James Gunn's Superman Coming In 2025

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

No lie, I think he'd be good in the role.



Preach.

I liked the idea in....Birthright?....that Martha ended up being a bit of a UFO conspiracy theorist, it was a fun twist and gave her more personality in one story than most writers manage in whole runs. And I think her desire to uncover the truth, even if she's a bit of a loon about it, could be a big influence on Clark and his love of investigative journalism.

I also liked the idea, I dunno where it came from, that Martha was going to become a lawyer, maybe had a career as one, before John came along and she became a farmer. Someone's gotta handle the farm's accounting and I like the educational/intellectual focus it gives her. And if you want to use the idea that the Kents eventually ran the local corner store in town, it gives her a good background for running it.

I always had an idea that maybe since Jor seemed to be primarily a kind of physicist, what with discovering the Zone and building the rocket, perhaps Lara could have been a geologist. Maybe she's the one who discovered Krypton was dying? Feels like it gives her a little more "oomph" in Clark's story maybe? Kal's mom is the one who sets off the story of his survival, even if Jor is the one who built the actual rocket.

I like Lara being a soldier well enough, and I like the possibilities that opens up with Zod and it helps explain why they all knew each other so well. But it seems kinda basic, I guess? But then again, so does the idea of Lara being a scientist.

Martha almost being a lawyer was from Smallville.

[Vordan]

I like Lara being a soldier well enough, and I like the possibilities that opens up with Zod and it helps explain why they all knew each other so well. But it seems kinda basic, I guess? But then again, so does the idea of Lara being a scientist.

Was it the DCAU that made Lara an aspiring astronaut? My ideal take would be to combine the two, Lara joined the military because that was the only way she could even get close to traveling into space. You could have Zod be trying to get a military space program off the ground and she’s aiming to join that, only to have her hopes dashed once Zod pulls his coup and all his programs get scrapped. Adds an element of tragedy that Kal gets to achieve her dream under the worst possible circumstances.

Jor and Lara don’t really need to be fleshed out characters. Their job is to put Kal in the rocket and then die. They’re the distant role models Kal hopes he makes proud compared to the much more personal and down to Earth Kents. Giving them traits we can see reflected in Clark, with them acting as the high minded idealists to the more pragmatic Kents is enough for me.

[Alpha]

I have a whole personal take on Krypton, but one thing about Laura I think would really make sense is for her to be a politician, while Jor-el is just a scientist. Make her part of the council of Krypton. Maybe she was trying to use all of her power to change the system from within and failed

[LordUltimus]

Was it the DCAU that made Lara an aspiring astronaut?

It was Bronze Age comics, actually.

[manwhohaseverything]

I have a whole personal take on Krypton, but one thing about Laura I think would really make sense is for her to be a politician, while Jor-el is just a scientist. Make her part of the council of Krypton. Maybe she was trying to use all of her power to change the system from within and failed

I had reverse take on jor el..I want jor L to be the ace detective battling the forces of nira-Q(who is a geologist..cough!cough!where the prophecy comes from).It's gonna be how clark get's his man of action swag(his dad is a badass..).Lara is an aerospace engineer.She scrambles and assembles clark the ship.
The planet gravity is huuuuge.making ships is hard.Even though kryptonians have did it in the past

Pa's dad worked at an old carnival.Pa was friend's with george taylor.Pa and ma never left the small town which becomes spooky after meteor showers and ufo landings..

Note-also would prefer the focus be on superman.It's gonna be about him.Not his parents.These should be allusions.

[Vordan]

It was Bronze Age comics, actually.

Love that idea, I hope one day to see it adapted.

[Ascended]

Was it the DCAU that made Lara an aspiring astronaut? My ideal take would be to combine the two, Lara joined the military because that was the only way she could even get close to traveling into space

Oh I like it!

I also like the idea of her being a politician on the Council too.

Jor and Lara don’t really need to be fleshed out characters. Their job is to put Kal in the rocket and then die.

Giving them traits we can see reflected in Clark, with them acting as the high minded idealists to the more pragmatic Kents is enough for me.

Agreed, we don't need a detailed, deep dive into their personalities or histories. But we should know enough about them to see some of their traits reflected in Clark, and most importantly, to feel a sense of loss over their deaths. Lara was an aspiring astronaut? That's cool, and maybe that's where Clark's sense of adventure and wanderlust comes from. Clark, and the reader, should know enough to know that we want to know more, and feel sad that we never will.

[Vordan]

Yeah that makes sense, the tricky part is that it’s pretty ingrained into the Mythos for Clark to have AI versions of his parents which has to be handled carefully lest the tragedy of losing his biological parents be undercut. You could get rid of the AI Els but I think there is a way to have your cake and eat it too, just make it so the AIs retain the knowledge of their biological counterparts, but not the emotions. They can’t have a heart to heart with Kal because they weren’t built for that. Looking forward to seeing what approach Gunn takes regarding the Fortress.

Regarding Lara’s job, politician works too (really the key detail for me is that she not be in the same field as Jor), but I personally like the idea that Lara was from a lower caste than Jor and he caused a scandal by marrying “beneath” his station. Think New Krypton was the first story to introduce that idea. Her being a lower class laborer who managed to join the military and rose through the ranks to purse her dream gives her something of a heroic arc even with her tragic end. Plus I also like the idea that Kal’s life causes him to dabble in each of his parent’s roles. Sometimes he’s a scientist in the Fortress like Jor, sometimes he has to farm like Pa, he’s a journalist by trade so he writes like Ma did, and as Superman he has to fight like Lara did.

[manwhohaseverything]

I prefer jor L being the lower cast guy.Heck!jor L being seen as the "uncivilised" thug.

I don't care for him dabbling with what his parents did.His parents did what the did.He does what he does.kal being more of a Archaeobiologist.Clark being the writer, vigilante,strongman..etc.Clark(not the glasses guy) ain't much of an investigative reporter.He is more of a human-interests writer that can go political sometimes with sheer humour,sarcasm and bluntness.But,other times it will be about an old theatre being demolished and actress saying farewell.

[The Frog Bros]

Yeah that makes sense, the tricky part is that it’s pretty ingrained into the Mythos for Clark to have AI versions of his parents which has to be handled carefully lest the tragedy of losing his biological parents be undercut. You could get rid of the AI Els but I think there is a way to have your cake and eat it too, just make it so the AIs retain the knowledge of their biological counterparts, but not the emotions. They can’t have a heart to heart with Kal because they weren’t built for that. Looking forward to seeing what approach Gunn takes regarding the Fortress.

Regarding Lara’s job, politician works too (really the key detail for me is that she not be in the same field as Jor), but I personally like the idea that Lara was from a lower caste than Jor and he caused a scandal by marrying “beneath” his station. Think New Krypton was the first story to introduce that idea. Her being a lower class laborer who managed to join the military and rose through the ranks to purse her dream gives her something of a heroic arc even with her tragic end. Plus I also like the idea that Kal’s life causes him to dabble in each of his parent’s roles. Sometimes he’s a scientist in the Fortress like Jor, sometimes he has to farm like Pa, he’s a journalist by trade so he writes like Ma did, and as Superman he has to fight like Lara did.

To that I would add that he’s adept and interested in the pursuit of social sciences such as history, sociology, anthropology, etc. where the Fortress is both laboratory and a living museum of sorts.

A true renaissance man.

[Vordan]

To that I would add that he’s adept and interested in the pursuit of social sciences such as history, sociology, anthropology, etc. where the Fortress is both laboratory and a living museum of sorts.

A true renaissance man.

If Pa is dead in Gunn’s reboot I hope Clark puts up a statue of him in the Fortress the way New 52 Superman did. I liked that he honored both.

[Ra-El]

I have some trouble with fleshing out dead parents is they usually end up evil, just look what happened with Jor-El, or basically every story about the Wayne legacy.

I agree with Vordan about the AI parents, have them with a lot of knowledge and very few emotions is the best way of using them. They shouldn't be greeting their grandchildren or anything like that.

[godisawesome]

My preferred idea for Clark’s parents is this:

- Jor-El is the scientist whose AI provides Clark with analysis of some of his enemies and technology. He also broke a cycle of pre-planned behavior to help defend Krypton against Brainiac, which opened his eyes to investigating ancient, sacred calculation about Krypton’s core, so Zod is grudgingly thankful to him for opening his eyes, and Brainiac regarded him as an unnervingly unexpected variable.

- Lara-Van was a “rebel” antiquatarian, historian, and sociologist who woke up the more rebellious side of Jor, and who poured over the ancient, forbidden star charts and chronicles to help him find a planet their son could live on. Her AI has information on the Coluans (and thus Brainiac), the Old and New Gods, the Controllers, and Oans because of ancient Krypton’s meeting with them, as well as Doomsday, the Eradicator, and other of Krypton’s dirty secrets.

- Jonathon Kent is a mellow, hard-working but always open farmer who loves trying new things out; Clark gets his more endearingly dorky habits from him, as well as his more calm and compassionate behavior.

- Martha Kent is a an active, assertive, extremely intelligent lawyer and domineeringly compassionate (and likely liberal) school board member; there’s some humor from the fact that Clark’ more stern Superman personality clearly takes after her, that she and Lois have some eerily similar personality traits… and thus don’t get along, and that she and Jonathon have a delightfully quirky and sometimes saccharine relationship.

[Ascended]

Yeah that makes sense, the tricky part is that itÂ’s pretty ingrained into the Mythos for Clark to have AI versions of his parents which has to be handled carefully lest the tragedy of losing his biological parents be undercut.

I think the AI undercut the loss anyway, no matter how carefully you handle it.

But, it *is* a well established element in the mythos and one we're not likely to ever get away from. So my solution is much like yours. I'd say the El AI are just holographic and interactive encyclopedias. The El's basically just dumped their version of the internet into the rocket. They're full of cold information, but damn little that actually tells Clark what *life* was like.

And I'd say the AI themselves are not reflections of the El's. They look like Jor and Lara but that's it. They're not programmed with the El's personalities, memories, or anything else. The AI knows whatever Krypton's internet knew about the Els. That's it. Clark can't get an idea of who these people were from the AI, all he can get are headlines they appeared in; "Jor-El joins Science Council" "Jor-El Embarrasses Council, Self, With Wild Claims of Imminent Extinction" that sorta thing.

So Clark has a lot of information on Krypton, but it's not anything you can seriously empathize with, it's just a history textbook.

And that gives Kara a very unique role. She was a kid when the planet was lost so her education basically ended before graduating high school. Clark has that data, but Kara's the one who knows what life was like, the music, the food, etc. So the two of them compliment the other's knowledge base.

[Vordan]

And that gives Kara a very unique role. She was a kid when the planet was lost so her education basically ended before graduating high school. Clark has that data, but Kara's the one who knows what life was like, the music, the food, etc. So the two of them compliment the other's knowledge base.

Love this idea. Gunn has mentioned that the Els are “aristocrats” in his take, I’m hoping that means Kara is one too. I obviously am a fan of the New 52 Supergirl, I like there to be tension between Kal and Kara at first before they get to know each other. If Legacy starts off with Clark struggling to balance his dual heritage, and then Kara enters the picture with her movie later on, I think you’ve got the makings to do something interesting with her reacting to Kal only being “half” Kryptonian.