Which is the origins of the S logo do you like better?

[LordUltimus]

A), but I'm better with B) when it's a more stylized S, something that could actually look like an alien symbol while still could look like an S to someone who's never seen it before:

[godisawesome]

Count me as another person who likes the idea of it being an amalgamated kind of “cultural fusion.”

The House of El has a particular symbol, and so does the House of Van - perhaps Lara is made a bit more of a social sciences expert to contrast with Jor, and she combined the symbols into something that resembles an “S” in honor of a long lost Kryptonian tradition, and swaddled Kal in a blanket with it when he was shot off to earth.

Jon and Martha find Kal in the blanket, and recognize it has cultural significance to his home, and raise Clark to see it that way. He then incorporates the symbol to an early “Superboy” costume, and since he moves so fast and all pictures of him are blurred, all the artist’s renditions of him by news media and law enforcement resembles the S even more, with Clark eventually adopting that all the way.

[Riv86672]

Which is the origins of the S logo do you like better?

A) It’s an S. And his adoptive parents made the suite after he got the Superman moniker.

B) It’s the El crest and or means ‘hope’ in Kryptonese.

I’d pick A, but I know that the crest option is also popular.

My ideal is how Byrne handled it where they made the suit after news reports start calling him Superman. Though I also like the idea that Lois is the one who coins it.

Thoughts?

A.
The El crest was neat in the ‘78 movie, but it should’ve remained its own thing.

The Byrne S origin you mentioned, was perfect. It linked Lois and Clark together from day one.

[Jim Kelly]

The Fleisher brothers "S" shield with the black background is fine by me, but the red slash over a black background looks like a sigil the Nazis could have designed. And for those like me, the sons and daughters of mothers and fathers that went to war against the Nazis, this is too disturbing and doesn't say Superman to me--unless it's a Fascist Superman.

[LordUltimus]

The Fleisher brothers "S" shield with the black background is fine by me, but the red slash over a black background looks like a sigil the Nazis could have designed. And for those like me, the sons and daughters of mothers and fathers that went to war against the Nazis, this is too disturbing and doesn't say Superman to me--unless it's a Fascist Superman.

Then change the background to yellow.

[bat22]

What's all this talk about an "S logo" for Clark? Isn't he The Blur?

[bat22]

Kidding aside, one "S logo" that I liked was Superman One Million's and how it visually showed the "breakdown" of the stylized S over such a long span of time. In a different continuity, perhaps this symbol within the diamond could be the El crest, which provides visual cues for the Kents and their stylized S.

[superduperman]

Then change the background to yellow.

That image looks familiar. Where have I seen that before?

[JBatmanFan05]

That image looks familiar. Where have I seen that before?

One of the important non-Morrison DC One Million issues (written by Mark Schultz), I believe that is Superman Secondus there (who the ending of Morrison's All Star hints at with Quintum's project at the end).

[LordUltimus]

One of the important non-Morrison DC One Million issues (written by Mark Schultz), I believe that is Superman Secondus there (who the ending of All Star hints at with Quintum's project at the end).

Correct. It's the one with Platinum's story of the Superman Dynasty.

[DochaDocha]

Around the time of the Singer X-Men movies where there was a rejection of the comic book superhero stylized costumes, there was one comic issue that explained that the shield wasn't an S. Rather, the red portion of the shield was the negative space whereas the yellow parts was the featured element. So it falls under the coincidence that it's shaped like an S.

I sort of feel like movies require the "practical" explanation of the design, as Cavill's Superman explained it means "hope" in Krypton. Otherwise, Superman ends up feeling "corny" or "outdated" to a lot of modern day viewers.

On the comic book or cartoon side? You don't need that level of pragmatism. I don't strongly prefer what your reason is, and I think many of the different origins have their own charms, so I don't have one favorite option.

[Sacred Knight]

It's just an S. I've grown tired of the other origins. I don't outright dislike any of them per se, it's just I feel they've become overused and overwrought. The symbol holds plenty of weight just standing for the man who wears it.

I don't necessarily need the whole suit to be homemade, indeed I prefer Kryptonian elements to it, but the S can still be something of his own making.

[JBatmanFan05]

I thought of my own armchair origin for the suit & S symbol: I more prefer the Kents-died-before-Metropolis origin aspect, so I'd have Clark in Metropolis remember his parents telling him things regarding his duty along the (Donner) lines of "there's a reason why you're here. . It ain't to score touchdowns" and use the word(s) "super" and/or "superhuman" regarding his powers. And Clark would, perhaps after doing some minor savings without a costume, perhaps reading/hearing the dubbed name "superman" in doing so, go the Fortress and he'd put his hand into some crystals and the Fortress would read his thoughts/commands and create the suit for him with the S. The diamond part being a nod to the House of El symbol.

[Vordan]

I do like the idea that the s-shield can stand for something other than “just” Superman, but I have also grown weary of the endless masturbatory focus on “hope”.

[JAK]

Same - my preference is A, but B only works if we scratch it as the Kryptonian symbol for hope. If it's going to be the symbol for hope, it needs to be so *because* of Superman's actions. Maybe aliens come to see it as "a Kryptonian symbol for hope" since Krypton is dead so they wouldn't know much about it besides that's where Superman's lineage was from, but that's it.

I do also like the "he got it from a circus" idea, and I thought about him besting their current strongman in a contest, and they give him the suit and mean to hire him as the prize - but the (now) former strongman is mad and sabotages the big tent, causing the owners of the circus to see him as bad luck (even though he saved the people inside) so they kick him out and tell him to "take that suit" with him. lol


I'm not totally against the idea of the S being *A* Kryptonian symbol, but I'd prefer they just leave it at that. It's kinda like his secret identity: the less you say, the better. Explaining it too much just ruins whatever magic you'd get from it.