Superman
- Thread starter urbandefault
- Start date
Imagination is a catharsis, but on its own it doesn't make much better.
I just borrowed Superman Earth 1 from the library. I enjoyed the story for the most part but it was less edgy than I was expecting.
It would have served as a good New 52 version (even though I loved Morrison's take) of the character as then it would have come out before MoS instead of seeming like a rip off of that story. I also have always disliked the idea that Superman gets his job at the planet by interviewing himself and everyone just believes him.
Actually, the first volume of Superman: Earth One came out several years before MoS (2010 vs. 2013), and reading it, I couldn't help thinking MoS cribbed a lot from it (especially with that Goyer quote on the back). I liked Earth One's take on the concepts better, though.
Sometimes comics like to take from the popular TV and movies and do a comics story.
I would love to see some sort of multiverse adventure in the comics with the main Supermen together. I'm basically talking the ones that we the reader followed.
COIE was reversed in Convergence, which means that things changed. Kal-L, the Action Comics 1 Superman, should not have been killed by Superboy Prime. I always felt that was one of the most terrible things DC ever did, and it actually caused me to stop buying comics.
Haven't bought anything since Blackest Night ended.
Worse, Pre-Crisis Earth 1 Superman, arguably the best ever, vanished from existence, with all his adventures and stories gone.
There was a "imaginary" finale for him but that event also would have been erased.
What I would do is take advantage of Convergence, which apparently undid all that bad decisionmaking.
I would actually make Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow into canon, but I would come up with a reason to undo the events that left Superman powerless, and restore him. OR, since Crisis didn't happen, maybe I would just not have that story's events play out.
Either way, the story arc I would like to see would involve Earth 2 Superman (original), Earth 1 Superman (most powerful), Byrne Superman, and modern Superman, all in one adventure. It would give us updates, allow the writers to actually honor the character, and improve the mainstream version. Something for everyone.
I would love to see some sort of multiverse adventure in the comics with the main Supermen together. I'm basically talking the ones that we the reader followed.
COIE was reversed in Convergence, which means that things changed. Kal-L, the Action Comics 1 Superman, should not have been killed by Superboy Prime. I always felt that was one of the most terrible things DC ever did, and it actually caused me to stop buying comics.
Haven't bought anything since Blackest Night ended.
Worse, Pre-Crisis Earth 1 Superman, arguably the best ever, vanished from existence, with all his adventures and stories gone.
There was a "imaginary" finale for him but that event also would have been erased.
What I would do is take advantage of Convergence, which apparently undid all that bad decisionmaking.
I would actually make Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow into canon, but I would come up with a reason to undo the events that left Superman powerless, and restore him. OR, since Crisis didn't happen, maybe I would just not have that story's events play out.
Either way, the story arc I would like to see would involve Earth 2 Superman (original), Earth 1 Superman (most powerful), Byrne Superman, and modern Superman, all in one adventure. It would give us updates, allow the writers to actually honor the character, and improve the mainstream version. Something for everyone.
Wow, you are right about the release date. I was totally off on that--it predated the New 52 even. I don't see why DC didn't just put this series on hold and use it as their rebooted Superman--unless they didn't like that he still had the trunks.
Speaking of animated versions, I really enjoyed Superman: TAS (1996-2000), Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. "Mxyzpixilated" in TAS is an absolute masterpiece.
The Fleischer Superman cartoons are of course outstanding.
If I'm honest, the basic depiction of Superman in Super Friends was pretty good. I'm talking look and voice; Danny Dark nailed it.
The Fleischer Superman cartoons are of course outstanding.
If I'm honest, the basic depiction of Superman in Super Friends was pretty good. I'm talking look and voice; Danny Dark nailed it.
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Exactly. The multiverse one of DC's greatest tools. But I actually think of it more like a multi-doctor team up on Doctor Who. The point is each version gets a chance to shine, and each version is treated with proper respect. No one gets killed because doing so would disrespect the Superman of a particular set of fans. Some Supermen would be more powerful than others, but they wouldn't be fighting each other-but some sort of worthy villain. It could even involve Mxyzptlk in some capacity. Or some being that is a threat to multiple universes that gets everyone going.
I consider Apokolips Now to be the best Superman story on live action or animated I have ever seen.
It was good, no question. Basically all of the DCAU Apokolips episodes were.
They also provide a template for how to do a Superman story right. You can't say that story was out of date, and Superman was treated much better than on the CW so far.
The only problem with Superman on the DCAU was their finale, Legacy, was such a downer, and they had to dumb him down on Justice League.
However, I do give the writers credit for hearing the complaints about that, and addressing them in the second season.
After that, my biggest issue was Superman's final fight with Darkseid on JLU. Started brilliantly, ended poorly.
Reviving this moribund thread to post this cool old video I stumbled across (featuring a classic cover by one of my favorite bands, R.E.M.):
I never got the issues people had with it myself. I found it quite enjoyable and while the casting of Lois Lane could have been better, it was by far the best one since Superman II.
^ I have a soft spot (possibly in my head) for Superman III as well, but yeah, there's definitely a lot more good than bad about Returns. It gets a bum rap from too many folks.
It's better than Man of Steel and certainly superior to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
I think It is still a shame that we didn't have got a sequel from Superman returns.
People would've have hated it.
The long and short of it would have been Brainiac comes to Earth, makes it perfect, world turns on Supes for the new alien deity on the block, Superman discovers Brainiac is planet killing mass murderer, Supes and Brainy fight, Brainiac transfers his mind into Supes' son Jason, Superman has to kill his son to stop Brainiac and save Earth.
If Superman can't kill an unrepentant space Hitler like Zod. There's no way Supes would get away with killing a 7 year old boy. Singer was planning on dialing up the Superman is Christ metaphors to 11. With Superman taking the role of god and Jason as the sacrificial lamb Jesus.
I would like to pose a question.
Could and should Superman be capable of doing something at the level of Quicksilver and Flash?
E.g. saving dozens of people at the same time at super speed.
I can't recall ever seeing Superman do this on film, in animation or in the comics. I know it's silly to talk physics and mechanics in a comic book sense. The Flashes have the speed force/energy field explanation as to how they can accelerate and decelerate the people they touch or rescue at speed. No explanation has ever been provided as to how the MCU and XCU Quicksilvers accelerate people beyond the speed of sound (766 mph). Kryptonians have the telekinetic explanation for how they can defy gravity, propel themselves and lift objects many tons heavier than they are. I'm curious of whether Supes could safely accelerate and decelerate dozens of people like Flash and QS do.
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