So, what is *your* take on Superman?

[666MasterOfPuppets]

OK people, what if we do this once again? I believe I started a similar thread years ago, but it was deleted. So, how would you write him? Would you change anything from his origin? Interactions? Relationships? Settings? Enemies? Powers? Suit? Fortress? Would you change anything from Krypton? Would he still work at The Planet? (Regarding this final question, I thought him quitting the planet and going independent was an interesting move, perhaps I'd try something similar, OR I'd change the daily itself)

In my case, my vision is very specific, and it starts with two words: alien god (but I guess you already know that, eh? ).

Alien, because I'm sick of him being portrayed as a meta and hell, if he's an alien he should be portrayed as such (and no, by that I don't mean that he should be detached from humanity or anything of the sort). And god, because he should be *crazy* powerful. And immortal. And a scientist. I think it's fun to see him in his lab creating stuff. I really want to enhance the sci-fi aspect of the character.

And here is where my touted "Superman guidelines" come into play. They are also very specific.

I would certainly redesign his suit to make it look more alien. It would be tough though. There are lots of awesome redesigns out there, but I'd give it a shot anyway. But damn, it's been so long since I last drew anything.

As for personality, perhaps among the lines of early n52 Supes. Intimidating when he wants to be, irreverent to those who want to put him down, and a bit of a temper.

And yes, there's SMWW.

So, how about you?

[DieHard200904]

Origin:

Probably would just use the Morrison/Morales origin story, I know it's recycling, but I find it simple not to change much.

How he is: I would be somewhat cautious about how I handled him, again, tease him, get him progressively more powerful, and restrict any depowerments to happen sparingly. I would make his Kryptonite weakness something he would phase out of with time, because I would prefer giving him, despite his great power, villains like Pre-Crisis Mongul that can overpower him so that he needs to be somewhat tactical in his fighting.

Relationships: You could count on me teasing the entire Pre-Crisis lineup: That includes Lana, Lyla, Lori, Lois, Diana, and even others. Let's face it, Superman is one attractive guy, and I would try really hard not to make any endgame obvious. In fact, during canon, I would simply make multiple Elseworlds type stories assuming that he got into a committed relationship/had kids with person X, while focusing on a young Superman in canon stories.

I would certainly bring back some characters, however brief, such as Linda Danvers, Conner Kent, etc.

I would like to keep the Golden Age/N52 personality at the start but go into the Silver Age personality later on. I would like to have him do some superdickery too.

Utilize a long line of villains from various ages against Superman ranging from Hercules wanting to prove who the strongest man is up to Conduit from Post-Crisis or Helspont.

I would make the Daily Planet an internet news service, and have some outings with the LCJ (Lois, Clark, Jimmy) team. I would have his close friends in on the secret and have them pull of schemes to help cover for the Secret Identity when needed.

[Ascended]

Oh, I'd change a lot.

Well....not so much "change" as "redefine" and possibly "update" could be a fitting word in some cases as well.

For me one of the big issues is the Planet. There's nothing wrong with Clark being a journalist, and, really, nothing even that wrong with the idea of him working in a failing industry. But the way the Planet is written is more jarring and otherworldly than a flying man. Its like no one told the Planet that print is dead, and the place just keeps on humming as if it were 1979 and people still read newspapers regularly. Im a big news junkie but even I left newspapers behind for my tablet years ago and get my New York Times digitally.

I'd update the Planet so it felt contemporary. That could be done in any number of ways but one that Im rather fond of is treating it like an underground movement. Perhaps the Planet was a massive, successful paper once, but like all of print it fell on hard times and struggled to adapt to the digital age. So Perry buys the name (perhaps with a loan from Lex, just for drama down the line) and updates it so its a fully online, "guerrilla" news source; attacking crime and corruption and scandal and wielding the truth like a twenty-ton hammer. Lois would stream the news live with Jim as her cameraman, and still write articles about the fantastical events that happen of course, and Clark would post blogs and opinion pieces as well as write articles on social issues (something Superman cant really affect directly).

There's a ton more, covering every aspect of the mythology, but ya'll will just have to wait for the day DC comes to their senses and hires me to find out what. (kidding about that. Well, half-way kidding. Im not exactly chasing employment there but wouldnt turn it down either).

And for the record, that's not the direction I myself would go with the Planet, just one I find appealing.

[manofsteel1979]

A hercules in Strength!

A genius in intellect!

Champion of the oppressed!

Faster than a comet, more powerful than a solar storm

It's SUPERMAN

And who disguised as Clark Kent, fights a never ending battle for Truth and Justice.

Just, look...up in the sky!

[StrikeJP]

I'd use Birthright as my origin and work from there. These are some bullet points I'd focus on:

-Clark and Lois would go on lots of reporting adventures. They would be a team, not necessarily adversaries (maybe sometimes). One week they could be in a political thriller uncovering government corruption, the next week they could be trying to figure out how Intergang got a hold of alien weaponry, etc. Also, as Ascended mentioned, the Daily Planet would need to be modernized.

-Jimmy would not only be a photographer but a tech wiz. He could help Superman out similar to how Felicity helps Green Arrow. Gives him something a bit more to do.

-Lex Luthor would not only be a main villain, but practically a supporting cast member. He would also kind of have his own secret identity. Ruthless business man by day, evil mad scientist by night.

-Supporting cast would be important. You would see lots of Lois, Jimmy, Lex, Perry, Kents, Lana, etc.

-I'd make the Secret Identity important again. Maybe dig Conduit out of the closet and tell a story of just how wrong life can go if someone figures out Clark and Superman are the same.

-And this would be his Costume (thanks to L.R Johansson):
Rebirth_Superman_shaner_redesigned_3.jpg

[666MasterOfPuppets]

Great posts everyone! Thanks for checking this thread out and commenting.

Seems we all agree on updating The Planet. Ascended's idea is indeed appealing. Also, digging Strike's take on Luthor, like a guy working from the shadows, the mind behind strange happenings in Metropolis and elsewhere around the world. A mystery for Clark and Lois to solve. Perhaps it could include some dark political connections. Some big cahuna a in the government or something.

And that's a cool looking suit, BTW. I'd go farther from the classic design, though. I've been brewing the idea of the suit for a while and I'm starting to see in my mind how'd I like it to look. Perhaps I'll pick up a pencil after all and attempt to draw it.

And besides, why just one suit? It's a thing that's bugged me for some time now. And not just in Superman's case, but the whole superhero community in general. He should have a "regular" suit, a Kryptonian armor, a ceremonial armor, and something relaxed for whenever he's resting at The Fortress.

As for the "genius in intellect": glad we're on the same page, ManOfSteel. Digging a lot the "faster than a comet, more powerful than a solar storm" line.

Regarding some members of the supporting cast, I've been thinking about including Supergirl or not. And I'm leaning towards not including her. Unless she's not a Kryptonian. I'd really like him to be the only one left. As for him having different relationships, sounds interesting and actually pretty contemporary. Especially when including those Elseworlds stories you're proposing, DieHard.

Perhaps I'd do the same, via flashbacks or something (perhaps an event that triggers a specific memory of a past relationship, so it ties to the main story being told, a la Man Of Steel). But I'm a SMWW guy, so I'd focus on that in the present.

[DieHard200904]

Great posts everyone! Thanks for checking this thread out and commenting.

Seems we all agree on updating The Planet. Ascended's idea is indeed appealing. Also, digging Strike's take on Luthor, like a guy working from the shadows, the mind behind strange happenings in Metropolis and elsewhere around the world. A mystery for Clark and Lois to solve. Perhaps it could include some dark political connections. Some big cahuna a in the government or something.

And that's a cool looking suit, BTW. I'd go farther from the classic design, though. I've been brewing the idea of the suit for a while and I'm starting to see in my mind how'd I like it to look. Perhaps I'll pick up a pencil after all and attempt to draw it.

And besides, why just one suit? It's a thing that's bugged me for some time now. And not just in Superman's case, but the whole superhero community in general. He should have a "regular" suit, a Kryptonian armor, a ceremonial armor, and something relaxed for whenever he's resting at The Fortress.

As for the "genius in intellect": glad we're on the same page, ManOfSteel. Digging a lot the "faster than a comet, more powerful than a solar storm" line.

Regarding some members of the supporting cast, I've been thinking about including Supergirl or not. And I'm leaning towards not including her. Unless she's not a Kryptonian. I'd really like him to be the only one left. As for him having different relationships, sounds interesting and actually pretty contemporary. Especially when including those Elseworlds stories you're proposing, DieHard.

Perhaps I'd do the same, via flashbacks or something (perhaps an event that triggers a specific memory of a past relationship, so it ties to the main story being told, a la Man Of Steel). But I'm a SMWW guy, so I'd focus on that in the present.

I mentioned Linda Danvers because she was not a Kryptonian Supergirl, nor was Matrix before her. I also feel that some serious injustice was dealt to Linda in the late 90s.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

What happened to her? Can't remember...

[Last Son of Krypton]

What happened to her? Can't remember...

Matrix/Linda ended up in comics-limbo after the (re)introduction of Kara Zor-El as Supergirl.

[DieHard200904]

Matrix/Linda ended up in comics-limbo after the (re)introduction of Kara Zor-El as Supergirl.

Don't forget little Ariella, her little baby girl via Silver Age Superman that flies around the cosmos on a surfboard and does God-power acts.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Don't forget little Ariella, her little baby girl via Silver Age Superman that flies around the cosmos on a surfboard and does God-power acts.

I remember her, I recently re-read the whole Supergirl run by Peter David.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I have always seen Superman as a god who thinks he's a man, similar to how Batman is a man who has tricked criminals into thinking he's a god.

Because Superman is so god-like (which doesn't mean perfect), I think Lois & Jimmy really need to be the POV characters. The fact that DC hasn't had a Lois Lane solo comic in decades is astonishing to me. She's one of the most recognizable characters in history and DC doesn't think she could support her own series? How many times have B-listers and C-listers like Aquaman, Hawkman, The Atom, Doctor Fate and The Spectre gotten another failed solo series over the years while Lois Freaking Lane gets nothing? She's a woman so special, so human, so fearless and courageous that she's won the heart of the most powerful being on Earth, but she doesn't have enough potential to support a monthly series? I call shenanigans on all that noise.

I like the merger of billionaire mogul Lex and mad scientist Lex. While I think he should be spending time in prison, he should also be smart enough to wrangle himself numerous pardons, mistrials and endless appeals to walk free just as often. I think having Lex and Clark be friends when they were teenagers is important to their contemporary antagonism, because Superman needs to have known Lex before he was a villain. He needs to know that underneath all the hate and darkness, there is still a brilliant genius who could do great things for the world. Without that, the rivalry between them is missing a crucial element.

As far as the origin goes, I think a healthy mix of Waid's Clark/Lex from Birthright, Johns' Silver Age/Bronze Age/Donner/Byrne redux from Secret Origin and Morrison's Golden Age social crusader revival would work the best.

Superman has plenty of great villains that challenge him both mentally and physically, but the real challenge for a character as powerful as Superman is finding conflicts that put him to the test spiritually, that force him to make tough moral choices and emerge victorious. And I am not taking about executing Zod. Superman doesn't kill. Period. Superman always finds a way. Superman does the impossible.

[Francisco]

A hercules in Strength!

A genius in intellect!

Champion of the oppressed!

Faster than a comet, more powerful than a solar storm

It's SUPERMAN

And who disguised as Clark Kent, fights a never ending battle for Truth and Justice.

Just, look...up in the sky!

This by Krypton this!!

[StrikeJP]

Also, digging Strike's take on Luthor, like a guy working from the shadows, the mind behind strange happenings in Metropolis and elsewhere around the world. A mystery for Clark and Lois to solve. Perhaps it could include some dark political connections. Some big cahuna a in the government or something.

And that's a cool looking suit, BTW. I'd go farther from the classic design, though. I've been brewing the idea of the suit for a while and I'm starting to see in my mind how'd I like it to look. Perhaps I'll pick up a pencil after all and attempt to draw it.

Regarding some members of the supporting cast, I've been thinking about including Supergirl or not. And I'm leaning towards not including her. Unless she's not a Kryptonian. I'd really like him to be the only one left. As for him having different relationships, sounds interesting and actually pretty contemporary. Especially when including those Elseworlds stories you're proposing, DieHard.

Thanks! Always seemed like common sense to me to combine both aspects of Lex.

I'd be interested in seeing your take on the suit! That being said, I do think its dangerous to stray too far from the original suit. My idea of the suit is that it needs that classic feel to it while being slightly modernized.

As far as Supergirl goes, she should be around, but I wouldn't make her a supporting cast. Same goes for Superboy.

On a side note, everyone loves T-shirt and jeans social crusader Superman... that would be my take on Superboy. That way we could have a more "mature/experienced" Superman. Meanwhile, Kon could fill out that "brash/impulsive" Superman void.

[sunofdarkchild]

My take is to define Superman by his relationships. His friends and family make him who he is far more than his powers. His relationships with humans are to be emphasized.

Characters to introduce early on-Linda Danvers/Matrix and Steel. These characters emphasize his ability to inspire people, including other heroes, and the stepsister relastionship with Linda is one of his most interesting.

Characters to be introduced later on-Kara and Connor. Even if Supes isn't the 'last son,' he should stay that way for a while. By their nature these characters cannot be there at the start of a new continuity. As a clone Connor is obviously someone who can't exist until Superman is established, and having another recurring Kryptonian character makes Superman less special if done too early.