Best Superman origin in all media

[stargazer01]

Really? Birthright is my favorite origin and one of my favorite stories, and I'm struggling to point at anything in the movie that could have been inspired by it.

Eh, not really. More it's set during times relevant to the origin, but isn't really an origin itself. Almost like a few prequel and side stories that coincide with the origin.

When he is flying for the first time in MOS, it reminds me of that panel of him flying among animals. Also he travels to other places before he becomes Superman. Lex Luthor is also a lot like Lex in the movie. The hair and face and the portrayal when young.

[Superlad93]

Most effective is All Star Superman. It turns the Superman origin into an equation by the end of the story, but in that moment it highlights, maybe better than any other origin, how much random chance and faith had a hand in Superman.

But I think what has turned into my personal favorite over time--and it surprised the hell out of me--is American Alien. It's approach is, in my opinion, the most honest and unwavering take on Clark/Superman's origin I've seen in all my time reading and watching the character. It earns its honesty because it doesn't transplant some sort of external "incident", "moment", or "life shifting tragedy" to cue Superman into being. Hell, in the story Krypton isn't even really "gone" till Clark hears about it. We do something a lot of other origins get scared of doing: we stick with Clark without breaking our gaze. Things hit Clark as they hit us, and it makes the whole story about the never easy idea of a person becoming an adult and realizing what they want to do, but plays it up on Superman's scale.

And I think the ending has my all-time favorite set of stakes for Superman: just the simple idea of "do they love me as much as I love them," and more to the point "does she love me as much as I love her?" Our villain in the end is an overally assertive caricature of a man to contrast the man Clark has been trying to grow into, and his hardest hit is when he throws doubt at Clark's face. For Clark and us, Krypton dies in that moment, Clark's place in the world and universe are thrown into flux, and he has to become vulnerable (aka get his ass kicked) to overcome it. In the end his vulnerability is rewarded on each level: he beats Lobo in full view of the world, Earth finally sees him as more than a passing sideshow, and Lois returns his affections. This is the conflict and resolution the whole book has been building to in increments through organically unfolding key times in this guy's life to us.

There are very real lessons in this book and take that I genuinely wish oncoming writers would at least look into. That's not to say anyone should just 1-to-1 emulate this, no, but rather some of the simple and effective ideas behind this book and take very much need to be dissected, understood, and learned from to more effectively continue Superman.

[Yoda]

Most effective is All Star Superman. It turns the Superman origin into an equation by the end of the story, but in that moment it highlights, maybe better than any other origin, how much random chance and faith had a hand in Superman.

But I think what has turned into my personal favorite over time--and it surprised the hell out of me--is American Alien. It's approach is, in my opinion, the most honest and unwavering take on Clark/Superman's origin I've seen in all my time reading and watching the character. It earns its honesty because it doesn't transplant some sort of external "incident", "moment", or "life shifting tragedy" to cue Superman into being. Hell, in the story Krypton isn't even really "gone" till Clark hears about it. We do something a lot of other origins get scared of doing: we stick with Clark without breaking our gaze. Things hit Clark as they hit us, and it makes the whole story about the never easy idea of a person becoming an adult and realizing what they want to do, but plays it up on Superman's scale.

And I think the ending has my all-time favorite set of stakes for Superman: just the simple idea of "do they love me as much as I love them," and more to the point "does she love me as much as I love her?" Our villain in the end is an overally assertive caricature of a man to contrast the man Clark has been trying to grow into, and his hardest hit is when he throws doubt at Clark's face. For Clark and us, Krypton dies in that moment, Clark's place in the world and universe are thrown into flux, and he has to become vulnerable (aka get his ass kicked) to overcome it. In the end his vulnerability is rewarded on each level: he beats Lobo in full view of the world, Earth finally sees him as more than a passing sideshow, and Lois returns his affections. This is the conflict and resolution the whole book has been building to in increments through organically unfolding key times in this guy's life to us.

There are very real lessons in this book and take that I genuinely wish oncoming writers would at least look into. That's not to say anyone should just 1-to-1 emulate this, no, but rather some of the simple and effective ideas behind this book and take very much need to be dissected, understood, and learned from to more effectively continue Superman.

Co-Signed Yoda. We seem to be agreeing on a lot lately.

I love American Alien. I have a few quibbles with Batman's role in it and the Max Landis baggage that comes along with it now. But other than that, I think it's a great modern retelling of the origin. The first issue with Smallville is one of my favorites, and the back matter pages are excellent as well. The Kent's one from No. 1 is just amazing for the amount of story it can plug in. Bendis' Action opening splash pages have nothing on that. Great take on Lois, a modern take on Clark. And the Lobo fight, while still an odd choice, is pretty great. At the time my hope was that it was a back door relaunch for Rebirth.

Beyond American Alien, Birthright is a favorite. Secret Origin as well for just a clean kinda take a little from everything reworking. I like Morrison's first arc of Action with Krypto and 0 issue tacked on in place of the Legion stuff. But a bit of headcannon is necessary there, I don't care for all the Morrison Galaxy Brain stuff that comes later and the Legion fill in issues in the middle were pretty weak.

[Kuwagaton]

There's a good point here, I think Vyn bogged down what could have been the most ideal and inclusive origin otherwise. Volume 3 of that run was off the rails. I suppose Birthright was downhill from the costume, but at least it didn't escape Mark Waid.

[DragonPiece]

superman secret origin by geoff johns and gary frank is my personal pick.

[Sacred Knight]

I personally loved the trippy, time and mind bending final act of Morrison's run. That said, another cool thing about it is that it really doesn't have to be there for a functioning origin. That first act alone can serve and stand alone just fine.

[Kuwagaton]

The single issues are such a great way to read, from picking your own order to getting a clean break for "origin" purposes at your choosing. But it seemed to completely lose just about everyone who aimed to follow it, which doesn't seem like Morrison's fault so much except it is a serial and it's really a responsibility they have to the series.

Would have been a phenomenal movie imo

[superduperman]

ok, so I'm a bit confused.. There is a Morrison origin on the Action Comics book?

But there is also another secret origin by Geoff Johns?

And the New52 was by who?



I own Birthright, but haven't read it in a while. I know the film Man of Steel used elements from it.

Is the Superman For All Seasons story another origin?

Johns SO is not the New52 origin. It was the one BEFORE New52. And yes, it's confusing. The New52 Secret Origins was a mini-series that came out about 2014 featuring the origins of the New52 characters. Superman was in the first issue. Pak wrote it. The Morrison run was more about his time after he got to Metropolis. Pak's was more about his childhood and the discovery of his powers. Far as I know, it's no longer canon. Unless they've decided to incorporate elements of it into the Rebirth version. But so far all they seem to be leaning towards Johns version. Head spinning yet?

[kalai]

so does Dragon-ball count?
Jokes aside, I like Waid's Birthright.
I personally like Morrison's New52 Action Comic
but I think it serves more as a response to Whatever Happened To The Man of Tomorrow not that much as a real origin story.

[superduperman]

Most effective is All Star Superman. It turns the Superman origin into an equation by the end of the story, but in that moment it highlights, maybe better than any other origin, how much random chance and faith had a hand in Superman.

But I think what has turned into my personal favorite over time--and it surprised the hell out of me--is American Alien. It's approach is, in my opinion, the most honest and unwavering take on Clark/Superman's origin I've seen in all my time reading and watching the character. It earns its honesty because it doesn't transplant some sort of external "incident", "moment", or "life shifting tragedy" to cue Superman into being. Hell, in the story Krypton isn't even really "gone" till Clark hears about it. We do something a lot of other origins get scared of doing: we stick with Clark without breaking our gaze. Things hit Clark as they hit us, and it makes the whole story about the never easy idea of a person becoming an adult and realizing what they want to do, but plays it up on Superman's scale.

And I think the ending has my all-time favorite set of stakes for Superman: just the simple idea of "do they love me as much as I love them," and more to the point "does she love me as much as I love her?" Our villain in the end is an overally assertive caricature of a man to contrast the man Clark has been trying to grow into, and his hardest hit is when he throws doubt at Clark's face. For Clark and us, Krypton dies in that moment, Clark's place in the world and universe are thrown into flux, and he has to become vulnerable (aka get his ass kicked) to overcome it. In the end his vulnerability is rewarded on each level: he beats Lobo in full view of the world, Earth finally sees him as more than a passing sideshow, and Lois returns his affections. This is the conflict and resolution the whole book has been building to in increments through organically unfolding key times in this guy's life to us.

There are very real lessons in this book and take that I genuinely wish oncoming writers would at least look into. That's not to say anyone should just 1-to-1 emulate this, no, but rather some of the simple and effective ideas behind this book and take very much need to be dissected, understood, and learned from to more effectively continue Superman.

This is why I'm REALLY hoping the accusations against Landis aren't true but unfortunately, it's looking more and more likely that they are. I'd hate to have to give up one more version of Superman like I did Smallville. AA is very well written and I would argue deserves the kind of praise All Star gets. It kind of exists under the radar. I don't know if that's because the accusations against Landis came out not long after or what. But as a story it deserves high praise.

[Ascended]

I only read volume one of Morrison's Action run, and I got to say that it largely didn't impress me, and that some parts of it from what I can remember now were kind of confusing back then, something I've noticed with a lot of what I've read from this author (haven't read it again in a good three or four years). But after reading all this, I'm starting to think there might have been more to that version of the origin that wasn't in that one volume that might make it better. Can anyone recommend what other books, if any, also dealt with this origin?

Well, if you're not a fan of Morrison odds are you aren't going to enjoy his Action. Especially as the run progresses, things get pretty wonky. I mean, a 5th dimensional imp *is* attacking Clark at different points in time "at once" so there's an explanation that makes as much sense as higher dimensional manifestations of imagination are going to, but......

And for a lot of us who love the New52 origin, I think a lot of it comes down to our love for pre-Crisis (not that I wanna speak for anyone else). The Kents dying when Clark is young, the Legion, the Daily Star.....if you don't love pre-Crisis, and you don't love the early Golden Age stories that inspired the early issues of Morrison's Action, you're not going to see the appeal as much, I suspect.

But if you really do want to re-visit the run and look at the origin again, I'd recommend just reading the first arc. But keep in mind; you're not reading "Superman" as we've come to understand the character. You're reading a proto-Superman, and one heavily influenced by the social crusader of 1938. Allowances have to be made, and a lot of the things that will feel off are things that the narrative itself deals with, so its not that Morrison didn't understand what he was doing, he was looking at real history to build Clark's character arc.

And big props to Superlad for bringing up American Alien! I totally forgot about that story (the shame!!!) but it is indeed a great origin, easily on par with Birthright and New52 Action. I regret not thinking of it myself!

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of the retellings of Superman’s origin. Partially because it just functions so well for the old Hero’s journey arc. But I think it’s because while the story beats are generally the same, doomed planet, desperate scientists, Smallville, moving to Metropolis etc, there is so much room for each writer to put their own spin on it. What was Krypton like? When did his powers emerge? How did he learn about Krypton? Was Lex in Smallville? Do Ma and Pa live? How does the world react to him? Do they quickly accept him or do they start out afraid of him? I have my preferences like anyone sure, but I love that these details can change from interpretation to interpretation to keep things interesting.
Take Peter Parker for example, I love Spider-Man’s origin too, it’s tragic, relatable and there is a real character arc in there. But I kinda feel like it’s a “read one, you’ve read them all.” I don’t know if there are as many interesting details to play around with to make his beginnings worth telling over and over like Supes. At least that’s how I feel about it.
Also it’s really interesting as a reader to see so many A-listers take a crack at what is basically the same story. Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman and soon Frank Miller. It’s interesting to see what they bring to the table.
Anyway I’m rambling. I think as far as my favorites go it’s either Landis’s American Alien or the new 52 one.

[Vordan]

5D - you mean Mxy? Like the character and his shenanigans in general, but I have limited exposure so it might depend on the execution.

Mxy and his son Vyn are key players here yep. Mxy is an ally to Clark while Vyn is basically 5-D Satan.

[Netherman14]

I'm going to say, in terms of live-action movies. there hasn't been an origin story for Superman that is objectively terrific and all Superman fans agree is great, I hope there would be such a thing down the line.

On the comics side of things, there have been. such as Birthright and the Grant Morrison's Action Comics run. as well as American Alien.

[stargazer01]

Johns SO is not the New52 origin. It was the one BEFORE New52. And yes, it's confusing. The New52 Secret Origins was a mini-series that came out about 2014 featuring the origins of the New52 characters. Superman was in the first issue. Pak wrote it. The Morrison run was more about his time after he got to Metropolis. Pak's was more about his childhood and the discovery of his powers. Far as I know, it's no longer canon. Unless they've decided to incorporate elements of it into the Rebirth version. But so far all they seem to be leaning towards Johns version. Head spinning yet?

haha, thank you so much for the explanation. It really helped.

I don’t think I’m ever going to get tired of the retellings of Superman’s origin. Partially because it just functions so well for the old Hero’s journey arc. But I think it’s because while the story beats are generally the same, doomed planet, desperate scientists, Smallville, moving to Metropolis etc, there is so much room for each writer to put their own spin on it. What was Krypton like? When did his powers emerge? How did he learn about Krypton? Was Lex in Smallville? Do Ma and Pa live? How does the world react to him? Do they quickly accept him or do they start out afraid of him? I have my preferences like anyone sure, but I love that these details can change from interpretation to interpretation to keep things interesting.
Take Peter Parker for example, I love Spider-Man’s origin too, it’s tragic, relatable and there is a real character arc in there. But I kinda feel like it’s a “read one, you’ve read them all.” I don’t know if there are as many interesting details to play around with to make his beginnings worth telling over and over like Supes. At least that’s how I feel about it.
Also it’s really interesting as a reader to see so many A-listers take a crack at what is basically the same story. Grant Morrison, Geoff Johns, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman and soon Frank Miller. It’s interesting to see what they bring to the table.
Anyway I’m rambling. I think as far as my favorites go it’s either Landis’s American Alien or the new 52 one.

You're not rambling, I agree with you, Superman's origin is so rich and epic, and there are still lots of different things that can be added or done differently to make it exciting.

I'm going to say, in terms of live-action movies. there hasn't been an origin story for Superman that is objectively terrific and all Superman fans agree is great, I hope there would be such a thing down the line.

On the comics side of things, there have been. such as Birthright and the Grant Morrison's Action Comics run. as well as American Alien.

There is nothing 'objective' about opinions on the best Superman live action origin, IMO. I think it's all opinion. In my experience, however, I've noticed most people in general, including film creators and directors, etc, think that Superman The Movie did the origin really well. It's not divisive like Man of Steel.