True, but I have seen it suggested that Lex is so central to the mythos at this point, he is more a part of Superman's supporting cast than he is just another villain, and I tend to agree.
News Superman & Lois Ordered to Series at The CW
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It's definitely Post_Crisis, what I meant was that I was wondering if they were going to use the Crisis as a way to explain why Sam Lane looks different now.
I'm inclined to think that they'll just "go with it".
I was the first one in this thread to talk about Cryer moving to Superman, so that’s crossed my mind...but that was before the Lex casting rumours.
I don’t think it’s out of the question to suggest that there will be two different versions of Lex.
Wouldn't Supes still remember the world as it is?
J'onn restored the original memories of the main characters after Crisis, and they've pretty consistently been portrayed as remembering only the pre-Crisis version of history and finding the post-Crisis world unfamiliar. (The exception is Mia in the spinoff pilot, who remembers both histories, but her pre-Crisis memories were restored by tech rather than by J'onn.) However, apparently Lois was not one of those who had her memory reset, at least not as of the end of CoIE.
Sure, but now that Crisis has happened it's an easy and quick way to give and explanation. So if you're going to recast, might as well take advantage of the situation and use it.
At some point the characters are going to have to remember the pre-Crisis version, I think. It must be a lot more traumatizing for the characters than we've seen thus far.
Although we did have that nice seen of Barry trying to find his parents graves.
Although we did have that nice seen of Barry trying to find his parents graves.
I think one of the more interesting things to watch for is seeing how well the writers can portray Superman's power level whilst still maintaining some level of dramatic tension.
That balanced depiction of Kryptonians is probably the trickiest thing to pull off on TV or in a movie. The Supergirl series features a pretty underpowered Kara, while the Justice League movie had a climax where Superman comes in and throws two punches, wins the entire fight, and makes the rest of the team look like amateurs. Surely there has to be some middle ground there.
That balanced depiction of Kryptonians is probably the trickiest thing to pull off on TV or in a movie. The Supergirl series features a pretty underpowered Kara, while the Justice League movie had a climax where Superman comes in and throws two punches, wins the entire fight, and makes the rest of the team look like amateurs. Surely there has to be some middle ground there.
The main heroes already do remember, thanks to J'onn, and the Arrow finale established that the public has at least been made aware that reality was changed, even if they don't remember how.
Both of those are different from the comics' version of Crisis. There, initially, the heroes who had fought at the dawn of time still remembered their original pasts that everyone else had forgotten, just as in the TV version. However, it was established that their memories would eventually fade along with everyone else's, and by the end of the event, everyone except Psycho-Pirate had forgotten pre-Crisis history.
Thus, I don't think it follows that the characters "have" to remember. The point of CoIE in the comics was to have a clean slate, to start over with a streamlined continuity. The Arrowverse characters retain more memory of the old history, but eventually the shows will probably move beyond dwelling on that and just focus on telling stories arising from the unified Earth-Prime continuity.
Since this is set in the same universe as Supergirl, his power level probably won't be much higher than hers, and probably at about the same level it has been in his appearances of Supergirl.
Superman's place in the DC universe has always been (throughout most of the character's published and adapted life) that of the most powerful superhero. Pick up any issue of Justice League of America (1960-87), or recall his speech to Darkseid in the Justice League Unlimited series finale, "Destroyer," where he gives the best explanation of his ability and how its used with the "Me? I've got a different problem..." lines. He holds back most of the time, but there is a point where he can finally let loose. The finales of the JL movie and the JLU cartoon were examples of that. If unimaginable power is required, he's got it and will use it, but that does not make the other characters (e.g., Batman) appear weak, or as you put it, like amateurs, as each has their own unique purpose to serve in ways Superman cannot, or can hold their own. That's how a superhero universe is successfully laid out where the supreme power is great, but is not always outclassing those who are not enhanced.
That's kind of my point though. There has to be a balancing act for the writers, not only in terms of depicting his power level, but in terms of writing the plot and the other characters in his story so that they are made to be useful and integral parts. The reason why I brought up the JL movie is not just to question the depiction of his power level, but also to question how well the other heroes were integrated into the overall story. The writing in that movie was bad, which made the other heroes look like amateurs.
But why would you want that? Again, that's a very bad idea both from a writing perspective (you want a hero to be less powerful than their enemies so that there's real danger and suspense) and from a budgetary perspective. Superman is far more interesting when he's less powerful. In the early Fleischer cartoon shorts, where he's still at his early, limited power level and can be overcome by fallen power lines or a giant gorilla or the like, there's a palpable sense of danger -- not that he'll be killed, necessarily, but that he'll be too late to save Lois or others. If it's the Silver Age Superman who can effortlessly juggle asteroids and travel through time on a whim, then the only way to create any kind of danger is to throw kryptonite at him over and over again until it gets ridiculous and tedious. When it comes to Superman's power levels, less is definitely more.
I think they're at a pretty good point right now, they've got all of the core abilities, and can do some pretty impressive feats, but they're not so overpowered that they can just instantly deal with any threat.
I don't think they could really make them any more powered without it making them to powerful.
I just think the writers can raise their power levels without making them completely invulnerable and impervious for dramatic purposes. There is substantial room/middle ground there, IMO. There is also room for the writers to make the other characters viable and integral to the story even with raised power levels. It doesn't have to be as poorly written as Justice League was.