Controversial Superman Opinions

[stephens2177]

I don't think he should ever be Superboy in modern times. I think the only time he should have been Superboy is when he was in the future with the Legion. It just doesn't make sense these days that he would have been able to to hide running around in Smallville without people figuring out real fast who Superman is. If they keep it all in the future he still gets all the training and fighting experience without the risks of being exposed. Maybe Saturn Girl put a suggestion in his head that influenced him to keep a very low profile with his powers when he was not with them.

Technically if anyone was gonna "sneak" being a hero Clark would be the perfect one to do it.he has super speed and super senses,those together pretty much eliminates all issues.

He is the opposite of what Kon did.went public in the present as superboy 1st, then had adventures with the Legion in the future

[Jon Clark]

I don't think he should ever be Superboy in modern times. I think the only time he should have been Superboy is when he was in the future with the Legion. It just doesn't make sense these days that he would have been able to to hide running around in Smallville without people figuring out real fast who Superman is. If they keep it all in the future he still gets all the training and fighting experience without the risks of being exposed. Maybe Saturn Girl put a suggestion in his head that influenced him to keep a very low profile with his powers when he was not with them.

I think the main problem with the Pre-Crisis Superboy was Smallville. The original idea had been Clark growing up in Metropolis and performing simple good deeds (or mischevious ones) and the early stories had been Superboy teaches a bully a lesson or Superboy brightens a kid's day by performing stunts. The stories were building up the Superman legend but didn't really give serious thought to the Clark Kent stuff. Later it became as if Smallville was a criminal magnet and disaster waiting to happen as every month another job for Superboy happened right outside his front window. The town even had a sign proclaiming it as Superboy Central.

Now imagine if the writers had modern sensibilities. Clark could fly at superhuman speed. He could be saving someone in India one minute and be on Mars the next. So why have every challenge (or even any) be right in Clark's backyard? Imagine that this issue shows us Clark and the Smallville gang but only in scenes not featuring Superboy. Superboy has some sort of alert system and regular patrols (national, planet-wide, the solar system) that allow him to find adventures each month. Smallville is just a typical town where Clark might perform a few secret saves (kid about to be hit by car, steadying the ladder so it doesn't fall while Mr Jones is cleaning the gutter ...) but which never attracts alien invaders, demented sorcerors, or even frequent big-city criminals.

[Jim Kelly]

Is Superman becoming the Captain Marvel of DC? By that I mean, original Captain Marvel was hugely popular in the past--a pop culture icon--then DC tried to revive him, but while they had some moderate successes he was never brought back to his former glory. And a lot of the time he was just used to prove how powerful other characters were. And now one of his super-villains has superceded him--Black Adam!

I see Superman going down the same road. And if you look at the movies, it seems like there will never be a MAN OF STEEL 2. Instead we get Superman in a film where he's used to prove how powerful is Batman. And I wonder if the Man of Steel will play the same role in the JUSTICE LEAGUE picture. Then there's been attempts at a Shazam movie which have been overtaken by talk of a Black Adam stand alone film. And recently I've heard that Black Adam may battle Superman in that picture. What the hell?

[TheCape]

After reading the different eras of Superman, i realized that honestly, i never cared that much for Jimmy Olsen, being as the weirdness magnet of the Silver Age, the young man that is still trying to find his place on life of Post-Crisis or the many directions that DC has tried to go with him in the last 10 years. I don't dislike him by any means and he obviously has earned a placed in the heart of the fans and in the mythos, is just that i have never made click with him, so whatever DC does with him always left me indifferent.

Althought, i had come to see the value behind Pre-Crisis Luthor story and pathos, specially in his relation with Clark, i still think that he worked better as the manipulative and egotistical bastard of Post Crisis, with little to no redemable qualities, not saying that this version is perfect and some the stuff that they did with him was kind of ridicolus (seriosly how many times he tried to do some big and public scheme and somehow got away without nobody noticing), but him being almost a complete scumbag without much deep reason for was always fun to wacht (althought, i would have been cool to see more of his scientific side). I like many of the other interpretations of Luthor, including the current one and i certanly can undertstand the deep of all the others, thought. so is not really a big problem for me.

[Jim Kelly]

While I like the heroic Jimmy Olsen adventures, the best use of his character is when he's allowed to be the jerk he truly is. Olsen is delusional--he thinks he's god's gift to women, he expects that he can play around with other women and yet Lucy should be totally in love with him, he forsakes others for his own selfish interests, he's bad with money. In oher words he's human. He's one of the most human characters at a time when most other DC characters were rendered as too perfect. As such, Jimmy is a great source for humour. As long as you don't take him too seriously and you realize he's there to amuse you, Jimmy can be a really fun character to read.

[TheCape]

While I like the heroic Jimmy Olsen adventures, the best use of his character is when he's allowed to be the jerk he truly is. Olsen is delusional--he thinks he's god's gift to women, he expects that he can play around with other women and yet Lucy should be totally in love with him, he forsakes others for his own selfish interests, he's bad with money. In oher words he's human. He's one of the most human characters at a time when most other DC characters were rendered as too perfect. As such, Jimmy is a great source for humour. As long as you don't take him too seriously and you realize he's there to amuse you, Jimmy can be a really fun character to read.

Oh, i do get the point of Jimmy, i know that he is desingned to not be taken seriously and mostly as a comedy guy (i even had some small laughts with him). but even knowing that couldn't make me care, at the end of the day is just a very personal opinion.

[Ascended]

Is Superman becoming the Captain Marvel of DC? By that I mean, original Captain Marvel was hugely popular in the past--a pop culture icon--then DC tried to revive him, but while they had some moderate successes he was never brought back to his former glory. And a lot of the time he was just used to prove how powerful other characters were. And now one of his super-villains has superceded him--Black Adam!

We've been headed down that road for twenty years at minimum.

I dont think Clark has fallen as far as Billy has. Not yet. Clark's still A-list, still recognized on a global level....he's just not pushed as hard as the Bat. He's very clearly DC's #2 guy, but being #2 still means "better than everyone else." But the nice thing is, IP's like this can always be turned around with the right push. The problem Shazam faces is that its been so long since he mattered, there's very little reason for WB/DC to want to invest the sort of time and effort it'd take to make him A-list again. He's a great character and the effort could pay off, but they could just as easily decide to push Zatanna, or Constantine, or Detective Chimp, or Vixen. Billy is just another face in the crowd and the legal issues behind his name, while largely resolved, do add a bit of a complication (nothing insurmountable of course).

With Clark, there's some precedence to support the investment it would take to get him back on top. Man of Steel got very mixed reviews but still turned out a pretty damn big chunk of money at the box office. With both Rebirth and the New52, Superman books have been among the highest sellers (especially digitally). He's still the second biggest money maker at DC, fourth biggest money maker in all of comics (global merchandise). Hell, you can't take five steps in DCU Online without stumbling into one Superman inspired player or another. WB/DC keep f**king it up, but it's pretty easy to see that people still want to like Superman. All it would take is WB/DC finding an approach that works (not that hard but they're blind as Bats) and Superman would close the gap with Bruce......and with a good approach, possibly surpass him again.

[Agniwolf]

We've been headed down that road for twenty years at minimum.

I dont think Clark has fallen as far as Billy has. Not yet. Clark's still A-list, still recognized on a global level....he's just not pushed as hard as the Bat. He's very clearly DC's #2 guy, but being #2 still means "better than everyone else." But the nice thing is, IP's like this can always be turned around with the right push. The problem Shazam faces is that its been so long since he mattered, there's very little reason for WB/DC to want to invest the sort of time and effort it'd take to make him A-list again. He's a great character and the effort could pay off, but they could just as easily decide to push Zatanna, or Constantine, or Detective Chimp, or Vixen. Billy is just another face in the crowd and the legal issues behind his name, while largely resolved, do add a bit of a complication (nothing insurmountable of course).

With Clark, there's some precedence to support the investment it would take to get him back on top. Man of Steel got very mixed reviews but still turned out a pretty damn big chunk of money at the box office. With both Rebirth and the New52, Superman books have been among the highest sellers (especially digitally). He's still the second biggest money maker at DC, fourth biggest money maker in all of comics (global merchandise). Hell, you can't take five steps in DCU Online without stumbling into one Superman inspired player or another. WB/DC keep f**king it up, but it's pretty easy to see that people still want to like Superman. All it would take is WB/DC finding an approach that works (not that hard but they're blind as Bats) and Superman would close the gap with Bruce......and with a good approach, possibly surpass him again.

and just like bats, they care more about noise around than looking forward

[Ascended]

and just like bats, they care more about noise around than looking forward

I think the last....let's say ten years.....has been a really interesting view inside the inflexible mindset of high-end corporate culture.

This point sort of delves into business ethics and a whole pile of stuff that I doubt most of you here are interested in, but as the heads of a major entertainment corporation, WB is supposed to embrace societal changes. Entertainment rides that wave of cultural progress; pushing the limits and trends, and once those have become mundane, pushing further. And yet they were totally blindsided by the success of the superhero genre in the early 00's. And sure, I can see them thinking that Raimi's Spider-Man and Singer's X-Men were flukes, and they're high-end properties that have mass market appeal (just like Batman and Superman) so them writing it off is understandable....but by the time Iron Man hit theaters? WB should have been reading the writing on the wall and seeing where the cultural pendulum was swinging.

WB's inability to bend and sway with cultural shifts, a mindset established by corporate culture within the company, has cost them billions, and their painfully obvious and public fumbling has cost them respect. A entertainment company who's leadership can't tell what's growing in popularity? Sell your stock now, boys and girls!

[Agniwolf]

I think the last....let's say ten years.....has been a really interesting view inside the inflexible mindset of high-end corporate culture.

This point sort of delves into business ethics and a whole pile of stuff that I doubt most of you here are interested in, but as the heads of a major entertainment corporation, WB is supposed to embrace societal changes. Entertainment rides that wave of cultural progress; pushing the limits and trends, and once those have become mundane, pushing further. And yet they were totally blindsided by the success of the superhero genre in the early 00's. And sure, I can see them thinking that Raimi's Spider-Man and Singer's X-Men were flukes, and they're high-end properties that have mass market appeal (just like Batman and Superman) so them writing it off is understandable....but by the time Iron Man hit theaters? WB should have been reading the writing on the wall and seeing where the cultural pendulum was swinging.

WB's inability to bend and sway with cultural shifts, a mindset established by corporate culture within the company, has cost them billions, and their painfully obvious and public fumbling has cost them respect. A entertainment company who's leadership can't tell what's growing in popularity? Sell your stock now, boys and girls!

they are not merchants, they are office workers. if they were merchants they would always see the flow of profits and risk navigating the tenebrous seas of daring anew

WB has a lot to learn with the great navigations of the portuguese and spanish (for good or for evil)

[Jim Kelly]

It seems like they're going to use Superman in the movies the way that Marvel has used the Hulk, even though MOS did much better at the box office. I mean, if they keep delaying a Superman stand alone move and they turn any sequel into a v Supermsn scenario (Black Adam v Superman, Wonder Woman v Superman, Deadshot v Superman), then I don't think there will be the momentum to push the Superman franchise.

The good/bad thing is that WB might discover they can turn other characters into hot properties, like Wonder Woman (just as Marvel Studios has done with properties that aren't X-Men and Spider-Man). On the one hand, that's a good thing because it means they won't put all their eggs in the Batman basket. But, on the other hand, it could be bad for Superman as Henry Cavill has to fight for screen time.

[Ascended]

they are not merchants, they are office workers. if they were merchants they would always see the flow of profits and risk navigating the tenebrous seas of daring anew

WB has a lot to learn with the great navigations of the portuguese and spanish (for good or for evil)

Well, I mostly focus on small business studies (still had to do the basic macro stuff), and I have little knowledge of WB/DC's inner workings so my opinion is, of course, useless and limited. But I dont think that flies.

These guys might not be accountants but they have access to all the income statements and revenue data. They might not come from marketing backgrounds or keep their ears to the ground but they have people in those roles giving advice and counsel. Someone, at some point, told them where the competition was making their money and setting cinematic records. Good management knows what is happening at all levels of business. They might not see the minor, day-to-day stuff but they (should) have their fingers on the pulse of each department, through middle management if not hands-on experience. I mean hell, everyone copies whatever is successful at the moment.

Like I said, I dont begrudge them overlooking the early success of Singer and Raimi. Especially considering all the other early-mid 00's superhero films were disasters. Hell, who really thought superheroes would still be this popular, almost twenty years after X-Men? I sure as hell didnt. But by 2010 I think it had become clear this wasn't a short term fad, and while a steep investment, done smartly it paid off in a big way. Instead of trying to get their slice of the action they passed on it. And I think that's clearly proven to be a loss of potential profit. I have a hard time looking at administrators who missed out on billions of potential revenue and writing off their misstep as acceptable. And given the kind of management turnover we've seen in recent years, I might not be alone.

[Flash Gordon]

I don't think Superman has hit irrelevance at all, not even close. I think it will come for him if the comics and the films stay at the quality they have been though. Batman V Superman did neither character any solids, but Superman actually got snuffed at the end. Stabbed to death in a mess of CGI muddled darkness and....bam roll credits.

There's interest in him, but god there's just no creativity in approaching him. Man of Steel tried. The New 52 tried. Both weren't bad, but maybe didn't go far enough.

[stephens2177]

Aslong as the world still needs heroes,there will be Superman.

[bretmaverick2]

I've enjoyed all the Super books a lot since Rebirth, much more than I have in years!!

What disturbs me most is how the only survivors of Krypton (Clark and Kara) turned out to be two of apparently thousands of other Kryptonian survivors. And apparently all the other survivors are evil !! Tired of that happening over and over.

I don't recall that happening on Earth 2 to Kal-L and Kara Zor-L.