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I would kill for a good toy-line.
When a toy's sculpture is good enough is considered a work of art. Just look at the magnificent Spawn line, even Marvel Legends figures are sculpted excellently.
An animated series would be my next preference, considering this is a visual medium thats drawn, I'd prefer this next. However writers havent shown they know what to do with him more than they did a few years ago.
With a video game, you just play it once and its over, so I wouldnt be too interested in that. With a figure you can adore its beauty every time you see it, and an animated series will provide you with endless amounts of entertainment.
Also a novel would be great as said by Ultrawoman. Novel's are generally written more competently when compared to comics.
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[QUOTE=Cypher;401945]With a video game, you just play it once and its over, so I wouldnt be too interested in that. [/QUOTE]
Overpriced DLC, bro. Don't you want to pay $14.99 to unlock something coded on a disc you bought?
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[QUOTE=DochaDocha;401980]Overpriced DLC, bro. Don't you want to pay $14.99 to unlock something coded on a disc you bought?[/QUOTE]
Lol. True, but they can only milk that for so long.
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Points for the "novels" idea. I'd support the hell out of that. It's hard to find good novels in the superhero genre, and there are next to none among DC and Marvel, and even fewer that are worth reading.
While we're on the topic, the "Ex-Heroes" series by Peter Clines is pretty fun, if anyone's looking for some superhero novels worth reading. They're easy, short reads and their greatest strength, (playing around with archetypes) is also its greatest weakness. Still, they're fun.
As for the video game....Im guessing you dont play a lot of games, Cypher? The mark of a great game is its re-play value. A Superman video game could provide hours of entertainment after the final boss is defeated by delving into side-plots. Intergang taking over Suicide Slum, a cult of Darkseid worshipers gaining power and influence, investigations for the Planet....the list of potential excess material is endless. Just look at most of the Final Fantasy games to see what I mean. I beat Final Fantasy 12 after a few hours, then logged a hundred more doing bounty missions and hunting down hard-to-obtain items. I played Skyrim for two years straight before I ever bothered to defeat the main story's final boss, and at over three hundred hours logged there's still stuff left to do.
I do agree with whoever said Superman Returns had some good ideas. DCU Online also has some solid content worth stealing.
Just hire Bethseda to make the game. It will be amazing as hell, and glitchy as f**k, and the open-mod format they use means some devoted players will fix all the bugs and provide tons of extra customizations.
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[QUOTE=UltraWoman;400465]I'm surprised you didn't have a (non-graphic) novel as an option. I definitely would love to have a good romance novel in that vein (don't expect it to happen ANYTIME soon given the choice to pair the two supers rather than playing with the contrast in a different way).
I would also go for second period-style Superman novel or Sci-fi Fantasy novel but I love the "triangle of two" trope in romance novels.[/QUOTE]
Hadn't thought of that, honestly. Made me want to do some digging on the subject.
Superman does have some established literary presence already, although most of it would never be confused with good science-fiction.
Here's the list of what I found so far in chronological order (full title, author, page count, publishing date, type):
01. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, written by George Lowther, 228 pages, 1942 (original story)
02. LAST SON OF KRYPTON, written by Elliot S! Maggin, 238 pages, 1978 (original story, official tie-in to SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE film)
03. MIRACLE MONDAY, written by Elliot S! Maggin, 205 pages, 1981 (original story, official tie-in to SUPERMAN II film)
04. SUPERMAN III, written by William Kotzwinkle, 221 pages, 1983 (official novelization to SUPERMAN III film)
05. SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE, written by B.B. Hiller, 144 pages, 1987 (official novelization to SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE film)
06. THE DEATH AND LIFE OF SUPERMAN, written by Roger Stern, 418 pages, 1993 (official novelization to DEATH OF SUPERMAN/REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN comic books)
07. DOOMSDAY AND BEYOND, written by Louise Simonson, 190 pages, 1993 (official novelization with interior artwork to DEATH OF SUPERMAN comic books)
08. THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, 360 pages, 1993 (anthology of original short stories by various authors)
09. LOIS & CLARK: HEAT WAVE, written by Michael Jan Friedman, 124 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
10. LOIS & CLARK: EXILE, written by Michael Jan Friedman, 150 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
11. LOIS & CLARK: DEADLY GAMES, written by Michael Jan Friedman, 132 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
12. LOIS & CLARK: A SUPERMAN NOVEL, written by C.J. Cherryh, 288 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
13. SMALLVILLE: ARRIVAL, written by Michael Teitelbaum, 180 pages, 2002 (official novelization of pilot episode of SMALLVILLE tv show, young adult line #1)
14. SMALLVILLE: SEE NO EVIL, written by Cherie Bennett, 180 pages, 2002 (young adult line #2, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
15. SMALLVILLE: FLIGHT, written by Cherie Bennett, 192 pages, 2002 (young adult line #3, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
16. SMALLVILLE: ANIMAL RAGE, written by David & Bobbi Weiss, 176 pages, 2003 (young adult line #4, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
17. SMALLVILLE: SPEED, written by Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld, 208 pages, 2003 (young adult line #5, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
18. SMALLVILLE: BURIED SECRETS, written by Suzan Colon, 208 pages, 2003 (young adult line #6, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
19. SMALLVILLE: RUNAWAY, written by Suzan Colon, 208 pages, 2003 (young adult line #7, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
20. SMALLVILLE: GREED, written by Cherie Bennett, 176 pages, 2003 (young adult line #8, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
21. SMALLVILLE: TEMPTATIONS, written by Suzan Colon, 192 pages, 2004 (young adult line #9, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
22. SMALLVILLE: SPARKS, written by Cherie Bennett & Jeff Gottesfeld, 176 pages, 2004 (young adult line #10, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
23. SMALLVILLE: STRANGE VISITORS, written by Roger Stern, 285 pages, 2002 (Warner line #1, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
24. SMALLVILLE: DRAGON, written by Alan Grant, 256 pages, 2002 (Warner line #2, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
25. SMALLVILLE: HAUNTINGS, written by Nancy Holder, 288 pages, 2003 (Warner line #3, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
26. SMALLVILLE: WHODUNIT, written by Dean Wesley Smith, 240 pages, 2003 (Warner line #4, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
27. SMALLVILLE: SHADOWS, written by Diane G. Gallagher, 272 pages, 2003 (Warner line #5, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
28. SMALLVILLE: SILENCE, written by Nancy Holder, 320 pages, 2003 (Warner line #6, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
29. SMALLVILLE: CURSE, written by Alan Grant, 288 pages, 2004 (Warner line #7, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
30. SMALLVILLE: CITY, written by Devin Grayson, 272 pages, 2004 (Warner line #8, official tie-in to SMALLVILLE tv show)
31. IT'S SUPERMAN!, written by Tom DeHaven, 432 pages, 2005 (original story)
32. SUPERMAN RETURNS, written by Marv Wolfman, 344 pages , 2006 (official novelization of the SUPERMAN RETURNS film)
33. THE LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON, written by Kevin J. Anderson, 496 pages, 2007 (original story)
34. ENEMIES & ALLIES (co-starring Batman), written by Kevin J. Anderson, 336 pages, 2009 (original story)
35. MAN OF STEEL, written by Greg Cox, 320 pages, 2013 (official novelization to MAN OF STEEL film)
Wow, so by my count, throughout Superman's 76 years and counting publishing history, Clark has starred in 35 different novels to date! That's A LOT more than I would have thought.
Granted, a majority of them come with various asterisks:
18 of those 35 novels were SMALLVILLE tie-ins (though TWO separate lines no less!),
another 4 of those were LOIS & CLARK tie-ins,
another 4 were straight novelizations of movies,
another 1 co-starred Batman,
another 2 were novelizations of [I]the exact same storyline[/I] from the comics,
another 1 was an anthology of short stories (one co-starring Wonder Woman, another co-starring Batman)
and another one barely featured Kal-El at all except as a small infant.
That's 31 of 35 novel that are somewhat compromised in terms of being original, independent full-length solo stories.
That leaves us with 4 novels that can stand on their own as original, independent full-length solo stories of Superman:
THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1942), LAST SON OF KRYPTON (1978), MIRACLE MONDAY (1981) and IT'S SUPERMAN (2005).
And it should be pointed out again that LSoK and MM were released as tie-ins to S:TM and SII and each contained pages of actual photos from their respective movie.
In conclusion, yes, I would very much like to see a new, wholly original, independent, full-length solo Superman novel that is NOT a tie-in to any pre-existing incarnation of the character. One that could stand on its own as a great science-fiction novel.
But who should write it? So many possible choices for established science-fiction authors out there. Surely one of them "gets" Superman in a new way ...
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I wouldn't mind a Superman game that has the similar quality of the Arkham Games.
He's way overdue for an animated series IMO
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A Superman animated TV show is LONG overdue
That begins said, I have been waiting for a good Superman game my entire life so I voted for that even though the animated TV show is much more likely
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[QUOTE=Jphu8414;415255]A Superman animated TV show is LONG overdue
That begins said, I have been waiting for a good Superman game my entire life so I voted for that even though the animated TV show is much more likely[/QUOTE]
We need a game that wash away the filth that was Superman 64.
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[QUOTE=Legato;415366]We need a game that wash away the filth that was Superman 64.[/QUOTE]
Agreed.
Personally, I like the trilogy approach, provided there's a concrete outline ahead of time.
Whoever makes the Next/First Great Superman Video Game should start off with some kind of theme (similar to Batman's ARKHAM series), I'd be happy. For example, "Champion".
Game 1: CHAMPION OF METROPOLIS (CoM)
Game takes place entirely within the confines of the city of Metropolis, primarily with villains that have ties to that city. End Boss is Lex Luthor (Secret End Boss is Ultra-Humanite).
Game 2: CHAMPION OF PLANET EARTH (CoPE)
Game takes place all over the world, with villains, primarily with villains that have ties to our planet. End Boss is Brainiac (Secret End Boss is Solaris).
Game 3: CHAMPION OF THE UNIVERSE (CotU)
Game takes place all over the multiverse, primarily with villains that have ties to our reality. End Boss is Darkseid (Secret End Boss is Vyndktvx).
Something like that.
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[QUOTE=Legato;415366]We need a game that wash away the filth that was Superman 64.[/QUOTE]
Superman 64 is a red badge of courage. Tales of its horribleness will be told for at least one more generation.
[I]Titanic[/I] might've sunk [I]ET[/I] at the box office, but ET has a place in video game history that wouldn't have been accomplished with a moderately horrible or even above-average game. What does [I]Titanic[/I] have? Maybe an obscure game somewhere.
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A show (animated or live) and well written novel would be nice.
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We're overdue for another solo animated series. How long has it been since STAS ended? 14 years? And not a single new Superman animated series since then...
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[QUOTE=daBronzeBomma;406985]Hadn't thought of that, honestly. Made me want to do some digging on the subject.
Superman does have some established literary presence already, although most of it would never be confused with good science-fiction.
Here's the list of what I found so far in chronological order (full title, author, page count, publishing date, type):
01. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, written by George Lowther, 228 pages, 1942 (original story)
(snip for space use)
08. THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, 360 pages, 1993 (anthology of original short stories by various authors)
09. LOIS & CLARK: HEAT WAVE, written by Michael Jan Friedman, 124 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
10. LOIS & CLARK: EXILE, written by Michael Jan Friedman, 150 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
11. LOIS & CLARK: DEADLY GAMES, written by Michael Jan Friedman, 132 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
12. LOIS & CLARK: A SUPERMAN NOVEL, written by C.J. Cherryh, 288 pages, 1996 (official tie-in to LOIS & CLARK tv show)
(snip for space use)
31. IT'S SUPERMAN!, written by Tom DeHaven, 432 pages, 2005 (original story)
(snip for space use)
33. THE LAST DAYS OF KRYPTON, written by Kevin J. Anderson, 496 pages, 2007 (original story)
34. ENEMIES & ALLIES (co-starring Batman), written by Kevin J. Anderson, 336 pages, 2009 (original story)
35. MAN OF STEEL, written by Greg Cox, 320 pages, 2013 (official novelization to MAN OF STEEL film)
Wow, so by my count, throughout Superman's 76 years and counting publishing history, Clark has starred in 35 different novels to date! That's A LOT more than I would have thought.
Granted, a majority of them come with various asterisks:
18 of those 35 novels were SMALLVILLE tie-ins (though TWO separate lines no less!),
another 4 of those were LOIS & CLARK tie-ins,
another 4 were straight novelizations of movies,
another 1 co-starred Batman,
another 2 were novelizations of [I]the exact same storyline[/I] from the comics,
another 1 was an anthology of short stories (one co-starring Wonder Woman, another co-starring Batman)
and another one barely featured Kal-El at all except as a small infant.
That's 31 of 35 novel that are somewhat compromised in terms of being original, independent full-length solo stories.
That leaves us with 4 novels that can stand on their own as original, independent full-length solo stories of Superman:
THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN (1942), LAST SON OF KRYPTON (1978), MIRACLE MONDAY (1981) and IT'S SUPERMAN (2005).
And it should be pointed out again that LSoK and MM were released as tie-ins to S:TM and SII and each contained pages of actual photos from their respective movie.
In conclusion, yes, I would very much like to see a new, wholly original, independent, full-length solo Superman novel that is NOT a tie-in to any pre-existing incarnation of the character. One that could stand on its own as a great science-fiction novel.
But who should write it? So many possible choices for established science-fiction authors out there. Surely one of them "gets" Superman in a new way ...[/QUOTE]
I'd never even [I]heard[/I] of the 1942 novel, so I'll have to look into it (love Superman stories from that time so we'll have to see what I think of that one).
The "Lois and Clark: The new Adventures of Superman" novels written by Friedman were definitely written for a teenage audience (I have all of them and only one warrants any sort of re-read) and definitely show it with angst about Clark and Lois's relationship that she didn't seem to show on the series in any way or form. I'll also have to add "The Further Adventures of Superman" as well.
The C.J. Cherryh Novel should NEVER have been tied into the TV series. There was very little in it that would have made it applicable to the series (ex. Lois with a CAT??? She was never shown with one in the series and could barely take care of her fish!! Also, Dr. Hamilton used as the go-to science expert in the book when Dr. Klein was the go-to in the series, when Dr. Hamilton was shown to be a nearly inept cloning expert but not much else?) With that said, it reads like a decent independent Superman novel so if someone wants to read it and is put off because of the "tie-in" with LnC I recommend ignoring the image (or taking of the book cover), you won't miss it while reading.
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[QUOTE=666MasterOfPuppets;400056]Agreed. It wouldn't look good if Superman had to hit a measly robot (or street thug) with anything more than a move of his little finger. It has to be an action-adventure/exploration combo.[/QUOTE]
But the problem is with a game is, there has to be the possibility that the character can loose at any time. In the Arkham series, even lowly thugs can kill Batman if the player is not careful. If Superman can't be defeated through out the game, where is the challenge? The problem with Superman Returns, is it felt like a giant escort mission and gamers hate escort missions, I think a lot of gamers don't want to baby sit bunch of characters who may not have the best AI.
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Not to derail the thread more, but Ive thought about the video game thing and I have a few ideas.
First off, it has to have the sort of interactive, immersive gameworld you see in Elder Scrolls (which is largely the basis for my concept). You should be able to fly into any building, on any floor, and sit down in someone's living room and eat their dinner in front of them.
You should start out as a Morrison style, Golden Age-esque bruiser; a single thug with a handgun isnt much of a threat, but twenty of them? That might get scary. And the AI has to be smart enough to present proper responses. One of those thugs should be smart enough to steal a nearby bus and drive it into you.
As you level, you should be able to specialize in a number of abilities, from Super-Strength to Heat-Vision to Super-Senses to Interactive Skills. This allows a degree of customization (and thus replay value) in your character. Maybe you don't even want to bother taking the Flight skill, but want to really invest in Super-Speed. Maybe you want to focus exclusively on Heat-Vision and Freeze Breath and Super-Senses and become more of an energy manipulator than Superman is usually depicted as. Maybe you want to focus on the personal Skills and become the best reporter you can be at the expense of high-end superpowers. You should have the option.
Fail-conditions should be variable. Maybe in those early levels you have a health bar. Maybe later on, you have a timer and if you cant complete the mission on time you fail. Maybe for other missions, its not you who has the health bar, its Metropolis (something Superman Returns did right). Or maybe its a combination of all three, depending on what you're doing at the time. Each mission should use whatever fail-condition that fits. Looking into a new gang in Suicide Slum? Its probably going to be the city who has a health bar. Hunting down the Parasite? You've got the health bar.
Enemies have to be tough enough to warrant personal damage too, so Intergang selling advanced Apokolips weapons to street gangs is a must, as well as ample use of Superman's rogues like Metallo and Livewire.
The plot of the game should also be fairly open. There should be a main plotline (maybe a Starro invasion or something) but there should also be a ton of other things you can do as well as or instead of. Maybe you can work your way up the ladder at the Daily Planet and eventually become its EIC. Maybe you can become a major player at STAR Labs, or LexCorp. You should be able to ignore the main plot and chose not to advance it at all, or otherwise focus on what you like. You could build your reputation with the various factions in Metropolis (STAR, LexCorp, Cadmus, The Planet, the SCU, and so on) or wage war on them.
You can play Elder Scrolls: Morrowind, and by the end of it fly across the game world at super speed, shooting health-absorbing area-of-effect blasts like its nothing and anyone who has played it will say its nothing if not challenging and fun. And that game is over a decade old (2002). If it can be done for a fantasy setting with elves and orcs and magic, it can be done for Metropolis and the Last Son of Krypton. Its not the character who lacks the gamer-compatibility, its WB who cant get anyone smart enough to craft the game.
