The Daily Planet - Superman News and Speculation Thread (🚨TAG SPOILERS🚨)

[Lily Adler]

!

 

[J.Drangal]

He absolutely is! Now whether people like the character or not is one thing but Darkseid is one of Superman's core villains and this is largely due to John Byrne and not STAS.

Byrne seemed to relegate Mongul (who happens to be a copy OF A copy of Darkseid) to B-villain level status and have Darkseid take his place as Superman's rightful cosmic arch villain. Timm and co. followed suit and the rest is DCAU history.

Byrne's 3 parter (Action#386, Superman#3 and AOS#426) is an amazing story arc where Darkseid uses Superman's own symbolism against him and it would make for an amazing, dark, emotionally charged Superman film if done right.

With all that being said I would rather see Brainiac, Parasite and Manchester Black go one on one with Superman before Darkseid.
Brainiac is long overdue and if one mixes some aspects of Geoff Johns's "Brainiac" arc with Millar's "red son" take on the character we could end up with something poignant. Also with all the hoopla about AI, the character can be quite topical in today's environment.
Parasite is a very underrated villain who has been downgraded to B-level henchman when (during the Bronze age) he was one of Superman's most dangerous characters.
I recommend you all check out Action#369, where Parasite targets CK instead of Superman, to see how cool Parasite can be when done right

And lastly Manchester Black who is basically the love child of Punisher and Jean Grey with Pheonix level power. The character is an anti hero that challenges Superman morally and physically and he's been in a number of good stories including Action#775, Ending battle, rebirth and Kennedy Johnson's warworld saga.


At the end of the day though, the identity of a villain matters little if Superman himself isn't done right. Give me a Superman movie where he's shown in all of his charismatic, optimistic, intelligent glory and I wouldn't even care if the opponent is a giant island made of kryptonite.......well, maybe not that.......but getting Superman right is the ultimate prize for me.

I have no particular interest on the Darkseid debates (who for me feels as much a Superman villain as he is a DC Universe villain) but I just wanted to point out that this is some quality post.
I'm not a big aficionado of Superman in comics and there are a few references here that change from the usual All-Star, etc.
And it's retro, which is always a plus for me! I'll certainly check these out when I get the time!

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Slightly related to this, I picked up a book in a flea market that compiles the story “Transilvane” (Legends of the DC Universe #22 and #23) which is a nice tribute to Kirby.
José Ladrönn's killing it at the pencils, I need to find a moment to read it all.



Sorry if this is off topic, just wanted to share.

 

[dhandler01]

My favorite takes on the New Gods have been King’s Mister Miracle and Walt Simonson’s Orion, so those are the ones I’d most want to see adapted or inspiration taken from. Kirby’s art was amazing but his writing leaves me cold. That era of comics in general just ain’t for me.

Kirby's writing leaves a lot to be desired but his concepts are what matter. Most writers use the wrong tropes when they write The New Gods and especially Darkseid.

 

[Lily Adler]

Kirby's writing leaves a lot to be desired but his concepts are what matter. Most writers use the wrong tropes when they write The New Gods and especially Darkseid.

I'll leave Miles eating (was it a fruit pie or hot pocket) to judge you for these sins.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Kirby’s flaws as a writer wrap right back around and become a positive, imo.

 

[Sawyer]

Hnnnnnngh…

 

[flickchick85]

Then where tf was he for all the outdoor shoots?!

 

[Sawyer]

Then where tf was he for all the outdoor shoots?!

Well we have to save something from the paparazzi.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I am guessing all of his scenes are on sets/indoors.

 

[emielaen]

I also imagine there's definitely some CGI involved.

 

[GreenKToo]

Still not over how fugly the GL and Hawkgirl suits are. Yuck.

Snyder’s Superman sucked ass but his suit was a million times better than Gunn’s.

I hope this movie is good and WB doesn’t panic and pivot their entire plans and torpedo the whole burgeoning universe but I’ll be more surprised if that doesn’t happen. It’s WB after all.

The villain choice is so questionable and falls under the same pattern the movies have always followed.

Superman: Lex
Superman 2: Lex and Zod
Superman 3: Evil Superman
Superman 4: Lex and Kryptonian clone
Superman Returns: Lex
Man of Steel: General Zod
BvS: Lex and Kryptonian Clone
Superman: Lex and Kryptonian Clone

I would’ve taken Superman Lives over SR, MOS, BVS, and this. Sounded amazing. Lex, Brainiac and Doomsday? Sign me up

Agree BUT disagree also.
I don't care for GL and Hawkgirl suits either, but I really dig the superman suit.
IF anyone but Gunn was directing this, I'd be worried, but he has yet to make a film I didn't like.
There is always the first time tho, so fingers are crossed. ( toes too )

 

[Lily Adler]

Hnnnnnngh…

 

[Babillygunn]

To me, the argument that Darkseid is a Superman villain is very similar to the argument that Deathstroke is a Batman villain.

They’ve been at odds in some stories, but they simply fit better in the corner of the universe that they were originally created to exist in.

I recognize the importance historically that Byrne had on Superman, but his work is not without flaws and is not immune to criticism. And calling Mongul a copy of a copy of Darkseid is a vast oversimplification of Mongul who is a very layered and fascinating character. Yes, they have similarities, especially given that Warworld and Apokolypse basically invite comparisons, but the characterizations and motivations really are different.

 

[dhandler01]

The other issue is they look alike sometimes so people think they are the same...

But yeah they are two completely different animals. Darkseid wants to enslave and control the universe, Mongul is just the ruler of Warworld. Its like comparing Darth Vader to Ghengis Khan. Yeah they have some things in common but they are not even in the same universe when it comes to level of threat and motivation.

 

[Lily Adler]

This dog reminds me of Krypto.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Would Krypto even feel flees or ticks on his back?

 

[Lily Adler]

Would Krypto even feel flees or ticks on his back?

No because he uses Frontline Plus!

 

[flickchick85]

Mongul is more of an interesting character while Darkseid is more of a force of nature than anything else to me, and the most interesting things about him are what he represents and the cast of characters/worldbuilding that come with him. The only things they have in common are their look and the fact that they rule over ~something~. Cinematically, I’d rather spend time with Mongul, personally. His point-of-view and experience makes for more interesting dynamics with Supes & Co, and he just has more personality imo.

 

[Frodo]

Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder

 

[DCDAVE]

I hope Holt’s Lex will stop the talk of Mongul, Darksied, ect. Lex could be our Dark Knight’s Joker after we see the movie. Fingers crossed……

 

[AndrewGilkison]

This is what happened the last time a DC movie tried to make Lex Luthor their version of Health Ledger's Joker.

 

[Lily Adler]

This is what happened the last time a DC movie tried to make Lex Luthor their version of Health Ledger's Joker.

View attachment 109850

If I had one wish for Eisenberg, it's to never play Lex Luthor ever again.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

If I had one wish for Eisenberg, it's to never play Lex Luthor ever again.

To me, he never did. I prefer to think of him as a weird tangent Lex's whiney son

 

[Sverdlovski]

To me, he never did. I prefer to think of him as a weird tangent Lex's whiney son

He could be the millenial lenny luthor!

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Eisenberg as Lex was inspired casting. Shame he was written terribly, seemingly not directed and that he tapped into truly bizarre instincts as a performer he’d never displayed before.