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: 先行預(yù)告片；Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice:《蝙蝠俠大戰(zhàn)超人：正義黎明》，是電影《超人：鋼鐵之軀》的續(xù)集，由扎克·施奈德執(zhí)導(dǎo)，將于2016年3月上映；debut: 首次公開(kāi)；critic: 批評(píng)家；Zack Snyder: 扎克·施奈德（1966— ），美國(guó)導(dǎo)演、監(jiān)制及編劇，代表作品有《斯巴達(dá)300勇士》、《守望者》以及該句中提到的《超人：鋼鐵之軀》等；depict: 描繪，刻畫(huà)；sequel: 續(xù)集。The controversy stems from Snyder’s decision to cast Superman as a brooding,Dark Knight-like character,2. controversy: 爭(zhēng)議，論戰(zhàn)；stem from: 起源于；cast: 塑造；brooding: 憂慮的，沉思的；Dark Knight: 電影《黑暗騎士》，改編自DC漫畫(huà)公司的經(jīng)典超級(jí)英雄漫畫(huà)《蝙蝠俠》。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（與以往形象）的割裂；divisive: 造成不和的，引起紛爭(zhēng)的；incarnation: 化身，典型；cite sb. as: 把某人稱為……；edgier: edgy的比較級(jí)，更奇特的，不尋常的，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: 憤怒。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: 馬克·韋德（1962— ）美國(guó)漫畫(huà)作者，該句中《超人：天賦使命》的作者；voice: v. 發(fā)言，說(shuō)出；bleakness: 陰郁，慘淡無(wú)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: 不高興的，不快樂(lè)的。 From start to finish.Utterly. Joyless. And I just have no interest in relentless7. relentless: 不間斷的，無(wú)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: 大號(hào)藍(lán)色童子軍，是超人的昵稱，藍(lán)色是指超人的服裝顏色，而美國(guó)童子軍的原則是“可靠、忠誠(chéng)、有益、友善、謙恭、仁慈、服從、快樂(lè)、節(jié)儉、勇敢、整潔與虔誠(chéng)”，這里亦比喻超人為道德衛(wèi)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: 惡棍，壞人。. 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. 即使超人在早年成為正道的衛(wèi)士后，他所標(biāo)榜的正義從道德上講也處在灰色地帶，正如施奈德導(dǎo)演的影片中選定的色調(diào)。enforcer of good: 行善者；color palette: 調(diào)色板；embrace: 采納。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: 背離；unwitting: 無(wú)意的。

In Bradford Wright’s bookComic Book Nation12. Bradford Wright: 布拉德福德·賴特，馬里蘭大學(xué)歐洲司的副教授，該句提到他所著《漫畫(huà)之國(guó)：美國(guó)青年文化的轉(zhuǎn)型》討論了20世紀(jì)美國(guó)社會(huì)中漫畫(huà)工業(yè)的發(fā)展史及其影響。, 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. 觀眾所熟知的是后來(lái)那個(gè)相當(dāng)刻板、道德上剛正不阿的超人，而他們會(huì)驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)，西格爾和舒斯特筆下原型其實(shí)是個(gè)暴力、憤世嫉俗的家伙。stiff: 呆板的，嚴(yán)厲的；upright:剛正不阿的；Siegel and Shuster: 杰里·西格爾（Jerry Siegel）和喬·舒斯特（Joe Shuster），是超人漫畫(huà)的原作者，兩人在高中時(shí)創(chuàng)作了最初的超人漫畫(huà)；tough: 有暴力傾向的；cynical: 憤世嫉俗的。 Superman took to crime-fighting with an adolescent glee, routinely taking the opportunity to mock and humiliate his adversaries as he thrashed them.14. 超人在打擊犯罪時(shí)，都帶著一種幼稚的、幸災(zāi)樂(lè)禍的歡欣，常常在暴打敵人的同時(shí)尋機(jī)嘲弄和羞辱他們。crimefighting: 打擊犯罪；adolescent: 青春期的，未成熟的；glee: 欣喜，高興（常指幸災(zāi)樂(lè)禍）；routinely: 照例地，常規(guī)地；mock: 嘲弄，嘲笑；humiliate: 羞辱；adversary: 對(duì)手，敵手；thrash: 暴打。

《蝙蝠俠大戰(zhàn)超人：正義黎明》電影海報(bào)

《超人：鋼鐵之軀》劇照

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……前進(jìn)。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. 當(dāng)毒氣在空中彌散，使那個(gè)男人窒息時(shí)，超人看著他死去，說(shuō)道：“你只是嘗到一絲命運(yùn)的味道，而這正是你為別人計(jì)劃的厄運(yùn)，”然而超人的袖手旁觀不加救助就是實(shí)實(shí)在在的謀殺。choke: 嗆，使窒息；doom: 使毀滅。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，惡棍。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: 接地氣兒的；persona: 人物角色；The Adventures of Superman:《超人歷險(xiǎn)》，于1952年首播，美國(guó)第一部超人連續(xù)劇；radio airwave: 無(wú)線電廣播。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.就是在這部劇中，超人獲得了飛行的能力，獲得綽號(hào)“受壓迫者的捍衛(wèi)者”，而“真理、正義和美國(guó)方式”的標(biāo)語(yǔ)也和這位現(xiàn)在得名“鋼鐵之軀”的超級(jí)英雄永遠(yuǎn)聯(lián)系在了一起。nickname: 昵稱，綽號(hào)；champion: 捍衛(wèi)者，擁護(hù)者；the oppressed: 受壓迫者的人；catchphrase: 標(biāo)語(yǔ)，名言。

Gone was the darker, more cynical, and sarcastic Superman of the Depression-era.21. sarcastic: 尖酸刻薄的；era: 時(shí)代，紀(jì)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: （時(shí)間）臨近，緊挨在……之前；Pearl Harbor: （美國(guó)）珍珠港；patriotic: 愛(ài)國(guó)的。As a direct result of the bombing, Superman became a channel of American propaganda at its finest.23. propaganda: 政治宣傳；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: 熱視力，幾乎能熔化和蒸發(fā)任何物質(zhì)；super breath: 超級(jí)呼吸，能凍住對(duì)手、制造颶風(fēng)、改變天氣，甚至吹滅恒星。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. 隨后的幾十年，鋼鐵之軀在變得更加強(qiáng)大的同時(shí)，DC漫畫(huà)也苦尋有趣的故事情節(jié)來(lái)保持超人與給美國(guó)帶來(lái)動(dòng)亂的歷史事件相關(guān)聯(lián)，比如民權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)，肯尼迪遇刺和越南戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。D.C. Comics: DC漫畫(huà)公司，美國(guó)漫畫(huà)巨頭之一，公司旗下?lián)碛谐?、蝙蝠俠、神奇女俠、閃電俠、綠燈俠等超級(jí)英雄；storyline: 故事情節(jié)；the civil-rights movement: 指的是二戰(zhàn)后美國(guó)黑人反對(duì)種族隔離與歧視，爭(zhēng)取民主權(quán)利的群眾運(yùn)動(dòng)；the assassination of President John F. Kennedy: 肯尼迪遇刺案，指1963年11月22日下午，時(shí)任美國(guó)總統(tǒng)的約翰·肯尼迪被暗殺的事件；the Vietnam War: 越南戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)（1955—1975），是二戰(zhàn)后美國(guó)參戰(zhàn)人數(shù)最多、影響最重大的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)。Against the backdrop of the social turmoil of the 1960s, things like comic-book superheroes seemed trivial.26. backdrop: 背景；turmoil: 動(dòng)亂；trivial: 不重要的，瑣碎的。

Superman would go in and out of style27. go in and out of style: 在潮流中起起伏伏，時(shí)而時(shí)興，時(shí)而過(guò)時(shí)。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，長(zhǎng)片；star: v. 由……主演；Christopher Reeve: 克里斯托弗·里夫（1952—2004），美國(guó)知名電影演員、導(dǎo)演、作家，在電影《超人》中扮演超人；solidify: 使充實(shí)，使鞏固；inspirational: 鼓舞人心的；beacon: 燈塔，指路明燈。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: 彬彬有禮的；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. 超人是世界上最強(qiáng)大的人，可以一口氣吹滅群星，可以看穿幾乎一切東西，有熱視力和超級(jí)呼吸，本質(zhì)上無(wú)法毀滅也毫無(wú)性格缺陷，你還如何能把超人寫(xiě)出吸引人的花樣來(lái)？blow out: 吹滅；indestructible: 不可毀滅的；character flaw: 性格缺陷； whatsoever:無(wú)論什么；compelling: 引人注目的，激發(fā)興趣的。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: 有意義的。.

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，棄之不顧；strip sth. down to: 剝?nèi)ァ?，?jiǎn)化……至；essence: 本質(zhì)，精華。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: 約翰·威廉姆斯（1932— ），美國(guó)作曲家、指揮家、鋼琴家，創(chuàng)作了很多流行的電影配樂(lè)，包括《超人》的電影配樂(lè)；score: 配樂(lè)；trademark:標(biāo)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: 指美國(guó)導(dǎo)演理查德·唐納（Richard Donner，1930— ），電影《超人》的導(dǎo)演，開(kāi)創(chuàng)了現(xiàn)代超級(jí)英雄電影的先河。films. The people of Metropolis36. Metropolis: 一個(gè)設(shè)定于DC世界觀中的虛構(gòu)城市，是超人故事發(fā)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·唐納