Should We New52 Superman Fans Resign Ourselves to SuperDad, and, if so, How?

[SuperCrab]

I hope new52 Superman comes back full time, and would probably be okay with him getting a few of SuperDad's memories or whatever to added to his own, as other new52 characters may be getting from their past selves, as long as he comes back. However, I don't think he will come back

Part of me would like to be persuaded that I should get the SuperDad books, or at least one of them (i.e. Superman *or* Action Comics), or at least one side book like the new Justice League. But I really have found SuperDad a boring and dislikeable character when I've read him, and I resent him taking my favorite character's place. I also dislike kid superheoroes in general, so his 10 year old son being one and being a huge part of the Superman and Action Comics titles for the first few months (And likely beyond) is a huge turnoff (Going by solicitations, it sounds like Superman is like that from the word go, whereas Action Comics eases us in, but they both get there).

So, this thread isn't about arguing about the merits of the two versions of Superman, really. Its about is there any way people like me can come to terms with this and embrace SuperDad? If so, how would we do it? Is there some way of thinking about it that I'm missing?

I mean, if they somehow do bring back new53 Superman, I assume I'll hear about it, either here and on the comic book sites if I stick around, or maybe word of mouth if I don't, and I can then pick up the titles from that point if it happens, and even could consider getting the back titles, especially if they are on sale, to see how things got to this "happy ending" if I want to.

But assuming my guy is never coming back, is there any good way to psych myself into liking the new guy and his son at least enough to buy and enjoy his issues? Should I even be trying to find that out, or just vote with my wallet and say its the entertainment company's job to present something I like enough to want to buy without psyching myself into it, and just move on?

I don't want to just stick around as a subscriber just in case or assuming my character comes back, because if I'm right and he doesn't, I'll have wasted time, money, and so forth, and set myself up for another grave round of disappointment. It also occurs to me that I should vote against this new direction with my wallet, in case that makes a difference along with other people doing the same thing (It probably won't, but it's not impossible).

I do love Superman, though. Is that enough? Should it be enough? How can I think of this in a way that'll make me want to read and enjoy the comics?

[manofsteel1979]

If you are specifically attached to a particular version, and don't see yourself liking another version, don't force yourself. If you don't like something and it's going to literally cause you displeasure to read it, don't. Save your money and sanity. If you eventually come around and find something to like, then come back.

Every fan is different. Me, I just generally like Superman comics and particularly good ones. I have my preferences as does everyone,but I'm fairly open minded.

After all as I say often, there isn't a REAL Superman...just the one you prefer and see as the ideal.


Buy and read what you'll enjoy. Don't force yourself to buy things you aren't.

[DieHard200904]

If you don't enjoy it, or it asks you to think too much, then please, don't get what you don't enjoy. Chances are there will be a one Superman universe years down the line, and hopefully less convoluted too.

You mentioned Squadron Supreme so far, so if you enjoy those Marvel equivalent of the Justice League, why not just go for it? I personally am enjoying the various animated presentations of SUperman right now, because there, his story isn't complicated like the DC Universe is going to be come rebirth, the animated versions have a simple story. Elseworlds versions of the character have simple stories. Also, rather than get mad, you can check out the imagination threads that 666MasterofPuppets or myself pull off, because well, presenting your imaginary pitches is something that I have seen the various posters have enjoyment in doing, almost no one argues. IN fact, my most recent imaginary pitch thread is right here, where you think about your own "Elseworlds" take on Superman.

I would recommend the character of Supreme, written by Alan Moore and others for Image Comics, he has a lot in common with Pre-Crisis Superman, and he also has his own people who he has endowed with power in the form of Kid Supreme, Suprema, and Radar. If you like Bronze Age/Silver Age DC, you would like the character known as Supreme.

[GodofBoredom]

It wouldn't make sense for him not to come back, spoilers:

considering the fact that he's BOTH versions, pre-Flashpoint and New 52, it's just that his memory/time has been plucked out by Dr. Manhattan.

end of spoilers

But then again, it's DC, so until he come back, I'm not buying any Superman books.

[Ascended]

Over the years Ive learned that there is no such thing as the "real" Superman, merely different versions of the same construct. I certainly consider certain versions to be more "true" to the idea than others, but in the end, I have never found a version of Superman in any format, from any era, that didnt contribute something worthwhile to the collective whole.

Read what you like. Skip what you dont. I feel like you've asked this question before, have you not?

My only thought is this; check out one of the Rebirth specials. If you dont know what you're missing, you wont know whether you'll like it or not. So drop the 3 bucks to find out, assuming you have 3 bucks to burn on something that might not appeal to you. If not, check out the reviews and stuff, see what others say, and then decide.

If this is something you're not interested in (and trust me, I get that) then you have a chance to branch out into other Superman eras. This is what happened to me in the early 00's. The books, which had honestly been getting weak for years, finally hit the point I couldn't stand reading them anymore. So I started getting older material for my Superman fix, and that opened up a whole new world I had never given much thought to. Reading the older material completely changed my view of the character, and I started looking at the totality of his history and not just the era I happened to start reading first. Believe it or not, until that point I was a die-hard post-Crisis supporter.

So if this convoluted mess of a whatever the f**k Rebirth is supposed to be doesnt interest you, might I suggest you pick up some Golden Age and Bronze Age material instead? The early Action/Superman stuff is pure gold, and very much akin to Nuperman in attitude. Well worth it. And some of the Bronze Age stuff....well, the Bronze Age was likely the best era of Superman ever; all the power and scale and scope of the Silver Age, all the character work and development of the modern age, but very little of the ridiculous excesses the Silver Age is known for.

[DragonPiece]

I was probably one of, if not the biggest New 52 Superman supper on these forums back in 2011-2012, and I have already accepted super dad over the past month. We know he will eventually return anyway, so we might as well embrace seeing some new stories. Our love for Nuperman will only grow waiting for him to return and it'll be interesting seeing Superman as a dad.

[adrikito]

I hope new52 Superman comes back full time, maybe gets a few of new52 Superman's memories or whatever to add to his own, as other new52 charactees may be getting, but I don't think he will.

I do love Suoerman, though. Is that enough? Should it be enough? How can I think of this in a way that'll make me want to read and enjoy the comics?

The thing is, we delude with superman in new 52 but.. New 52 Superman was "never who we thought he was" FOR THE CONVERGENCE WITH THE HELP OF ANTI-NEW52 FANS..

In the end maybe superman is not a character for us... Imagine if there are old fans who have achieved this ... Maybe in a few years, more olders, Superman become a more suitable character for us... Now possibly he becomes in very boring for young people.. they will ward off new fans of he..

I'm not cool man.. even now I hate people who have made me suffer in the past, I only forgiven those who I see different persons now... but I see a cool superman and I liked, the character continued to act like Superman .. that was the problem?

batman always seemed cool since I was little, I still see the same, he has not changed... Things of age.

I'm too young with 22 years(23 in july)... but as has been shown with the old fans, nobody likes DC remove what you have..

[JasonTodd428]

My best advice would be not to bother with any of it if you know that you're not going to get any enjoyment from reading them. I've made that mistake before myself with several titles in the past just because I'd always been a supporter of a particular character or book and all that did was leave me very dissatisfied and unhappy all the time I was continuing to read those titles. Then again I just don't have the drive some people apparently have to keep reading book I don't enjoy in the first place. I find that to be a waste of time and money given how many comics are published these days. Save your money and use it to buy some other books you can enjoy instead.

[SuperCrab]

Thanks for all the responses. Interesting stuff so far. I'll think about it all carefully.

In the meantime, I've been trying to dig a little bit deeper into this stuff myself...

Though I've been a Superman fan probably all my life with the movies and the Dean Cain Lois and Clark TV series and whatnot, I only really got into comics a few years ago, new52 Superman was basically my guy.

So, I tried to think back and said, well, what if the new52 had never happened, would I have gotten into the pre-Flashpoint Superman, who at that point would have just been the continuous Superman from 1986 on? What if the fact that he's not the best Superman (for me), and that I feel gipped that all those new52 comics I bought are no longer remembered by heir to the Superman titles (Essentially not counting), is getting in the way of something that if I hadn't seen that Superman could be better and weren't bitter about what happened with the version, stories, and continuity I loved, that I might be a reader of?

The answer gets complicated, because I think I might have tried that Superman, and I might have been hooked and enjoyed his adventures, *but* of course that world didn't happen, and this Superman, even if he does turn out to be the Pre-Flashpoint Superman (Something that actually I'm beginning to question), may not be that guy in terms of how he is written and the world he inhabits. And, even erasing the new52 experience, I highly doubt I would have ever jumped on board to a comic that was equally about Superman's 10-year old crime fighting son. That's a long time conceit I haven't liked in various media. Like, sure, in some alternate universe without Flashpoint and the new52, I might be reading the pre-Flashpoint Superman, but only if he either didn't have a kid, or he just had a non-superhero kid who was a background character rather than a superhero written as a co-star. I think even if that had been the Superman when I started reading comics, I'd have rejected it because of the superhero kid being such a strong element of the storylines.

I unfortunately have to conclude that I would never had read this particular series as it is constructed now (Well, post-Rebirth now, a week from now). Had they brought back to the Pre-Flashpoint Superman without the superhero kid, I might have resigned myself to it and kept reading. Had they brought back the Pre-Flashpoint without the Superhero kid and merged him with the new52 Superman, I would have been even more likely to get behind it (Well, continued to read it), and had they kept the new52 Superman and just given him so extra memories from the Pre-Flashpoint version (and obviously no kid), I'd have definitely bought it.

But they are bringing together a lot of things I don't like in one package right now, and I think it's ultimately going to prove impossible for me to give on all of them. It's not like they are throwing one thing at me and I just have to get used to that thing, they are throwing a ton of things at me and I have to get used to all of them. I don't think I can do it.

It doesn't help that I found the Lois and Clark miniseries boring (At least through to when I cancelled my subscription), and I find the scenes with SuperDad in the Last Days of Superman arc mostly make my brain wander and annoy me.

I like Superman, and I feel like I'd find a way to like or tolerate a lot of potential changes (Like Truth) or reboots. This is just like the worst of all possible worlds to me. I really don't think I can do. But obviously part of me *wants* to do it. I do like the less expensive $2.99 cover prices.

It's just a shame. I wish I could say that I feel confident that new52 Superman will be back and no one will buy the SuperDad comics and force his return even if they weren't planning on it, but having read the spoilers for the universe-wide Rebirth title, I think this will hook enough people that SuperDad will get entrenched (Even though I'm not thrilled about what they are doing with that either- I think it'll go over better with others).

So probably I vote with my wallet and don't get the comics. I mean, I do have a very limited income, and buying comics I think I'll dislike isn't a wise use of my money. I just wish they had done something different here. It doesn't even have to be my version of Superman completely- just something I could be okay with. This just isn't it, though.

[adrikito]

It's just a shame. I wish I could say that I feel confident that new52 Superman will be back and no one will buy the SuperDad comics and force his return even if they weren't planning on it, but having read the spoilers for the universe-wide Rebirth title, I think this will hook enough people that SuperDad will get entrenched (Even though I'm not thrilled about what they are doing with that either- I think it'll go over better with others).

So probably I vote with my wallet and don't get the comics. I mean, I do have a very limited income, and buying comics I think I'll dislike isn't a wise use of my money. I just wish they had done something different here. It doesn't even have to be my version of Superman completely- just something I could be okay with. This just isn't it, though.

Not worth spending money for something you do not like. Many ANTI-NEW52 fans Buy now for the death of Superman.. Because this interests them...and Rebirth starts with them praising his superman and complaining the previous superman. SURE.. Like now.

I'm getting tired of many negative comment to my superman.. Few people want to encourage you to read.. only ever grumble new52 superman.

Old fans abandoned with new 52.. We can do this now.. Another thing is you want to try read superman again..

Superman is the past.. Once end October.. I will finish the remaining comics of new 52 superman.. JLA and the Annual are this month.

[TheSupernaut]

I don't think he's coming back guys. I feel like most things New 52 related are going to be ignored after Rebirth.

[adrikito]

I don't think he's coming back guys. I feel like most things New 52 related are going to be ignored after Rebirth.

Sure.. Superman never was for young people.. DC try and lost many of his old fans apparently..

It was a golden era (not truth) for young people with superman .. but that's over... Now even with family Superman is for older people(30-40 years and more older people) and children...

[Will J.]

Well, I certainly understand your dilemma, SuperCrab, and it's one I've struggled with for a while now myself. But this whole Rebirth thing, at least for the time being, has killed my interest in DC as a whole going forward. I'm a big proponent of moving forward, not treading water or going backwards, with the caveat that the quality of the concept and writing can probably change my mind.

As it pertains to Superman specifically, while I'm disappointed with what they decided to do, I'm looking at it as Superman being safe from the clusterf**kery to come. Because from what I understand, according to what Rebirth apparently establishes with the whole lost time thing, Superman per New 52 is the proper Superman while SuperDad is the actual anomaly. Though I suspect DC will try to make this case a special circumstance type deal to appease the SuperDad fans.

Not that it matters to me, because I agree with GodofBoredom. The New 52 Superman is the proper one, as dictated by what Johns did in Rebirth. No matter what DC or its defenders say on the matter.

Long story short, I'm walking while laughing my ass off at how, yet again, DC continues to make Alan Moore's point for him. Him being considered a douchebag by some doesn't mean he isn't spitting truth.

[MeloDet]

Yeah, I definitely know how you're feeling. I have no issue with the other New 52 fans that have already committed to walking, but I still wish I were able to give SuperDad a fair shake. As it is though I can't for pretty much all the reasons you listed; I resent him taking New 52 Superman's place, I find him as unlikeable now as I did in almost every Post-Crisis comic I've read (and that's not just Post-2000's, I disliked him in the triangle era too), and while I don't have as much of an issue with kid superheroes (I don't read em, but I don't disapprove of their existence) I still don't want to read about a family man Superman (unless it was just as an ending after years of buildup). I wish I were as unbiased as some of the fans around here (thinking of Superlad atm) and able to honestly say that as long as the stories are good then I'm fine with it, but I'm just not. I may be fine with a large range of portrayals for the character (from Landis', to Pak's, to SA craziness) but I seem to have a fair number of sticking points that, if present, can all but prevent me from enjoying the character. And that sucks! I genuinely wish that weren't the case because, well, then I could enjoy more Superman comics and why wouldn't I want that? As it is though I find you've gotta be honest with yourself on these things, and if you can't bring yourself to enjoy a character don't force it, or you'll end up resenting them even more.

[hellacre]

I'm done. They packaged a product with the new 52. Encouraged me to buy it and now instead they at least try to give new 52 Superman a happy ending and reboot if they really believed in the old one...they basically kill him...possibly saying he wasn't who he was etc. Least pre new 52 fans got a happy ending some sense of Hope when they closed that verse. The readers who got on board in 2011 gets something like a slap. DC does not deserve my money. Well to be honest they clear whose business they want. It's a certain demographic and type of reader. I don't fall into that category. Problem is still the way the books were managed and some of the story telling. Poor storylines and too many crossovers , sabotaging the focus of books etc...they really think bringing back "classic" is going to solve that? It's a managerial one. Two years down the line some gimmick will have to be employed again.

DC delivers a product. I am not interested in their product right now and the way they managed it...well like anything else...I don't keep buying from a company that hasn't really done what they said they would do. That is how I look at it.