Goodbye, Superman

reevethumb.jpgChristopher Reeve passed away Sunday evening in New York.

I don’t know if he enjoyed being known as Superman, but for my entire life, that’s who he’s been. I know that movies and actors shouldn’t be that big of a deal in someone’s life, but like Mark Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, Chris Reeve’s Superman made an enormous impact on my early life. From getting me interested in a life long love of sci-fi and comics, to the broader spectrum, like actually understanding the difference between right and wrong because of a fictional character, the image of Chris Reeve in that blue suit symbolized something to me which is intangible, but very much present.

As silly as it might sound, it’s absolutely true, and I bet there are many others out there who feel exactly the same way. We did believe, if only for a moment, that a man could fly. reevefly.jpg Scott Kurtz of PvP did this nice image as well. tribute.gif

Comments

  1. This is possibly the worst news I could have heard tonight.

    I feel… empty. I’m not sure why, but I’ve already cried about this once.

    Christopher Reeve used to live on the same block as my elementary school in NYC. We used to see him around occasionally. To us kids he WAS Superman.

    And I don’t think he has ever stopped being Superman to anyone who grew up in the 80s.

    Josh hit it right on the head, he was an inspiration, someone to learn right and wrong from. Some people call that hokey. Some people call Superman hokey. I’d point those people to SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and SUPERMAN II and if they haven’t changed their minds then I wouldn’t care to associate with those people anymore. They are making a new Superman movie and I’m excited, but even before tonight there was a part of me that knew that no matter how good the new actor might be he still wouldn’t be in the same league as Christopher Reeve so why bother?

    After the accident is when I think Christopher Reeve did the seemingly impossible – he became even more inspirational. I remember freshman year of college leaving an open mic performance really early to rush back to my dorm to watch the first television interview with him. I’ve tried to catch everything he has done since. I have donated money to his foundation for the past two years and, ironically enough, sitting next to my keyboard on top of my “to pay” pile is this year’s donation slip from the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.

    The most amazing thing about his life, I think, is that he didn’t seem to let his paralysis get him down. He seemed to draw strength from it. Through sheer force of will (and a lot of really good doctors) he was able to regain slight movement in one finger and if I remember correctly, slight movement in his legs. Even more importantly, he put a very recognizable human face on stem cell research. I just hope that the fight for a cure won’t die with him.

    Last year I started seeing these billboards around: http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/greatsleep/1023/images/fundraising/reeve-billboard.jpg
    I think they’re just about the greatest things ever.

    I think it’s really fitting that the last thing (I think) that Christopher Reeve did was two episodes of SMALLVILLE. It is too bad that he wasn’t able to work out his schedule enough to appear in this season’s opener (hopefully that wasn’t just a cover story for being sick) and it is too bad that we won’t be seeing him on the screen again.

    Now that I’ve written my rambling, hopefully not totally incoherent thoughts on Christopher Reeve, I have decided that yes, this is the worst news I could have heard tonight.

    Goodbye, Superman.

  2. I cannot find the words. Luckily Conor could.

    2004 is quickly becoming defined by losses of people, who often times I took for granted. I can honestly say that now, in their absence, I will never take them or their impact on my life for granted again.

  3. wow
    what a way to start the day…

    i honestly thought i’d see him walk again someday.

    i remember seeing him on smallville and they played the superman music… i got chills.

    very sad day

  4. Wow, what a way to start the day. I might go home & watch the movies tonight. Its not just a sad day for comic book fans because Reeves reached alot more people after his accident.
    Rest in Peace Superman.

  5. I don’t care who they cast in a new superman movie (if on ever gets made!), Christopher Reeve will always be the definitive Superman in my eyes. I was very young, but I remember seeing Superman:the movie at the theater, and it blew me away. I also remember in 1980, Superman:the movie made it’s HBO debut, and I read the HBO guide and tried to watch as many showing of it as I possibly could. I had the movie memorized, but it never once got old to me. Sad to see the actor who perferctly protrayed my childhood idol pass away at such a young age.
    -Duke

  6. I just watched my DVD a couple weeks ago. If there was ever a man born to play a part, it was him. And if there’s ever a part you’d want to be born to play, I would think it might be Superman.

    That’s funny, because I think I got my fix of Superman as a kid by watching it on HBO as much as possible as well. Before VCRs and all that. I’d forgotten that.

  7. I take it back – not cheesy.

  8. Wow, but the Richard Donner cut of Superman II is so, so much better than the released version. I really enjoyed that.

  9. The Richard Donner cut is better than the current movie.