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  1. #1
    Legendary Member daBronzeBomma's Avatar
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    Default 5 "new twists" for a new Superman project

    Let's say there's a new Superman project on the horizon. Totally new, with no direct connection to any current or previous incarnation.

    Could be a new movie, new TV show, new cartoon, new video game, new AU comic book series, new Broadway play, whatever. It's new and completely focused on Superman.

    Those in charge don't just want a retread of old ideas. They want a twist or two that hasn't been done in any major way before with Superman.

    Could be his appearance, his origin/ backstory, his powers, his personality, his occupation, his methods, his supporting cast, his rogues gallery, his settings.

    They want a couple twists that will make this Superman project stand out positively from what has come before.

    They want a list of 5 proposed new twists to the Superverse mythos, of which they'll incorporate at least 2 of them.

    What would be on your list of 5 new twists on the Superman of this new project (you can specify your preferred medium if you like)?

  2. #2
    Legendary Member daBronzeBomma's Avatar
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    First draft, regardless of medium:

    1. Visually, Kryptonians naturally look distinct from Terrestrials. Something like unearthly pink skin, bright blue hair, and always-glowing eyes (even passively, not just when angry). Superman looks like an alien.

    2. The eyeglasses are literally what allow him to pass as human. It's Kryptonian stealth-tech (originally a necklace for baby Kal) that not only masks his alien energy signatures and fools all terrestrial scanners, but grants him the ability to take on human appearance. It scanned Jonathan and Martha upon arrival and changed Kal's appearance to match theirs.

    3. Lois Lane is about a decade older than Clark, and MUCH more professionally established, and already widely recognized as the world's greatest journalist before Superman ever debuts. Worked up from Daily Planet to Galaxy Broadcasting and is on TV, usually all over the world.

    4. Lex Luthor always wears an all-white business suit with gloves and hat. Said suit looks civilian, but is actually bullet/laser/rocket/bombproof with auto-shields always on. Head/face/neck are also protected by invisible field. Suit has a powerstome that instantly absorbs outside kinetic energy (superspeed) and converts it to more power to his own suit.

    5. The Kents are alive, complete opposites, always bickering, yet very much in love. Martha always wants Clark to publicly do more. Jonathan always wants Clark to publicly do less. Clark talks to them on a regular basis, and is as frustrated by them as he is supported.

  3. #3
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    Can only list two right now but

    1. Regular Krptonians are already roughly 10 times stronger and faster than a regular human being in peak physical condition. Clark is a Super-Kryptonian and this was all due to Jor-El and Lara improperly constructing the shuttle for baby Kal-El to escape Krypton. While the ship effectively transports and stalls the aging of Kal it's not built to withstand the endless bombardment of various radiations on his trip including the radiation released by Krypton as it explodes. These various energy baths baby Kal-El has been introduced to from Krypton's destruction to his journey to Earth leave him with several internal mutations that leave him passively absorbing energy from various sources he's introduced to. This both super charges his natural Kryptonian physical abilities as well as leaving him with a plethora of new secondary abilities like heat vision, flight, telescopic vision, etc. His powers would grow both with his aging but also with how hard he pushed himself. His adventures as a child would serve as a base for experimentation as well as discovery.

    2. He'd essential change modern warfare and revert it back to something akin to what it was like at the dawn of time. He'd forbid any military group on Earth from having endangering civilians in anyway. He'd just go up to every single military group on Earth and say if you want to have a dispute then you all have to go out into a empty field and fist fight each other. He wouldn't stop them from building up the weapons and what not since there are things out there much stronger than other human beings but I imagine he'd see the gun fight, bombing, destruction, shock and awe modern combat things senseless and ugly. Think of the story where he has the two general fight one another to decide who wins the war.
    Last edited by The World; 10-03-2019 at 10:14 AM.
    Rules are for lesser men, Charlie - Grand Pa Joe ~ Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory

  4. #4
    Ultimate Member marhawkman's Avatar
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    I'd like to see Superman as the leader of a team that isn't the JLA.

    One of my favorite comic book stories was him putting together the Supermen of America. I'd love to see that in a movie.

  5. #5
    Astonishing Member Yoda's Avatar
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    Lets see, I'd going with a short UK style series (6-8 episodes, 5 seasons tops) that would tell a complete narrative. No opened stories.

    1. I'd still have him land in the US. But maybe not the midwest. Stick him in the North East, West, or even the South, but have him grow up in a city or something. Kents still the same ideologically more or less.

    2. Instead of a reporter, I'd make Clark be a physician of some nature, his superior intellect & senses would work well in that context. He'd be an amazingly gifted surgeon, but not interested in making $$$. So he'd travel the world helping initially and be using his powers in secret where he was working.

    3. Perry White is a former media or tech mogul that worked with Lex Luthor (still a tech mogul) at some point, but gave it up to found "The Planet" which would be the NGO Clark ends up at. Lois would still be the daughter of a US General, but she'd be a doctor or some other type of aid worker here in greater contrast to her father's role in the world. Still the same brilliant, dynamic person though. She's Perry's second in command.

    4. I don't know if this counts, since it's been done before, but I'd go the Secret Identity route and have the "classic" Superman be a fictional character in the show (But not "Clark Kent"). So he wears the t-shirt as kind of a gag at first and like in SI, it'd throw people off initially, "Who saved you?" "It was Superman! I swear to God!"

  6. #6
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    1.Cir El is Clark and Lois's oldest daughter.

    2.Power Girl arrived on Earth as a kid and was raised by Clark and Lois(after they got married).

    3.Superman helps rehabilitate some villains/antiheroes and establishes a team for them.The characters he reforms are not just members of his rogue gallery.

    4.More focus on rogues who aren't Lex or Brainiac.

  7. #7
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    1) Use Byrne's discarded idea of having a pregnant Lara sent to Earth and Superman being born after she arrives. The Kents, an older couple, would take her in and pass her off as a woman running from an abusive relationship. Lara, with weaker powers for reasons would have been a secret guardian angel in Smallville. Lara's death before Clark's 3rd birthday would reveal the dangers of Kryptonite (used as the rocket's fuel source).

    2) The Kents would have a support system in Smallville. Maybe a dozen other people who know about Clark and help cover for him as he is growing up. A physician who fudges any medical records, someone in the town records office who managed to document Lara enough to make Clark's adoption by the Kents plausible … Martha Kent would become ill during Clark's teen years as a result of chemical spill at a LuthorCorp fertilizer plant.

    3) Superman would be a social crusader like he was in the early Golden Age and Morrison's new-52 backstory. As a result he'd be a wanted man (though with a lot of public support).

    4)Lex would be the main villain, but a Lex with government support. Lex Luthor would be a tech-billionaire who has a wide variety of businesses he bought controlling stock shares in. Think a younger Rupert Murdock/Steve Jobs/Mark Zuckerberg.

    5) Lois would be an on-air broadcast reporter while Clark would be a relatively faceless on-line/print writer.

  8. #8
    Invincible Member Vordan's Avatar
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    1. I would make Clark non-white passing, brown akin to someone with Latino heritage is my preference. Making him less able to easily blend in would make working with the immigrant aspect of Superman easier I think.

    2. I would make Metallo a Darth Vader expy rather than the Terminator expy that’s been traditional. There’s still some flesh and bone but Corbyn is a Cyborg who is utterly dependent on the Metallo suit to stay alive. I would also ditch Kryptonite as the power source for him since I prefer Kryptonite to be the sole purview of Lex and Kryptonite Man.

    3. I would make Mxy a more more dangerous opponent. I’m thinking of merging him and Vyn together, Mxy as the all powerful devil character who is out to corrupt and break Superman by pushing him to his limits. Rather than harmless pranks Mxy inflicts intense bits of tragedy upon Clark to see if he can hold it together to piece together who is behind his suffering.

    4. Superman is more like his Golden Age/New 52 incarnation at first. Hot headed, openly distrustful of authority, despising the rich and powerful who abuse their money and influence to oppress the people. This guy would not be a Boy Scout, no “gee shucks” attitude. His power levels would likewise be toned down at first.

    5. Livewire was Superman’s college ex and was the one who turned him towards journalism, but she became embittered and cynical about the ability of the press to rouse people and became much more angry about the world.

  9. #9
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    1-Superman and Lex come to agreement that world needs to change and decide to work together.

    2-Make New Krypton to stick around,making Clark divided between his adoptive planet and his race.

    3-Make Clark Kent have an profession other than reporter.

    4-Make Volcana one his main love interest.

    5-Superman not taking part any team.

  10. #10
    Ultimate Member Jackalope89's Avatar
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    1. Clark was sent to Earth by his parents to avoid being killed when Brainiac destroyed their planet.
    2. Baby Clark learned how to fight from his Earth parents after they found him on a mountainside.
    3. Clark's favorite item is a staff that, thanks to advanced technology, stretches to a ridiculous length while being nearly unbreakable.
    4. Clark then learned to fight from a bald pervert that lives on an island with a talking turtle.
    5. Clark later finds out his alien heritage when Radi-Kara lands and spills the beans after Clark married Lois and had a son.

  11. #11
    Astonishing Member LordMikel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yoda View Post
    Lets see, I'd going with a short UK style series (6-8 episodes, 5 seasons tops) that would tell a complete narrative. No opened stories.

    1. I'd still have him land in the US. But maybe not the midwest. Stick him in the North East, West, or even the South, but have him grow up in a city or something. Kents still the same ideologically more or less.
    "
    He lands in Canada and becomes a Mountie. Then due to a series of unforeseen events, ends up in Chicago.
    I think restorative nostalgia is the number one issue with comic book fans.
    A fine distinction between two types of Nostalgia:

    Reflective Nostalgia allows us to savor our memories but accepts that they are in the past
    Restorative Nostalgia pushes back against the here and now, keeping us stuck trying to relive our glory days.

  12. #12
    Fantastic Member Last Son's Avatar
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    I had an idea for Krypton to be a planet in another dimension which is about to be destroyed, where simply sending Kal to another planet wouldn't save him, and interdimensional travel is still a new, unproven idea. This would allow Kryptonians to have space travel without it breaking the "last son of Krypton" concept.

    Make Jor-El and Lara a literal ghosts/consciousnesses and Kryptonian technology allows communication with the dead. So he's no longer an AI hologram. The Phantom Zone would be a sort of Kryptonian afterlife(possibly its version of Hell) and villains like Zod would find a way to regain their corporeal forms and come to Earth(possibly using the technology in the Fortress).

    The different laws of physics of Krypton's universe is how Superman has superhuman powers.

    Lex Luthor would be a world-renowned scientist, like Stephen Hawking or Neil deGrasse Tyson. Lionel Luthor would fill the role of the Machiavellian businessman.

    Superman's suit is based on a favorite sci-fi movie of Jonathan or Martha's, explaining it's retro appearance. He doesn't initially know much about his origins so the suit is his closest approximation to how an alien from an advanced world would dress.
    Last edited by Last Son; 10-10-2019 at 09:25 PM.

  13. #13
    Extraordinary Member superduperman's Avatar
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    1) When he gets angry, he turns into a Doomsday so he has to control his anger even when fighting crime.

    2) When he was a kid, he accidentally killed someone with his powers. Hence the reason for his "no kill" rule.

    3) Jor-El is responsible for the destruction of Krypton. He lied in his recordings about the science council ignoring him.

    4) The Kents are members of a hate group and he has to overcome the prejudices they taught him.

    5) He has shape shifting powers and actually has no gender in his "natural" form. He took the form of a white male because that's the group that has the easiest time on Earth and that most people trust.
    Assassinate Putin!

  14. #14
    Ultimate Member Sacred Knight's Avatar
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    Got two right now, will try and come back with more.

    1) Kal-El is aware and intelligent enough as a baby to pick the Kents specifically as his parents. The ship's AI runs scans on the surface from a safe distance in the sky and picks up on Jonathan and Martha's truck in a storm. Kal can hear Jonathan trying to calm Martha down because she's nervous with goofy jokes, that makes Kal squee in delight. The storm downs a power line however, and Jonathan hydroplanes and is near crashing when Kal cries out. The AI understands that Kal wants to help and offers Kal a lever which will turn on a beam that will stop the truck in its tracks and save Jonathan and Martha's lives. This saps the remaining power from the ship though, and it crashes in a field.

    2) The ship's AI is removable from the craft itself as a type of advanced disk. It can even take a tiny holographic physical form, and this construct early on aids the Kents in how to properly care for Kal's unique abilities, and then as Clark grows older, even becomes a companion when he has little friends. He is named Kelex and he will remain a companion throughout Clark's life, eventually becoming primary caretaker of the eventual Fortress of Solitude.

    3) Mon-El is introduced as a middle-aged Daxamite whom was once friends with Jor-El. Before Krypton's destruction his friend communicated to him his plans for his son, and afterwards he takes to the stars to locate what happened to little Kal-El. It takes some years but he finally tracks the rocket to Earth, and takes the guise as a kindly farmer living near the Kents. From then on he's almost like Clark's Obi-Wan, keeping an eye on him and even protecting him from threats when necessary. He eventually is poisoned aiding Clark shortly after revealing his identity, not long before Clark plans to leave Smallville for the larger world. Clark gets an antidote from the Legion but a side-effect is deaging him to a teenager, and the full effects won't be felt for so long that he has to be sent to the Phantom Zone before gifting Clark with relics of Krypton once gifted to him from Jor-El. Amongst these is his costume.
    Last edited by Sacred Knight; 10-17-2019 at 06:59 PM.
    "They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El

  15. #15
    Legendary Member daBronzeBomma's Avatar
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    More new possible twists:

    6. Krypto is a hyper-intelligent manufactured organic servant (HIMOS?) who was a non-humanoid caretaker of baby Kal on Krypton.

    It was placed in the rocketship to safeguard Kal on Earth. Upon arrival, Krypto was ejected from the craft, scanned the first sentient life form it found and assumed its shape. Something went wrong and Krypto found that not only was it now stuck in the shape of a dog, it had lost its ability to communicate verbally. It followed Kal and the Kents back to the farm, and quickly got itself adopted by the Kents as well.

    Once Clark discovers his alien heritage and learns Kryptonian, Krypto is finally able to communicate (tho only in sounds too low for humans to hear). Krypto eventually regains his more alien-pet form that it changes into whenever it aids Superman in public.

    7. Kara Zor-El arrives on Earth at age 12, roughly the same time Dick Grayson loses his parents.

    She is found by the adult Kal, who immediately adopts her himself as "Karen Starr" and has her stay with Ma and Pa until she is ready to commute to Midvale, now a suburb of Metropolis, to go to high school. She is a peer of Dick and Babs. She becomes Supergirl at 13 and keeps until age 22, at which point she takes the more adult name Power Gal.

    8. Brainiac is perfectly androgynous, neither distinctly male nor female, but also completely non-sensual, i.e. could be played by Tilda Swinton.

    No visual emphasis on muscles nor breasts nor exposed skin, just tall and thin and tentacles for "hair".

    9. Jimmy Olsen turns out to actually have been an amnesiac Lar Gand in disguise all along.

    A Daxamite, who now is only as powerful as the original golden age Superman, Jimmy/Lar becomes the 2nd Superboy, then Mon-El/Valor. Also, Karen's age-appropriate relationship endgame.

    10. Clark was the 1st Superboy, joined the LOSH part- time in high school, full-time in "college", and made TONS of mistakes during his time with the team in the future.

    I'm talking MAN OF STEEL movie destruction of Metropolis level mistakes. His time-traveling memory is fully restored prior to his public debut as Superman in our time.

    Man, I'd love it if even one of these 10 ideas made it somewhere, someday.

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