What would you want from an “Ultimate Superman”?

[Vordan]

Honestly if we do get an "Ultimate Superman" book, I'd personally want to see it act as a throwback to the Golden Age era comics and the Fleischer cartoons. Morrison obviously did something to that effect already with their New 52 Action Comics run, but IMO if we're getting a new iteration on the character running parallel to the current Superdad of the main timeline, I think going back to the Champion of the Oppressed would work particularly well in today's social climate. Moreover, if the idea here is to ape the old Ultimate Marvel books and present a somewhat more grounded interpretation of the DC world, basing Clark's powers around something closer to that original era of Superman would fit in well with such a setting.

I'm too much of a sucker to really want to see Clark in a relationship with anyone other than Lois, but if it has to happen, the obvious pick IMO is Lana. Childhood friends turned high school sweethearts, only for Clark to abruptly leave Smallville one day to travel the world and learn more about his powers and answers to his alien heritage after Ma and Pa Kent both die. Then when Clark arrives in Metropolis and starts his career as Superman, he winds up reuniting with Lana and has a slow burn with her over the course of the book.

I'd actually push for Ultra-Humanite to get center stage as Superman's arch nemesis here, with Lex playing a more morally ambiguous supporting role off on the sidelines, where you never know exactly where his allegiances lie or what course of action he'll take on a given day.

Humanite would be a great starting bad guy, could write him as being the Kingpin of Metropolis, with Superman deposing him being his first major accomplishment. Lex could serve as contrast via trying to control Metropolis through a corporation or purely through science.

[DochaDocha]

I might go for a Dragon Ball-style escalation of villains. I might start with someone like Bruno Mannheim as the first arc's primary villain.

[The Frog Bros]

Wild thought. Maybe PKJ gets Ultimate Superman, lol.

[superduperman]

They already did an Ultimate Superman. It was called Earth One. They just abandoned it. But if we're setting up an actual ongoing series version, here are some of the things I want to see.

1) He's the only survivor. No Supergirl. No Krypto. No Kryptonian villains showing up later.

2) At least some powers from day one (yes, I'm a pedant about this).

3) An actual journalism degree. None of this "walking in off the street and just getting a job at a newspaper" thing. If it starts with him in college getting said degree, that's fine. He doesn't even have to work exclusively for the Planet.

4) A more "grounded" version of his villains. Fewer aliens and monsters and more criminals and corrupt politicians. Intergang, Toyman as assassin for hire, Prankster being a sort of Joker type figure. If an alien like Brainiac shows up, I want hm to be a Galactus style threat. He doesn't just steal cities, he conquers entire planets borg style.

5) A cool costume. Maybe even a slightly different symbol than the mainstream Superman. Granted, "cool" is a subjective term. He doesn't have to have trunks but if he doesn't at least break up the blue a little bit. S&L looks pretty cool but a bit muted.

6) Make him in his early 20s. A Superman who is starting out. It doesn't have to be a Year One but at least a Year Three at the longest. Under 26.

7) Him and Lex are NOT childhood friends. Lex should be at least a generation older than he is. I'd like to see him be a corrupt politician. He's not a super scientist but he does have contacts that can get him things he needs to get rid of Superman.

Some of the differences I'd like to see, and this isn't a deal breaker, would be him having some sort of falling out with Lana years earlier. She knows his secret but they're not on good terms.

I'm indifferent to whether or not the Kents are dead or alive. But if you are going to kill them off, at least make it halfway believable. Not magic or a convenient accident but maybe have them be old when they find him and nature just took it's course before he starts his career. Maybe the reason he decides to become Superman after they die because he doesn't have to protect them anymore.

Lois doesn't trust Superman. This would be an interesting twist on the narrative. She and Clark are cordial colleagues but they aren't "friends" in the traditional sense. She's obsessed with proving Superman is a threat. Over time he slowly earns her trust but it takes a while.

Make Krypton less than a perfect Utopia. Maybe make them have slaves or make them like the Klingons or Romulans. They conquer other planets or had an empire. Jor-El may have been a brilliant scientist but he's not necessarily a good person. A civilization the universe might actually be better off without.

New villains. Maybe some dictators or leaders who feel threatened by his existence. If a real Superman appeared tomorrow, he'd be banned in every country on Earth overnight. Especially the dictatorships. Maybe bring back Ultra-Humanite. Maybe use the version that's in a woman's body. Maybe have General Lane have a personal vendetta against Superman because he's not willing to become a weapon for the government. Terra Man being an anti-alien zealot who thinks Earth should be for humans and wants to drive Superman off the planet.

[Robotman]

A return to the “champion of the oppressed” Golden Age vibe.

Definitely no Jon Kent or super kids.

Cadmus could play a bigger role in Superman’s world. It would add that super science Kirby fun and craziness.

[Hurricane Billy]

Humanite would be a great starting bad guy, could write him as being the Kingpin of Metropolis, with Superman deposing him being his first major accomplishment. Lex could serve as contrast via trying to control Metropolis through a corporation or purely through science.

That could certainly work! Personally I'd prefer to see Ultra Humanite play a more permanent role in the narrative as an antagonist against Superman, even after Clark has his first big victory as Superman in bringing Humanite down from his initial position as the Kingpin of Metropolis.

Honestly, for Lex, I'd go in the direction of him aiming for the Presidency over the course of the series and as I previously mentioned, acts in a more morally ambiguous light than normal. For example, as Lex ascends as a public figure, business man and politician/would-be President, his actions generally are all actively benefiting Superman and the general public- but there's always something just a little off about it all, where Lex is likely committing crimes to achieve these goals, but no one can ever prove it or determine why Lex is doing the things that he is doing.

In my head, this would all be somewhat similar to the ongoing plot line in One Piece between Luffy and Blackbeard, where they're both clearly two sides of the same coin and represent two potential roads that the future of piratedom could tread down. They are enemies to one another, but the actual words that Blackbeard says to Luffy are often things that Luffy begrudgingly agrees with, even if the two of them interpret those words in completely opposite ways. I think a dynamic like that would work exceptionally well with Lex.

He'd never be the main antagonist during the majority of the narrative, but you could tell right away that he'll be the last guy that Clark will have to deal with at the very end of the story.

[manwhohaseverything]

I would love to have an intentional, categorically different Superman from Superdad. That's not to say write him differently, but give him a different story. No leaning on old continuity, or leaning on the same gang of creators who write the other guy all day. If you're gonna do it, make it fresh.

Tone wise I'd hope something a little more sci-fi and structure wise maybe like Superman Adventures.

For what might happen well... I've never been sold on Snyder and he struggles to get down what makes Superman interesting to me. I don't see him returning to JL or Batman since he's done so much of that stuff, so maybe they pick him. In that case I would hope he lets the artist take the reins, as DC sometimes tries.

Yeah!!this.An entirely different story

I might go for a Dragon Ball-style escalation of villains. I might start with someone like Bruno Mannheim as the first arc's primary villain.

I think,i would rather not.It's done to death.I want something like a fullmetal alchemist alchemist where the main problem is slowly revealed with brainiac representing it

[manwhohaseverything]

That could certainly work! Personally I'd prefer to see Ultra Humanite play a more permanent role in the narrative as an antagonist against Superman, even after Clark has his first big victory as Superman in bringing Humanite down from his initial position as the Kingpin of Metropolis.

Honestly, for Lex, I'd go in the direction of him aiming for the Presidency over the course of the series and as I previously mentioned, acts in a more morally ambiguous light than normal. For example, as Lex ascends as a public figure, business man and politician/would-be President, his actions generally are all actively benefiting Superman and the general public- but there's always something just a little off about it all, where Lex is likely committing crimes to achieve these goals, but no one can ever prove it or determine why Lex is doing the things that he is doing.

In my head, this would all be somewhat similar to the ongoing plot line in One Piece between Luffy and Blackbeard, where they're both clearly two sides of the same coin and represent two potential roads that the future of piratedom could tread down. They are enemies to one another, but the actual words that Blackbeard says to Luffy are often things that Luffy begrudgingly agrees with, even if the two of them interpret those words in completely opposite ways. I think a dynamic like that would work exceptionally well with Lex.

He'd never be the main antagonist during the majority of the narrative, but you could tell right away that he'll be the last guy that Clark will have to deal with at the very end of the story.

Luffy begrudgingly agrees with? that's not his thing.Luffy doesn't do "begrudgingly".Luffy is either all in or not .He believe in what blackbeard believes."sky island exists.Man's dream will never end".But,his morality is different.Therefore he kick blackbeard's ass.That's it.luffy doesn't make speeches or preach to people.blackbeard likes that sort of grandstanding.Aaand blackbeard is not a him.. It's a they apparently whatever that means.

But,yeah!I kinda see lex and clark as that.They are both criminal vigilante.

[Kuwagaton]

If I did have a selfish, personal wish it would be that they would go straight past the friendship with Lex. To me it's so... regular and as much as I desire to see a different Superman line in a grittier sci-fi setting, I want to see a tough Lex even more. Brazen like Alexei and it's like, how does a human get nose to nose with Superman and stay standing upright?

Also, that costume update is fantastic. I just think that the costume is one of those things you can't change between lines without diminishing the strength of brand

[DochaDocha]

I think,i would rather not.It's done to death.I want something like a fullmetal alchemist alchemist where the main problem is slowly revealed with brainiac representing it

I think with Superman, you want to showcase a variety of villains, and there probably should be a build-up in threat level. It doesn't need to be continuously increasing, but generally increasing.

EDIT: To clarify, my expectation for Ultimate is that there's an end in mind, like five or so years.

[Hurricane Billy]

Luffy begrudgingly agrees with? that's not his thing.Luffy doesn't do "begrudgingly".Luffy is either all in or not .He believe in what blackbeard believes."sky island exists.Man's dream will never end".But,his morality is different.Therefore he kick blackbeard's ass.That's it.luffy doesn't make speeches or preach to people.blackbeard likes that sort of grandstanding.Aaand blackbeard is not a him.. It's a they apparently whatever that means.

But,yeah!I kinda see lex and clark as that.They are both criminal vigilante.

That's what I was referring to, yeah. The 'begrudging' aspect of it is that Luffy believes in the same sort of things as Blackbeard, but we've seen on more than one occasion that Luffy seems to hesitate whenever Blackbeard speaks like that. It's like Luffy senses that while they share some common views, there's a drastic difference in perspective and what those views ultimately mean. And I definitely think that's something that could work really well for Clark and Lex.

[Leancarp900]

I think that in order for an Ultimate version to work in 2024 you need pitches that are, well, a tad more out there than "Clark and Lois are not together", "Superman is the last kryptonian" or "Batman is a loner", which are things that have been done to death even in main continuity.

Marvel seems to have understood this with stuff like Hickman's Spider-Man, Peach Mokoko's X-Men and Deniz Camp's Ultimates. Even Bendis in USM stopped replaying the hits at one point and killed off Peter to replace him with a new guy.

[The Frog Bros]

1)Clark is the resident anti-Superman reporter. It;s not a bunch of "I hate Superman" articles, but he has a number of editorial columns published where he criticizes or questions his actions as Superman. For Clark it serves two purposes. It puts distance between himself and his Superman ID. It is how he deals with his own problems. If Superman is torn about some action he has taken he puts all his self-doubt in a column by Clark while Superman presents a confident front. And this is an over-all view not a simplistic bit of Clark saying "up" just because he said "down" as Superman.

I like this idea. Clark's way of both internally and publicly questioning his decisions as Superman and how he goes about things. Helps him keep his thoughts in order and serves as his own personal journal in that way.

I think with Superman, you want to showcase a variety of villains, and there probably should be a build-up in threat level. It doesn't need to be continuously increasing, but generally increasing.

EDIT: To clarify, my expectation for Ultimate is that there's an end in mind, like five or so years.

Yeah shorter arcs for quite a while in order to showcase more of the rogues gallery that are smaller, Metropolis specific. This is what I've enjoyed about Williamson as opposed to PKJ; granted, I like both approaches but I appreciate each method even more when there's a bit of each across multiple books. Like maybe after a year or so, a bigger villain can start getting the focus.

[Vordan]

If I did have a selfish, personal wish it would be that they would go straight past the friendship with Lex. To me it's so... regular and as much as I desire to see a different Superman line in a grittier sci-fi setting, I want to see a tough Lex even more. Brazen like Alexei and it's like, how does a human get nose to nose with Superman and stay standing upright?

Also, that costume update is fantastic. I just think that the costume is one of those things you can't change between lines without diminishing the strength of brand

My ideal for supervillain Lex is to write him like the Maker: a mad scientist who has rejected humanity to the extent that he’s out to create his own post human race. Could do Ultimate Lexor as Lex building his version of the City and what not.

I think that in order for an Ultimate version to work in 2024 you need pitches that are, well, a tad more out there than "Clark and Lois are not together", "Superman is the last kryptonian" or "Batman is a loner", which are things that have been done to death even in main continuity.

Marvel seems to have understood this with stuff like Hickman's Spider-Man, Peach Mokoko's X-Men and Deniz Camp's Ultimates. Even Bendis in USM stopped replaying the hits at one point and killed off Peter to replace him with a new guy.

Ultimately yes, it would need to diverge hard. But at the beginning it was fairly close to 616. Clark getting replaced with someone new is old hat in and of itself - I think the long term endgame for Ultimate Superman should be putting him in a status quo you never could with base Supes. If I was in charge, I’d kill off Lois around the five year mark and keep her gone for good. I’d dissolve the Daily Planet/whatever journalism job Clark is doing and basically kill “Clark Kent”. Go full throttle with Superman as the cosmic hero at that point who primarily operates out in space, the way they teased doing with Earth 0 Superman and his Authority team.

[bat39]

Honestly if we do get an "Ultimate Superman" book, I'd personally want to see it act as a throwback to the Golden Age era comics and the Fleischer cartoons. Morrison obviously did something to that effect already with their New 52 Action Comics run, but IMO if we're getting a new iteration on the character running parallel to the current Superdad of the main timeline, I think going back to the Champion of the Oppressed would work particularly well in today's social climate. Moreover, if the idea here is to ape the old Ultimate Marvel books and present a somewhat more grounded interpretation of the DC world, basing Clark's powers around something closer to that original era of Superman would fit in well with such a setting.

I'm too much of a sucker to really want to see Clark in a relationship with anyone other than Lois, but if it has to happen, the obvious pick IMO is Lana. Childhood friends turned high school sweethearts, only for Clark to abruptly leave Smallville one day to travel the world and learn more about his powers and answers to his alien heritage after Ma and Pa Kent both die. Then when Clark arrives in Metropolis and starts his career as Superman, he winds up reuniting with Lana and has a slow burn with her over the course of the book.

I'd actually push for Ultra-Humanite to get center stage as Superman's arch nemesis here, with Lex playing a more morally ambiguous supporting role off on the sidelines, where you never know exactly where his allegiances lie or what course of action he'll take on a given day.

As with your Ultimate Batman ideas, I find myself agreeing with you here!

Morrison kinda had the right idea with his Neo Golden Age take on Superman...I'd double down on that.

I think that in order for an Ultimate version to work in 2024 you need pitches that are, well, a tad more out there than "Clark and Lois are not together", "Superman is the last kryptonian" or "Batman is a loner", which are things that have been done to death even in main continuity.

Marvel seems to have understood this with stuff like Hickman's Spider-Man, Peach Mokoko's X-Men and Deniz Camp's Ultimates. Even Bendis in USM stopped replaying the hits at one point and killed off Peter to replace him with a new guy.

Okay, how about this?

The Kents are dead. Clark Kent is a young 20-something journalism grad keenly aware he might be entering a dying profession. Oh, and he's got powers (strictly Siegal/Shuster level). His parents told him that he was found in a rocketship that was half-destroyed and which they had to abandon before it was taken by the military. He has vague nightmares about an alien world and what he assumes are his birth parents, along with an S symbol he frequently doodles. He's spent most of his life trying to suppress those memories/nightmares and his powers, to stay under the radar and avoid endangering his parents. But with them gone, he's now unfettered and read to explore the wide world outside Smallville. And maybe find a way to help with his abilities...

He moves to Metropolis, and initially works at the Daily Star under Editor-in-Chief George Taylor - an old-school legacy paper that's on the verge of being shuttered. Working alongside the talented fellow junior reporter Lois Lane, Clark's investigations into Metropolis' dirty underbelly, and the numerous crimes and injustices its people face, lead him to start intervening. He mostly conceals his identity with either a ski-mask, or a hoodie, or by blurring his face (as 'Clark Kent, he anyway wears glasses...which were an attempt to keep his vision powers in check). Gradually, rumors begin to spread of the mysterious 'Superman', which both Lois and Clark investigate, as does the Daily Star's top veteran reporter, Perry White. Perry eventually forms a new online portal - the Daily Planet - which really finds success reporting on Superman and the exploits - and Lois and Clark soon join him there, alongside Jimmy Olsen, and one-time TV reporter and gossip columnist Cat Grant, among others.

As Superman's existence becomes more widely known, the US Government forms a scientific task-force to investigate him, and they believe he's an alien infant who arrived on earth in a spacecraft that crash-landed in Kansas, which they have remnants of. They subcontract their investigation into the alien craft, and Superman, to noted scientist and astrophysicist Alexei 'Lex' Luthor, and provide him with the funding to kickstart LexCorp for this very purpose. One of Lex's first tasks is to determine the applications of a glowing green substance found in the space-craft...

Eventually, Clark will put together a kind of outfit as Superman, which will be a makeshift version of the Fleischer suit.