1. QUESTION: What do you prefer to see on Superman’s figurative birth certificate? (Krypton or Earth?)
Krypton. The matrix is a messy thing. Are you really going to tell that story to little children?
2. QUESTION: Did Krypton die of natural causes or was there something nefarious?
Natural causes.
3. QUESTION: Landing in Smallville — an accident or pre-ordained?
Accident more or less. In modern stories, Krypton is very far away--sometimes in another galaxy. I could see the spaceship having an onboard computer that searches for possible planets. But Jor-El shouldn't be able to see Earth (in detail) all the way from Krypton and he could only see an Earth from the distant past (spreed of light and all that).
4. QUESTION: Superbaby — in costume or not — yea or nay?
Yes. He gets his powers as soon as he arrives on Earth. You could maybe say that exposure to some green K. limited him a bit, so Martha and Jonathan could handle him, but he doesn't get his powers over a long period of time. That puts too many road blocks in future plots--he has to be able to lose and regain his powers in quick time. The idea that he's a solar battery is an okay metaphor but it shouldn't be the actual explanation (he is a biological lifeform not a battery). I could see that maybe his powers are cyclical over a seven year period--where he gets progressively more powerful then goes back down to a low level--becoming even more powerful in each successive seven year cycle.
5. QUESTION: Is Superman the only survivor of Krypton’s explosion — or did a whole coterie of other Kryptonians make it out alive as well?
The only survivor. In a pinch, I'd make an exception for Krypto as his symbiotic companion animal that makes the trip with him in the rocket. But really any other Superman family members can have their origins somewhere else. You have the onboard computer--which has to be very sophisticated and contain advanced science. That's his robot teacher. It makes a lot of sense that all intergalactic rockets would have such computers. Everything Clark needs to know about Krypton comes from that.
6. QUESTION: When should Clark learn of his Kryptonian heritage?
Because of the computer as his robot teacher, he learns immediately. And like in the SUPERMAN (1978) movie, the computer was teaching him through his whole journey to Earth. He continues to learn as he grows up. Superman never stops learning--he's a student of everything.
7. QUESTION: Superboy — yes or no?
Yes. Jerry Siegel wanted him to be Superboy. The only reason for Clark not being is because some fans want Superman to have his first night--when everyone is shocked to see a Superman--but that's one story--you can't just keep repeating the one story. With Superboy you get a lot more stories to tell. And I think the experiences of a young Superboy are even more interesting than the adventures of an old Superman. Yes, everyone in the world knew that Superboy existed. He was a world hero and many towns claimed him as their own. Smallville was one of those towns. His legend begins there.
8. QUESTION: Lex Luthor meets Superman as a teen in Smallville or as an adult in Metropolis?
Lex meets Superboy as a teen. That's the first time that
Lex Luthor first appears in the comics. The one name Luthor was in the adult adventures before that. The new ideas that came out of that change in continuity created a lot more potential for Lex as a character (rather than fat, bald crime boss Luthor).
9. QUESTION: Jonathan and Martha Kent — dead or alive?
Alive in all the Superboy stories. Dead around when he's seventeen.
10. QUESTION: Who made Superman’s suit — Kryptonian Dad or Earth Mom?
Neither. Superboy made it. Martha and Jonathan might have designed it based on ideas from the rocket's computer, but only Clark would have been able to unravel the material (his baby blankets and parts from the rocket) to fashion it into his suit using his powers.
11. QUESTION: What does the “S” stand for?
It's stupid that an "S" just happens to be a Krypton symbol and he just happens to call himself Superboy/man. The "S" stands for Superman and everyone knows that. Even the Krypton symbol meaning hope is silly. So the El family were really the Hope family? And what does Kal-El translate as--Bob Hope? I could see that--THE ADVENTURES OF BOB HOPE.
12. QUESTION: Clark Kent as journalist — a calling or a convenience?
A calling.
13. QUESTION: When does Lois learn Superman’s identity — if at all?
She never learns (at least she never remembers that information). If she ever were to learn, it would be when she married Superman (not Clark). I prefer the marriage as a possible future that may or may not happen one day. Either she marries Superman--and everyone knows that Superman is married to Lois Lane, so there's no two-timing going on and Lois gets to be known as Mrs. Superman--or else it's at the end of Superman's career when he's lost all his powers and he marries her as an ordinary man.