The Return of Pa and Ma

[PCN24454]

But wanting the Kents alive does boil down to "that's what it was when I started reading" (80s/90s) in most cases.

If that were true, Superman would be better off dead.

[Jim Kelly]

You are assuming that without reference to his being totally in the dark he must have memories of some kind.

I'm thinking his memory is Schrödinger's Cat.

[SiegePerilous02]

If that were true, Superman would be better off dead.

Not sure what you're trying to say here...?

Unless you mean you started reading with Death of Superman. In which case, if you'd prefer him dead, that's fine. It's no different than the opinions on the Kents and everything else in this IP.

[manwhohaseverything]

Yep and I'm not disputing that. I'm just saying continuity wasn't nailed down in the 1940s. Because of continuity after the fact, we might think we know what Superman knew, but we don't know because Siegel didn't spend a lot of time explaining that stuff before he was forced to leave.

i always thought stealing from goku was a good idea..regarding superman's memories of krypton..Just have him get amnesia..Clark gets hit in the head pretty hard(just joking)..If i am not incorrect it's been established that trauma can cause memory problems..which causes him to be "controllable" as a child for his earth parents.As he grows older his kryptonian instincts and memories start flooding in.Clark goes from glasses to capes..

on topic,superman should have undead circus parents////(explains the suit)

[Jon Clark]

I'm suddenly picturing a parody where none of Clark's friends truly recognize him as Superman, but he is equally incapable of realizing they have been pulling a "Weekend at Bernie's" with the corpses of the Kents for years.

Or Batman visiting Smallville where Clark is Norman Bates using his powers to make the Kents seem alive despite obviously being decade old corpses.

[Adekis]

I'm typically indifferent to the Kents' existence in Clark's adult life, which to me is the same thing as wanting them gone.

[Triniking1234]

I voted indifferent.

It was a problem when New 52 started when the only moral support Clark had were Bruce and Diana (cuz even Kara and Conner were absent) but now that he's married to Lois again and has a son, they're kind of un-necessary. I don't want them killed off tho.

[Jim Kelly]

Being the most popular show on Jolax (in another dimension) the show's producers are constantly fooling with Earth reality to please their demographic. Clark seems unaware of this--he just knows crazy things keep happening with his adopted parents and others and he keeps doing stuff to fool the rest of the world into believing it all makes sense somehow.

[PCN24454]

I voted indifferent.

It was a problem when New 52 started when the only moral support Clark had were Bruce and Diana (cuz even Kara and Conner were absent) but now that he's married to Lois again and has a son, they're kind of un-necessary. I don't want them killed off tho.

You want to kill off Bruce and Diana?

[JAK]

You want to kill off Bruce and Diana?

Hey, hey now! Let's not even talk like that.

Just Bruce. lol

[Triniking1234]

You want to kill off Bruce and Diana?

To be fair Joshua Williamson just did it.

[ironman2978]

Take: "Superman doesn't need tragedy to be a good person, he just is"

WEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
He's always felt lonely and has major identity issues... and his planet blew up... and that doesn’t even include when his dad and/or mom died... Wholesome man is nice and all, but we're talking about THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON. The dude had an actual life with ups and downs.
Life lessons.
Heartbreaks.
Anxieties.
Self-inflicted personal moments.
I love the idea of Superman embracing both of his heritage. That's what makes him so well rounded. But it’s what makes the moment where he becomes hopeful and someone who inspires much more powerful. Superman isn't about tragedy or guilt, but about doing the right thing because it's right, and he can, even when nothing goes right. It’s hope in spite of tragedy that really defines him as the world’s greatest hero.


To my memory the only Superman that was clean cut: "HE'S AS GOOD AS GOOD CAN BE BECAUSE HE IS AMERICAN AWWW, SHUCKS." Was John Byrne's. And his Clark was relatively bland compared to the more dynamic Social Justice Strongman or Neurotic Hot Mess Silver Age guy. I think we need to stop with the extremes.

He's a pretty hopeful and strong moral person who does deal with the heartbreaking problems we deal with. He's allowed to be complex.
Not teddy bear man.
Nor brooding man.
But Superman

[Zero Hunter]

I honestly think a lot people really just think they should be dead because Morrison told them Superman was better without them. "Morrison said the golden age Superman was the best so that is what I believe too now"

[ironman2978]

I honestly think a lot people really just think they should be dead because Morrison told them Superman was better without them. "Morrison said the golden age Superman was the best so that is what I believe too now"

I honestly thought this way before I saw Morrison I saw multiple Superman comics having dead parents being well done and having emotional gravitas and sincerity that makes him such an enduring character (Elliot S. Maggin, Tom De Haven’s It’s Superman novel, Martin Pasko among others). There is also the Fleischer cartoons who used the origin of Superman being raised in the orphanage but still very much the same Clark Kent and Superman. Morrison was more an icing on the cake if anything. Heck Paul Dini/Alex Ross’s Peace on Earth seemed to be based on a Bronze Age Superman, where his parents looked to be dead, and he only thought about them in the past tense.


Honestly the only time I like the Kent’s being alive was Birthright, Superman for all season and kind of STAS. But Birthright was a perfect merging of Smallville, silver/bronze, STAS and the post crisis ideas.

[SiegePerilous02]

I honestly think a lot people really just think they should be dead because Morrison told them Superman was better without them. "Morrison said the golden age Superman was the best so that is what I believe too now"

If we're going to boil it down that way, the same could be said in reverse though.

People think they should be alive because Byrne said they needed to be or else he'd end up like Batman.