I would love to read a Superman Elseworld comic where Pa/Ma Kent are bad people...

[InsanityIsTrueSanity]

Hi all! I was thinking the other day, I would love to read a Superman elseworld tale where Superman lands on Smallville and is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent but upon finding him they become scared of him and try to kill him. When that fails (because he's the Baby of Steel) they begin raising him but become more like Aunt and Uncle Dursley from the Harry Potter series. Keep in mind, if you hate Harry Potter, I'm only using this as an example.

Maybe they keep him in a barn and he sleeps with all the other animals. They barely feed him. Try to abuse him the best they can. Why do you ask, he keeps his integrity and doesn't hurt them out of spite? He meets Lana and Pete and he sees the good in humanity through them. They are his only friends in Smallville (This is starting to sound more like Harry Potter, I know )

It was just a thought. I just find that making Clark's Earth parents cruel and abusive could create some really neat drama for an elseworld tale. What do you think?

[Superlad93]

Not that I don't think your idea is interesting and worth a look (LOVE Harry Potter BTW), but, and I'm being serious here, wouldn't it just be Man Of Steel? The idea of Clark learning to put trust in humanity.

I just think you might need more of a hook than bad parents is all.

[Sillia]

Why would he keep his integrity if he was never taught it to begin with?

[InsanityIsTrueSanity]

Why would he keep his integrity if he was never taught it to begin with?

Maybe he can find Jor-El's recording one night while sneaking out of his barn. Jor-El would tell him that he's a superpowered being (cause of the red son) and that earth's people are good people but often misguided. He can find that kind of integrity through Lana and Pete, his best friends...

Not that I don't think your idea is interesting and worth a look (LOVE Harry Potter BTW), but, and I'm being serious here, wouldn't it just be Man Of Steel? The idea of Clark learning to put trust in humanity.

True, but Man of Steel is about trusting humanity in a larger scale. The elseworld story would be more like Smallville. Before Clark becomes Superman. In Man of Steel, he's forced to come out of the alien closet because of a threat to Earth (Zod).

[Agent Z]

Not trying to be hostile here but why exactly is the idea of Superman being raised by abusive parents for drama so appealing to you? I mean there are other ways to gain conflict.

[Ultiman]

Wouldn't this kind of just be Ultraman's background?

[HLOTS]

No, I don't ever want to read a story where the Kents are abusing Clark even if it's elseworld. But I would definitely read a book with a trashy version of the Kents (see Ultraman's parents).

[The Beast]

Wouldn't this kind of just be Ultraman's background?

It was or is nowadays. In FE, Ultraman's 'Kents" were junkie degenerates, IIRC. So that's what happens unless nature overrides nurture which is always a fun debate.

[InsanityIsTrueSanity]

Wouldn't this kind of just be Ultraman's background?

No idea who Ultraman is, I'll look into him.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

Not exactly the same, but there were some similar ideas in "The Super-Brat from Krypton" in Superman #137, with a perfect copy of Superman known as Super-Menace being raised by gangsters.

[Dispenser Of Truth]

No idea who Ultraman is, I'll look into him.

From the Crime Syndacite, at the center of the whole Forever Evil thing. Superman's Earth 3/Antimatter counterpart, he's a sadist who gains his powers from 'anti-Kryptonite'.

[marshal99]

[Flash Gordon]

I think it would be really hard for Clark, if the Kents were bad parents. Though I like to think Kal-El of Krypton would overcome it. He's a Kryptonian, they're better than us.

[exile001]

It's a neat premise, but I like to think that Clark's good character is entirely attributable to the Kents.

For the sake of story, though, if the Kents were bad people and he grew close to Pete and Lana shortly after learning he was not human, I could see that working.

[marshal99]

If Clark has bad parents , he'll become super-menace.