If you could change ONE thing about each Superman era....

[Robotman]

I’ve really tried to like Jon Kent but I’m just not a fan of the kid. I would delete Jon from the current era.

[Jim Kelly]

Yes, I will agree that Martin Pasko bringing back adult Lana into the Superman series in 1977 was a highlight. Given how Lana has since been portrayed as so likeable in Superman III, Smallville and the like, one can look back on those stories and object to the unsympathetic way Pasko wrote her, but he did redeem her in that classic scene, which was at the end of the Master Jailer story, I believe, where Superman finally told her off and she's banging on the windows as he flies away. Good drama, and it was stuff you really couldn't do with Lois.

Yup.

Pasko was a comic book fan in the 1960s--"Pesky" Pasko--and wrote a lot of letters to the Superman titles (also the Schwartz titles). So, during his time on SUPERMAN in the 1970s, Marty revived a host of concepts and characters from the Weisinger era. But he seemed to do so in order to polish them up a bit and show that they still had life in them and they shouldn't be left on the scrapheap of history.

So I think in bringing Lana Lang back, one of the things he wanted to address was the unheathy obsession with Superman that often cropped up in SUPERMAN'S GIRL FRIEND, LOIS LANE. But he couldn't do that with Lois, because she had gone through years of development and wasn't the pest she used to be.

Lana was handy, because she had been in limbo for some five or six years--off in Europe, apparently (same thing with Vicki Vale--I guess that's where all the red-headed female reporters went for personal growth). So Marty Pasko used her to introduce this subject, in order to comment on it and get past it.

It's agonizing, for me, reading those stories because Lana suffers a lot--but it's ultimately rewarding to see her redeemed and gain recognition as a worthwhile person in her own right, not just a Lois Lane wannabe.

[Kingcrimsonprog]

The New 52 was acknowledged as a parallel Universe from the main Earth from the get go, with D.C. putting the main stories on hold for one or two years, while setting up all the changes, and then it would have run alongside the New Earth lines.

This. This so much.
I think that would be perfect.

[llozymandias]

In the back of MoS #1 as well as the following article, Byrne confirms that his exposure to superheroes came from Superman as played by George Reeves, which is where he also got the idea of making his Clark not an act put on by Superman.

http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/...rne-interview/

Denny O'Neil made a significant storyline out of Superman becoming more vulnerable and apologetic, as he learned a great lesson and swore off a large chunk of his "power" in Superman #242. O'Neil had written Marvel before DC so I guess there's a way to consider him a Marvel guy, although he made a much bigger impact at the latter. Cary Bates, who deliberately and hilariously walked right over that Sandman saga, was pretty much a DC guy all the way and has admitted that when the time was coming, he had a plan to depower Superman. Not sure of his motivation in either case though, since I haven't read many of his thoughts on stuff before the 2000s. And even though it was an imaginary story, Alan Moore didn't write Whatever Happened as a plot where Superman's mind was altered: he decided to break his no-kill rule and give up his powers by circumstance.

The powers thing is kinda funny considering how Thor, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, and Silver Surfer could do just about anything in the silver age. Not to start a rumbles thing, but SS and the Dark Phoenix could honestly wipe the floor with Superman even though they were extensions of things designed to hit home with readers.

Sadly in the 70s far too many characters were wiping the floor with Superman. I always assumed that Kal regained his lost power after a little time passed. Silver age Superman (when he was a teen) did things like; "throw" a neutron star from one galaxy to another; ) & pull a very long line of planets from one galaxy to another. Even if he never regained the power he let the sand superman keep, he still should have been far more powerful than most of the bronze age writers wrote him as being.

[llozymandias]

For the Siegel & Shuster era to really be better there are three things that would need to be changed. 1.) Fix Joe Shuster's eyesight. 2.) Change Jerry Siegel's divorce from nasty & hostile to amicable. 3.) National/DC does the Superboy intro in a far less underhanded manner.


"Weisienger" era; Jerry gets treated like an actual human being. Thus he is still at DC in the 70s, when Jack Kirby joins the team. Imagine what the creative team of Siegel & Kirby could have done.

[Kuwagaton]

Sadly in the 70s far too many characters were wiping the floor with Superman. I always assumed that Kal regained his lost power after a little time passed. Silver age Superman (when he was a teen) did things like; "throw" a neutron star from one galaxy to another; ) & pull a very long line of planets from one galaxy to another. Even if he never regained the power he let the sand superman keep, he still should have been far more powerful than most of the bronze age writers wrote him as being.

I guess so...

I mean, I have to admit that I really dig Superman kinda getting his butt kicked because we all know he's gonna win anyway. And there are already so many stories where he doesn't even need to take action. Showing his "full might" is too far imo, but I like to see him pushed and exceed himself. The 70s are what I'd call an era of sporting challenge. Whereas before that, there wasn't a whole lot. From 1962 to 1968, Marvel had plenty of comics where Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko were blowing the doors off what comic readers knew as action-adventure. In contrast, static old Superman bits that often come up don't impact like those stories because it seems like people rarely even remember them.

Superboy towing planets. That one bit is propped up to represent decades across several titles, but I'm never given the impression that the stories frequently impact readers as much as they come up. Meanwhile the 70s dug in a little more with epic, mythical challenges like the abominable snowman, the Galactic Golem, Amazo, Valdemar the viking, Muhammad Ali, Hulk, about a billion aliens, etc. He still traveled through time and all that as Swan, Kane, and Garcia-Lopez ramped up in a pretty impressive way.




Oh, and I totally write off that 66% power things because it doesn't support the many comics that followed.

[Rod G]

Seigel & Shuster Era: they never sold it. DC still doesn't own one bit of Superman. Which snowballs into a lot more creators hanging on to their creations.

New 52 Era: didn't end.

I can get on board with that.

[BBally]

Golden Age: Nothing much, possibly the stuff that's considered politically incorrect today I suppose.

Silver Age: more consistency with Superman's power and none of the disturbing moments from Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane

Bronze Age: Never should've ended, this era gave in my opinion the best Superman, some more expansion of the cast, Wolfman's original Lex Luthor businessman idea wasn't rejected, no Clark Kent as a newscaster

Post Crisis 1985-2000: Born on Krypton, no cold and sterile Krypton, history with the Legion kept intact (Smallville and the Animated Series proved you could make it work without Superboy), the Last Son of Krypton angle should've been planned as a temporary aspect, a less evil Morgan Edge like his Pre-Crisis counterpart. Clark's proposal to Lois should have went down like in the Lois & Clark TV series (Who's asking Clark Kent?.... Or Superman?), Keep Lex's history with Smallville

Post Crisis 2000-2011: History should've been more consistent, more consistent quality in the stories, Geoff John's finished the New Krypton arc as originally planned, no Sam Lane anti-alien general, no Superwoman Lucy Lane, Lex should be a couple years older than Clark if you going go the met each other in Smallville angle, Chris Roberson not being removed from Superman after Grounded. No reboot after Flashpoint.

Both Post Crisis eras should've a more balanced concept of the Clark Kent/Superman concept

New52: History should've been handled a lot better, everyone on the Superman creative being on the same page, no Scott Lobdell run, Greg Pak's not being interrupted by events like TRUTH. A more consistent portrayal of Superman.