It’s no secret that Kevin Smith is a comic book and superhero movie lover. He’s very vocal about his love of the genre, and part of his Hollywood story is writing a Superman movie in the 1990s with Ben Affleck attached in the starring role (it never happened).
The actor/director recently appeared at WonderCon 2022, and while most news outlets picked up his emotional thoughts on Bruce Willis, he also talked about why he loved superhero movies so much.
“I love superhero stories, I’ve loved them my whole life… and I’ve never lost faith in them and I believe in them hardcore and whatnot. Like some people believe in the Lord I still believe in superheroes, the power of the costume.”
Just the idea of heroes, he said, “colorfully dressed,” makes him look for heroes in everyday life.
“I love the fact that the worst thing in the world could be happening and everybody is running from it, rightfully so, probably screaming, probably scared out of their minds, and then there’s one, maybe a couple, people, very colorfully dressed, heading straight towards the danger. That’s the beauty of a superhero story and that’s something that I get to take with me off the page and then look for examples in the real world because not all heroes wear capes, as they say.”
Smith might mostly make comedies, but he’s an accomplished comic book writer. He’s written for Marvel and DC on titles like Daredevil, The Green Hornet, and Green Arrow. He was also tasked with writing a Plastic Man cartoon as a vehicle for Jim Parsons, though that never went anywhere.
Later this year, Smith will release the highly-anticipated sequel Clerks 3, with a trailer for the movie reportedly arriving in May.