Superman in the 21st century - modernizing the franchise

[Restingvoice]

How would you modernize the franchise without changing it drastically to the point it's unrecognizable?

You know the essentials: "Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple."

SUPERMAN.

It can't be distilled any better than Morrison did.

So, let's get to the meat.

Clark is the adopted son of Martha and Jonathan, he originates from another planet. I don't need to get too much into it.

He arrived in Metropolis 8 months ago, the year is 2018. becoming Superman around the same time.

Now here's a point of divergence, the Daily Star and Daily Planet have both already shut down due to irrelevance in the Digital Age, with George Taylor and Perry White retiring.

Clark, Jimmy and Lois are independent reporters with their own site, who are already quite well known around the city. with either Taylor or White mentoring the trio.

That's adorable! Where's that from?

[babybats]

100% agreement, frankly. Not all writing based journalism is just a socially conscious blogspot page. There are real newspapers out there, struggling, but still important, and I think selling the Planet as one of those makes sense.

Yes! I actually think part of modernizing Superman is to address the struggles facing journalists today. One of the issues with the decline of print newspapers is they're being supplanted by less credible alternatives. And besides all that, real journalism is being edged out by pundits and talking heads, truth is relative, and journalists themselves are being vilified by some. I'd love to see the Daily Planet be this last stand for good old fashioned reporting in a world gone mad.

[JAK]

The way JMS handled the Daily Planet was one of the few things I really enjoyed about his Earth-1 series.

I'm fine with the Planet still being a print paper, but if that's the route DC is going they need to treat it as such. Most of the time the Daily Planet is still supposed to be this wildly successful newspaper, and I find that more ludicrous than a god-like alien flying around throwing buildings at monsters. Print? No one reads print anymore!

If the Planet is still just a print paper, it needs to be struggling and that struggle needs to be shown as more than just Perry complaining about subs being down and money being tight. It needs to actually impact the characters and the narrative somehow.

OR, they could just update the Planet (like myself and many others have been saying for almost twenty years) into something contemporary and modern. I know that, in the past, writers have claimed to move the Planet in that direction, but it never ends up having any kind of impact on the narrative. Nothing actually changes despite the supposed change in distribution and journalistic habits.

I guess all I want to see out of the Planet is some impact. Successful or struggling, just show it to the readers.

As for the wider discussion about updating Superman......I think in most cases, it's like the Planet; we don't need an update to the characters or the mythology or the fiction, we need an update to the writers and editors. Damn little about Superman is actually out-dated but when writers tackle everything with a retro sensibility, things are gonna look old no matter what.

Yep - I'd love to see an honest, struggling newspaper be part of the story. And it would actually work well as a story point to keep the Planet supporting cast to a low number if the paper isn't always doing well.

[phantom1592]

As far as I'm concerned... Superman doesn't NEED modernizing. He's iconic. He's timeless. He's had 80+ years of being front and center, I don't buy into the idea that he 'doesn't fit with the times'.

That said, the one thing I would adjust would be the Daily Planet. I would back off the idea that Clark is a reporter trying to uncover the wrongs of the worlds and drag the politicians into the light for the general public to see. Newspapers... don't really do that anymore... and it really takes a lot of time out of his being 'Superman.' Lois is into that for sure... but Clark has bigger motivations.

For me, I prefer the OLD OLD School Superman. He didn't become a reporter because being a reporter is awesome and he loves to reveal truths... He did it because it was the nerve center of the world. Any time there was a problem. Any time there was a disaster... The Daily Planet was the FIRST to know about. It goes back to the classic idea that Clark Kent is a disguise he wears in public... but I also loved that. He worked at the Daily Planet because it told him where Superman was needed most.

If they can still do that with a print newspaper... fine. If they need to turn the Daily Planet into a news station or an online media something or other... fine. As long as the Daily Planet has an actual office with familiar supporting cast, I don't care if they're posting on line or running a printing press... as long as they are still into 'Up to the minute news NOW' concept.

The rest? The costume, the cast, the glasses... They're all timeless and shouldn't be messed with.

[Netherman14]

That's adorable! Where's that from?

The-Orange-One, on DeviantArt.

https://www.deviantart.com/the-orange-one

[kjn]

I think there is very little in Superman's personality and background that needs to be changed. The Kent family with their little farm still ties into a strong piece of American mythology and self-image, even if there are only relatively few such farms left. Likewise Clark Kent's class voyage from growing up on a small farm to a respected white-collar job in the big city still resonates strongly.

If the Daily Planet is a newspaper or a radio station or a web site or a television station doesn't matter that much. It's more important that they are a respected and valued news provider. In a way, having the Daily Planet be a newspaper is more of a trouble for Jimmy Olsen the photographer, since barely any newspapers still retain specialist photographers. Making it a tv station would allow him to become a cameraman. All the options provide Clark Kent with being a small piece of a large institution and for exploring various motivations for being where he is, depending on the needs of the story and the preferences of the writer.

(All of the motivations of wanting to expose corruption and wrongdoing, wanting to hear of things first so Superman can intervene, or simply the need to write and tell stories can be handled as noble and valid, so I see no reason to force a premature choice there. All three probably were a part of Clark's decision.)

I can see the need to modernise the type of stories that are told, but not necessarily the person they are told about: a man that I interpret as having conservative habits but progressive values.

[The World]

Superman went through modernization efforts in the 70's in the Julius Schwartz era and then again the lat 80's through the 90's with Byrne, Wolfman, Stern etc. Pretty much anything you've seen after the 60's is the product of modernization. The problem with modernization is that once you start tweaking things you have to keep tweaking since trends, thoughts, and values change all the time.

[Ascended]

Yep - I'd love to see an honest, struggling newspaper be part of the story. And it would actually work well as a story point to keep the Planet supporting cast to a low number if the paper isn't always doing well.

Right?

Or hey, if, on DC's version of earth, print newspapers are still successful? Fine, but make that one of the many differences between the fiction and reality, and use that contradiction instead of just dumping it on the panel and then ignoring the dissonance it implies. Like, you know that quasi-classic image where Clark is in a full elevator and everyone's reading the Planet with Superman's face on the front page? That's a fun visual and a good little sight gag.....but you can't put that in an issue and then not even address the inconsistency with real world-based expectations.

[Flash Gordon]

Honestly I'd like to see "Clark Kent" move away from the Daily Planet. Lois can still be a crusading journalist, even a famous one.

With newsprint in its death spiral, and "the nerve center" of information being something sought remotely, I'd like to see Superman do other things. "Clark Kent" could still appear on blog posts that spot light corruption and crimes against man, he could be a mysterious writer doing odd jobs to get by. A voice for working people.

The Daily Planet would be the news organization that employs Lois Lane and James Olsen. Perry White is her editor, a man constantly trying to put out good material against the wishes of the corporation that employs him.

I'd use George Taylor as an old guard reporter and close friend of Clark's.

Clark should be a little more fluid. He has various different aliases and maybe even different identities. Clark Kent is who he grew up as so I could see him using that one to get closer to Lois and to maybe try and pursue some normalcy in life eventually.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I might focus more on modernizing/using the villains more.

Ascended once described Superman as the epitome of restraint and (paraphrasing badly) that's something the current era doesn't see value in. So I want to play with that a bit more.

My favorite version of Jimmy is in All-Star Superman so I wanna make him more proactive/try something new. His Superman watch should become like the Doctor's sonic screwdriver as he should be trying to get Kelex to add more than what Superman initially did.