Controversial Superman Opinions

[Flash Gordon]

I feel like that would require an entirely new character and/or setting.

Would it?

There's a lot of great stuff about Superman that really works. There's no reason why the character can't be updated. All long running characters must be updated overtime, and Superman has been in the past- it's just that the current fanbase around Superman happens to be the most leery of any kind of change.

[PCN24454]

Would it?

There's a lot of great stuff about Superman that really works. There's no reason why the character can't be updated. All long running characters must be updated overtime, and Superman has been in the past- it's just that the current fanbase around Superman happens to be the most leery of any kind of change.

That's the problem. If you change a character too much, it ceases to be the original character. You might as well have made a new one.

It's the reason why we can differentiate Superman incarnations.

[Flash Gordon]

That's the problem. If you change a character too much, it ceases to be the original character. You might as well have made a new one.

It's the reason why we can differentiate Superman incarnations.

Superman has already ceased to be the original character long ago.

[Robanker]

I'm half-in with Flash Gordon on this. I think ideas need to be mordernized, but not abandoned if that makes any sense. I know he wants to lose the Planet and move Clark forward in that way, but I think it can be worked in (and have shared my pitch for such on these boards, but tl;dr Metropolis keeps the DP going because it's a part of their identity and they don't want to lose it; like a local stadium with a lot of history, they don't want to lose it just because time may have moved past it, they would rather just update and keep it going because it's not Metropolis without the DP. It then becomes, genuinely, the last newspaper and sees circulation worldwide because of its pedigree and people who prefer print. The entire planet can keep ONE paper going).

But digging our heads in the sand isn't going to help Superman endure. Look, some things are built in and can't be updated without looking stupid. Much like how nobody takes blood tests in Gotham, we can't bring that up because then A) Bruce had all Wayne's samples altered which leads to B) nobody is smart enough to take samples from a Batman crime scene and get something from Wayne in person. It leads down a rabbit hole that will never have a satisfying conclusion because either everyone is a dummy or Bruce is so unrealistically prepared and has a billion plans that he ceases to be anything but a plot device.

It's better to ignore that and just let the story operate on the level it asks to be, much like the glasses over in Superman.

For Superman to really endure, he needs to update but not outright become a new character. That said, I do think he needs to be a bit more of a champion of the oppressed, especially given the current social climate.

[Sacred Knight]

For me the only things that can't be changed about Superman lest he not be Superman anymore are just a few basic tenants. He has to be an alien rocketed away from a dying planet. His name is Kal-El or Kal-L. On his new planet Earth he has powers. He has a dual identity, his Earth side of which is Clark Kent. He wears a primarly red and blue costume with a flowing cape and a signature S insignia.

That's a whole lot of wiggle room. After that the only types of changes I'm adverse to for the character are ones that are just executed badly.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I feel like that would require an entirely new character and/or setting.

We had that with Hernan from Gods and Monsters. just saying.

So i don't mind if someone recreates that for an elseworlds or one-off like Far Sector.

[llozymandias]

Would it?

There's a lot of great stuff about Superman that really works. There's no reason why the character can't be updated. All long running characters must be updated overtime, and Superman has been in the past- it's just that the current fanbase around Superman happens to be the most leery of any kind of change.

Every version of the character has its fans. One reason they object when DC announces another updating is the hostile way DC comes across. Almost always implying that all previous versions are garbage, & that only incredibly stupid people like any of those versions. If i had my way, DC would be using many (if not all) versions.

[Flash Gordon]

For me the only things that can't be changed about Superman lest he not be Superman anymore are just a few basic tenants. He has to be an alien rocketed away from a dying planet. His name is Kal-El or Kal-L. On his new planet Earth he has powers. He has a dual identity, his Earth side of which is Clark Kent. He wears a primarly red and blue costume with a flowing cape and a signature S insignia.

That's a whole lot of wiggle room. After that the only types of changes I'm adverse to for the character are ones that are just executed badly.

I feel the same way.

I'd just add "Lois Lane" in as another important tenant of the mythos, but I'm open to new interpretations of her. She's most certainly Superman's ride or die, though the trappings can be altered.

I'd also be open to multiple identities, with "Clark Kent" just being his main one.

Really just "doomed planet", Kal-El/Kal-L, "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man", dual identities (the concept of "identity" should run throughout Superman's stories), primary colours and general aesthetics, and Lois Lane- have fun with the rest.

[catman]

I want Superman to be seular Boddhisattva who has infinite benevolece, keep achieving impossible thing to save everyone like in All Star Superman or Up In The Sky.
Is it out of his character?

[Steel Inquisitor]

Really just "doomed planet", Kal-El/Kal-L, "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man", dual identities (the concept of "identity" should run throughout Superman's stories), primary colours and general aesthetics, and Lois Lane- have fun with the rest.

Those are vital aspects but they're about what he is not what he stands for. Aside from the primary colors Snyder did that and was a train wreck, because he didn't respect the ideals Superman's supposed to stand for. Whedon over compensated, when we need balance with his personality so he isn't just Christopher Reeves again. Give him some pathos, flaws wee can sympathise with and not perfect all the time. And don't rely on Kryptonite as the only thing in the universe which can harm him. Tone down his powers, and beef up his enemies - like Parasite. Don't make Metallo reliant on Kryptonite, just have him be a powerful cyborg.

[catman]

I dislike Zack Superman because Zack underestimates dynamics between Clark and Kal-El.
Without Clark Kent's kindness and being grounded, Kal El can't be perfect Superman.
It is well written in some episode of Up In The Sky.

[Sacred Knight]

I feel the same way.

I'd just add "Lois Lane" in as another important tenant of the mythos, but I'm open to new interpretations of her. She's most certainly Superman's ride or die, though the trappings can be altered.

I'd also be open to multiple identities, with "Clark Kent" just being his main one.

Really just "doomed planet", Kal-El/Kal-L, "powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal man", dual identities (the concept of "identity" should run throughout Superman's stories), primary colours and general aesthetics, and Lois Lane- have fun with the rest.

Yeah, Lois has to be there too, good point. When he comes to Metropolis he meets Lois lane, a rival in his chosen field (I'm becoming more open now than ever to maybe altering that field some, coinciding with the real world nearing demise of newspapers).

[Robanker]

Yeah, Lois has to be there too, good point. When he comes to Metropolis he meets Lois lane, a rival in his chosen field (I'm becoming more open now than ever to maybe altering that field some, coinciding with the real world nearing demise of newspapers).

While with some heavy lifting it may be possible to change Clark's profession, I don't think it's really possible to move Lois from journalism. She would no longer be his rival.

Hell, the model for "how do we update the love interest and make her kick ass" is "just make her Lois Lane." Not even Mary Jane over at Marvel could resist that gravitational pull. Mary Jane Watson.

[Sacred Knight]

Not necessarily move Lois from journalism. Maybe if someone had a real good idea for an alternate profession entirely for both characters, I might listen, but I understand that might be too far for most people. But that aside, journalism itself will always be relevant, its just the newspaper that's dying. What I'm really more suggesting is an overhaul to the Planet itself, which by extension would affect Lois and Clark's work to a degree.

[Vordan]

Lois you can always shift over to being a TV reporter or some such. As long as she’s involved with the news in some way I’m fine with it. Clark though needs to be off screen imo, I don’t want “Clark Kent” to be as world famous as “Superman”. But as long as Clark is writing I’m cool with his job shifting. He can be a blogger or a novelist or an essay writer or whatever. Writing to me is the key bit.