Who is the current Superman?

[Stanlos]

I feel that the current situation with Superman is not going anywhere except another reboot/relaunch.
I have a deja-vu of the continuity mess after Infinte Crisis/One Year Later. DC never learns.

PLEASE, Strawberry Blonde Jesus, PLEASE let it NOT be another stunt like ONE YEAR LATER. That made NO SENSE at all!

[Sacred Knight]

The last thing that would be appropriate after Rebirth would be another event that skips time, considering what Rebirth is all about. The smart money says after Rebirth they push another new initiative-like event, as I think they've finally "learned" from Marvel (not a good thing for stories but sadly its a successful model for sales), but hopefully it won't have anything to do with time this time around. Let Rebirth put any timeline mysteries to rest for a good few years at freaking least.

[manofsteel1979]

I guess some people hate Nuperman so much that to them,any part of that continuity finding its way into the official running continuity is unacceptable,because to do so means acknowledging that some of Nuperman was just as valid and worthy as any other past version of the character and not the complete abomination and dumpster fire that those most virulent of haters want history to be rewritten as. The fact they would rather have everything that happened over the last 5 years to be because of some elaborate hoax and are okay with a simple cut and paste job are a testament to that mindset.

I also get a sense of "getting even" also permeating this mindset.For some the fans of Nuperman took away their 30 years of continuity,so it's " only fair" that the Nuperman fans completely lose their 5 years of investment in the character without any attempt to salvage and incorporate that into the ongoing narrative. If that's the case,then it's extremely childish and selfish and needlessly vindictive.

Yes,Nuperman had major issues from the start,he wasn't perfect but neither was Post Crisis Superman and especially what we had by September 2011. Nuperman...or New 52 Superman,was and is just as valid a take on the character as any and there were a lot of good ideas. Ideas that can and should be incorporated going forward.

[manduck37]

So I just had a kind of crazy thought. What if all those releases of power from Nuperman's death are physical manifestations of Superman's lost time? We know that everyone lost 10 years of time (or there about). We have two Supermen who coexisted for a time. We know that both Supermen aren't what they thought they were. So what if Superdad is actually from this universe and not an alternate universe like he thought? What if Nuperman was a physical manifestation of Superman's lost time? He's the younger version created from the very memories of Superman's youth. We've seen that those possessed by the solar power seem drawn to Superman. Perhaps those memories are trying to return home. So both Supermen would, in essence, be the real Superman. So it wouldn't be that Superdad is a future version, it would be that Nuperman is a past version. Each one with half the memories of the whole with the two halves trying to find each other. Nuperman is a blending of Superman's history up through Pre-Crisis. Superdad is the modern day progression of the character, the married family man of Post-Crisis. All of Superman's history actually does count and it's trying to come together. Nuperman's body crumbled to dust when he died and released those blasts of power. Lana has some of Clark's memories. So did the ex-con who attacked. They all seem to be getting power. It all feels like puzzle pieces to me, trying to fit together. Perhaps that blue hand print at Nuperman's grave was to show that Manhattan was responsible for the split. Manhattan's influence and energy are lingering and reacting to Superman, since it was used to divide him.

That doesn't reconcile the two Lois Lane's though. Just a crazy theory to add to the pile of crazy theories.

[manofsteel1979]

So I just had a kind of crazy thought. What if all those releases of power from Nuperman's death are physical manifestations of Superman's lost time? We know that everyone lost 10 years of time (or there about). We have two Supermen who coexisted for a time. We know that both Supermen aren't what they thought they were. So what if Superdad is actually from this universe and not an alternate universe like he thought? What if Nuperman was a physical manifestation of Superman's lost time? He's the younger version created from the very memories of Superman's youth. We've seen that those possessed by the solar power seem drawn to Superman. Perhaps those memories are trying to return home. So both Supermen would, in essence, be the real Superman. So it wouldn't be that Superdad is a future version, it would be that Nuperman is a past version. Each one with half the memories of the whole with the two halves trying to find each other. Nuperman is a blending of Superman's history up through Pre-Crisis. Superdad is the modern day progression of the character, the married family man of Post-Crisis. All of Superman's history actually does count and it's trying to come together. Nuperman's body crumbled to dust when he died and released those blasts of power. Lana has some of Clark's memories. So did the ex-con who attacked. They all seem to be getting power. It all feels like puzzle pieces to me, trying to fit together. Perhaps that blue hand print at Nuperman's grave was to show that Manhattan was responsible for the split. Manhattan's influence and energy are lingering and reacting to Superman, since it was used to divide him.

That doesn't reconcile the two Lois Lane's though. Just a crazy theory to add to the pile of crazy theories.

I like it. I like it a lot. The only flaw in the theory are the dual Lois Lane's,unless she is also some manifestation of lost memories.

[manduck37]

I like it. I like it a lot. The only flaw in the theory are the dual Lois Lane's,unless she is also some manifestation of lost memories.

Yeah, the two Lois Lanes poses a problem. Though I guess we'll see what plays out in Superwoman. If New 52 Lois meets a similar fate to New 52 Superman, then it could be possible she's a manifestation of lost memories too. The two Lois's seem to be pretty quick to work together on something. Wasn't there something in the solicits about the married Lois working at the Planet again? If she's going back to the Planet to write, it could be an indicator that New 52 Lois won't be around.

[Tayswift]

Yeah, the two Lois Lanes poses a problem. Though I guess we'll see what plays out in Superwoman. If New 52 Lois meets a similar fate to New 52 Superman, then it could be possible she's a manifestation of lost memories too. The two Lois's seem to be pretty quick to work together on something. Wasn't there something in the solicits about the married Lois working at the Planet again? If she's going back to the Planet to write, it could be an indicator that New 52 Lois won't be around.

pew52 lois is back at the planet diary.

[Chris24601]

Just because it has to be said... Byrne, Johns, Morrison... you're all wrong.

Superdad's origin is totally BIRTHRIGHT.

[theoneandonly]

superman himself should ask who he is to kismet or some other cosmic entity

[manofsteel1979]

Just because it has to be said... Byrne, Johns, Morrison... you're all wrong.

Superdad's origin is totally BIRTHRIGHT.

I'd actually wouldn't mind that. Just so long as it isn't Byrne or Secret Origin.

[Chris24601]

I'd actually wouldn't mind that. Just so long as it isn't Byrne or Secret Origin.

The problem with Byrne is mostly that the material is so dated it doesn't hold up well, even if it was supposed to be 15-ish years ago (i.e. about 2000-ish).

Secret Origin was just way too much of a Donner-fest for my liking.

The neat thing about Birthright in this regard is that, because it came out in 2003-2004 it actually would be just about the right distance in the past to fit perfectly. Superman appears in 2003 and has about eight years of adventurers (i.e. most of Post-Crisis) until he and Lois get pulled from the timeline just before Flashpoint in 2011. Then they spent a year on Telos (2012) before ending up on New52 Earth about a decade early... i.e. about 2002/just before Superman first shows up (presuming N52 Superman went public at the same time Birthright Superman did) so he gets to do all the stuff in secret we see in the Lois & Clark series.

Birthright also featured a more 'classic' look to its Kryptonian designs (like Kal's rocket) so it would fit with what we have been shown of of Superman's past in the most recent comics. Similarly, if any time compression is needed, the relationship between Lois and Clark in Birthright was much less antagonistic than in Byrne or Secret Origin (Lois and Clark were already half-flirting in the final scene at the Planet in the series) so you could probably squeeze all the Post-Crisis pre-engagement material into just a couple of years instead of the 5+ that it was portrayed as in Byrne.

I'll admit that, of the four main origins that are likely; Morrison, Secret Origin, Birthright and Byrne; I'd definitely say that Birthright is my favorite. It's got the initial public suspicion of Superman that Morrison's arc has, but it has much clearer moments when it all turns around (the 'picture is worth a thousand words' moment where Jimmy Olsen gets the shot of Superman shielding a small child from an attack with a giant S-shield and Luthor's rage as this shot goes viral and ruins his attempts to discredit him feel more connected than battling some space alien that few people would ever see close up) and by keeping the primary conflict to Superman vs. Luthor it has a much better focus than trying to squeeze Steel, Metallo and Brainiac's origins into the same story.

[DieHard200904]

I guess some people hate Nuperman so much that to them,any part of that continuity finding its way into the official running continuity is unacceptable,because to do so means acknowledging that some of Nuperman was just as valid and worthy as any other past version of the character and not the complete abomination and dumpster fire that those most virulent of haters want history to be rewritten as. The fact they would rather have everything that happened over the last 5 years to be because of some elaborate hoax and are okay with a simple cut and paste job are a testament to that mindset.

I also get a sense of "getting even" also permeating this mindset.For some the fans of Nuperman took away their 30 years of continuity,so it's " only fair" that the Nuperman fans completely lose their 5 years of investment in the character without any attempt to salvage and incorporate that into the ongoing narrative. If that's the case,then it's extremely childish and selfish and needlessly vindictive.

Yes,Nuperman had major issues from the start,he wasn't perfect but neither was Post Crisis Superman and especially what we had by September 2011. Nuperman...or New 52 Superman,was and is just as valid a take on the character as any and there were a lot of good ideas. Ideas that can and should be incorporated going forward.

Okay, so if a version of Superman had a time without flight and/or tights, who should care? He became what he is, so move on, IMO. But I would argue that having that less powerful episode in the past just makes the character more interesting to me anyways.

[adrikito]

... I see this superdad in convergence, and convergence superman(John born here)...Unfortunately, Is pre-flashpoint Superman.. and anyone else.

[Buried Alien]

I wonder if Pre-COIE Earth-One Superman is part of the mix too.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Ascended]

I wont rule it out completely, but I doubt it. DC doesnt seem to like admitting that Superman existed before 1986. On the rare occasion they do admit it, they typically tear whichever version they're looking at apart. Kal-L became a villain, got killed, then became a zombie. The story about Superman stopping a wife beater back in Action #1 (or something) was turned into some sort of argument for why Superman shouldnt have gotten involved because of the ramifications of the act, and so on.