If DC does a company wide reboot...

[superduperman]

Inspired by a thread on the Batman forum:

Let's say that DC does another company wide reboot. I have two questions...

1) What age should Superman develop his powers?

2) When should he start his Super-career?

[manwhohaseverything]

1)Superman is born with powers
2)he becomes an urban legend as a kid, teen and into the adult hood. "the superman" would be seen as some crazy story. But, comes out as superman around 25 saving lois.
Edit-oh! Yeah! Superman smashes a car just for the heck of it while rescuing lois.

[jcl100]

1.) His physical abilities would be far greater than his size would suggest during his entire childhood, but not at actual superhuman levels until he gets into his teens. His ancillary abilities would gradually start to manifest at this time as well.

2.) Clark would use his abilities to help people in Smallville without stepping into the spotlight, and only make his first public appearance once he starts working at the Daily Planet.

So, basically the same approach Smallville took I guess.

[Jon Clark]

I'd go with the powers being there from day one, but then that is because I prefer the powers to be actual physical attributes. They aren't activated by our sun, maybe magnified but they are as natural as our own sight. Clark doesn't develop X-ray vision or super-hearing any more than you develop the ability to see colors or suddenly at puberty gain the ability to hear new sounds.

And his public debut should be something that makes sense for the character. If Smallville is a real small town, then there isn't a lot an 8 year old could do as a superhero. The bank isn't being robbed every other week. There aren't tornadoes to stop every year. Massive multi-alarm fires aren't common. So it isn't like Clark has a reason to reveal himself when that is his whole world. And as he grows older and realizes that he could help out there should be some tension between Clark wanting to go public and the Kents being torn over the risks. But I'd say Superboy might be possible in his later high school days. The caveat being that Smallville rarely has a reason to see Clark in costume and he can act more covertly there. To the general public Superboy has no discernable home base outside of Middle America.

[daBronzeBomma]

Hard not to feel a twinge of pride in this thread. Hopefully, this goes over better than my Batman one has so far.

1) Defensive powers are Kal's from birth. His overall invulnerability and solar regeneration manifest immediately upon the rocket opening.

Strength, speed, flight, sensory powers, and super-memory all gradually develop over the years at a rate that Jonathan and Martha can manage and conceal. Until puberty, where they explode and Clark has to join the Legion.

2) Clark debuts as a costumed and caped Superman at age 23, after a 10-year career as a costumed and cape-less Superboy (5 years part-time till age 18, then 5 years full-time till age 23). Basically the Legion is his training and superhero schooling where he makes all the rookie mistakes that he won't as an adult.

There's more, but that's the bare minimum.

[Sacred Knight]

1. Birth. Just manifesting as augmented strength at first and growing from there.
2. Not long after he finds out he's an alien, which to me should be somewhere around the 8-10 range. Super career being kind of a relative term though, as the things he does is more random good deeds around Smallville, bordering on the mischievous more often than not. But this would also be circa the time Imra, Rokk and Garth first visit Clark, where they'd begin to give him actual experience in using his powers more responsibly in a way Jonathan and Martha just can't, and actually take him to the future to go on adventures far more out in the open than he ever could in his then-present day Smallville.

[Kuwagaton]

I like the modern takes well enough but for the sake of actually having something else

1. Not only would I like to see powers on arrival, I'd like to see them disproportionate. As in the gaps between the powers of ages or genders aren't as wide as you'd think. I would like a different approach to Kryptonian challenges as well as characters.

2. Not Superboy as in Young Superman, but I like the idea of him doing his thing and only officially being a hero, Superman, after college.

[Jackalope89]

You want a reboot? Fine.

Lex Luthor is Superman, and Kal-El is an alien conqueror that Lex must repel and save the world from.

[manwhohaseverything]

You want a reboot? Fine.

Lex Luthor is Superman, and Kal-El is an alien conqueror that Lex must repel and save the world from.

To be fair a bald man was the original idea for superman

[Kuwagaton]

You want a reboot? Fine.

Lex Luthor is Superman, and Kal-El is an alien conqueror that Lex must repel and save the world from.

Or Killer Kent.

I'd like a definitive lex in particular, instead of how they're always trying to mix the different versions. Even a DCAU faithful take instead of a continuity sampler.

[Jackalope89]

Kal was sent to Earth as a child to conquer the world, enslave humanity, and then sell off the planet to the highest bidder. Its up to Lex Luthor, the Man of Tomorrow, to defeat this would be conqueror. What Kal doesn't know, is that his planet's employer, Brainiac, destroyed his homeworld and covered it up by claiming it was a meteor that struck it.

[Kuwagaton]

From Kakarot to Vegeta in one relaunch.

I'd kinda like some new ideas but I'd be much happier essentially going with the whole 85 thing instead of some wild and crazy shift that puts us behind after two years.

[Jackalope89]

From Kakarot to Vegeta in one relaunch.

I'd kinda like some new ideas but I'd be much happier essentially going with the whole 85 thing instead of some wild and crazy shift that puts us behind after two years.

You saw through my mystical mastery!? No!

[lotchj]

You want a reboot? Fine.

Lex Luthor is Superman, and Kal-El is an alien conqueror that Lex must repel and save the world from.

If Dc comics did this, It would be a slap in the face to superman fans! Dc comics might even go out of business! Sells of their comics would drop big time!! I don't get why their always trying to make the criminals the heroes??? Make you wonder where our society is going!! Glorify Criminals!!

[superduperman]

Kal was sent to Earth as a child to conquer the world, enslave humanity, and then sell off the planet to the highest bidder. Its up to Lex Luthor, the Man of Tomorrow, to defeat this would be conqueror. What Kal doesn't know, is that his planet's employer, Brainiac, destroyed his homeworld and covered it up by claiming it was a meteor that struck it.

Superman as Goku would be a different take.