What would you do with creative control of Superman?

[ManSinha]

There are some really creative and out of the box ideas posted in this thread. What, if any, are the chances that the editorial staff at DC actually takes notice? Some companies pay marketers to conduct focus group meeting about new or existing products. DC is getting one for free in this thread I would say.

[Ascended]

There are some really creative and out of the box ideas posted in this thread. What, if any, are the chances that the editorial staff at DC actually takes notice? Some companies pay marketers to conduct focus group meeting about new or existing products. DC is getting one for free in this thread I would say.

Back in the day DC used to keep loose tabs on their own message boards, and I know they used the feedback there to various degrees. Now? I have no idea but I'd suspect they rely on social media like Twitter and Facebook moreso than message boards. But Im just guessing. I mean, I've put a million great ideas on these boards and they haven't contacted me about a job, so I assume they're not paying attention.

For those who didn't catch it, that was a joke.

Though for reals, they've never contacted me. That part is true.

[Ishmael]

I'd get Luthor out of the Justice League and back in the pages of Superman where he belongs. He doesn't have to be a part of every story, but he is, first and foremost, Superman's arch-enemy. He needs to be back in the books.

I liked the suggestion above about doing something Superman, Supergirl, and the New 52 Cyborg. I actually found that whole dynamic a lot more interesting than I thought I would, and wound up collecting Supergirl just to see how they played out the tension between her and her dad. They should resolve that, finally, and leave things as mentioned previously, where Henshaw can step into the body.

Other than that, I really think the character works best when they embrace all the fantastic, larger than life elements. Humanizing him, bringing 'down to earth', etc -- all misses the point. I don't want to relate to Superman. I want to be amazed by him. That's why All-Star Superman was such a good series. Magnify the heroic parts and give him adventures worthy of it.

[Johnny Thunders!]

For me, during the biggest adventures, Superman is there to make the situation relatable. He is the human hook that helps us find our bearings during the big bizarre adventures.

[Tayswift]

No crossovers, it derails and are too long.

End superman-wonder woman relationship, too superficial both are so strong so what? if DC want a single superman because it looks fresher or whatever is the excuse, so makehim single again with many affairs going on.

Lois being important again, and not only to reveal his secret.

A all ages superman book, pre-flashpoint superboy and supergirl on it. more adult than the comics that DC publish, almost impossible.

[Flash Gordon]

Back in the day DC used to keep loose tabs on their own message boards, and I know they used the feedback there to various degrees. Now? I have no idea but I'd suspect they rely on social media like Twitter and Facebook moreso than message boards. But Im just guessing. I mean, I've put a million great ideas on these boards and they haven't contacted me about a job, so I assume they're not paying attention.

For those who didn't catch it, that was a joke.

Though for reals, they've never contacted me. That part is true.

I don't know, I'd read it!

You have a lot of ideas that I find interesting, mate.

[ManSinha]

End superman-wonder woman relationship, too superficial both are so strong so what? if DC want a single superman because it looks fresher or whatever is the excuse, so makehim single again with many affairs going on.

Lois being important again, and not only to reveal his secret.

I would actually want DC to explore this pairing to raise the profile of both WW and SM - there are many directions in which this can go
I agree about the Lois bit but please do not insult Kal-El's intelligence by making him listen when Lane/Wayne lectures ....

[victorsage]

I've always wanted to see a world with a similar set up to the ending of K-Metal from Krypton. I guess I'd set up a universe that has a sci-fi and noir mix. The combination of the style of the 30s and 40s would be mixed in a modern setting with a positive look towards the future. A mix of timeless style, and great adventures.

I'd also divided the books up to have different main focuses. For example Action Comics may deal more with Clark dealing with issues that are more local, with a push more towards "Earthly" problems. Well Superman may at times have him dealing with more intergalactic issues. There would be elements that connect each books, largely the world of the Daily Planet that is his daily work place, where many of his co-workers and friends are. I also retry doing a book that revolves around Metropolis.

I'd also bring back a lot of things that many of the 52 fans are glad are gone, but there is no reason to start that argument up for the millionth time. I would get rid of the Batman/Wonder Woman mixed comics as well though. I want Superman's world built up on his own again.

[Burning Eyes]

If I were in charge of Superman . . .

First, I would remove Superman's depowering under Red Sunlight. Kryptonians absorb Electromagnetic Energy to compensate for their evolution on a High-Gravity World, Yellow Sunlight simply provides a little more bang-for-the-buck, so to speak.

Second, every Superman story will be a frenzy of action and fisticuffs. We're talking massive destruction of property. At the end of each story, the villain is completely and utterly trounced, Superman delivers the villain to whoever the proper authorities in the matter are, and then turns around to look at the devastation and says to the good people of metropolis "Don't worry, I can fix it." And then he does, and the people cheer for him in delight and adoration

Third, Each story will have Lois Lane and Clark Kent in a state of Never-ending Flirtatious Competition, Each trying to get the "scoop" before the other, with Perry White and Jimmy Olsen caught in the middle.

Fourth, pull Lex Luthor out of the Justice League and put him back in the Superman titles where he belongs! Make him super-genius scientist and businessman prone to bouts of insanity and uncontrolled racist hatred of Superman. When he is in his more stable moods, he's the unflappable head of LexCorp. When he's having a psychotic episode, he's unleashing mad scientist schemes of world domination, global destruction, and ethnic cleansing on the fair city of Metropolis.

Fifth, bring back the Legion of Super-Heroes and put them squarely into the Superman family! The Legion of Super-Heroes was originally designed to give Superman (When he was a boy) friends from the future that he could relate to, plus give him some much needed experience in using his Super-Powers without fear of his secret identity being discovered.

Sixth, In at least one out of every three stories published under me, Lois Lane will be kidnapped by the bad guys, and Superman will rescue her. After the threat is eliminated, the two of them will argue over the fact that Lois decided to go off on her own and "get the story", with no regard to her own safety.

Seventh, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen will know that Clark Kent is Superman.

Eighth, Superman is invincible. No matter how powerful the Alien Invaders are, Superman is Stronger. No matter how devious the Mad Scientists and Illuminati's plots are, Superman will always outsmart them.

Ninth, Kryptonite can only be used in one story out of every seven, and whenever it is used, some average Joe (or Jane) off the streets will step forward and stand between it and Superman, enabling the Man of Steel to recover just enough from the Kryptonite's deadly radiations that he can get back up on his feet and disable or defeat whatever device or super-villain was using said Kryptonite to hinder him.

Lastly. The People of Metropolis love Superman.

[JBatmanFan05]

Burning Eyes and manofsteel1979 are the closest to my thinking.

-undo buncha current changes via a reboot (secret ID back, Sup/WW never happened, undo Grant's run even)
-unmarried Lois Lane and Clark Kent in a state of Never-ending Flirtatious Competition, each trying to get the "scoop" before the other, with Perry White and Jimmy Olsen caught in the middle.
-more past supporting cast, mix of fan favorites from over the decades like Bibbo, Steve Lombard, Cat Grant and Ron Troupe
-classic suit
-Lex is regular supporting villain again....he's a mix between businessman & scientist and the broad strokes of his Smallville origin are his new origin
-Kon-El/Conner totally retconned back to normal self
-no depower, Superman more like Silver Age power levels
-Lois gets kidnapped by the villains a lot and other classic old Superman tropes...every writer would have to watch the Fleischer shorts, the 1950s Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark, etc to make sure they understand and appreciate all the classic tropes that made Superman comics so fun
-Lois and Jimmy will not know Clark's secret ID
-more impose a mix between street level stories (that give social justice Superman more exposure) and crazier sci-fi.....I'd want some arcs to feel more 40s (street noir) and others more 50s/60s (Mort Weisinger Superman era)....maybe force Action to be one and Superman to be the other
-more Denny O'Neil level editorial control and mandate....no this & that that might be inconsistent with Superman, you don't like it, don't write...he's doesn't kill and doesn't do a bunch of things
-Terrence Stamp General Zod is a recurring foe, movie costume and all
-No more "Clark is who I am, Superman is what I can do"

[jimishim12]

-Make the Superman world more involved in the craziness in Superman's life actually having the power and the capabilities to help superman move and create a new take of ideas. One issue I have in the series is, everything except for Superman is distant(Earth basically) from his own concept and ordinary we never get a engaging story and fairly depicted characters to support Superman on a equal level(basically superheroes from other franchises do this). Supes needs to stop always being a main key element in being the only one who seems special amongst the narrative of his stories, while everyone else is a powerless decoration to emphasize Superman's heroic structure and image.

-Give the villians more potential to be as OP as Superman, Superman is too powerful and uncomprehendable for any of Superman's normal villians to stop. It takes away from the tension that Superman needs to earn his victory over the villian if he by all accounts is ungodly in all accounts to his foe. So more Braniacs and Darkseid types, but have them human, have them get cosmic powers from magical sources or other alien visitors that somehow got caught up in one of Superman's acts of duty and got afflicted with a mutation that gives them powers beyond mere mortal comprehension. Lex I'd keep natural as he is, no powers, but somehow like Doom he knows how to crack the secrets of the universe better than any mortal and can build prep that makes him stand on top of beings like the Anti Monitor or Soul Fire Darkseid.

-Less Authortive purity sue Superman, yes Superman is the moral imperative and measure of pure good in DC. But he isn't Cap nor should he be, he's a simple guy raised from a farm who likes to be good team player and a noble heart for the skeptics. Superman by all accounts should be more an everyman, he's racked with insecurities and feelings of fear and terror, but unlike Peter Parker, it is more to do with his unimaginable power and temptation to test his potential which would might make him see beyond everything he's ever loved. Superman shouldn't be a face of the law, he's to emotional to discipline himself to lead people and empose his will with commanding superiority, he should be one of guys who people naturally follow based on respect and personal preference. In short let Clark Kent be a guy playing a Superhero than be a Superhero playing Clark.

-Give Lois powers, thats all. Nothing to emphasize her. On that note give Jimmy powers too.

-More cosmic adventures with his super family, With conner(he's a clone I know) and with kara. There the last of thier spieces plus theres character development that could stem from Clark trying to connect to his heritage instead of the typical human basis of seeing his alien nature. Give Kara instead of a little sister dynamic with Superman a big sis dynamic, and have Superman follow her decisions based off his inability to access the situation so he differs to her for things he doesn't know but she does. Have conner prove himself as one of the family by having him jealous of Clark but eventually ties up with the guy when they patch things up through a missions they have on a planet together. Maybe both of them get into a fight because Con is desperately loving to rile Superman up based on obvious reasons.

- Make the Superman franchise focus on making Metropolis a world building future of wonder and the center of breakthrough science and improvement like the Legion of Superheroes universe. These can esculate into a generally better sci fi scope ala mass effect and more potential heroes and villians can be created to match Superman's concept of a "Man of Tomorrow" instead of "World of Cardboard" man. Superman shouldn't constantly feel out of place or even living in a equivilent of the real world with normal underdeveloped modern day people who face city destruction and threats from villains from space or even from earth and are just sheep in a overpowered herder farm. No I think Superman stories need to make the setting match the man of steel's sheer capacity and limitless application like Gotham City does for Batman and Paradise Island does for Wonder Woman.

-Give me more cosmic powers like Silver Surfer from Supes. He's an alien that absorbs raditions right so why can't he produce the same quantum energy from a satr which would make him like Captain Atom?

[Dr. Banner]

If I were in charge of Superman . . .

First, I would remove Superman's depowering under Red Sunlight. Kryptonians absorb Electromagnetic Energy to compensate for their evolution on a High-Gravity World, Yellow Sunlight simply provides a little more bang-for-the-buck, so to speak.

Second, every Superman story will be a frenzy of action and fisticuffs. We're talking massive destruction of property. At the end of each story, the villain is completely and utterly trounced, Superman delivers the villain to whoever the proper authorities in the matter are, and then turns around to look at the devastation and says to the good people of metropolis "Don't worry, I can fix it." And then he does, and the people cheer for him in delight and adoration

Third, Each story will have Lois Lane and Clark Kent in a state of Never-ending Flirtatious Competition, Each trying to get the "scoop" before the other, with Perry White and Jimmy Olsen caught in the middle.

Fourth, pull Lex Luthor out of the Justice League and put him back in the Superman titles where he belongs! Make him super-genius scientist and businessman prone to bouts of insanity and uncontrolled racist hatred of Superman. When he is in his more stable moods, he's the unflappable head of LexCorp. When he's having a psychotic episode, he's unleashing mad scientist schemes of world domination, global destruction, and ethnic cleansing on the fair city of Metropolis.

Fifth, bring back the Legion of Super-Heroes and put them squarely into the Superman family! The Legion of Super-Heroes was originally designed to give Superman (When he was a boy) friends from the future that he could relate to, plus give him some much needed experience in using his Super-Powers without fear of his secret identity being discovered.

Sixth, In at least one out of every three stories published under me, Lois Lane will be kidnapped by the bad guys, and Superman will rescue her. After the threat is eliminated, the two of them will argue over the fact that Lois decided to go off on her own and "get the story", with no regard to her own safety.

Seventh, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen will know that Clark Kent is Superman.

Eighth, Superman is invincible. No matter how powerful the Alien Invaders are, Superman is Stronger. No matter how devious the Mad Scientists and Illuminati's plots are, Superman will always outsmart them.

Ninth, Kryptonite can only be used in one story out of every seven, and whenever it is used, some average Joe (or Jane) off the streets will step forward and stand between it and Superman, enabling the Man of Steel to recover just enough from the Kryptonite's deadly radiations that he can get back up on his feet and disable or defeat whatever device or super-villain was using said Kryptonite to hinder him.

Lastly. The People of Metropolis love Superman.

Great stuff!

[protege]

I would connect krypton to Ancient Egypt because obviously there are similarities between the two. And I would also change his skin tone and hair. Because his powers comes from the sun he should have a tan and his hair should at a minimum be curly and not straight.

While I'm sort of intrigued by this (Maybe give supers an Egyptian adversary, like Black Adam) I have to wonder what would you do with Hawkman?

[Hilden B. Lade]

I'd take away the cape, remove the flight, and have him fight a giant spider with the help of his polar bear friends

[AlexanderLuthor]

All aspects?

Get working on a cartoon, quite possibly web-based, absolutely not connected to Cartoon Network, that delves into the limitless scope of the character, rather than trying to ground him. Get a talented novelist (or a few) to write some original novels, covering every demographic from young adults to the people who live and breathe Game of Thrones.

Get WB working on Man of Steel 2, but tell them to go in a totally different direction. Get him off planet, in another time or dimension, something other than the standard superhero stuff. Do a re-mixed version of Exile or something. Darkseid and the Fourth World. That story where Clark gets sent a million years into the future and the sun is red and humanity is dead (what series/issue was that?)

Run multiple versions of the character across the comics. A "Year One" type title (a maxiseries or weekly perhaps) that gets into his early days in the t-shirt and jeans. Call it Man of Tomorrow, because irony. Run a Vertigo title that remains true to his character but puts him in some really strange places only Vertigo could go, and confront him with some threats and problems that are totally not okay for kids. Dont care what you call it. And an alternate reality pulp-style comic inspired by things like the recent Bombshells stuff, Cooke's Frontier, or Robinson's Golden Age. Embrace that history, dont shy away from it.

Likewise, for the titles that are set in the main continuity, make them fun and intelligent and different. Pak's one-shot issue to Bizarro-World? Let's see stuff like that more often. Let's flex some creative muscles and put Superman in places no one else can go, in genres he typically doesnt move it (mystery, spy thriller, old west, bromance dramady, horror, ect).

Put him in a costume a little closer to the classic one, but that doesnt look like a cheap Halloween outfit brought at Wal-Mart.

Make Lois relevant again. Dont care how, so long as they dont make her a villain or a b!!ch.

No more "Clark is who I am, Superman is what I can do" crap. That doesnt make sense and goes against every version of him outside of post-Crisis comics and the shows created during that time. It's not who he is and is not who he is supposed to be.

Taking the good of post-Crisis, explore Metropolis and the supporting cast more. Bibbo. Gangbuster. Ron Troupe. Henderson. Sawyer (steal her back from Gotham!) Turpin, ect.

Hire a core creative unit to plot the character's long term goals and direction, a five year plan at least (I'd rather ten). Then stick to it. Post-Crisis (especially the 00's) did a lot of damage. It wont be fixed overnight, so dont expect miracles. But consistent, quality storytelling with the kind of daring imagination we've come to expect from the indies? That's the ticket back to the top.

You're hired!