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  1. #16
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    For a Fallen Krypton on it’s way out, the Snyder version. An ancient, traditional society succumbing to stagnation and micro-managed population control, mixing advanced technology and understanding with a rigid, dogmatically entrenched and somewhat artificial culture.

    For a more lively and interactive Krypton - the Pre-Crisis version. At a certain point, it’s a bit like the planet didn’t blow up at all, but it’s still an absolute ball.
    Like action, adventure, rogues, and outlaws? Like anti-heroes, femme fatales, mysteries and thrillers?

    I wrote a book with them. Outlaw’s Shadow: A Sherwood Noir. Robin Hood’s evil counterpart, Guy of Gisbourne, is the main character. Feel free to give it a look: https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi...E2PKBNJFH76GQP

  2. #17
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    I feel that the loss of Krypton should be a great tragedy. But a lot of modern takes on Krypton make it seem like the worst place in the universe this side of Apokolips and they had what was coming to them. And Kal-El had a lucky escape--so he's better off that his parents were killed and everyone was wiped out (except for all the millions that escaped and it turns out Jor-El could have saved everyone by other means, and sending his baby off in an untested rocket was insane).

  3. #18
    Extraordinary Member Restingvoice's Avatar
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    New 52 drawn by Kenneth Rocafort, a futuristic machinery metropolis where Jor-El's design is inspired by Silver Age and maybe Superman Birthright, is my favorite aesthetic

    I like the toga and crystal, but I don't like that the vibe is so lethargic.

    I don't mind the New 52 Morrison-Morales version of toga and crystal because it's cool seeing Lara can run on a glass bridge and her sister getting drunk on glass flower bong. Also it's more colorful, it's not just white and blue.

    I don't like the bearded older Jor-El because I like the younger sexier one in New 52 slash Birthright better lol

    I hate the alien lair aesthetic of Man of Steel. It looks gross and uncomfortable, like an insect nest.

    I don't mind the green gas poison of Byrne's Krypton because I get his point about Krypton being so advanced they can control nature with a catastrophic side effect, but I don't want Jor-El and Lara to be so cold that they can't even raise a child
    Last edited by Restingvoice; 07-08-2020 at 02:04 AM.

  4. #19
    Astonishing Member Tzigone's Avatar
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    Krypton is a balancing act. It needs to be utopian enough that we can feel sorrow for it dying, but also dystopian enough that it seems plausible for it to die as a result of its own actions. So in that regard while Byrne had some cool ideas, Krypton being a hellhole that Kal is better off for not knowing strikes me as going too far.
    I prefer the original concept where Krypton did not die as a result of its own actions. It was just a natural occurrence. I do have the problem with it that planets do not explode due to old age, though. But Krypton has to be physically destroyed in what is (basically) one cataclysmic event rather than dying slowly over the centuries.

    Actually, when did the idea of Krypton dying as a result of actions by the Kryptonians come into the place? Certainly the idea of them ignoring Jor-El's warning is very, very old, but when was it established that it was actually something that they did that caused the destruction (rather than something they didn't do stopping them from saving themselves)?
    Last edited by Tzigone; 07-08-2020 at 04:13 AM.

  5. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tzigone View Post
    I prefer the original concept where Krypton did not die as a result of its own actions. It was just a natural occurrence. I do have the problem with it that planets do not explode due to old age, though. But Krypton has to be physically destroyed in what is (basically) one cataclysmic event rather than dying slowly over the centuries.

    Actually, when did the idea of Krypton dying as a result of actions by the Kryptonians come into the place? Certainly the idea of them ignoring Jor-El's warning is very, very old, but when was it established that it was actually something that they did that caused the destruction (rather than something they didn't do stopping them from saving themselves)?
    I didn't know it was established that Krypton died because of something they did. I know that there have been various stories that said this, but always different explanations and none of those ever stuck.

    Planets do not explode. They do not explode from old age, but they do not explode from things done to them either. It would take an inordinate amount of nuclear activity to make that happen, beyond simply releasing a nuclear bomb or several nuclear bombs. So either way, as a science fiction concept, Krypton exploding is not something that could happen.

    There have also been stories where it was the sun dying that destroyed Krypton--I remember that being the story in the Donner SUPERMAN.

    It's one of those things that has to happen for the story to happen. Maybe it being so unlikely is the reason the Science Council didn't believe Jor-El.

  6. #21
    Extraordinary Member Zero Hunter's Avatar
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    I quite liked the look of Kandor when it was enlarged in the New Krypton arc. I thought it was a nice blend of many different versions.


  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bored at 3:00AM View Post
    I loves me some Silver Age Krypton and I am sorely pissed that DC screwed the pooch when Loeb & Kelly brought that Krypton back and merged it with Byrne and anime. That was a great Krypton.
    Agreed. I really liked the version that Loeb was bringing back.

    Other than that version, though, probably Birthright Krypton and Superman the Movie Krypton.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    I feel that the loss of Krypton should be a great tragedy. But a lot of modern takes on Krypton make it seem like the worst place in the universe this side of Apokolips and they had what was coming to them. And Kal-El had a lucky escape--so he's better off that his parents were killed and everyone was wiped out
    Agreed. As I just stated in another thread, if this place was so terrible, Superman would have had to come from some place else entirely.
    Last edited by phonogram12; 07-08-2020 at 03:25 PM.
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  8. #23
    Ultimate Member Sacred Knight's Avatar
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    Like most everything else, pre-Crisis Krypton. New 52 Krypton was inspired a lot by those versions so that falls into that category as well.
    "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

  9. #24
    Ultimate Member Gaius's Avatar
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    Probably New 52 though I do tend to like the Man of Steel movie version with the bio-mechanical feel to it.

  10. #25
    Father Son Kamehameha < Kuwagaton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Restingvoice View Post

    I don't mind the green gas poison of Byrne's Krypton because I get his point about Krypton being so advanced they can control nature with a catastrophic side effect, but I don't want Jor-El and Lara to be so cold that they can't even raise a child
    For me it also provided the more unique and interesting Jor El. Being a prodigious rebel without also being any sort of villain informs his role and actions perfectly, and it just hits harder when what he faces is the absolute end of Krypton without the silver age prospects the which we're accustomed. I dig his obsession with Lara making him weird and nerdy.

    Morrison and the dceu successfully pulled off the idea of Siegel's Jor El as "Superman Sr." but aside from them I feel like it's well done few and far between.

    Quote Originally Posted by phonogram12 View Post
    Agreed. I really liked the version that Loeb was bringing back.

    Other than that version, though, probably Birthright Krypton and Superman the Movie Krypton.



    Agreed. As I just stated in another thread, if this place was so terrible, Superman would have had to come from some place else entirely.
    Or you could say he would have had to come *to* some place else.
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  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Kelly View Post
    I didn't know it was established that Krypton died because of something they did. I know that there have been various stories that said this, but always different explanations and none of those ever stuck.

    Planets do not explode. They do not explode from old age, but they do not explode from things done to them either. It would take an inordinate amount of nuclear activity to make that happen, beyond simply releasing a nuclear bomb or several nuclear bombs. So either way, as a science fiction concept, Krypton exploding is not something that could happen.

    There have also been stories where it was the sun dying that destroyed Krypton--I remember that being the story in the Donner SUPERMAN.

    It's one of those things that has to happen for the story to happen. Maybe it being so unlikely is the reason the Science Council didn't believe Jor-El.
    Some versions of it have it that this is a major plot point. Like you say there's the "planets don't explode" thing and the scientists seemed to think there was no way it could explode. Jor-el disagreed and was the only one or a tiny minority.

    The exact reason for it varies. IIRC Golden age Krypton was a weird planet with stuff like gold volcanoes and crystalline mountains. It was also canon that "experiments" by scientists had done some drastic stuff to the planet. Fort Rozz and a large chunk of land getting banished to the Phantom Zone, a forest somehow getting colored red, presumably permanently by an experiment? Then there's whatever happened to crate the "ghost city"... Most of Krypton was drastically different from Kryptonopolis and Kandor. It was inhospitable to the Kryptonians to the point that they sometimes lived in walled and domed cities to keep out nature. The explosion was a nuclear chain reaction, but whether it was fully natural isn't explicit. Having the entire core of the planet turn into an atom bomb is semi-plausible. If you explain why/how anyways. What changed? Writing it as an effect of something that was done to the planet makes more sense than it being natural, but IIRC the original was that the planet basically had an expiration date. Whatever it's core was made of had been slowly reacting with itself for millennia. Which might explain why it had a GOLD volcano.

    IIRC one of the later version had it that it was some sort of geothermal energy variant that was also some sort of radiation harnessing. Not sure if they were actually using the planet core for a reactor or not. This goes badly when the reactions accelerate out of control.

    There was Superboy-Prime's version where Rao expanded and incinerated the planet. Then in Donnerverse Rao gets cold and the planet freezes.

    The destruction of the planet is a very important part of Superman lore, and the origin of Kryptonite. Krypton is not an "Earth-normal" planet. It's a fantastical world where Humans would get eradicated by the environment. The nature of why? hard to say how to make that scale of destruction "realistic". But it's canon that Jax-Ur was banished to the Phantom Zone for accidentally blowing up the moon of Krypton named Wegthor. This was presumably a surface detonation of the weapon he'd designed to shatter meteors. It's hard to imagine how much explosive force would be needed to blow up a moon with enough mass to have a breathable(by Kryptonian standards) atmosphere, but that's what Jax-Ur did.

  12. #27
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    It's possible that Krypton was like Jupiter a failed star. If the early settlers engineered the planet to sustain life, they might have encased the gas giant in a habitable exosphere and that's what the inhabitants are living on. They could be extracting energy from inside the gaseous centre and maybe there was a chain reaction which caused the gas giant to explode like a star, destroying the exosphere. That's just my own explanation--not based on anything.

    Pre-Crisis, it was the energy beings living inside Rao that created Krypton.

    I think that for Krypton to be worth something to us readers, there has to be 50% good guys. If it's only 2% good guys, then we're not invested in the tragedy.

    Relative to Old Testament stories, I'd say that Siegel and Shuster's idea was like the Tower of Babel story. God punishes the hubris of humans, making themselves gods. They aren't terrible people, they just have gotten big-headed. While the Byrne version is like Sodom and Gamorrah, where everyone is bad and deserves to be destroyed except for Lot's family (and even they aren't so great, but at least they're not as bad as everyone else).

    The point is that Kal-El wasn't lucky. He hasn't had the best life. Maybe there needs to be enough tragedy in his life to prevent Clark from thinking he's Mr. Wonderful.

    The Pre-Crisis Superman suffered losses and had to make sacrifices. He knew that Krypton was a great place (a Camelot) that was destroyed. He didn't want the same to happen to his adopted planet. He saw his Earth parents die and was unable to prevent their deaths. As Clark Kent he was humiliated and he had to take it.

    Whereas, John Byrne gave Clark the perfect life, no pain, no tragedy--he just gets everything he wants and doesn't have to struggle. Krypton means nothing to Clark because he was never aware of it--it didn't have any meaning for him.

  13. #28
    Astonishing Member Tzigone's Avatar
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    The point is that Kal-El wasn't lucky. He hasn't had the best life. Maybe there needs to be enough tragedy in his life to prevent Clark from thinking he's Mr. Wonderful.

    The Pre-Crisis Superman suffered losses and had to make sacrifices. He knew that Krypton was a great place (a Camelot) that was destroyed. He didn't want the same to happen to his adopted planet. He saw his Earth parents die and was unable to prevent their deaths. As Clark Kent he was humiliated and he had to take it.

    Whereas, John Byrne gave Clark the perfect life, no pain, no tragedy--he just gets everything he wants and doesn't have to struggle. Krypton means nothing to Clark because he was never aware of it--it didn't have any meaning for him.
    We have vastly different ideas of what "the point" is. I like the (earlier) Golden Age version where Clark had no idea what Krypton was in his youth, and it didn't haunt him. His paresnts died when he was already grown, and died of natural causes. It was sad, in the way it is for any adult losing beloved parents. And especially important - Superman didn't try to save Earth because of what happened to Krypton. He became a hero because he's a good person who wanted to do good things and had the power to do so. Just that simple.

    I make no secret of that I am not fond of the silver age set up at all.
    Last edited by Tzigone; 07-09-2020 at 02:49 PM.

  14. #29
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    I like the 1940s comics, but I wish that Siegel and Shuster had done more science fiction. For two guys that started out as science fiction fans and who used that science fiction to create their Superman, they didn't do much once they got into comic books.

    Adding more back story and world building was a way to open up the comics to a greater variety of plots.

  15. #30
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    I don't think I really have a favorite.

    I quite like the post-Crisis version; Byrne's Krypton was alien and advanced and had a lot of cool stuff going on, but was also arrogant enough that I can believe they'd miss and/or ignore the warning signs of their own impending doom. Some people say that this Krypton was so awful everyone is glad it's dead, but I don't see that. You look at the stories and there's deep emotion there, a lot of passion.....but it's harnessed and held below the surface and causes some really interesting emotional stress points. And Zach Snyder did a fantastic job bringing this version of Krypton to life in Man of Steel.

    I'm not fond of the Flash Gordon Silver Age Krypton which is largely just retro-futuristic earth, but with weirder weather and natural formations. It's too close to home, and I want my aliens to feel like aliens. Morrison and the New52 however, did a damn good job of updating the concept and making the neo-Silver Age Krypton a great and interesting place. There are so many interesting little facets here; like how parents on Krypton don't worry about their infants falling off ledges because the kids are too smart to make the mistake. I wish we had got to see more of this Krypton.

    And then there's Johns' "everything in a blender" approach. And I'll be honest, I think as a narrative it's cheap and lazy. It just feels like trying to please everyone without having to do any real work. But it did give us the most diverse Krypton we've ever seen, with tons of different aesthetics and tones, and it makes you feel like Krypton was a fully realized world where people dress and act differently based on where they live and what they do, just like the real world. I do appreciate the variety this provided even if I feel like it was an easy cop out from Johns.
    "We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

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