Controversial Superman Opinions

[adkal]

Telly Salvalas Lex on Superman the Animated series look was based off him. Timm's favorite Bond film is On Her Majesty's Secret Service which is an excellent film.

Kojak as Lex Luthor, and it worked so well

[llozymandias]

Kojak as Lex Luthor, and it worked so well

No it was not Kojak as Lex Luthor, it was Telly Savalas as Lex Luthor. Too many stupid people out there were conviced that kojak was the only kind of character that Telly could portray.

[adkal]

No it was not Kojak as Lex Luthor, it was Telly Savalas as Lex Luthor. Too many stupid people out there were conviced that kojak was the only kind of character that Telly could portray.

No... respectfully, it was the role they knew him for.

Regardless of him being in shows and movies for over a decade before he took on the role of Kojak, those five years (and the years of syndication) cemented him as Kojak for many people.

Same with, for example, Adam West as Batman and Christopher Reeve as Superman.

Doesn't make them stupid.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I think WW could better represent the immigrant struggle more than Supes because her culture and community is still around and she has to find a balance btw "man's world" and themyscara.

[Ascended]

I think WW could better represent the immigrant struggle more than Supes because her culture and community is still around and she has to find a balance btw "man's world" and themyscara.

I think you could certainly argue the point, but in my mind, Diana's more like someone visiting on a work visa.

[Superlad93]

I think WW could better represent the immigrant struggle more than Supes because her culture and community is still around and she has to find a balance btw "man's world" and themyscara.

I agree with this, but I also think that it should be acknowledged that there are many versions of the "immigrant struggle" to be explored. For the particular one you're talking, Supergirl probably handles that much, much better than Clark. Martian Manhunter would then inhabit a similar sphere to Supergirl, but with the added facet of actual physical differences. Clark would fill the space of first generation immigrant born Americans/Earthlings. That space is hardly ever filled, and when it is, it's proven quite popular. This is the case with someone like say Ms. Marvel over at Marvel. She's Pakistani American in a similar way that Clark is essentially Kryptonian American. Granted he wasn't born on Earth or America, but his story is so close to it that he may as well be.

This story/angle isn't really something Suprgirl, MM, or WW can really replicate while staying true to their respective characters. Clark's specific struggle is one shared many first generation kids today. The feeling of being pulled in two different direction and identities, and feeling like neither completely get to the heart of who you are.

This is gonna sound strange, but Superman is a lot like Aziz Ansari's character, Dev, from the Netflix show Master of None. There are a good amount of subjects in that show that I think would make for great Superman content/story by simply putting it in the context of Kryptonian American. Give the show a look if you're interested in what I mean. It's pretty great.

[Jim Kelly]

I remember that an earlier version of the Donner SUPERMAN script had Superman flying around looking for Luthor and stopping bald men, and one of the guys he stopped was supposed to be Telly Savalas.

In Canada, our former Governor General (essentially our head of state as she represents the Queen) was Michaëlle Jean, who herself was a refugee from Haiti. (Google her, she has an illustrious career and remarkable life.) I consider her a true Wonder Woman. You don't need to be born in Canada to be a true patriot. So I think the same should hold for Diana re the USA.

[superduperman]

I'd like to see an ongoing anthology series like Adventures. Let creators do what they want. Create some new ideas. See what works and what doesn't. Let creators experiment a little more not tied down to continuity. I'd also kind of like to see more use of the multiverse. Show us adventures of other Supermen from other universes. Why have it if you're not going to use it.

[Adekis]

I'd like to see an ongoing anthology series like Adventures. Let creators do what they want. Create some new ideas. See what works and what doesn't. Let creators experiment a little more not tied down to continuity. I'd also kind of like to see more use of the multiverse. Show us adventures of other Supermen from other universes. Why have it if you're not going to use it.

I'd buy the heck out of that. My problem with Adventures is that rather than being experimental, it was the "traditional" book in the allegedly "radical" New 52 era, basically retelling stories in a pre-Flashpoint tone rather than doing anything too new or interesting. Not to say that the stories were bad, but they were mostly, you know, traditional!

Now that the comics are going "trad", a "rad" version of Adventures of Superman to showcase parallel worlds and test-drive new ideas to see if they work well enough to go mainstream is an awesome idea!

[Lvenger]

I guess one of my unpopular Superman opinions would be that I don't like Landis' American Alien mini series. In fact I would go so far as to say I hate it. Landis overhumanised the wrong traits in his version of Clark Kent. His Batman obsession in several issues was worse than any recent guest starring Batman's been doing in the current Superman comics. But I think the worst offence was he tried to make Superman cool, badass and more relatable than was necessary. Whilst Landis had some good ideas, most of them didn't involve Superman. I don't really get the hype around what makes American Alien so enjoyable on here.

[Uncanny Mutie]

Being married to Lois again and having Jon/Superson is the best thing to happen to Superman's comics in YEARS. Making Superman a family man with a kid allows him to orgainically be a wholesome, morally upstanding, and inspirational character without making him feel outdated and corny, because as a father and husband, he SHOULD be that way as an example to his family anyway. But it also allows him to orgainically go dark and be a badass whenever his family is threatened, because who WOULDN'T act that way if someone threaterned their wife and kid? DC has finally found the perfect balance for Superman to stop the "He's too goody two shoes and boring" complaints as well as the "Superman should never be written dark and brooding like a knockoff Batman" complaints whenever they try to modernize him and make him cool for a younger generation, like they did with New 52 Superman and Henry Cavill movie Superman.

[Flash Gordon]

I think WW could better represent the immigrant struggle more than Supes because her culture and community is still around and she has to find a balance btw "man's world" and themyscara.

Superman is/was a refugee.

[The World]

Being married to Lois again and having Jon/Superson is the best thing to happen to Superman's comics in YEARS. Making Superman a family man with a kid allows him to orgainically be a wholesome, morally upstanding, and inspirational character without making him feel outdated and corny, because as a father and husband, he SHOULD be that way as an example to his family anyway. But it also allows him to orgainically go dark and be a badass whenever his family is threatened, because who WOULDN'T act that way if someone threaterned their wife and kid? DC has finally found the perfect balance for Superman to stop the "He's too goody two shoes and boring" complaints as well as the "Superman should never be written dark and brooding like a knockoff Batman" complaints whenever they try to modernize him and make him cool for a younger generation, like they did with New 52 Superman and Henry Cavill movie Superman.

They literally solved all those problems back in the 40's 50's back in the characters heyday. The fact that things that should be basic characterization are so heavily contested in his own fanbase such as temperament and attitude on crime should tell you that somethings not right. Everyday crime should piss Clark off from the heinous oppressive dictators down to the scumbags that con the elderly out of their pension checks. It shouldn't take Clark's personal life getting at stake before he's ready to throw down, that's never what the character was about. He looks out for the common man and when they get abused it's drives him up a wall and his family should be irrelevant to that.

The real question should be what go into DC's editors and writer that they started writing him as such a pathetic whelp in the first place and why.

[daBronzeBomma]

Some pairs of Superverse characters should be merged into combined characters to reduce redundancy and open up new narrative avenues.

1. Kara Zor-El + Kara Zor-L. There needs to be only one Last Daughter of Krypton. Keep most of Supergirl's origin, give her Power Girl's career track: Kara Zor-El goes by Karen Starr, starts out as Supergirl at age 14 (peer to Dick, Babs and Jimmy Olsen) graduates btw age 18 - age 22 to become the bigger, stronger Power Gal (same time Dick goes from Robin to Nightwing).

2. Darkseid + Franklin Stern. Yeah, yeah "Darkseid is not primarily a Superverse rogue". Don't care. He should have a constant humanly avatar on Earth while his other avatars across the universe wreck havoc. Way better than the lame Boss Darkside bs from before.

3. Highfather + Bibbo. The other side of the coin. Where Darkseid would choose an impressively imposing billionaire form like Stern, Highfather goes for the hardscrabble but lovable palooka known as Bibbo for his Earthly avatar.

4. Metallo + Cyborg Superman. John Corben is good, Hank Henshaw is better. Put them together, and you have a one-man Justice League Wrecker: Metallo, the Cyborg Superman!

5. Jimmy Olsen + Lar Gand. Easily the craziest of these ideas. But it could work. And it wouldn't require any sort of retcon necessarily.* But merge these two, and Supes finally gets a worthy First Sidekick/Pal/Younger Brother.

* - if there is any interest in hearing about my retcon-free path for a combined Jimmy Olsen + Lar Gand, I'll spill the details. If not, no worries.

[ekrolo2]

I don't know how controversial this is but I REALLY dislike how Christopher Reeve's Superman is considered the beginning, middle and end to any and all Superman stuff. Superman's been a lot of different things across different media, Reeve's isn't the be all, end all to everything concerning the guy.