Any '5G' Superman lineup ideas?

[Sacred Knight]

I think we might still, possibly, end up with a few minor tweaks to origins and history. Clark's parents being alive again has been foreshadowed since issue 1 and Bendis keeps saying "wait until Clock is finished I can't talk about the Kents." Maybe Bendis is just being cagey but I won't be surprised if the Kents return when Clock's over.

There's rumors of an actual time skip for 5G, and you know what? I wouldn't be half surprised if the Kents' early death is indeed retconned, but Pa still died in the Brainiac storyline and even Ma has since passed in the upcoming new present day. They were alive but they'll still be gone in the present. It seems like the type of thing they'd do these days, strange decisions that actually please neither side of the fanbase.

[superduperman]

There's rumors of an actual time skip for 5G, and you know what? I wouldn't be half surprised if the Kents' early death is indeed retconned, but Pa still died in the Brainiac storyline and even Ma has since passed in the upcoming new present day. They were alive but they'll still be gone in the present. It seems like the type of thing they'd do these days, strange decisions that actually please neither side of the fanbase.

I don't think there are any decisions that can please the fanbase at this point. It's just too divided.

[Vordan]

I don't think there are any decisions that can please the fanbase at this point. It's just too divided.

Yep. That’s what happens when you reboot 4 times in the last two decades.

[Ascended]

There's rumors of an actual time skip for 5G, and you know what? I wouldn't be half surprised if the Kents' early death is indeed retconned, but Pa still died in the Brainiac storyline and even Ma has since passed in the upcoming new present day. They were alive but they'll still be gone in the present. It seems like the type of thing they'd do these days, strange decisions that actually please neither side of the fanbase.

It does sound like the kind of tone-deaf crap DC likes to pull. But then, all of 5G is tone-deaf to the point where, if this is the only option they give us, I'm done. But I'm not putting any stock in rumors. Something like this is gonna grow rumors like fungus; I'll just wait for DC to officially announce their plans before I get up in arms over anything.

If this new experiment is just a few titles set in the future while other books explore different eras of the past, and if 4G just keeps on with the current directions everyone is in.....then that could be pretty great. Golden Age Superman, classic pre-marriage Superman, Superdad/Earth Prez, and Superman 2.0? I'd give all those books a shot and certainly stick with at least a couple.

If we have options, great. But if 5G is all we get....well, I'm looking forward to saving my money.

[Sacred Knight]

Yeah, I have to stress that's just a rumor. We know Jon is going to be aged enough to be Faux-Superman, but that could easily be time travel related again, and does not necessitate a time jump overall. So we'll see. All I know though is that the Kents would be completely pointless in this new status quo either way. The only potential appeal to bringing them back in the first place would be having grandparents for Jon. But by this time he's going to be a grown man, and his shoulders to lean on will be his own parents. They'd be even more superfluous than I already think there are in an ordinary present day Superman setting.

And yeah, what options there are, if any, will be key. I'd be open to trying anything with Kal and see if what they have in mind has appeal. I won't touch anything 5G out of pure principle, but potential options elsewhere will be key. Like you, if there's none, I'm done for good.

[astro@work]

There's also talk of some sort of time skip in the works, and I can believe it since a) DC isn't a stranger to linewide time skips, b) Snyder's Crisis would be the perfect cap to 4G, and a good place for a time skip, and c) between Avengers: Endgame and manga, audiences who are willing to read comics are more than accustom to the concept.

My thing is just how long will it be? I current guess is 4 years based on the fact that Jon being part of the Legion is being equated to college, and he's supposed to come back as a young adult, so 21 sounds about right. But that also seems a little high for everything else, ya know? Like, what happens to Young Justice (those I did find it noteworthy that Bendis made Teen Lantern an 11 year old)? So my guess is that only about a year or 2 pass for the DCU, but 4 years pass for Jon.

This allows Bendis to do the "Ultimate" version of 5YL, and have enough things change in the DCU to warrant the line wide relaunch, but it doesn't move things too far.

So with the idea of a time skip in mind, I'm super interested in how far along Zod gets with the New Krypton outpost. As two literal world leaders, how did Kal and Zod's relationship progress?

I've been wondering if the current multiverse travels of YJ might be a way of keeping them young/non-aging since they're running around outside the main continuity.

Also wondering if the upcoming expanded timeline may be the reason nobody currently remembers Bart or Kon. For instance, did a collapsing of the timeline booted them outside of continuity, but an expansion of the timeline will allow them to come back in and be remembered (?)

[Ascended]

nd yeah, what options there are, if any, will be key. I'd be open to trying anything with Kal and see if what they have in mind has appeal. I won't touch anything 5G out of pure principle, but potential options elsewhere will be key. Like you, if there's none, I'm done for good.

I'm actually kind of excited by the prospect of having multiple series set within different eras. I don't know if it'll work, but......it'll be interesting to see, and as a business exercise in finding new audiences beyond the LCS (assuming there's any kind of distribution push/experiment to go along with this) I find the concept pretty fascinating. But, yknow, I love the business side of things, that's not something most fans care much about.

Superman Smashes the Klan is probably the most fun I've had with a Superbook in years. Maybe since Morrison's first issues of Action. If I can get more Golden Age/Fleischer Superman every month I'm down with that. Probably asking for too much for DC to give such a book to Yang and then leave him alone and let him write what he wants.

And I like Batman Beyond. So if I get a Superman Beyond to try out with Jon.....I'd give it an issue, as long as its not the only option.

I'm also really intrigued by the changes Bendis is trying, and some of them, maybe, might even be able to stick. I'm looking forward to earth president El.

Honestly about the only option I wouldn't be terribly interested in is classic pre-marriage Superman. I've read those stories already and it'd take a high quality creative team and/or a really great hook to get me buying.

But we'll just have to wait and see what DC does. This past year I've barely made it to the LCS and I'm still behind on most of my books (they're just collecting dust), so if this is a stepping off point, it's coming at a good time.

[Jackalope89]

I've been wondering if the current multiverse travels of YJ might be a way of keeping them young/non-aging since they're running around outside the main continuity.

Also wondering if the upcoming expanded timeline may be the reason nobody currently remembers Bart or Kon. For instance, did a collapsing of the timeline booted them outside of continuity, but an expansion of the timeline will allow them to come back in and be remembered (?)

So that's why Jon is still 10.

Oh wait.

[Sacred Knight]

Well, I've been with a lot of other Superman fans for a long time now in believing that out of continuity projects have been where Superman has thrived best. If what they have in mind for Clark ends up having a looser feel, maybe it could make for better stories for him, while I can safely and gladly ignore the "present day" stuff. That's pretty much the most positive thing this movement thus far will get out of me, but its something, lol. The thing that bothers me about the era thing is the potential of feeling boxed in, i.e., instead of feeling open-ended, we know where things go. Maybe that's something that would only bother me though, maybe that's not a big deal for others.

[manwhohaseverything]

Like i said in another thread. Clarity in vision and nuances in characterisation is something that i look forward too. If this 5G thing works like think it is meant too and has books coming out for other 4 generations.Amalgamation clearly has'nt worked out for the character.Atleast,we will have good stories with clear vision and direction .Ofcourse this will be a gamble.generations will be competing with each other for sales. In that case, a generation will come out on top.That character will become the main guy.i mean, that is what i would like to see.

[Powerboy]

I liked it. It was good. I have to say I liked Mark Waid's "Birthright" better but I still liked it. I've read the first and second collection so far.

Of course, it was very untrue to the classic story in which Clark keeps his powers hidden. In this version, most of Smallville must guess he's Superman. Still, it may be the most realistic version that's been done so far that keeps him still the same character at the core. Having him be far smarter than a small child should be and a bit telepathic was a nice touch that subtly explains things like why he doesn't accidentally break Ma's and Pa's necks when he hugs them. There were even some nice touches like his weakness to heat.

He seems a bit to easily to forget who he's in love with. Apparently, Lori who was there easily beat out Lana who wasn't there right then. I assume something similar happens with Lois. But then again, he's 18 years old. Welcome to sad reality.

The attempted rape so many people seemed to make a big deal about never really happened as it didn't go that far and Superman prevented it.

The choice to join the Navy seemed strange. He wanted to see the world but could easily have done that with his flight and other powers without joining the military. The Atlantis thing was a left field sort of situation I never saw coming.

This is one of the smarter versions of Superman. At least in the first two parts, it emphasizes how powerful he is. Not even the Kraken and a king who may be a god is any challenge to him.

All in all, decent enough but, as someone said earlier, after four reboots in two decades, even the main continuity Superman, whoever that currently is (and I have no idea), it's just another Elseworlds to me. So I like this partly because it's a standalone. If it becomes the main continuity, it will just be rebooted in a few years or soft rebooted as soon as a particular writer wants something to have happened differently.

I've read "Superman Smashes the Klan" for the same reason that it's a standalone and more or less part of the Golden Age continuity though I admit I like it better than Year One.

[Powerboy]

Well, I've been with a lot of other Superman fans for a long time now in believing that out of continuity projects have been where Superman has thrived best. If what they have in mind for Clark ends up having a looser feel, maybe it could make for better stories for him, while I can safely and gladly ignore the "present day" stuff. That's pretty much the most positive thing this movement thus far will get out of me, but its something, lol. The thing that bothers me about the era thing is the potential of feeling boxed in, i.e., instead of feeling open-ended, we know where things go. Maybe that's something that would only bother me though, maybe that's not a big deal for others.

There's a current Superman?

I'm in the same boat with you and Ascended. I've tried to read current Superman but main continuity DC is an Elseworlds to me. I'd far prefer they give us a regular dose of Golden Age and Silver Age stories, maybe even Post-Crisis, with a loose continuity but still basically the continuity of those eras. It's not even that I disliked the 2011 reboot. In fact, I liked the Superman who was closer to the Golden Age Superman. But DC's regular continuity shifts and their now meaningless "big events" (Infinite Crisis, Infiniter Crisis, Ultimate Crisis, Bigger than ultimate crisis, Zero Hour, Negative One Hour, Buy every comic we put out for this crossover even though comics cost 5 bucks now Crisis, who cares about the Zero Crisis Blacker Night whatever the hell anymore crisis) have just backfired and been run into the ground for me. Just give me a story that is told in a concise manner over a collection or three and that is a complete self-contained story. Or a show that has several seasons but a finite and reasonably consistent continuity.

[Ascended]

Well, I've been with a lot of other Superman fans for a long time now in believing that out of continuity projects have been where Superman has thrived best. If what they have in mind for Clark ends up having a looser feel, maybe it could make for better stories for him, while I can safely and gladly ignore the "present day" stuff.

Well, I tend to favor self contained stories anyway, so the out-of-continuity stuff is almost always my preference. But yeah, Clark's at his best when he's not limited by an ongoing (and shared) continuity. I feel like all the other characters being around and the inability to actually impact and change the setting in a lasting, meaningful way.....it all holds him back.

So if we get a split line where each era/generation gets a few books to play in.....that's not going to be the same thing but it'll be a little closer than the single shared continuity spread across 40-50 books. And it'll provide clear focus on the kind of Superman you're dealing with. Those could definitely end up being positives (Im not 100% sold that it'll be a success without some effort in new distribution but that's besides the point).

That's pretty much the most positive thing this movement thus far will get out of me, but its something, lol.

Potentially stronger stories and you get to ignore continuities you don't like while (potentially) getting books set in pre-Crisis (and you love that era even more than me!). And those are the most positive things you'll get out of it? Damn man, what're you asking for?

The thing that bothers me about the era thing is the potential of feeling boxed in, i.e., instead of feeling open-ended, we know where things go. Maybe that's something that would only bother me though, maybe that's not a big deal for others.

True. But tell me.....you've been reading DC as long as I have right? Twenty-something years? Don't you normally feel boxed in anyway? I mean, the last eight-nine years have been all about change, often just for the sake of it. But for most of our time reading, hasn't the status quo reigned supreme? A static, unchanging world that only gives the illusion of development? Would it really be all that different, in the end?

If this whole generations thing does end up being a bunch of imprints then all that does is tell us what the future looks like, without necessarily ever taking us there. At some point in it's timeline, the Silver Age imprint hits the Crisis and ends, transitioning into the post-Crisis timeline (this metaverse stuff is weird). But it's not necessarily that different from right now, where we see the future but it's always "in the future" and we never actually reach it. I mean, I guess Batman Beyond is now Bruce's canon future, but the current continuity would never actually advance that far (fun fact; in the cartoon Bruce retires in 2019). The timeline can keep sliding. It can be 1983 forever (or 2019, or 1945, or what the hell ever).

[Ascended]

Like i said in another thread. Clarity in vision and nuances in characterisation is something that i look forward too. If this 5G thing works like think it is meant too and has books coming out for other 4 generations.Amalgamation clearly has'nt worked out for the character.Atleast,we will have good stories with clear vision and direction .Ofcourse this will be a gamble.generations will be competing with each other for sales. In that case, a generation will come out on top.That character will become the main guy.i mean, that is what i would like to see.

I'd be curious to see DC's reaction if versions from different generations comes out on top. Let's say this is an experiment in imprints, and each generation will have a few books in it. What happens when that experiment fails, but the Superman from G2 and the Batman from G4 and the Wonder Woman from G1 all end up being the most popular versions? If/when DC falls back on a single continuity, if their best sellers all come from wildly different versions of the DCU it's gonna be hard to keep using those best selling versions without losing and changing a lot, which potentially sinks your new shared universe before it's launched.

[superduperman]

There's a current Superman?

I'm in the same boat with you and Ascended. I've tried to read current Superman but main continuity DC is an Elseworlds to me. I'd far prefer they give us a regular dose of Golden Age and Silver Age stories, maybe even Post-Crisis, with a loose continuity but still basically the continuity of those eras. It's not even that I disliked the 2011 reboot. In fact, I liked the Superman who was closer to the Golden Age Superman. But DC's regular continuity shifts and their now meaningless "big events" (Infinite Crisis, Infiniter Crisis, Ultimate Crisis, Bigger than ultimate crisis, Zero Hour, Negative One Hour, Buy every comic we put out for this crossover even though comics cost 5 bucks now Crisis, who cares about the Zero Crisis Blacker Night whatever the hell anymore crisis) have just backfired and been run into the ground for me. Just give me a story that is told in a concise manner over a collection or three and that is a complete self-contained story. Or a show that has several seasons but a finite and reasonably consistent continuity.

Mainstream continuity isn't worth following. Nothing's stable anyway.