The Official Superman Thread - Part 1

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Tron Bonne said:
but based on the Smallville section of the story, it doesn't work based on how All Star Superman sets up time.
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I re-read that chapter and i'm missing your point. I don't see how this was any different than in Invisibles or Return of Bruce Wayne. >_>

New Morrison interview
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30943

That's actually something I wanted to close out on. When the series first ended, you mentioned you had the idea for at least two more stories you still wanted to tell. Are those still ideas you want to explore one day?
Superman is a great character, and Superman, honestly, I could write for that character eternally. So, yeah, given the chance I'd love to do those stories one day. There's a whole bunch of them. I keep coming up with new ones, that's the problem. A new Superman story just comes up. Part of one of the things I wanted to do with the whole Son of Superman thing was to take that whole thing with the old Super Sons stories and update that, make it modern and have the son of Superman and Batman. The first page would be Superman and Batman shaking hands and saying, "Congratulations old friend. We've stopped all crime." One day, I might get to them or some version of it. There's a little bit of that in the "Multiversity" series that I'm doing. Some of these stories always come back in some form. But yeah, I'm getting close, within a couple years, of wrapping up Batman. So, the notion of doing some more Superman stuff is becoming quite interesting again.
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Man he has so many ideas he wants to do. Multiversity, "All Star" Flash, Wonder Woman and more Superman stuff.
 
I really don't know how to properly word my excitement for this. I don't think the words or letters have been invent for this level.

So I think this :awesome: will suffice.
 
Drz said:
I re-read that chapter and i'm missing your point. I don't see how this was any different than in Invisibles or Return of Bruce Wayne. >_>
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Well, I haven't read either of those in full, so I can't comment on how it does or doesn't relate, but in All Star Superman Supes goes back in time to meet his father. He could save him, but he doesn't, because if he does it'll cause a far big fissue in time than simple time travel (it's big picture vs small picture, basically), but there's also a subtle implication in what Superman says near the end (I did it this way, because this is how I remember it, this is how it was) that ultimately, you can't really change anything through time travel. All that's been changed has already been changed, and time is set. Going back in time is as much as a part of history as the history being visited.
 
Tron Bonne said:
Well, I haven't read either of those in full, so I can't comment on how it does or doesn't relate, but in All Star Superman Supes goes back in time to meet his father. He could save him, but he doesn't, because if he does it'll cause a far big fissue in time than simple time travel (it's big picture vs small picture, basically), but there's also a subtle implication in what Superman says near the end (I did it this way, because this is how I remember it, this is how it was) that ultimately, you can't really change anything through time travel. All that's been changed has already been changed, and time is set. Going back in time is as much as a part of history as the history being visited.
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But that was my point! Morrison's example of time travel for example is that you can't go into the past and kill your own father when he was a baby, because you wouldn't exist to make that decision.

Leo Quintum can't be a redeemed Lex Luthor, because him coming to the past and getting Superman into pure energy and duplicating Suparman into a league of Supermen doesn't seem redemption at all, considering Luthor never redeems himself in the comic, Grant Morrison freaking says so. :p Is this now going to get an ugly turn where Lex Luthor is Leo Quintum, but his intentions weren't redemption but creating the league of Supermen for the future? :p :p :p
 
Drz said:
But that was my point! Morrison's example of time travel for example is that you can't go into the past and kill your own father when he was a baby, because you wouldn't exist to make that decision.

Leo Quintum can't be a redeemed Lex Luthor, because him coming to the past and getting Superman into pure energy and duplicating Suparman into a league of Supermen doesn't seem redemption at all, considering Luthor never redeems himself in the comic, Grant Morrison freaking says so. :p Is this now going to get an ugly turn where Lex Luthor is Leo Quintum, but his intentions weren't redemption but creating the league of Supermen for the future? :p :p :p
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Well, you're focusing too much on the 'redemption' issue, for one, in this scenario, but you did kind of miss the point. What's happening to Superman in ASS is obviously very important, not just to him, but to history, the universe, time, the whole she-bang, right? We can agree with the story makes this pretty clear, I think. Well, then why would, if we are to entertain this theory, Lex come back to stop that from happening when doing so could interrupt this process, and perhaps have unknown consequences on a much larger scale, neither revealing themselves directly to anyone from the past (in the same way that Superman saving his father's life could jet his life in a much different direction; small picture vs large picture). If Leo were Lex, it puts him in the same place as Superman as The Unknown Superman, he's playing the part the way it was, because that's how it was.
 
morrison should be writing superman, batman, and wonder woman.

forever.

and ever.
 
Yeah, up until a few months ago he didn't even "Get" WW. I'd like to see a mini first. Out of continuity preferred.
 
I'm down with him writing Superman forever. The others, not so much. I haven't been a huge fan of his Batman work and, as noted, he's entirely untested on Wonder Woman.
 
It's a pipe-dream, but Morrison on Superman and Batman would be amazing.

So the solution is to just put him on JLA again. Forever and ever and ever.
 
or maybe DC should just give morrison his own imprint. crazy scottish bastard comics.
 

Action Comics #898 Preview

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http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=30994

Chris Roberson, the multi-talented writer behind Vertigo's two "Fables" miniseries, "Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love" and "Cinderella: Fables are Forever," as well as his and Mike Allred's "iZombie," has recently added a new title to his ever-increasing plate: DC Comics' "Superman."
On the heels of the emotionally devastating "New Krypton" event, "Grounded" follows the Man of Steel as he hoofs it across the USA to do a little soul-searching and reconnect with the American people. In January, Roberson took the reins of Superman's cross-country walk from the storyline's originator, writer J. Michael Straczynski, and will script the remainder of the story arc. Straczynski's sudden departure from the comic after only six issues took many fans by surprise, and Roberson was no exception, telling CBR News, "The day I got the call [to write "Superman"] was the day I found out Straczynski was stepping back from it."
A dedicated Superman fan since childhood, Roberson was more than happy to take over scripting the widely-publicized storyline Straczynski began half a year earlier. "The obsession with Superman may have gone earlier, but the photographic record of me constantly wearing Superman T-shirts and Superman Halloween costumes year-round, begin at age six," said Roberson, adding, "When I got the call in October about taking over the book, I started jumping for joy -- and I haven't stopped since."
Though he has had no direct contact with the "Babylon 5" writer in regard to taking over "Grounded," when Roberson came onboard, series editors Wil Moss and Matt Idelson handed him a high-level outline that Straczynski had created early in the run.
"The analogy I always use is that it's the travel itinerary for a cross-country road trip; it spells out a couple of key locations to hit and specifies where and when the journey is supposed to end, but along the way there's a lot of room for side-trips and improvisation," said Roberson.
Fans immediately noticed that the incoming writer's first two issues took a darker tone than Straczynski's, with Superman allowing a chemical plant to pollute a small town's environment, hints from the Superman Squad that the Man of Steel is "losing himself" and threats from evil school teacher Ms. Jennings that Superman's "descent is only beginning." However, Roberson said those issues are the darkest the run is going to get, and readers should expect things to lighten up starting with March's issue #709.


"In the aftermath first of Pa Kent's death before the 'New Krypton' arc started, and then the destruction of New Krypton left him pretty messed up -- he's a pretty emotionally broken guy, because the Post-Crisis Superman is a character who never dealt with personal loss," said Roberson. Explaining that while Pre-Crisis Superman lost Ma and Pa Kent while he was still Superboy, "Post-Crisis version, they were still always around. And even though he learned later in life that Jor-El and Lara had died and that Krypton had been destroyed, he never knew them personally."
Roberson continued, "In my first issue, I wanted to really make things worse before I made things better; I wanted to show that this was a Superman who had really lost his way." Thus the scene at the chemical plant in issue #707 where Superman not only allows workers to go on polluting the environment, he physically intimidates Lois Lane in order to prevent her from running an exposé on the plant. Sparking fierce debate among fans, Roberson told CBR News that his point is that Superman chose incorrectly.
"The crux of the matter for me is that Superman is totally wrong -- not because of the merits of the environmental side versus the industrial side, but the disagreement he has with Lois is over the truth," said Roberson. "This is a guy who stands for Truth, Justice and the American Way, and in this issue he's running away from the truth."
If elements of Superman's real-world factory problems sound familiar, that is because Roberson is a fan of the Elliot S. Maggin 1972 comic "Must There Be a Superman?" a story that thematically influenced his take on the character.
"In 'Must There Be a Superman,' Maggin's first story writing the character, Superman gets embroiled in a very down-to-earth, real world dispute between management and labor at a big industrial agricultural farm, and he comes in on the side of a whistleblower named Manuel. He makes his decision about what his role as Superman in human society is," said Roberson. Hence in Roberson's first story, "[Superman's] confronted by a whistleblower named Manuel in a very real world, industrial versus environmental concern, and makes a decision -- but it's the wrong one," said Roberson.
"When I read JMS's 'Grounded' as it was coming out, it felt to me that it was touching on a lot of the same issues Maggin had dealt with in '72," added Roberson.
But with all this talk of Superman losing himself, Superman doubting himself and Superman figuring out who he is, it's easy for a reader to get lost as well. With that in mind, we asked Roberson, who is Superman?


"Exactly what's on the label: Superman stands for Truth, Justice and the American Way," Roberson answered. "Superman is not a character who trucks in moral ambiguity. He's not a character who exists in a world of grays. There's always an answer where Superman is concerned. Superman is a figure who exists to remove obstacles that prevent regular people from hearing the truth, receiving justice, or pursuing life, liberty and happiness."
With the return of the Superman Squad and the Fortress of Solidarity, Roberson is engaging in a fair bit of world building, a tendency he blames on reading RPG manuals as a kid.
"I wanted to work a structure into ["Grounded"] that would allow us to show in more concrete terms the role Superman plays in society," said Roberson, adding, "It's something that we'll be coming back to a lot."
To that end, as Superman continues his walk across America, Roberson promises a mixture of new villains, old villains and regular folk rounding out the bad guys Superman has to face.
"It'll switch back and forth between mundane issues and sort of more typical super heroics," said Roberson, divulging that natural disaster, the villain Livewire, land-usage issues and the armies of Vandal Savage will all appear in upcoming issues. "But again, the super heroic fights against big super villains will be set in the context of the kinds of issues Superman's dealing with."
Roberson laughed when asked if he is staying on as Superman's full-time writer after "Grounded" concludes, admitting that though he would "give up a finger to do so," nothing has been confirmed. "I think it's above my pay grade, as Phil Hester says when they ask him about 'Wonder Woman.' They told me they'll find me something to do, and I have no idea what it is."
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I find it interesting that the two writers who took over for JMS took very different tones from him (if this article is accurate, anyway, I wasn't reading JMS' part of Grounded, but I know Hester on WW was quite the departure), and now they both seem to be segueing more back into the tone he was writing in.
 
So who is robo Lois's mysterious master? Turns out it's [BLACKOUT]Brainiac[/BLACKOUT].
 
LEX Cedes Way to SUPERMAN in Paul Cornell's ACTION COMICS


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Action Comics #900 will feature extra content from a roster of talent including David Goyer and Richard Donner, but Cornell will begin the transition back to Superman's presence in the title, writing a 50-page story that brings the Lex story to a close while kicking off the comic's next arc.

Newsarama: What do you think of the casting of Superman by a British actor? I noticed on Twitter that you jokingly mentioned Helena Bonham Carter as a possibility for Lois Lane, to round out the cast with Brits.

Paul Cornell: I understand how people take it so seriously. I really do. I'm hypocritical about it. I would hate it if Doctor Who was played by an American. So I understand how people want Superman to be played by an American. However, I think they have a good actor. I think it's really interesting that the Doctor and Superman have the same place in the psyche of the different countries. The alien who is very much like that nationality.
Nobody seems to mind Batman being British.

But I just had fun on Twitter suggesting an all-British cast.
Nrama: I'd like to talk about Lois Lane, because you've done such a fun twist on her character by creating this android Lois Lane. We talked about the character a little bit when you first introduced her, but now that we realize there's more to her agenda, what was your thinking behind this character when you were first developing her for Action Comics?

Cornell: The use of an android Lois Lane was the idea of one of my editors. I think it might have been Wil Moss. But she works so well because Lex isn't going to trust anybody he didn't build. And it just happened to be Superman's wife, accidentally, without Lex actually knowing that. I think it says a lot about his unconscious processing, because he certainly doesn't know.
I really like the fact that she's a very sassy Lois. You know, she's a really punchy Margot Kidder Lois. That's an aspect of the real Lois Lane that is maybe turned down too much these days. I think people seeing her like that.

Nrama: Lex and Android Lois certainly make a great couple.

Cornell: Lex and Robot Lois forever in my opinion! And you know, I sometimes like putting little clues and references in, just to see if anybody will get them. And there was a dirty great hint of a musical nature in the Lex vs. the Joker issue, as to who Lois' employer is. I don't know whether anyone caught that, but you might have figured out who was behind her actions.

Nrama: That Joker issue was a perfect example of what you're doing here. How do you get to the essence of each villain, because they're only around for one issue and they share the stage with Lex, yet you seem to portray each in a way that captures who they are.

Cornell: That's what I'm enjoying so much. And the fact that I'm doing a gallery of them, what makes them great. That's one of the real pleasures for me. The Joker was such a tremendous pleasure. I've been waiting to write him for so long. And actually, I've gotten to write him again immediately in issue #5 of Knight and Squire.
Lex and the Joker are polar opposites, in a way that Lex and Superman really aren't. It's not like Superman is all about the brawn and Lex is all about the brain (although Lex is all about the brain). The Joker's about irrationality and Lex is about too much rationality. And just putting them in the room together gets the kind of drama I like. It may not be the most action-packed issue, but I think it was one of my best.

Nrama: This week's issue put Lex with Larfleeze, together again for the first time since Blackest Night. What was that like?


Cornell: Larfleeze is great because he gets an itch when someone is after something. He knows Lex is after something, so he wants it. But this issue gave us an opportunity to revisit the cause of what set Lex off on this quest in the first place. That moment he became an Orange Lantern and got to wield the power of a lantern ring. And to check out how much he needs that power still.


Nrama: What can you tell us about next month's Brainiac issue?


Cornell: It's set in space. The end of it has the most dirty great cliffhanger you've ever seen in your life.
It's about plots and counter-plots and reveals and chess moves. And some physical violence of a very precise sort. And some old scores being settled. Basically, now, we're out of the phase where I just pick the villains I want and do fun things with them, and we're into the let's use the villains we need to have in this arc to make it work and put the last few bricks in place.
I'd like to think it's a really good build toward the final chapter of the story, but you know, good or bad isn't for me to say, but it's been thought about. We've all thought about this really hard.
There are some pretty random comics in the world, and some of them are great for being random. But this isn't one of them. This is really a brick-by-brick story that's building. It's like Legos. But it's not a Lego comic. There is no Lego in this comic. I should clarify this.

Nrama: And it's all building toward Action Comics #900?

Cornell: Yeah. Issue #900 is really the climax of this story, but in a Jim Steinman way. It keeps on going up into another level into #901. So we finish one story and kind of start another act in the same issue, in #900.

Nrama: Issue #900 is a huge issue. How much of that is your story?

Cornell: There are 50 pages of main story. All the rest of it is extra stuff. And there's no Lego in #900 either, although wouldn't a Lego Lex Luthor be fabulous? I would love a Lego Lex Luthor. And a Lego Lois! That would fantastic.

Nrama: I think now, someone will build it.

Cornell: I hope so!

Nrama: Superman is returning to the pages of Action Comics now. Is there any hesitation in messing with this great formula you have with Lex as the central star?
Cornell: I can hear millions of fans who've popped up on message boards saying, "No!! We want Superman back!!" Because they have been saying that fairly consistently.
So no, I don't think there was a moment's hesitation in finishing this arc and bringing him back.

Nrama: You talked about issue #901, so you're staying on after this arc for a while?

Cornell: Yes. I will be at the helm in #901 with Superman in the comic.

Nrama: Do you have more to tell in the "Reign of Doomsday?"

Cornell: Yes, I do. It plays through issue #900 into #901.

Nrama: Let's talk about Pete Woods. What does he bring to this comic?

Cornell: He's awesome. He's one of my favorite artists I've worked with. What I really like is that when I write a conversation, he not only get the emotions of the participants, he'll add to it. It's been a positive loop in that the more emotions he plays with Lex Luthor's face, the more I start writing to the ability to do those emotions. And also, he can do the dirty great action stuff as well.
Because he does all this digitally, he has no original art! I'd love a page of his for my wall, but this is never going to happen. I guess he could print one out for me. I must ask.

But he's a delight to work with. He works really hard, especially on designs. He'll send us designs and change them quite a lot until we're all happy with what's going to happen. His Robot Lois designs are amazing. He loves the fact that she can change her outfit on a moment's thought, so suddenly, she bursts into that Secret Six issue dressed like an aviator. [laughs] The sudden arrays of special weaponry she pulls out. I couldn't be happier. And he has a David Tennant fetish. I was quite amazed when I saw some likenesses popping up in that comic, which are all accidental, I'm sure.
Nrama: We've seen so many great interactions with villains and Lex. Will we see some of these villains return for the end of this arc?
Cornell: It depends what you call a villain.

There's certainly a prominent guest star from one of the previous issues who will be back in issue #900. In fact, let me count them.... one, two, three. Certainly three, perhaps four. But only very, very briefly.

Nrama: You've just finished a story in Batman and Robin, and you're finishing up Knight and Squire. Can you tell us anything about what's coming up next for you?

Cornell: No. But I certainly will be writing more for DC.
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