The Official Superman Thread - Part 3

[Lord]

But he's not. He's Superman.

Ok, he seems like a superman taking a stand, while trying to make people trust him

 

[CConn]

But he's not. He's Superman.

A damn compelling argument could be made for either side.

On one hand, yes, he is Superman - an all powerful, otherworldly alien who has powers and abilities far beyond anything a normal human knows.

On the other hand, the entire reason Superman is throwing corrupt publishing moguls off of balconies is because of his learned humanity and his understanding for the concerns of the normal, working class individual.

So ultimately, both work in their own way.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I'm not saying he's not human and he's not taking a stand. I'm saying that a t-shirt and jeans don't work for him on a permanent basis because he's Superman. He's the Platonic archetype of the superhero, and the superhero wears a costume.

 

[CConn]

But the t-shirt and jeans aren't permanent, so I don't really see your point.

 

[Dangerman]

But he's not. He's Superman.

tell that to Smallville

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But the t-shirt and jeans aren't permanent, so I don't really see your point.

Lord made it sound like he'd be cool with that costume forever because it implies that Superman is a normal guy taking a stand. So my comment was that it's fine if he starts out that way, but his ultimate destiny is to become the shining example to which all other heroes aspire, and t-shirt and jeans aren't gonna cut it for that. He's the basis of the whole American superhero myth, and the American superhero myth includes costumes as one of its cornerstones to separate it from the mystery men of the preceding pulp era.

 

[CConn]

Oh. No, I get you. I agree, it works as a temp costume.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

I thought Earth's lesser gravity wwas the explanation for Superman's base level strength which is still much higher than that of humans.

In the last issue, Jor-El tells the Brainiac computer to target a planet with lesser gravity so that Kal-El will seem to fly there. I just never have bought that idea because lesser gravity doesn't explain how he can just will himself in any direction in the air and stay up as long as he wants.

 

[Llama_Shepherd]

I thought the key word there was "seem". He can still jump at least an eight of a mile.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

I wonder what Brainiac's story is gonna be. I thought Morrison would basically just keep the Coluan tyrant/knowledge thief thing Johns set forth. This week's issue made it seem more like the animated series' version, though.

 

[Man-of-Tomorrow]

I thought the key word there was "seem". He can still jump at least an eight of a mile.

The way I read it, Jor-El didn't target Earth like in some prior incarnations. He seems to only have a general knowledge of what a different environment would do to a Kryptonian. It seemed to me that "seeming to fly" addresses the leaping at Action Comics Clark has, not the flight that older Clark possesses.
I get the feeling the next issue will shed light on the story behind Superman's flight.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Jor-El probably just didn't realize that prolonged exposure to a yellow sun would strengthen Clark's powers. Think about it: He's a scientist in an interstellar society, so he would be aware that different suns affect Kryptonians differently, but those Kryptonians always come home to Krypton and its default red sun eventually. He probably just hadn't encountered cases of a Kryptonian sticking around some podunk yellow sun's habitable planet(s) for 30 years. So what he's familiar with--and what we're seeing in Clark in AC now--is just the tip of the iceberg of what a yellow sun can do for Kryptonians, unbeknownst to him.

 

[Hush]

This past issue was pretty cool, I was mad about Krypto though even though it seems the door is open for his eventual return.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

I wonder what Brainiac's story is gonna be. I thought Morrison would basically just keep the Coluan tyrant/knowledge thief thing Johns set forth. This week's issue made it seem more like the animated series' version, though.

It almost seems like we're getting both. The Collector of Worlds is the more old school Coluan Brainiac who shrinks cities, and the Brainiac onboard the ship is the Kryptonian AI version.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

But then how are they connected? You can't just have two different things called "Brainiac" that developed independently for no apparent reason.

Maybe the Coluan Brainiac came a-calling on Krypton before it was called Brainiac, absorbed the Kryptonian Brainiac AI, and the two got all jumbled up because they're both aimed at acquiring knowledge. I'm sure the Brainiac AI must've been used in scientific pursuits, after all.

 

[Lord]

Lord made it sound like he'd be cool with that costume forever because it implies that Superman is a normal guy taking a stand. So my comment was that it's fine if he starts out that way, but his ultimate destiny is to become the shining example to which all other heroes aspire, and t-shirt and jeans aren't gonna cut it for that. He's the basis of the whole American superhero myth, and the American superhero myth includes costumes as one of its cornerstones to separate it from the mystery men of the preceding pulp era.

That was never my point, i didn't say anything about wanting it to be permanent, in the golden age superman was like a man with superpowers taking a stand, for that little period in superman's life it makes sence and i like it, i never said anything about wanting it to be permanent, gosh, you didn't say you were fine with superman using that in his early years, CCOnn said exactly what i meant to say.

I want him to dress his superman costume, not to use t-shirt and jeans for the rest of his life, what i did say was that i agreed with his look, didn't say anything else about the time he dresses like that.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

My bad. I read too much into it.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

But then how are they connected? You can't just have two different things called "Brainiac" that developed independently for no apparent reason.

Maybe the Coluan Brainiac came a-calling on Krypton before it was called Brainiac, absorbed the Kryptonian Brainiac AI, and the two got all jumbled up because they're both aimed at acquiring knowledge. I'm sure the Brainiac AI must've been used in scientific pursuits, after all.

That's what I was thinking, sortof like in the first Star Trek movie with the alien machine entity merging with the Voyager probe and becoming V'ger.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Underrated movie.

 

[Kurosawa]

New origin is awesome, beautifully written and the back-up with Jonathan and Martha was great as well. I'm loving the focus on the pain they felt at not being able to conceive or carry-that's a pain that my wife and I have felt, and it is one of the reasons why Superman's story has touched me so much over the years. Besides Maggin's version in his novels, this is my favorite take on the origin.

 

[RoughNTumble]

indeed

I thought I was sick of seeing superman's origin between the comics, tv shows, and movies that have covered it, but this was exciting in a way I didn't expect, and I genuinely felt for the kents' predicament

 

[Drz]

Superboy #5 preview!

Scott Lodbell talks Superboy!

Seems Superboy has 3 daddies! Or maybe this one is his Mama?:

And instead of two gene strands in him as before, this Superboy has three. One is Kryptonian, one is human, and the third is one Lobdell's keeping secret. "I don't feel any rush to get all the details of Superboy's genetic history front and center. I would rather it just play out over time."

Details on N.O.W.H.E.R.E:

"To me, the idea was if we were going to take Superboy back to ground zero, then I really wanted to explore what that meant to start out with a completely blank slate."

A man named Templar is one of the main guys at N.O.W.H.E.R.E., and readers get a glimpse of his more malevolent side in issue 5. (They will have to wait to see his true form out of the shadows in Teen Titans 7.)

"It's been easy to look at a character like Templar or Centerhall and think of them as guys in suits," Lobdell says. "As we start to reveal them, we really start to realize that N.O.W.H.E.R.E. and the people who work for them are really quite horrific.

"As we start to realize the extent of N.O.W.H.E.R.E.'s activities, we're going to realize that the people who are working for them are much more frightening than we realized."

 

[Stallion9979]

Keep hoping that this will all be done away with soon and we can get back to pre-Flashpoint status quo...the New DC sucks...

 

[HighFivingMF]

Keep hoping that this will all be done away with soon and we can get back to pre-Flashpoint status quo...the New DC sucks...

That's not going to happen.

 

[Mystirious]

I'm calling it now that the third dna string in Superboy is Daemonite dna and they're the ones running N.O.W.H.E.R.E

They seem to be being set up as one of the big bads of the new DCU and are going to be a major foe for Superman apparently

I think Superboy is 1/3 Daemonite