We’re four months away from the release of James Gunn’s Superman, and fans are still in the dark about what the film will actually be about. Sure, we’ve had a few leaks and a few scoopers delivering details about the DCU film, but we can’t really trust those sources. One thing is certain, however: David Corenswet’s Superman is shaping up to be something special. With every new piece of promo art released, we get a closer glimpse at the film’s details. And, thankfully, it all looks really good. Even Superman‘s new Fortress of Solitude looks great.
The Fortress of Solitude In James Gunn’s Superman
Yes, we’ve seen the Fortress of Solitude before—whether it was the icy crystal palace from the Christopher Reeve era or the high-tech ship in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel. But Gunn’s take on Superman’s home seems to be a little different. Based on the first footage (and the new promo art), it looks like Superman’s sanctuary could be a mix of all of the previous versions – but most surprisingly, it isn’t as untouchable as it once was.
The Fortress of Solitude scenes were filmed in Svalbard, Norway, which Gunn chose for its stunning, Arctic-like landscapes. Speaking to Norwegian outlet Svalbardposten, Gunn explained his decision: “We have filmed the first scenes [in Svalbard], which show Superman fleeing to the Fortress of Solitude. We wanted a place that was beautiful and felt like being in the middle of the Arctic, so we looked at several places in the world. But there were many things that sold Svalbard for us over the other places.”
The interview reveals a few interesting details. For one, Superman isn’t just casually heading to his home in the ice—he’s actually fleeing there. But what could he be running from? Based on the trailer, it looks like an attack cleverly orchestrated by Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. Some fans believe that Lex used the Kaiju-like creature seen in the trailer to distract Superman while he and his goons attacked the Fortress of Solitude and destroyed it along with Kelex.
How did they arrive at that conclusion? Superman’s suit. In the shot where he’s standing over a destroyed robot, his suit is visibly fire-damaged, suggesting this moment happens after his fight with the Kaiju-like creature seen in the trailer.
Of course, there’s one big question left unanswered: Will Gunn bring back the giant key? The massive, impractical Fortress key from the comics has yet to make its live-action debut, but Superman seems like the perfect film to make it happen.
Superman’s Home Over The Years
Let’s look at the place that inspired this site’s name and one of my personal favourites, Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Think about it: Is the icy crystal palace really the Fortress of Solitude and the home of Superman? Where exactly is the Fortress of Solitude located? The North Pole? The South Pole? South Africa?
“But wait!” certain observant readers may be thinking. “There have been several versions of the Fortress of Solitude in the comic books, not to count TV shows and movies. And it isn’t even his home! He lives in Metropolis! The Fortress of Solitude is more like a base of operations where he can chill out!”
Before you get your capes in a bunch, I totally agree with you. Well, maybe not totally… but quite a lot. There have been lots of Fortress of Solitudes over the years, from the mountains near Metropolis to overlapping crystal pillars in the Arctic, from infinite interdimensional space in a sphere to the metaphor of it being his Clark Kent persona itself. When it was first devised it didn’t really have a name (although the Secret Citadel was used) and was even called Fort Superman at one point, but the Fortress of Solitude (not to be confused with the semi-autobiographical novel by Jonathan Lethem about Dylan Ebdus and Mingus Rude or the refuge of Doc Savage) sounds right.
It’s all confusing, and where possible, I’ll try to separate them for those who care about such things, but while we’re splitting hairs… Superman’s home isn’t technically in Metropolis either because that’s Clark Kent’s name on his lease agreement, not Superman’s. If we want to get even more technical, Superman isn’t even who he really is. It’s the role he plays as the protector. By birth, he’s Kal-El. By fate and personal choice, he’s Clark Kent and, to those who don’t know his real identities, he’s Superman. So let’s get this straight: as Superman, his real home is Earth, as Clark it’s the Kent farm in Smallville or his Metropolis apartment and, as Kal-El, it’s the Fortress of Solitude.
See, being specific can be a pain. Great for fanboy discussions, lousy for a regular article. Besides, this is really about his Fortress of Solitude, not him. Or is it? An individual’s personality is reflected in where they stay, and every version of the Fortress of Solitude reflects that in some way. In the Lois and Clark TV series, it turned out that the Fortress of Solitude was Clark’s treehouse as a boy. In the earlier seasons of Smallville, Clark’s loft space in the barn was dubbed with the same name. It’s a place for him to get away from it all, as the name suggests. We’ve all felt like an outsider at times, and he’s felt more like that than almost anyone. He deserves it, even if in the animated series Professor Hamilton came up with the name as a bit of a snide joke.
Even in the earliest days, it was full of alien artefacts, items from Krypton’s past and trophies and mementoes from his personal triumphs. It’s a bit like a museum and completely reflects his alien heritage. Throw in supercomputers, a giant statue of his parents, journals (his own, Silas Kent’s and even ones from Krypton) and a zoo, and you’re looking at his own Smithsonian collection. It may not be party central, but it’s certainly fascinating to explore. Over the years, the collection grew, with the bottle city of Kandor, a Kryptonian war suit, the Phantom Zone projector and lots of other items being added. Oh, and it’s got quite a cool television.
Unfortunately, despite it having state-of-the-art holographic imaging systems and being able to tap into any TV channel in the world, the most frequent use for it in the TV shows and movies seems to be getting lectures – uh, advice – from his long-dead Kryptonian dad.
They always say that location is the key, and I’ve always had a soft spot for the Fortress being in the Arctic. Let’s be honest, if you’re looking for some solitude, it’s pretty far away from pesky door-to-door salesmen.
Something else that’s key is the key itself. Writer Grant Morrison may have opted for a small pocket-sized front door key that weighed half a million tons – I’m the sort of person who keeps losing my keys – so I’m a fan of the more classic giant key. It may have been the length of a ship, but you’d never lose it amongst the assorted knick-knacks on your side table. The movie versions never showed any key at all, and just look at what happened. Despite it being off the beaten track, Lex Luthor broke in several times (liking the looks of the place and describing it as “Fantastic”) and General Zod and other Kryptonians gatecrashed (describing it as scruffy, morbid, a sentimental replica of a planet long since vanished and having “No style at all”).
The crystal version of the Fortress of Solitude looked beautiful, but the open-door policy was just a bit too open. I’m not saying that the comics versions haven’t all proven invulnerable to unwanted houseguests. Lex, Mongul, Brainiac and others have all found a way in. I always thought that one of the funniest was when a drunken Lobo trashed the place in an effort to kill Superman while an equally drunk Bibbo complained about the lack of bathrooms and dancing girls at the Fortress of Solitude. Maybe it needs a key, a dress code, a cover charge and a bouncer?
There was another way of doing it, though. In the animated series, they showed no front door at all. Instead, Superman had to access the place by diving into water, swimming underneath the structure and then surfacing at the opening inside. I really liked that one, and throughout the series, it was good to see Superman slowly adding to the décor. One week, he’d add a globe of Krypton’s knowledge he’d rescued from Brainiac’s ship and plug it in; another week, it would be the endangered species alien menagerie from the Preserver. The Fortress of Solitude was well represented in that show as a constantly evolving place, possibly more consistently than in any other medium.
Of course, it’s a big place and it can be a nightmare to clean. Especially if you’ve got a superdog like Krypto and he’s not housebroken. Over the years, Superman has had robots (including one called Ned. I’m not kidding) keeping tabs on everything, but the most consistent has been Kelex, a duplicate of the one his dad, Jor-El, had.
So, umm, again, where exactly is Superman’s Fortress of Solitude located? Like I said, there have been lots of Fortress of Solitudes over the years. Superman even had one at the bottom of the ocean before it became the ultimate seafront property for the Atlanteans. They’ve been created in ways from tossing discs and crystals left by Jor-El into the distance to just building it himself or getting his mate John Henry Irons to make it.
Personally, I’d love to see the giant key in James Gunn’s Superman. It’s one of the few things we haven’t seen in a live-action Superman movie yet. We know that some people are saying the film is inspired by the All-Star Superman comics, and if that’s true, we can expect a lot of the above all squeezed into the film: robots, supercomputers, a giant key, Kryptonian tech, animals like Krypto and more.
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It sounds like James Gunn has finally made Superman’s Fortress of Solitude a fun place to be.
