Max Landis’ nerd rage on the death and return of Superman is too awesome.

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Max Landis, son of director John Landis, has made this short film/nerd rant that is kind of brilliant. If you’re a comic book fan (and many of you are) and experienced the whole “Death of Superman” event in 1992 like I did, then you likely got wrapped up in the hype to some extent. I was immersed. The fallout after his death was less than stellar and had a massive impact on the comics industry, most notably in using the “death” of a character as a way to “reinvigorate” sales.

Landis has been making quite a name for himself of late, especially with the success of CHRONICLE, which seems to be winning over audiences and critics. There’s no shortage of projects on his plate at this point. There’s some great guest stars in the short, including Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Simon Pegg, and even a scene with Ron Howard (and some cool images of the cast via Superhero Hype). The clip is about 15 minutes long and well worth the watch (although I’m positive some of you will claim it’s not).

Check out the clip, then we’ll talk:

I’m sure this short will divide many; some will enjoy the shit out of it, like I did, while others will likely develop a distaste for ol’ Max Landis. Personally, I think he speaks the nerd language pretty well and comes off as a well-versed dork who is able to articulate geek wisdom with a great blend of humor and recreation. 

We, as the schmoes of geekdom, tend to get wrapped up in the things we love, sometimes way more than we should, but that’s kind of the fun of it, isn’t it? I mean, Landis is going off on a rant that we’ve all gone on before about many a different property, character, movie, whatever. (I should film my own on TRANSFORMERS…oh, boy).

Enjoy the clip and strikeback with your thoughts. In the end, that’s what Landis is doing.