Better trilogy: Sam Raimi's Spider-Man or Nolan's Batman?

[AaronJ]

All this talk of Man of Steel being "too dark" or having too little humor or whatever is ignoring the fact that really, for the good majority of the movie it isn't a Superman movie: it's a film about Clark Kent coming to grips with his reality. He's trying to understand what he is, who he is, why he is the way he is, how to deal with his father's death, his budding relationship with Lois, etc.

The film certainly has its problems, the last act being the main one. It's a mess and it goes on for way, way too long. That's not entirely rare for a comic book movie, as they often have finales and final acts that just don't seem to end. But it is a big problem -- the primary one. But I think this idea that it isn't full of humor is crazy. What is Clark supposed to be joking about, exactly? His father's death? The realization that he's an alien? The dilemma of not wanting to reveal his true nature versus the desire to save people?

It doesn't seem like his situation is exactly ripe for humor or light-heartedness. If one views it as purely a "Superman movie," then the complaint *might* be somewhat valid to some viewers (I'm not one of them, but at least the argument could be made). But that's not what this movie is. It's again a sort of coming of age story for Clark. It's not really until the final (flawed) act that it becomes a Superman movie.