underneath an airplane as it’s about to land. He tells them what to expect if they don’t give him answers: “When the plane lands, you won’t make a pretty sight. Confess, or I won’t release you.” Luckily for the thugs18. thug: 暴徒，恶棍。and for readers,they do.

Superman’s more violent, or perhaps more grounded persona changed afterThe Adventures of Supermanhit the radio airwaves in 1940.19. grounded: 接地气儿的；persona: 人物角色；The Adventures of Superman:《超人历险》，于1952年首播，美国第一部超人连续剧；radio airwave: 无线电广播。It was on that show that he gained the ability to fly, the nickname“Champion of the Oppressed” was dropped and the catchphrase “Truth,Justice, and the American way”forever became associated with the hero now known as the Man of Steel.20.就是在这部剧中，超人获得了飞行的能力，获得绰号“受压迫者的捍卫者”，而“真理、正义和美国方式”的标语也和这位现在得名“钢铁之躯”的超级英雄永远联系在了一起。nickname: 昵称，绰号；champion: 捍卫者，拥护者；the oppressed: 受压迫者的人；catchphrase: 标语，名言。

Gone was the darker, more cynical, and sarcastic Superman of the Depression-era.21. sarcastic: 尖酸刻薄的；era: 时代，纪元。In his place came a much more fun-loving, lighter version—one more suitable for the mainstream, kid-friendly radio audience that comic books weren’t yet reaching in America.

Leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941,Superman—along with other comic-book superheroes—became much more patriotic.22. lead up to: （时间）临近，紧挨在……之前；Pearl Harbor: （美国）珍珠港；patriotic: 爱国的。As a direct result of the bombing, Superman became a channel of American propaganda at its finest.23. propaganda: 政治宣传；at its finest: 最好的。By the end of the 1950s, Superman had gained most of the powers fans are familiar with: flight, heat vision, super strength, super speed, x-ray vision, super hearing, and super breath.24. heat vision: 热视力，几乎能熔化和蒸发任何物质；super breath: 超级呼吸，能冻住对手、制造飓风、改变天气，甚至吹灭恒星。As the Man of Steel became more powerful throughout the following decades, D.C. Comics struggled to find interesting storylines to keep Superman relevant as historic events such as the civil-rights movement, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and the Vietnam War divided America.25. 随后的几十年，钢铁之躯在变得更加强大的同时，DC漫画也苦寻有趣的故事情节来保持超人与给美国带来动乱的历史事件相关联，比如民权运动，肯尼迪遇刺和越南战争。D.C. Comics: DC漫画公司，美国漫画巨头之一，公司旗下拥有超人、蝙蝠侠、神奇女侠、闪电侠、绿灯侠等超级英雄；storyline: 故事情节；the civil-rights movement: 指的是二战后美国黑人反对种族隔离与歧视，争取民主权利的群众运动；the assassination of President John F. Kennedy: 肯尼迪遇刺案，指1963年11月22日下午，时任美国总统的约翰·肯尼迪被暗杀的事件；the Vietnam War: 越南战争（1955—1975），是二战后美国参战人数最多、影响最重大的战争。Against the backdrop of the social turmoil of the 1960s, things like comic-book superheroes seemed trivial.26. backdrop: 背景；turmoil: 动乱；trivial: 不重要的，琐碎的。

Superman would go in and out of style27. go in and out of style: 在潮流中起起伏伏，时而时兴，时而过时。throughout the following decade. The 1978 feature film starring Christopher Reeve solidified Superman as the hero most people know him as today—an inspirational beacon of hope and goodness.28. feature film: 故事片，长片；star: v. 由……主演；Christopher Reeve: 克里斯托弗·里夫（1952—2004），美国知名电影演员、导演、作家，在电影《超人》中扮演超人；solidify: 使充实，使巩固；inspirational: 鼓舞人心的；beacon: 灯塔，指路明灯。He never lies, he doesn’t fight unless he has to, and he would do anything to protect the people of Earth. He’s mannerly and wholesome and he’s... well, he’s perfect.29. mannerly: 彬彬有礼的；wholesome: 健康的，在道德上有益的。

And that’s the problem.

How do you write Superman—the most powerful man on Earth, the man who can blow out stars with a single breath, who can see through most anything, who has heat vision and super breath, who essentially is indestructible and has no character flaws whatsoever—in a compelling way?30. 超人是世界上最强大的人，可以一口气吹灭群星，可以看穿几乎一切东西，有热视力和超级呼吸，本质上无法毁灭也毫无性格缺陷，你还如何能把超人写出吸引人的花样来？blow out: 吹灭；indestructible: 不可毁灭的；character flaw: 性格缺陷； whatsoever:无论什么；compelling: 引人注目的，激发兴趣的。That’s Superman’s biggest problem, and it’s the one the writers and editors at D.C. Comics have faced continually over the years trying to make Superman interesting and relevant31. relevant: 有意义的。.

And then along came Zack Snyder with 2013’sMan of Steel. The director took everything fans loved about Superman and threw it out the window, stripping the character down to his original essence.32. throw sth. out of window: 把……扔出窗外，弃之不顾；strip sth. down to: 剥去……至，简化……至；essence: 本质，精华。Snyder made Superman a jerk33. jerk: 混蛋。again, or edgy, depending on your perspective.

For decades, Superman has been a much-needed source of hope and inspiration. From the John Williams score to the character’s trademark “S” to the bright red,34. John Williams: 约翰·威廉姆斯（1932— ），美国作曲家、指挥家、钢琴家，创作了很多流行的电影配乐，包括《超人》的电影配乐；score: 配乐；trademark:标志。blue, and yellow of his costume, Superman has become the symbol of our better selves. As for the hero Snyder will be delivering in the 2016Man of Steelsequel, the question arises: What kind of Superman will we be seeing? TheBatman v Supermantrailer shows a much more cynical world than the Donner35. Donner: 指美国导演理查德·唐纳（Richard Donner，1930— ），电影《超人》的导演，开创了现代超级英雄电影的先河。films. The people of Metropolis36. Metropolis: 一个设定于DC世界观中的虚构城市，是超人故事发生的地方。don’t seem to be as trusting of a powerful stranger from another planet. If Snyder is mirroring37. mirror: 映射，反映。modern society in theMan of Steelsequel, then let’s hope the dark days of Superman are only temporary.

理查德·唐纳