Shouldn't earth-two superman be distinctly different from mainstream superman?

[Kuwagaton]

If post crisis was weaker than earth one, and Earth Two was weaker than earth one, then isn't it kind of a wash?


With Kal-L I really remember reading that his strength should have kept going up, but in practice all I remember is him coming up short.

[phantom1592]

If post crisis was weaker than earth one, and Earth Two was weaker than earth one, then isn't it kind of a wash?

.

Well, Earth one would routinely juggle planets and rearrange solar systems.... Earth 2 was weaker than that.....

Post Crisis howerver wasn't anywhere near that. He could barely move the moon with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and others helping him.

So there's a big scale between insane silver age levels... post-crisis and a lot of wiggle room between.

[Adekis]

I mean, when you're "Herculean" and you go up against "The Infinite", of course it doesn't look as impressive - but I'm okay with that. I like Superman to be ridiculously strong, but I do think the Silver Age got a little ridiculous, and I don't think it's that controversial to say - sneezing out galaxies and towing dozens of planets on one giant chain are probably the most infamous examples of Superman's strength being nuts.

Now sure I think sometimes we've gone too far back in the opposite direction - Superman yelping and keeling over from being tased is way too weak - but I don't really think Golden Age Superman should be as strong as Earth 1 Superman was.

[Kuwagaton]

I don't mind a version of Superman less powerful than another version, but I do mind if the same version gets his power nerfed. Even when extremely old, I don't like him to have become noticeably weaker.

Well, Earth one would routinely juggle planets and rearrange solar systems.... Earth 2 was weaker than that.....

Post Crisis howerver wasn't anywhere near that. He could barely move the moon with Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and others helping him.

So there's a big scale between insane silver age levels... post-crisis and a lot of wiggle room between.

There's a lot of wiggle room between what we've seen them do, but it's not like the differences are ever defined. We have vague limits suggested that don't give us any idea how much harder Pocket universe Quex hit than Superman or how much tougher Superboy was to have fared better across the time barrier. The later years of Superman breaking reality under his own power don't make it easier.

Similarly there isn't much to go on with Earth Two except he'd just maybe be a step behind.

[Jim Kelly]

It seems to me that, unlike the other members of the Justice Society, the similarity between Earth-One and Earth-Two Superman and Batman was important for the writers at the time. Because this allowed them to tell stories about Superman and Batman that counted but didn't count. They could show a Clark who had married Lois and a Bruce that had married Selina and what happened next. And the reader was intrigued by those stories, because they were enough like the Earth-One Superman and Batman that it mattered. If they had been too different from their counterparts, it wouldn't be as compelling for the reader at the time.

[bat39]

It seems to me that, unlike the other members of the Justice Society, the similarity between Earth-One and Earth-Two Superman and Batman was important for the writers at the time. Because this allowed them to tell stories about Superman and Batman that counted but didn't count. They could show a Clark who had married Lois and a Bruce that had married Selina and what happened next. And the reader was intrigued by those stories, because they were enough like the Earth-One Superman and Batman that it mattered. If they had been too different from their counterparts, it wouldn't be as compelling for the reader at the time.

Lets not forget that the differences between E1 and E2 heroes weren't 'planned'. It just so happened that DC completely reinvented some characters for the Silver Age, while Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman stayed the same. That's the real reason why the three of them had doppelgangers on E2, who were literally the same individuals. And of course, since the E2 heroes were supposed to be older, this created the opportunity for an older Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.