Superman and Batman were barely, if at all, part of the merged JSA universe and, even among members of the JSA, continuity was far from as tightly woven as it was at even early Marvel
‘Superman & Batman’ movie will follow ‘Man of Steel’
- Thread starter JoeZhang
- Start date
Superman and Batman were barely, if at all, part of the merged JSA universe and, even among members of the JSA, continuity was far from as tightly woven as it was at even early Marvel
Didn't say they were, just that many of DCs major characters shared a book/universe. Superman, Batman and Robin were mentioned in the first JSA tale and appeared twice. Though by the early 50s Superman and Batman were hanging out together on a regular basis in World's Finest as best friends.
Early Marvel had the advantage of Stan Lee writing or editing every book, but like I said there were some glitches.
In the Golden Age and even Silver Age, the "feel" of DC comics was that the characters each lived in their own world when they weren't specifically sharing a team-up book. There wasn't a lot of sharing of characters or concepts between titles. Marvel upped the ante by developing what felt like a shared universe.
Golden Age DC continuity was particularly odd, as when characters teamed up (such as the first JSA story in All-Star #3, or the Boy Commandos story in which other Simon/Kirby characters made cameos), the names of the books that they regularly appeared in tended to get name-dropped in-story--"Sandman, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Adventure Comics?"
It's also worth noting that the Golden Age JSA stories were even structured as groups of solo tales with framing devices involving the assembled team.
Golden Age DC continuity was particularly odd, as when characters teamed up (such as the first JSA story in All-Star #3, or the Boy Commandos story in which other Simon/Kirby characters made cameos), the names of the books that they regularly appeared in tended to get name-dropped in-story--"Sandman, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Adventure Comics?"
It's also worth noting that the Golden Age JSA stories were even structured as groups of solo tales with framing devices involving the assembled team.
As I said, DC was a more complicated set up. In the Golden Age, even more so. Not only were there different editors for different books, but there were two companies producing the books: DC/national and All-American. The JSA, Wonder Woman Woman, Green Lantern and Flash ( to name a few ) were All American characters, while Batman and Superman were DC. There was a time when AA had a dispute with DC and a JSA story was redrawn to replace some DC characters with AA ones. That's how Wildcat and Mr Terrific became JSA members.
In the Silver Age the revival characters were the AA ones: Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Atom. Probably because Julie Schwartz edited All Star Comics in the 40s and 50s.
In the Silver Age the revival characters were the AA ones: Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman and the Atom. Probably because Julie Schwartz edited All Star Comics in the 40s and 50s.
True, but you still have to start somewhere. And having crossovers of any kind between characters like Superman and Batman must have been pretty mindblowing back then. And was surely what got the ball rolling with concepts like the JLA and Avengers.
Like if you got super powers from a nuclear reactor going wonky, or aliens zapping you, people thought it was awesome.
But if you just happened to be born with them you should be put in a Nazisish death camp and giant purple robots should roam the earth trying to exterminate you no matter how many times you save their sorry asses from super villains.
None can deny the historical contributions of both companies...the companies that became DC invented the super-hero team, but 1960s Marvel better developed the concept of the shared universe.
Also in Marvel's corner, Timely had the Human Torch fighting the Sub-Mariner earlier in the year that All-Star #3 came out.
Also in Marvel's corner, Timely had the Human Torch fighting the Sub-Mariner earlier in the year that All-Star #3 came out.
*sigh* Didn't you get the memo? Marvel invented everything, and were the first ones to do anything in comics that had any lasting value. Anyone else who does the same thing is just following the leader (even if they did it first).
Marvel is the Howard Stern of the comic book world.
Timely invented the comic book anti-hero and the two heroes fight concept.
The Batman suit is on display at comic con:
http://batman-news.com/2014/07/23/b...dawn-justice-batsuit-display-comic-con-photo/
http://batman-news.com/2014/07/23/b...dawn-justice-batsuit-display-comic-con-photo/
Dropping into this thread for the first time in a few weeks...
It depends on the season. L&C had three separate writing staffs, one for season 1, another for season 2, and the final one for seasons 3-4. So it was essentially three different shows. The first season did the best work with the characters and the romantic-comedy/drama elements, but downplayed the superheroics more than I preferred. The second season found a better balance of action and romance, though occasionally to the detriment of the latter (and they dumped the really cool Jimmy Olsen of season 1 in favor of the blandest Jimmy in history). But the showrunners for season 3-4 didn't seem to have any respect for the premise and turned it into a campy joke, and it just got dumber and dumber.
Again, that's true mainly of season 1. In fact, the original intent was to have Superman never show up at all, just get mentioned as something that was part of the world, but the network insisted on having him -- and after season 1, they insisted on having more of him.
And really, most live-action Superman TV productions have focused more on Clark than Superman, both for budgetary reasons and on the assumption that most viewers would be more comfortable with a lead character in normal clothes. Heck, even the radio show, which had no such budgetary restrictions, tended to feature Clark more heavily than Superman, often even having him do things in his Clark persona that would have worked better or been easier to explain away if he'd done them as Superman.
I don't buy that. Superman is so effective because he has both unmatched power and the intelligence to use it well. A villain who can't match him on both fronts has no chance.
Again to the radio series: The first radio villain Superman met that was able to match him for power was the Atom Man, an ex-Nazi who was sort of a proto-Metallo, with liquid kryptonite injected into his veins and metal gloves he could use to direct its atomic radiation into a devastating ray. He was able to blast Superman into a coma, but not entirely finish him off. He needed help from a more intelligent villain to realize the one way Superman could be killed: Keep him paralyzed by proximity to kryptonite until he starved to death. But the Atom Man ruined it because he was too hotheaded and impatient to sit around in a bunker next to Superman for weeks, and turned on his ally after a few days. So brute force failed where cool intellect would have succeeded.
Batman and Robin were also frequent guests on the Superman radio series, making that the first superhero crossover in the mass media (that I know of -- certainly the first DC crossover). Although the radio versions of the Dynamic Duo were pretty inept and usually just got themselves into trouble so that Superman would have to rescue them.
It depends on the season. L&C had three separate writing staffs, one for season 1, another for season 2, and the final one for seasons 3-4. So it was essentially three different shows. The first season did the best work with the characters and the romantic-comedy/drama elements, but downplayed the superheroics more than I preferred. The second season found a better balance of action and romance, though occasionally to the detriment of the latter (and they dumped the really cool Jimmy Olsen of season 1 in favor of the blandest Jimmy in history). But the showrunners for season 3-4 didn't seem to have any respect for the premise and turned it into a campy joke, and it just got dumber and dumber.
Again, that's true mainly of season 1. In fact, the original intent was to have Superman never show up at all, just get mentioned as something that was part of the world, but the network insisted on having him -- and after season 1, they insisted on having more of him.
And really, most live-action Superman TV productions have focused more on Clark than Superman, both for budgetary reasons and on the assumption that most viewers would be more comfortable with a lead character in normal clothes. Heck, even the radio show, which had no such budgetary restrictions, tended to feature Clark more heavily than Superman, often even having him do things in his Clark persona that would have worked better or been easier to explain away if he'd done them as Superman.
I don't buy that. Superman is so effective because he has both unmatched power and the intelligence to use it well. A villain who can't match him on both fronts has no chance.
Again to the radio series: The first radio villain Superman met that was able to match him for power was the Atom Man, an ex-Nazi who was sort of a proto-Metallo, with liquid kryptonite injected into his veins and metal gloves he could use to direct its atomic radiation into a devastating ray. He was able to blast Superman into a coma, but not entirely finish him off. He needed help from a more intelligent villain to realize the one way Superman could be killed: Keep him paralyzed by proximity to kryptonite until he starved to death. But the Atom Man ruined it because he was too hotheaded and impatient to sit around in a bunker next to Superman for weeks, and turned on his ally after a few days. So brute force failed where cool intellect would have succeeded.
Batman and Robin were also frequent guests on the Superman radio series, making that the first superhero crossover in the mass media (that I know of -- certainly the first DC crossover). Although the radio versions of the Dynamic Duo were pretty inept and usually just got themselves into trouble so that Superman would have to rescue them.
Well I always knew the final couple seasons of L&C were bad, but somehow remembered the first two being a lot stronger and wittier than they really were. But aside from some good chemistry between the leads, most of it is pretty painfully cheesy and simplistic. At least by today's standards.
Of course the Flash series was the exact same way, so maybe it was just something about the 90s. Lol
Of course the Flash series was the exact same way, so maybe it was just something about the 90s. Lol
And a new close-up look at Affleck in costume:
http://batman-news.com/2014/07/24/new-photo-ben-affleck-batman-batman-v-superman-dawn-justice/
http://batman-news.com/2014/07/24/new-photo-ben-affleck-batman-batman-v-superman-dawn-justice/
I can't help wondering why Batman would choose to have his cowl sculpted to have a furrowed brow like that. The practical purpose of it eludes me, although it looks fairly good.
And is it me, or do those ears look more catlike? Not that Batman's "ears" have ever looked particularly like a bat's.
And is it me, or do those ears look more catlike? Not that Batman's "ears" have ever looked particularly like a bat's.
They're definitely going for Dark Knight Returns ears there.
I like the cowl scowl.
It says, "I'm Batman."
It says, "I'm Batman."
Well, the whole suit is designed to strike fear into criminals, a superstitious cowardly lot.
I'm not a fan of the short ears, either. All my preferred Batman artists (Neal Adams, Tim Sale, Norm Breyfogle, Kelly Jones, to name a few) did him with longer ears.
Anyway, this latest pic should prove that Affleck is THE GODDAMN BATMAN!
That's no doubt true but I was thinking about what both of them represent and what kind of villains would be appropriate to subdue them in an epic battle. I see Superman as someone who represents strength and physical power, so a villain with a lot of the same seemed appropriate to bring him down. Batman, I see as someone who's primarlily about the intellect, so a villain who's goal is to wear him down mentally seemed to be in order.
How long until someone makes an avatar out of that pic?
Nice. If nothing else, it's clear that Affleck at least looks really damn good in the Batman costume. And glad to see they're going for the stubble look as well. Makes him look even edgier.
