Controversial Superman Opinions

[manwhohaseverything]

Superman was created for newspapers..Yes,then the character started targetting children as demographics later on.My view is that children weren't given their due with 40s and 50s american comics.it tried to sensor too much and tried to reduce the complexity level.

[Jon Clark]

Superman was created for newspapers..Yes,then the character started targetting children as demographics later on.My view is that children weren't given their due with 40s and 50s american comics.it tried to sensor too much and tried to reduce the complexity level.

That's a perfect description of Wertham, Weisinger and the second incarnation of the George Reeves Superman TV show

[Agent Z]

Frankly, I don't understand the kill rule. It used to be standard operating procedure that ALL super-heroes had a no-kill rule. Any supers that allowed themselves to kill were no longer heroes--they could maybe be anti-heroes--they had violated one of the sacred comic book conventions.

So if every super-hero had a no-kill rule, it didn't seem that strange. It was just the norm for comic books.

It seems like Marvel movies have reset this rule and now killing is okay. But that just seems like laziness. Because it's too hard to do big explosive effects events at the end of a movie without someone biting the dust, they took the safety off.

There isn't a kill rule. The heroes of the MCU or DCEU don't kill all the time. The filmmakers just aren't under any obligation to keep villains alive.

The no kill rule was created to placate potentially angry parents and keep villains in use. It was never about creativity or even morality.

[Adekis]

There isn't a kill rule. The heroes of the MCU or DCEU don't kill all the time. The filmmakers just aren't under any obligation to keep villains alive.

The no kill rule was created to placate potentially angry parents and keep villains in use. It was never about creativity or even morality.

Which is kind of how the Ostrander Suicide Squad comic came to be - DC realized they had all these villains sitting around who they didn't particularly give a damn whether they were around to keep using, so they made a series to be populated by C-List villains, and giving the writer the right to kill off anybody he liked.

[Agent Z]

Superman isn't a perfect parent, but he is a lot better than many people give him credit for aside from a few instances.

[Stanlos]

Revisited the Infinite Crisis Omnibus and in it, Superman is in space and flies through a wall of Kryptonite.

With no ill effects.

This is stupid.

So I ask you, if you were doing the Superman bible for writers to use when writing Superman, what dynamics/rules for Kryptonite would you have?

Also am I just being Geoff Johns hater regarding the Kryptonite gripe?

[Ascended]

So I ask you, if you were doing the Superman bible for writers to use when writing Superman, what dynamics/rules for Kryptonite would you have?

Also am I just being Geoff Johns hater regarding the Kryptonite gripe?

I'm sure we've seen worse writing than Clark flying through a wall of kryptonite without consequences.

But Johns really is one of the worst Super writers of the modern age. Dude does great work with a lot of characters and his impact on the DCU shouldn't be underestimated, but he has never been good at writing Clark, and shouldn't ever be allowed anywhere near the franchise.

As for the Super bible, my rules for kryptonite are the following:

1. It's very rare. Metallo and Lex should be just about the only villains with access to it. Batman should have a small amount in a vault (that cannot be used more than once every three years). This rule does not apply to characters who have a kryptonite energy signature, like Conduit, Titano, or the Kryptonite Man, but no actual, physical kryptonite on hand. This rule also does not apply to reality-warpers like Myx, who can manifest it from thin air.

2. It causes Clark extreme, horrible, potentially lethal pain. That is the only effect it has; it does not depower him, it does not paralyze him. The pain might be enough to bring him to his knees and stop him from moving or concentrating or using his powers to full effect, but it is pain only, nothing more.

3. Green is the only kryptonite that exists naturally. Science, magic, and higher dimensional forces may create different colors with different effects, but green is the only "real" kryptonite, and should almost always be the most potent.

4. If the only reason kryptonite is being used in a story is because it hurts Superman, then kryptonite is not allowed to be used at all. Kryptonite, like magic and red sun radiation and dead wives, is not an excuse for lazy writing.

5. As always, the rule of cool reigns supreme and may supersede all other rules.

I'd also like to work up some kind of radiation scale for kryptonite, that tells readers how potent any particular piece is. Sometimes Clark can be brought down by a tiny sliver, other times he can throw mountains made of the stuff into space. There's no rhyme or reason behind it, and there never will be since kryptonite always hurts Clark as much as the story needs it to, but I'd like to create the illusion of consistency by introducing the idea of varying potency.

[phonogram12]

Clark being a vegetarian was no big deal (and even made sense). Dude doesn't even need to eat fer cryin' out loud.

[PCN24454]

Clark being a vegetarian was no big deal (and even made sense). Dude doesn't even need to eat fer cryin' out loud.

That “not needing to eat” part is always something that annoys me. Kryptonians should need to eat, breathe and sleep.

[phonogram12]

That “not needing to eat” part is always something that annoys me. Kryptonians should need to eat, breathe and sleep.

I imagine they would under a red sun. I guess editorial just wants them to get all their nutrients under a yellow one.

[DochaDocha]

Revisited the Infinite Crisis Omnibus and in it, Superman is in space and flies through a wall of Kryptonite.

With no ill effects.

This is stupid.

So I ask you, if you were doing the Superman bible for writers to use when writing Superman, what dynamics/rules for Kryptonite would you have?

Also am I just being Geoff Johns hater regarding the Kryptonite gripe?

Mostly agreed with Ascended, but I'd say green K should make him more susceptible to injury. Guess the idea of Kryptonite bullets is pretty sunk in with me.

On a tangent, red sunlight shouldn't deactivate his powers. I think yellow suns are like having your cell phone plugged in. The absence of yellow sunlight means he runs on a stored charge. Maybe red sunlight makes his power leak faster than no sunlight, but not instant shut off.

I'm fine with the idea that Superman's sustenance can come from either food or yellow sunlight, but of course food doesn't give him powers.

EDIT: So I was having trouble sleeping and decided to redefine some specifics of green K. I'll say it emits radiation that essentially poisons Superman instantaneously. That's already what it does, but I'll add a few wrinkles. I'll say one of the effects of Kryptonite is that it also turns the stored solar energy in Superman toxic. So it's extremely painful and eventually becomes lethal with enough exposure. Since the stored energy that gets tainted no longer can be converted to do super feats, he gets weaker, too. Greater amounts of stored solar energy also intensifies the Kryptonite radiation sickness, making it spread faster and amplifies the ill effects, e.g. becomes more painful and more lethal. I'll just pseudoscience my explanation of this phenomenon by saying Kryptonite acts on the part of Kryptonian cells that store solar energy, essentially breaking them down. That part of his cells keep the stored energy stable. Breaking down that part of the cell makes the stored energy volatile and it's like there are mini-explosions going on in Superman's body when he's exposed to green Kryptonite because the energy is no longer safely contained and has nowhere to transfer safely.

Therefore, since I already said red sunlight makes Superman drain stored energy faster, I'll give red sunlight the ironic effect of being the best antidote for acute green Kryptonite poisoning, sort of like how if you accidentally ingested methanol a good remedy for that is getting drunk on ethanol. Not a perfect mechanical analogy, but I think you get the point. Maybe Kryptonians under red sunlight still get afflicted by Kryptonite, but the symptoms are far less severe. It amounts to something like having a bad case of the flu and could possibly be lethal.

Also, I thought about how in Kingdom Come Superman developed immunity to Kryptonite. I'd keep that general concept, but I'd flip the mechanism. Superman doesn't get more immune to Kryptonite. Instead, Kryptonite is susceptible to radioactive decay and doesn't have a particularly long half-life, say something like 20 years. So after five half-lives, or 100 years, a sample of Kryptonite would only emit about 3% of the radiation it emits now. That means a long-lived Superman will eventually outlast all existing samples of Kryptonite.

This idea is a work in progress.

[Zagre]

I think Superman should have to eat, sleep and breathe unless very sundipped, though he can go without them much longer than humans.

I don't think him being a vegetarian is a big deal either, and I liked the explanation they gave it.

[manwhohaseverything]

I think superman eats everything.....Rocks,steel,iron,plasma,bombs,nukes ..etc.You name it superman would find it delicious..i just realised something if solar flare and heat vision is superman's solar energy..Then that's basically him pooping.

[superduperman]

Superman and Lois should take place on it's own Earth separate from the Arrow-verse.

[The Frog Bros]

That “not needing to eat” part is always something that annoys me. Kryptonians should need to eat, breathe and sleep.

I imagine they would under a red sun. I guess editorial just wants them to get all their nutrients under a yellow one.

I think Superman should have to eat, sleep and breathe unless very sundipped, though he can go without them much longer than humans.

I don't think him being a vegetarian is a big deal either, and I liked the explanation they gave it.

I think superman eats everything.....Rocks,steel,iron,plasma,bombs,nukes ..etc.You name it superman would find it delicious..i just realised something if solar flare and heat vision is superman's solar energy..Then that's basically him pooping.

I do like the idea of him being a vegetarian due to the living aura explanation in Birthright. Never really gave it much thought until then, but makes for an interesting point. On the other hand, it totally negates all the beef bourguignon references. Don’t think I’m beholden to one or the other in the big picture.

Regardless, I do think he should require sustenance/food of some kind though. Plus, I feel like he would actually enjoy eating. The old adage of “the simple pleasures in life.”