What's your favorite (or least favorite) origin story?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I can't really favor one origin at this point because I think there's some huge advantages and disadvantages to each of them, so I generally approach Superman's origin as if it's a buffet in which I can pick and choose which elements I like and ignore the ones I don't care for.

I think the Post-Infinite Crisis Krypton had the most potential because it incorporated as much of the previous incarnations of the doomed planet as possible, even if the conclusion to it all, the New Krypton/War of the Supermen fiasco, was a complete dud. I think the tweak of making Kara the older cousin charged with protecting her baby cousin on Earth was an ingenious one (I didn't realise that this was Binder's original intention that was shot down by editorial). I also like how Zod & Non were revised to make them much more compelling, and sympathetic, antagonists. Ursa & Faora still seem to be interchangeable, unfortunately, but I'm sure someone will sort that out sooner or later.

Once the rocket lands on Earth, I really start jumping around. I love Byrne's notion of the Kents finding baby Kal-El right before a massive blizzard locks everyone down for several months so that they can simply claim little Clark is their natural born son. I also like his idea that Clark's powers developed slowly, because that's how it worked in the earliest comics. I don't want Superman, or Superboy for that matter, to be fully powered until his early 20s. However, all the football jock stuff was absolute garbage and has been rightfully ignored by everyone since.

I love Birthright's handling of the Lex/Clark relationship. It's by far the strongest element from that series for me. I also like its tech-savy Martha and luddite Jonathan.

I think Johns & Morrison together cracked the nut of how to incorporate Superboy & the Legion into modern continuity without negating the seismic impact of Superman's debut in Metropolis. However, I'd go one step further and have Clark's memory almost fully wiped by Saturn Girl every time he returns to the present, and I'd restrict the costumed Superboy to the 30th Century only. Only secret, non-costumed adventures for Clark around Smallville, which I think the first couple seasons of the TV show nailed pretty well, along with the Lex/Clark friendship.

I think Byrne, Loeb & Johns got Lana Lang's role within Clark's formative years right. She's a far more compelling confidant and foil for Clark than Pete Ross ever was, who remains weak sauce Jimmy Olsen to me. I'd be more than happy to see someone change my mind though.

Jonathan Kent has to die of a heart attack. I think that's the most compelling transition for Clark to go from boy to man and it resonates even further when you understand Seigel's own history and what drove those early Superman comics.

I love Waid's depiction of Clark travelling the world after leaving Smallville, and, of course, Morrison absolutely nailed the young social crusader vibe that Superman needs to have when he first appears on the scene in Metropolis. For his first few months, my Superman was absolutely his jeans & T-shirt rabble rouser, just like Seigel & Shuster's original stories meant him to be.

Of course, he mellows out a little and finally dons his traditional suit soon enough (helped by Saturn Girl lifting his memory blocks so he now remembers his 30th Century adventures as Superboy) and his earliest encounters with Lois Lane are a mix of Byrne's Man of Steel #2 and Donner & Mank's Superman The Movie.

[witchboy]

Side-stepping the topic a smidge, Bored at 3:00AM describing Pete Ross as weak sauce Jimmy Olsen is valid.
That made me consider what could be done to make him more interesting.
Perhaps Pete being gay would give him a different role to fill, different places to take the character. There's never been a prominent gay man in the Super-mythos that I can think of, so it would be nice to have that, as a gay fan.

[exile001]

Side-stepping the topic a smidge, Bored at 3:00AM describing Pete Ross as weak sauce Jimmy Olsen is valid.
That made me consider what could be done to make him more interesting.
Perhaps Pete being gay would give him a different role to fill, different places to take the character. There's never been a prominent gay man in the Super-mythos that I can think of, so it would be nice to have that, as a gay fan.

Post-Crisis definitely had a problem finding a place for Pete Ross. He was a senator at one point and took over as President from Luthor but if I'm honest I mostly forget he exists.

If he were gay, a young Pete coming out (in small town Kansas) could be used as an interesting parallel to Superman's eventual double life if handled with care.

Superman's cast could definitely use diversity, which has really dialed back since the 'New Earth' soft reboot after Infinite Crisis.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Action Comics #500 is the more complete origin.

Among the modern ones, Birthright is my favorite, too bad it was dropped from canon too fast.

[Jim Kelly]

Before the 1971 revernissage, I don't think Pete Ross ever appeared in the Superman stories. Which is probably how it should have stayed. Yes Pete was teen Clark's pal and even an honourary Legionnaire, but we don't need to see him as an adult, anymore than we need to see what happened to Chief Parker.

Not everybody has to have a big arc. We don't keep in touch with everyone from our youth. Some people just fade into the background. Pete Ross serves his purpose as a teen-age friend--he's not needed after that.

What they did with Pete Ross as a grown-up wasn't so bad, at first. Mainly he was notable as the father of little Jonathan Ross. And Superman had a nice relationship with Jon. But Paul Levitz couldn't let anything nice stay and he hijacked Jonathan Ross--had him abducted to fight in an alien war. All to turn Pete Ross against Superman and seek his revenge against his former pal. I hated that story so much.

It's one of those symptoms of any franchise where every side character ends up being exploited for greater and greater melodrama. I like what was done with some of the supporting cast, but really Lois shouldn't have to be the greatest reporter in the world. It should be enough that she's one of the best reporters in Metropolis.

That Pete Ross ends up as Vice President and then President of the United States is an example of this. They just can't leave any ordinary person alone--everyone has to be inflated in importance. There should be some regular people in the super-hero stories, just to provide a grounded contrast to all the heightened characters.

[Vordan]

It’s like how everyone in the Mos Eisley cantina ended up getting their own stories lmao. I agree, Ross is Clark’s childhood friend that he lost touch with and the two moved on and aren’t close. Don’t mind some of the ideas thrown out here but honestly you can just as easily have Ross be a footnote in Clark’s life. I hated how they used him in Post Crisis, definitely don’t want to see that again.

[SiegePerilous02]

I think the only old school supporting character people care less about than Pete Ross is Dick Malverne.

I have to agree with those who say Pete should be preserved in canon as Clark's childhood friend, but he doesn't need to have a function beyond that.

[Gaius]

I can't really favor one origin at this point because I think there's some huge advantages and disadvantages to each of them, so I generally approach Superman's origin as if it's a buffet in which I can pick and choose which elements I like and ignore the ones I don't care for.

I think the Post-Infinite Crisis Krypton had the most potential because it incorporated as much of the previous incarnations of the doomed planet as possible, even if the conclusion to it all, the New Krypton/War of the Supermen fiasco, was a complete dud. I think the tweak of making Kara the older cousin charged with protecting her baby cousin on Earth was an ingenious one (I didn't realise that this was Binder's original intention that was shot down by editorial). I also like how Zod & Non were revised to make them much more compelling, and sympathetic, antagonists. Ursa & Faora still seem to be interchangeable, unfortunately, but I'm sure someone will sort that out sooner or later.

Once the rocket lands on Earth, I really start jumping around. I love Byrne's notion of the Kents finding baby Kal-El right before a massive blizzard locks everyone down for several months so that they can simply claim little Clark is their natural born son. I also like his idea that Clark's powers developed slowly, because that's how it worked in the earliest comics. I don't want Superman, or Superboy for that matter, to be fully powered until his early 20s. However, all the football jock stuff was absolute garbage and has been rightfully ignored by everyone since.

I love Birthright's handling of the Lex/Clark relationship. It's by far the strongest element from that series for me. I also like its tech-savy Martha and luddite Jonathan.

I think Johns & Morrison together cracked the nut of how to incorporate Superboy & the Legion into modern continuity without negating the seismic impact of Superman's debut in Metropolis. However, I'd go one step further and have Clark's memory almost fully wiped by Saturn Girl every time he returns to the present, and I'd restrict the costumed Superboy to the 30th Century only. Only secret, non-costumed adventures for Clark around Smallville, which I think the first couple seasons of the TV show nailed pretty well, along with the Lex/Clark friendship.

I think Byrne, Loeb & Johns got Lana Lang's role within Clark's formative years right. She's a far more compelling confidant and foil for Clark than Pete Ross ever was, who remains weak sauce Jimmy Olsen to me. I'd be more than happy to see someone change my mind though.

Jonathan Kent has to die of a heart attack. I think that's the most compelling transition for Clark to go from boy to man and it resonates even further when you understand Seigel's own history and what drove those early Superman comics.

I love Waid's depiction of Clark travelling the world after leaving Smallville, and, of course, Morrison absolutely nailed the young social crusader vibe that Superman needs to have when he first appears on the scene in Metropolis. For his first few months, my Superman was absolutely his jeans & T-shirt rabble rouser, just like Seigel & Shuster's original stories meant him to be.

Of course, he mellows out a little and finally dons his traditional suit soon enough (helped by Saturn Girl lifting his memory blocks so he now remembers his 30th Century adventures as Superboy) and his earliest encounters with Lois Lane are a mix of Byrne's Man of Steel #2 and Donner & Mank's Superman The Movie.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Side-stepping the topic a smidge, Bored at 3:00AM describing Pete Ross as weak sauce Jimmy Olsen is valid.
That made me consider what could be done to make him more interesting.
Perhaps Pete being gay would give him a different role to fill, different places to take the character. There's never been a prominent gay man in the Super-mythos that I can think of, so it would be nice to have that, as a gay fan.

I thought Smallville was onto something making him a black kid in the extraordinarily white Kansas, but the show did absolutely nothing with it and the actor's personal problems meant he got written out after a few seasons of doing absolutely nothing interesting.

[superduperman]

I recommended this on the controversial opinions thread. I think they should model his next origin on the TV shows. Make his childhood and teen years essentially Smallville and his career and adult years S&L. The TV shows have done a way better job with the character than the comics or movies lately.

[witchboy]

I thought Smallville was onto something making him a black kid in the extraordinarily white Kansas, but the show did absolutely nothing with it and the actor's personal problems meant he got written out after a few seasons of doing absolutely nothing interesting.

Yes. It's sad that this is the most prominent that Pete has been in the shows and movies and he was completely forgettable.

[The Frog Bros]

It’s like how everyone in the Mos Eisley cantina ended up getting their own stories lmao. I agree, Ross is Clark’s childhood friend that he lost touch with and the two moved on and aren’t close. Don’t mind some of the ideas thrown out here but honestly you can just as easily have Ross be a footnote in Clark’s life. I hated how they used him in Post Crisis, definitely don’t want to see that again.

In all fairness, Mos Eisley cantina is filled with all sorts of cool looking, strange, bizarre creatures from all around the galaxy. Pete Ross is, well… Pete Ross. haha.

But yeah, I think he works just fine as simply an old friend who's no longer close.

[Falcon16]

DCAU. "Temper temper, Jor-El..." "Farewell, Krypton..." GLORIOUS.