Grant Morrison's T-shirt and Jeans Superman Returns.

[superduperman]

spoilers:

I'm truly pleased that Superman wasn't killed off again in an insultingly flippant away, the way he was in the atrocious Final Days of Superman. so it's revealed that he experienced only the Morrison Action arc so far, and not much else. I'm personally saddened by the lack of the Kryptonian battle armor, though I can still tolerate it not being present if he gets the Reborn suit which is unused whenever Kal is requested by Derek to come help the Prime Earth heroes against Manhattan. whenever that comes to pass, I'm glad that Kal doesn't have to be the main Superman anymore. I feel that kind of neutered him a bit and prevented writers from going all out. so yeah, there's that. I'm happy he's out there, helping across multiple worlds and universes. it's also clarified that he's from the regular multiverse, just imprisoned by Perrus when he fell there.

end of spoilers

I just hope that Superman eventually finds his way back home to his Earth, that would also be cool.

spoilers:

I think Didio is too attached to this version to kill him off. Which I'm guessing is why we got this. He wanted to find some way to "save" his Superman even if no one ever uses him again. And, yeah, I'd totally buy a series where he travels the multiverse helping people.

end of spoilers

[HeroVladimir93]

spoilers:

I think Didio is too attached to this version to kill him off. Which I'm guessing is why we got this. He wanted to find some way to "save" his Superman even if no one ever uses him again. And, yeah, I'd totally buy a series where he travels the multiverse helping people.

end of spoilers

I think people would have accepted New 52 Superman more openly if DC wasn't trying so hard in making him the primary Superman, at the expense of the pre-Flashpoint Superman, who had already completed his character development and had an established fanbase. Perhaps with this Superman being a completely different character from the primary Superman, people can enjoy both versions without the constant comparisons.

[LordUltimus]

spoilers:

I'm truly pleased that Superman wasn't killed off again in an insultingly flippant away, the way he was in the atrocious Final Days of Superman. so it's revealed that he experienced only the Morrison Action arc so far, and not much else. I'm personally saddened by the lack of the Kryptonian battle armor, though I can still tolerate it not being present if he gets the Reborn suit which is unused whenever Kal is requested by Derek to come help the Prime Earth heroes against Manhattan. whenever that comes to pass, I'm glad that Kal doesn't have to be the main Superman anymore. I feel that kind of neutered him a bit and prevented writers from going all out. so yeah, there's that. I'm happy he's out there, helping across multiple worlds and universes. it's also clarified that he's from the regular multiverse, just imprisoned by Perrus when he fell there.

end of spoilers

I just hope that Superman eventually finds his way back home to his Earth, that would also be cool.

spoilers:

I'm pretty sure the bio-armor is the one thing that they kept for fused Superman, or at least, the fact that he USED to wear it.

end of spoilers

[Bored at 3:00AM]

There’s being hopeful and there’s being willfully blind. It’s abundently clear that most of (if not everything) from Morrison is gone. Where’s the T-shirt and jeans? His time at the Star? Drekken, Nimrod, and Vyn? All gone and not likely to return. It’s fine to play pretend in your head canon, but in the canon DC uses... well it’s pretty obvious all the Morrison stuff is gone.

Edit: Just to be clear I’m not attacking or mocking you. I’m just feeling frustrated that the origin they opted for was the most boring one possible. I’m actually overall pretty happy about the direction for Supes over the last couple years.

If you are actually happy with the direction the Superman books have taken, you need to let your posts know about this

I understand you are frustrated, but you are being overly pessimistic. It is not abundantly clear that everything Morrison did is gone. It is not abundantly clear that Secret Origins is the only thing that counts in regards to Superman's early years. If that were the case, then they wouldn't have tweaked the look of Jor-El, Lara and Kal-El's ship to incorporate elements of the New 52 version. They wouldn't have gone out of their way to point out that the Kents were still dead like they were in the New 52.

The only thing that's clear is that Secret Origin is the spine they are using for this latest version of Superman's origin. Not the entire body. The reason for that is pretty simple: Johns & Frank's story incorporates elements from virtually all the various incarnations of Superman over the decades, which is a pretty clear indication that they aren't dumping all of Morrison's stuff. However, not all of it will fit. Everything from the Pre-Crisis Superman isn't there. Only some of it. Post-Crisis Superman isn't all there either. Only the broad strokes.

No one version of Superman is 100% represented here. He's an amalgamation of all of them, and his history was left deliberately vague for a reason. Creators are now free to pick and choose from EVERYTHING moving forward. If one thing contradicts another thing, it doesn't really matter right now because the timestream has been nuked by our beloved glowing blue nudist. Everything is up for grabs right now. Head canon is DC's new policy because it gives creators and readers the most freedom.

Now, you have a choice moving forward. You can be optimistic and approach the current situation like Superman would or you can approach it with pessimism like Batman would. One of those options makes you grumpy and unhappy. The other brings you joy and happiness. I know which one I have chosen. You may think me foolish for looking for the best in things, but that's only because I try to do what Superman would do in a situation. What about you?

[JAK]

I think people would have accepted New 52 Superman more openly if DC wasn't trying so hard in making him the primary Superman, at the expense of the pre-Flashpoint Superman, who had already completed his character development and had an established fanbase. Perhaps with this Superman being a completely different character from the primary Superman, people can enjoy both versions without the constant comparisons.

Oh, that's absolutely true. And I like the t-shirt and jeans look, too.

If you are actually happy with the direction the Superman books have taken, you need to let your posts know about this

I understand you are frustrated, but you are being overly pessimistic. It is not abundantly clear that everything Morrison did is gone. It is not abundantly clear that Secret Origins is the only thing that counts in regards to Superman's early years. If that were the case, then they wouldn't have tweaked the look of Jor-El, Lara and Kal-El's ship to incorporate elements of the New 52 version. They wouldn't have gone out of their way to point out that the Kents were still dead like they were in the New 52.

The only thing that's clear is that Secret Origin is the spine they are using for this latest version of Superman's origin. Not the entire body. The reason for that is pretty simple: Johns & Frank's story incorporates elements from virtually all the various incarnations of Superman over the decades, which is a pretty clear indication that they aren't dumping all of Morrison's stuff. However, not all of it will fit. Everything from the Pre-Crisis Superman isn't there. Only some of it. Post-Crisis Superman isn't all there either. Only the broad strokes.

No one version of Superman is 100% represented here. He's an amalgamation of all of them, and his history was left deliberately vague for a reason. Creators are now free to pick and choose from EVERYTHING moving forward. If one thing contradicts another thing, it doesn't really matter right now because the timestream has been nuked by our beloved glowing blue nudist. Everything is up for grabs right now. Head canon is DC's new policy because it gives creators and readers the most freedom.

Now, you have a choice moving forward. You can be optimistic and approach the current situation like Superman would or you can approach it with pessimism like Batman would. One of those options makes you grumpy and unhappy. The other brings you joy and happiness. I know which one I have chosen. You may think me foolish for looking for the best in things, but that's only because I try to do what Superman would do in a situation. What about you?

Yep - that's why I think the Reborn origin is about the best we could hope to get as a general framework. It leans hard on certain parts due to cultural significance and/or amount of time some things were canon, but (imo) did honestly try to respect as much as possible within the framework. We're in as good of a position as possible to have what they have over in the Bat-books as far as continuity goes, and that's what it should have been like all along.

Considering that the US foreign politics are terrible, is it thus unsurprising that Superman is not inspiring when not firmly established as knocking down the elites ?

Ok, two things: first, Superman currently has the power to take all of the "elites" (which is a pretty broad term, to be honest) and throw them into the Fortress, never to be seen again. Then what? You have a world that looks nothing like our own on a narrative level and everyone would complain that it's not "realistic"... Second, a Superman who changes "real-life" things as it suits him because he has the power to do so is generally seen as a bully and it sullies his purpose. A Superman with that level of power simply cannot do that. Clark can fight corruption (and win) on a journalistic level and Superman can inspire people to do these things, and when he inspires them to do it, it means more because it also can reflect to the reader.

Superman was established as the great American hero and at the same time the best expression of the ideals under which the United States was founded Ideals that by the way come from the French revolution. But it is not communist, it does not fight for the values of the left.
superman was not established to defeat capitalism he was established to fight for the American dream

Left, communism, and socialism are three different things in general - and throwing those words around like they're interchangeable is nothing but counter-productive. Almost all societies are a mix of things (including/especially us in the U.S.) and Superman fights for what's good and just no matter what "side" it sits on.

I just hope that Superman eventually finds his way back home to his Earth, that would also be cool.

True - though I'd kinda like to see him have some adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes. He's kinda in a perfect "place" (character-connection-wise) to do it.

[Yoda]

Ok, two things: first, Superman currently has the power to take all of the "elites" (which is a pretty broad term, to be honest) and throw them into the Fortress, never to be seen again. Then what? You have a world that looks nothing like our own on a narrative level and everyone would complain that it's not "realistic"... Second, a Superman who changes "real-life" things as it suits him because he has the power to do so is generally seen as a bully and it sullies his purpose. A Superman with that level of power simply cannot do that. Clark can fight corruption (and win) on a journalistic level and Superman can inspire people to do these things, and when he inspires them to do it, it means more because it also can reflect to the reader.

If this is really what you want to read, it's already been done about as well as it ever could be in Miracle Man.

[HsssH]

My understanding would be that everything that happened in new52 comics happened and New52 Superman died/merged/was erased/whatever. At that point Tailors saved him. From what I recall about them they'd basically "update" the character for new era/purpose and I'd say same thing happened here. And thats why we see some things being slightly off, they were re-arranged a bit to create a "better" hero for the new purpose. So is this new52 Superman? I'd say that technically no, he was remade by Tailors into something slightly different, but in spirit it is clear that he is supposed to be a continuation of that Superman.

Overall I like what they did with him. If they ever want to use him again they can easily do it, if he never gets used again then it is still a decent place to leave him off.

But that connects me to the tangent I've been knocking at all day because I didn't just read this today, I also read Unexpected, Justice League and Green Lantern. There's like something in the air right now in where these (rapidly ending) Dark Matter titles are all seeming like they're going, and while they spawned from METAL it feels like they're going right back to the super-epic of Morrison's JLA throughline, through JLA Classified, Seven Soldiers, Final Crisis, Return of Bruce Wayne, Action Comics, Multiversity. Other titles have entered that field as well - Flash's flashquest and "Crisis" teases and heading to the House of Heroes to hang with the Multiversal Flashes. Steve Orlando and Wonder Woman's team-up with Aztek and Artemis to fight a techno-god follow-up of the original Aztek and Mageddon stories.

It feels like a whole lot of random crap getting tossed into the pot but if you look at Unexpected and Sideways this week there do feel like there's some connective tissue at work. Fuginauts. Monitors. T-Shirt Superman. Metal. Sheeda. Doctor Frankenstein's life formula being the same kind of liquid Bleed that Superman used to save Lois during Final Crisis. And then some of the bigger teases in Green Lantern this week.

I haven't followed anything Metal related and picked up this annual only due to Morisson's involvement and new52 Superman's return, but I have seen some newsbits about Monitors and things like that. Could anyone do a short rundown on what is happening in these books?

[Korath]

I haven't followed anything Metal related and picked up this annual only due to Morisson's involvement and new52 Superman's return, but I have seen some newsbits about Monitors and things like that. Could anyone do a short rundown on what is happening in these books?

In Immortal Men : the Batman Who Laugh (BWL) teamed with the Infinite Woman, one of five Immortal Siblings and leader of the House of Conquest, to eradicate the House of Action and kill the Immortal Man, reducing it to five young immortals; but also exposing to the eyes of the world the existence of the Immortal Houses

In Damage, the US Government experimented with some Dark Multiverse related substance and the Miraclo Serium and created a living WMD for an hour a day -Damage. Who then managed to free himself and is now trying to shut down the facility which created him.

In Sideways, titular hero Derek James got his powers when falling into the Dark Multiverse (surely thanks to the Giver, discovered in issue 9 of the series); he has met Tempus Fuginaut, a member of the Fuginaut race, who seems to be the successors of the Monitors; he has since then hoped into the Dark Multiverse and fought the Sheeda.

In The Unexpected, a young woman became Firebrand when her heart was replaced by a Nth-metal construct, the Conflict Engine, and now stand against a freed Mandrakk on the world of Nil, lost home of the Monitors. Hawkman and a man named Neon (who has gotten powers of creation from the World Forge) are helping her.

That's the biggest "Crisis" related content of the current or finished NAoH books. However, The Curse of Brimstone could be dealing with some of the Otherkind, monstrous entities from the Dark Multiverse introduced in Justice League Dark. The Terrifics and Silencer aren't related to those events so far, but it may change in the coming months, and I didn't read New Challengers.

[Sacred Knight]

Considering he's traveling the multiverse for a year, one could assume he might not have that much time for a shave and haircut. Maybe when we next see him he'll then look like Pak's Superman. Or Futures End Superman as he actually wore the t-shirt and jeans.

[Prime]

Seriously why can't we keep the New 52 origin instead of the dull Johns one?

[Netherman14]

Seriously why can't we keep the New 52 origin instead of the dull Johns one?

Because Johns is in control, and Johns only keeps what he personally likes.

[Sacred Knight]

Seriously why can't we keep the New 52 origin instead of the dull Johns one?

Rebirth was Johns' thing at the time. It only made sense that he would reinstate all the stuff he did where applicable.

In the end I think it could work out for the best anyway. Morrison's stuff works better for a younger Superman that will be explored in real-time as a younger Superman as opposed to just telling that tale then jumping far ahead again. I've kinda grown to think it would be wasted on the main Superman now, since he's by design so much older. He's in a far different place in his life.

[Netherman14]

Rebirth was Johns' thing at the time. It only made sense that he would reinstate all the stuff he did where applicable.

In the end I think it could work out for the best anyway. Morrison's stuff works better for a younger Superman that will be explored in real-time as a younger Superman as opposed to just telling that tale then jumping far ahead again. I've kinda grown to think it would be wasted on the main Superman now, since he's by design so much older. He's in a far different place in his life.

I'd have preferred that Superman: Birthright would have been brought back as the origin story, if we can't have Morrison's.

[Miles To Go]

Because Johns is in control, and Johns only keeps what he personally likes.

Johns' control has slipped considerably, which is why DC are getting darker again and why we likely got this special "way out" for N52 Supes.

[manofsteel1979]

I'm not following this book but I'm glad New 52 Supes is still out there in the multiverse for his fans.

Now if we can only get Kal-L back...