Ian McKellen Says Superman is a joke.

http://uproxx.com/movies/2015/07/ian-mekellen-mr-holmes-x-men/

Well, [director Bryan Singer] persuaded me. X-Men was about something. Superman isn’t really about anything. It’s a joke. The nerd changes his underpants and becomes a Superman. That’s James Bond: “Shaken, not stirred,” silly, stupid, British twit… and then, Action Man! But X-Men is about the problems of being a mutant. And we’ve all felt we’re mutants on occasion. So, that was the hook for me. And don’t forget, I didn’t have to sign to do any more than one; I’m just doing a movie.

Don't shoot the messenger.

Edit update: Well Magneto always wanted to start a war I just didn't know it was a Flame War!

Damn. Such savagery.

Beata

I grew up idolizing McKellen as an actor and I don't have the words to say how much this statement broke me.

Who cares about,What this guy thinks

Lol! Superman is a little undies boy

Just Superman in general? Thats BS, New-52 or DCCU? Yes thats basically it.

There are other ways to bait Saint Wildcard into a DCCU vs MCU argument, y'know...

That's just a round about way of saying what a lot people have classical complained about with Superman: that he's unrelatable

Such a statement is 100% subject to the person talking. If he feels that way, so be it. Who cares? Being famous doesn't give you some type of better opinion about something.

Ian is still an amazing actor and a movie nerd icon.

Well he obviously thinks the x-men are more interesting, but singer left x-men 3 to do superman returns, so...

To be fair, Ol Ian sounds ignorant.

Beata

Gandalf is just as much of a joke, if anything. Only utilizing his immense wizardry when it's necessary for the plot, please...

And it killed Brandon Routh's career.

-yify

@cgoodness: no, that be wrong too.

@

For some reason I don't think Ian really knows the difference between New 52 or DCCU.

Ouchie.

Didn't know Magneto also attracted salt

What an ignorant douche. fCkim.

I think for Ian nothing will feel more right than the X-men. He probably relates to the X-men since he was a gay man in a time were it was socially unacceptable.

He was so much of a joke that Bryan Singer left the X-men franchise and skipped doing their most iconic storyline to make a Superman movie. He really must be a joke.

Dude needs to read all star superman

Well, salt has some metal in it...

Yep, you completely nailed the amount of ignorance that was necessary for Ian to make such a comment. The same reply is applicable for both comments: I know where you're coming from, but such an impression can only be left if you don't know anything about the character or its background.

The biggest joke would be fake god slowdinson from fake norse mythology . The most boring character ever created

I guess Superman ridiculed him in high school or something.

This

Good for you Ser Ian, Rustle those nerds' jimmies.....

His Opinion.

The Fire Rises.

It really annoys me when people discuss things they are entirely ignorant about, don't bother bringing something up when you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

I think he might be salty about Bryan leaving X-3 for Superman Returns.

This is the same as some Hot Topic faux-geek buying a Batman shirt and then saying he beats Superman.

It irritates me.

@judasnixon: eh, he's just a salty old man. I don't listen to salty old men.

Fair enough, I respect your response.

Man, ever since the Batman V. Superman trailer came out, Marvel has been expanding its territory into salt mining.

How do we know he knows not what he speaks? He could have read every great Superman story out there and still came to the same conclusion.

Superman isn’t really about anything. It’s a joke. The nerd changes his underpants and becomes a Superman.

I'm sorry but anybody who says this hasn't read a good Superman story. If he has and has come to this hilariously reductionist conclusion, he's an idiot, which I don't believe he is considering the depth he can convey in his characters and that I've seen him discussing literature and character before. If he dislikes the characters, the themes etc, that's fine, he clearly displays limited knowledge of the character in his descriptions, I'd be willing to wager his knowledge is confined to the Christopher Reeve films.

Spot on.

Yeah he could have stated his stance a bit better to clarify what exactly he didn't like instead of a vague generalization. But I do agree with him in some stances. I do like Superman but, there is alot about him I dislike for the matter. I do think he does know what he's talking about since I'd find it hard to believe him of all people would just make an uneducated statement such as this, but we have to remember it's just his opinion.

@squalleon: That's a really great point.

Superman is lame

I'm not hating on him, but it really does seem like he doesn't know what he's talking about, if he'd explained why he didn't like him with some credible reasons, I'd mind a lot less, but these are very generic issues that are just flat out wrong when discussing comic versions of Superman as opposed to Reeve, to say he doesn't like what it's about, or thinks the themes relatively simplistic etc is one thing, but to say it is flat out about nothing and has no depth is wrong, it only serves to delineate his ignorance of the character. There are plenty of issues with Superman that writers have to work through as there are with many superheroes, but what he describes really aren't them.

It would be like somebody saying, 'wow, Macbeth is just dumb, it's not even about anything, just some guy who wants to be King, trusts a bunch of crazy witches and ends up dead. And what's the crazy wife about?'

Clearly that person doesn't know what he/she is talking about.

Couldn't agree more. Really wish he would have explained himself better honestly.

He's Gandalf and Magneto, he can say whatever he wants.

I have to disagree though, there's much more to Superman's character

@juke:

Don't be ridiculous

Gandalf is about how an inanely powerful being is no more important than an ordinary Hobbit

He's about guiding the weak small people to solve there problems not through one man's strengh, but the combined strengh of many different people coming together for that one singular goal

Also he doesn't hide who he is like clark and he believes in his friends who although aren't even close to his power he knows are strong in there own rights

Supermans best stories are all about the super strong vs the super strong

In this regard I agree with Ian

I like superman don't get me wrong, but he is a slightly stupid character

And he is in no way like gandalf

It's just how people in general see Superman, DC has to do something to change that notion to new generations.