I always thought making him a Lex clone was somewhat pointless. By 2003 nobody cared who his donor was. This was clearly a case of "Guy in charge wants to incorporate his own fan fiction into continuity". Also, giving him all of Superman's full powers takes away from his individuality a little bit. When Roxy and Rex and Tana went away I just kind of stopped reading. Apparently I wasn't the only one.
To elaborate on yesterday, these are the things I'd retain from the previous continuity/pre new 52 universe.
1) The classic uniform in some form.I am not against him having a new updated costume in present day,but the original, classic trunked costume deserves a place in his history and back story. To completely erase it from continuity in the fashion the reboot did was borderline disrespectful. The t-shirt and jeans uniform was the prototype, the classic trunked uniform was the suit he wore for most of his career over the 5 years as Superman...and recently he obtained the Kryptonian "armor" in an adventure and decides to start wearing that. The classic suit gets it's rightful due as his "original" costume, and Jim Lee gets his kryptoarmor as what Superman is wearing now.
2) The original origin of Kon-El and versions of Hank Henshaw Cyborg Superman and Eradicator. Steel pretty much remained unchanged from his pre-flashpoint self in motivation and character enough that you could have kept all four and still have had a version of the REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN story having happened in the DCnU/DC YOU timeline similar to how a version of KNIGHTFALL and the Death of Bruce Wayne/Dick Grayson as Batman stories still having happened to Post FP Batman..If TPTB insisted on keeping THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN as a part of the current Superman's backstory, why not retain the actual best parts...I.E. The funeral/Return stories? After all The Coast City stuff with Hal Jordan apparently occurred still based on the fact that most of the GL history was retained.
3) A Lois Lane that knows the secret and a partner to Superman/Clark. Now, while I prefer them as married or engaged, dating etc, I think I would have even been ok with the idea that within the "missing" 5 years between ACTION #1 and SUPERMAN #1, that Lois and Clark had a serious relationship for awhile, but somewhere along the way they broke up and are now with other people (Lois with Jon Carroll....Clark with Diana IF DC absolutely insisted on it.). George Perez's idea to have Lois know in secret almost from the start would have been a brilliant alternative to the way Lois had been marginalized for the majority of the New 52 era.
4)I go back and forth on it...but I think keeping one of the Kents alive may not have been a terrible idea. Yes, I know and respect the original wishes and origins Siegel and Shuster set forth which established the Kents as having died before Clark became Superman, most mainstream media versions have shown that keeping one or both Kents alive can work if not overdone. I don't think anyone wants to see Superman constantly flying back to the farm for homespun wisdom every other issue,but on the other hand the idea that no matter how crazy life is with his duties as Superman/Clark/Kal, he manages to go see his folks every so often just because he's a good son. Yet, I see the value of the "Final Lesson" the Kent's deaths give the young Superman that even he can't always solve or save everything. So, I say compromise, have one of the Kents survive into Clark's present day. However, as it always seems that Jonathan is destined to die in every version, perhaps let's change it up and have Martha pass on, leaving a widowed Jonathan. That's a dynamic never usually shown, and you could increase complications by having Jonathan remarry, and said new step-mom not knowing her big city reporter step son is also Superman.
Last edited by manofsteel1979; 08-24-2015 at 08:06 AM.
"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you. My only son." - Jor-El
I miss the post-Infinite Crisis pre-Flashpoint Kara/Kal relationship. Also, I'd like to see again the Superman robots (which are more a pre-crisis thing anyway).
what is a bigger safety net: a parent alive or a superpowered girlfriend?
I see no problem with a parent alive, to have some dinner, talk sometimes. I like clark to be a good son.
now I definately prefer Martha being alive, because so many relationships on comics are only about fathers
What does this mean? Are orphans no longer considered part of the human race? Less human than people with parents? If so why do so many people consider Batman MORE human than Superman despite his parents being dead?
This sort of thing implies humans have a blueprint; it kind of defeats the point of being human through trying to be human.
Rules are for lesser men, Charlie - Grand Pa Joe ~ Willy Wonka & Chocolate Factory
It's not that the Kents being alive doesnt offer anything from a narrative point of view, its just that them being dead offers more.
It is true that a hero having parents who are alive, and having a good, active relationship with them, is rare. And being an orphan is pretty much standard. But that's largely besides the point and leads to the trap of comparing Superman to everyone else. That should never be a consideration. If you tell good Superman stories, they will by their very nature be unique to him, regardless of how many details are shared with other comic characters.
Additionally, the loss of one's parents is a classic aspect of the Hero's Journey, going as far back as Greek tragedies, if not further.
And if we'd only see them once every few years, I'd rather just use flashback sequences and actually flesh out Clark's relationship with them. In that way you can avoid the pitfalls that post-Crisis fell into (where they became just one more system of dependence for Clark), while still maintaining and showing a loving, close relationship between child and parents. The fact that it'd be flashbacks doesnt change what you can accomplish and explore.
Yup. Just as Superman is as "strong as the plot requires" his love interest can be a damsel in distress or a hero in her own right. Lois can save the day (and Superman himself) without powers if the story calls for it, just as Diana can be captured and used as bait if the plot calls for it. What they're actually capable of doing is secondary and a non-issue.
Last edited by Ascended; 08-24-2015 at 06:00 PM.
"We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
~ Black Panther.
There are a few things I'd have kept. Many have been mentioned already, like the marriage to Lois and the expanded Metropolis cast. I really miss that development and progress for Superman. That's not to say we won't get it again, but it seems a shame to lose it. One trivial little thing I'd have kept, the yellow "S" on the cape. The black just doesn't seem to fit
When they started making things more like the silver age (bringing back the ridiculous power levels, changing Krypton into a nicer place, the Kara Supergirl) I lost interest in the pre-flashpoint continuity. So the things I would have kept would have been from before 2004.
The Kents, the marriage, the way Metropolis had developed, characters like Bibbo that helped flesh out the world. I'd have kept Matrix/Linda around under a different name and kept the Death of Superman origins of Steel and Superboy. I think the pre-flashpoint universe did a better job with the secondary and tertiary characters, at least for a while and before they started retconning big things left and right.
I would argue the post-Crisis Superman (as it was known then) went off the rails before then. The electrical powers, the whole Brainiac 13 storyline, the 60th anniversary storyline, all seemed a little hookey to me even before all that. The Return to Krypton storyline just seemed like the icing on a we-don't-know-what-to-do-with-him-anymore cake. Keep in mind they started bringing stuff like Kandor back as early as 1996.