The Official Superman Thread - Part 3

[CConn]

I think it's too low on the scale of weaknesses, depending on exactly how powerful the shock is. Sticking a key in an outlet shouldn't hurt him at all, for example.

Well, duh.

But if you had like 1.21 gigawatts or something, he should be hurt pretty bad.

And go back in time.

So it'd be cool for a lot of reasons.

 

[Spike_x1]

Batman shocking him with Metropolis' power supply in Hush is probably the best comic example I can think of (although it's not a case of a supervillain's concentrated-blast-of-superduper-electricity-attack), and while it caused some pain, it barely slowed Clark down enough for Bats to get out of arms reach.

Big time extremes of anything (heat, cold, physical force, electricity, cosmic radiation-whatever, etc.) can cause Superman some pain and add tension to fight scenes and stuff like that, but I wouldn't call them weaknesses anymore than a punch from Darkseid is technically a weakness.

I'm not a big fan of the indestructible costume and I have a fondness for Byrne's old aura explanation, but regardless of whether the suit itself rips or not, I think it would take away from him somewhat if Superman ever uses the costume as armor to protect himself from anything. Anything that the suit can withstand, Superman's body should be able to withstand.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

Well, duh.

But if you had like 1.21 gigawatts or something, he should be hurt pretty bad.

And go back in time.

So it'd be cool for a lot of reasons.

My point is that saying electricity is a weakness is like saying getting punched is a weakness just because someone like Doomsday can hurt him that way.

It's been a long time since Superman has been truly invulnerable, actually I'm not even sure if it's ever been true. There's always a limit somewhere. It only makes sense that electricity can hurt him, at sufficient levels, just like anything would. An explosion can hurt him, but what are we talking about? A grenade or a supernova?

 

[CConn]

I've rarely seen an explosion affect Superman all that much, though.

 

[Kurosawa]

Aura explanation is lame, Superman's costume was intended by his creators to be indestructible, mostly so he wouldn't be running around naked all the time. The costume was never armor, it was just as indestructible as he himself is. Or to be more exact, as indestructible as Earth cloth is compared to Earth flesh. Any Kryptonian material is of comparable strength to it's Earthly counterpart. The main functional use for the costume was the cape being used because it was indestructible and he could wrap people in it, or wrap an atomic bomb in it and let it explode harmlessly, etc.

Electricity only hurt the earliest and latter day Superman. Superman in his prime period when he was his most powerful and most successful could fly through the sun...an electrical shock wouldn't faze him.

 

[The Batman]

I hate the post crisis explanations for...pretty much everything, they were trying too hard.

 

[Lead Cenobite]

I hate the post crisis explanations for...pretty much everything, they were trying too hard.

That pretty much sums it up. The spandex-protecting aura, Kryptonians being genetically bound to the planet because the xenophobic ancestor of Superman reprogrammed an alien device to preserve Kryptonian culture, Brainiac being an alien consciousness possessing a side-show mentalist to justify the Brainiac moniker as a stage name, Supergirl as a shape-shifting protoplasmic lifeform from a pocket dimension created for the purpose of fixing a plothole left by the elimination of Superboy from continuity. Talk about headache city.

I don't mind a bit more realism in Superman, just to refine him and his world, but not to the point that everything is so overly complex and.. weird.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

That pretty much sums it up. The spandex-protecting aura, Kryptonians being genetically bound to the planet because the xenophobic ancestor of Superman reprogrammed an alien device to preserve Kryptonian culture, Brainiac being an alien consciousness possessing a side-show mentalist to justify the Brainiac moniker as a stage name, Supergirl as a shape-shifting protoplasmic lifeform from a pocket dimension created for the purpose of fixing a plothole left by the elimination of Superboy from continuity. Talk about headache city.

 

[X Knight]

so.......just read the latest issue of Supergirl.....

Spoiler

at the end, the head World Killer lady told Kara that there was a 5th, empty incubation tube.

Is this implying that Kara herself is the 5th World Killer, and that she is a "test tube baby," lab experiment?

 

[Dangerman]

I'm just glad they didn't make that villain in Supergirl Maxima as planned she just doesn't have the look.

 

[Kurosawa]

Maxima was one of the best things about the Post-Crisis DCU so I hope if they bring her back it's not as a villain, but more as the antihero type she was.

 

[Mystirious]

Was never a fan of Maxima really but I hope she shows up if you like her Kurosawa

Maybe she'll turn up in Superman

 

[Czar Colossus]

Maybe she'll show up in Supergirl as a lesbian!

 

[Motown Marvel]

does anyone know of any TPB's or collections that collect curt swans superman work?

 

[Czar Colossus]

I'm pretty sure the Showcase presents stuff featuring Superman is mostly Swan's work.

 

[Motown Marvel]

cool, thanks. those are all black and white though, right?

 

[Anubis]

That's why Buddha invented Crayons.

 

[Kurosawa]

Other good collection is the Kryptonite Nevermore TPB which has great Swanderson art.

 

[Motown Marvel]

Other good collection is the Kryptonite Nevermore TPB which has great Swanderson art.

awesome....hmmm, this one on amazon says the reprinted coloring in this edition is awful.

but then theres also this edition, but i wonder if the coloring is "remastered" with new computer coloring, which i hate.

 

[Dangerman]

Well I like how they showed or explained how Superman can wear his suit under his clothes. I just hope they explain more about it. Also I would like to see what the new FOS looks like.

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

Caught up with action comics. Like how he got the suit. Also, the side stories with Steel and the Kent's was a great read.

 

[Kurosawa]

awesome....hmmm, this one on amazon says the reprinted coloring in this edition is awful.

but then theres also this edition, but i wonder if the coloring is "remastered" with new computer coloring, which i hate.

Not, sure I've never really looked at it myself as I have the issues themselves.

 

[The Bruce]

I loved Superman 7. It read like a book from my childhood. I just don't get all the wildstorm stuff. It feels like I'm missing something? please don't make supes related to anything wildstorm. Keep it away from the superman world.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

That doesn't seem likely if Helspont is the antagonist for this arc. Plus, there is no more Wildstorm stuff, really. It's all just DC stuff now that they've folded Wildstorm into the DC universe, butchered most of the good characters, and forgotten most of the best characters completely.

 

[Anubis]

Basically.