Best non-Superman Superman material

[JackDaw]

Hopefully you know what I mean. You pick up a comic featuring a character called "Something man" (anything other than Superman), but after 10 minutes reading you're pretty sure you are reading the writer's take on how he or she would write Superman...if DC gave them the go-ahead to write the great man exactly as they wanted to.

Some of this type of material can be very good, after all if writer is good quality, and can do own thing result is always likely to be better than "average" mainstream Superman...in last 20 years DC editorial control of Superman hasn't been totally wonderful.

Anyway here are my two recs:-
1/ Alan Moore run on Supreme. This really does read like Alan Moore had a ton of material that he would have liked to use to write Silver Age Superman stories, DC gave "gig" to John Bryne, so Alan M used them here instead. His "Superman" is a fun relaxed character, and series has a ton of "kryptonite" weirdness (think of the days when Red Kryptonite could do just about anything), a novel take on the Legion. and a starring role for "Krypto". I'd say it's good rather than great (certainly by the writer's own standards)...but still much better than a lot of the official DC Superman material.

2/ Mark Millar on Huck. Not a high powered version of Superman (Huck is strong and fairly fast, with one additional power...really you'd expect Spider-man to beat him in a straight up fight). But in Huck's own world he's the strongest guy around...this felt to me like a take on the golden age Superman (but would value other opinions on that, read almost no golden age material). But the fantastic thing about Huck is his character...his absolute faith in people and his desire to help. I think this is an exceptional read, streets away from the rather amoral violent slapstick Mark M often turns out.

Anyway those are my two picks for non-Superman Superman material. Very interested to see other suggestions.

[manduck37]

The two you listed would be my top two picks. Supreme was a love letter to all things Superman. It really made me wish DC let Moore write more Superman.

Huck is great as a kind of take on Golden Age Superman. His good nature and relentless pursuit of a good deed really made that story endearing. Interesting side note about Huck, Millar got the idea for Huck while talking to a guy in a coffee shop. He was talking with an older gentleman who said that he tries to do one good deed a day. Millar thought that would be a great idea for a superhero. So we got Huck out of it. I'd like to thank that guy in the coffee shop for inspiring Millar on this one.

The other one I'd add is actually a kind of inversion of Superman. That would be Irredeemable by Mark Waid. The concept is "what if someone had the power of Superman but not the emotional maturity to handle it". So The Plutonian is a Superman style hero who cracks and becomes a villain. It really explores the core of Superman by twisting it all around and coming at it from a different angle. The ending in particular really is a great tribute to Superman and his creators. Well worth the read if you're looking for something different.

I hear Superior is supposed to be really good too. Though I haven't read that one yet.

[NK1988]

JMS' Supreme Power, starring Hyperion. (I'm really curious if the writers of MOS read it considering Jonathan's line about worrying the US government would show up on the Kents' doorstep and take baby Kal away)

One of the first comics I ever read. It's all about what would happen if a super-man existed in the real world. Naturally the government would try to exploit, indoctrinate and control him. When they engineer the supposed deaths of his fake parents - and he knows all along about this because he can hear the lies in their heartbeats - it's really sad. He stays with them all just because he's so desperate to belong in a world where he doesn't belong.






http://i.imgur.com/9twEzGgt.jpg

[DochaDocha]

I nominate Bruce Timm's God's and Monsters. Ironically, this was supposed to be a Superman who's not really Superman, but in certain ways it's the Superman Bruce Timm should've been doing starting in 1996. Obviously, I don't mean the #ManOfMurder stuff, but there's a certain confident defiance and sharp wit to the guy that seemed lacking for much of the DCAU. If those aspects (and not the murder-y stuff) were encapsulated in STAS, there would be fewer complaints about how "boring" animated Supes was. I just really enjoyed that one part in the movie when Non-Batman Batman starts reading off all the forensic findings, and then Superman scoffs once he realizes that the Justice League was being framed. Why do I like it?

1) He's sharp. He figures out what's going on instantly once presented with evidence.

EDIT: If this were standard DCAU, Superman would've needed Batman to spell it out for him. This Superman just needed to hear a few facts and put the pieces together himself.

2) The indignation toward whoever was trying to frame the Justice League.
3) His confidence that the frame job would ultimately fail.

[JackDaw]

Plenty of non comic stuff to read in next couple of weeks, but glad I started the thread...already three or four series mentioned that have grabbed my interest, that I will read sometime.

As I soaked in bath another Alan Moore yarn that may have been a take on Superman sprang to mind: Tom Strong. This is something I read ages ago, and quite enjoyed.

Strangely (??) when I read it, it never really occurred to me that it was a take on Superman (except...of course...any super hero owes something to Superman), and when I saw others say Ton Strong was obviously a take on Superman, my initial reaction was one of surprise.

[md62]

I would add Joe Casey & Ed McGuiness on Mr Majestic

[md62]

The two you listed would be my top two picks. Supreme was a love letter to all things Superman. It really made me wish DC let Moore write more Superman.

Huck is great as a kind of take on Golden Age Superman.


I hear Superior is supposed to be really good too. Though I haven't read that one yet.

I loved Huck. Superior was really good. However it was a version of the Shazam Capt Marvel not Superman.

[Flash Gordon]

I've always dug Mr. Majestic whenever he's shown up.

I'll also echo Alan Moore's Supreme and Mark Millar's Huck.

[Jim Kelly]

Marvel did this comic called THE AGE OF THE SENTRY. And as I was not knowledgeable about a good deal of Marvel history, I didn't know who this Sentry character was supposed to be (kind of the same deal with Supreme when I read the Alan Moore version). But I really like THE AGE OF THE SENTRY comic book because it was done in the style of comics I love. I took it totally as a loving homage to DC comics of the '60s--and not as a mean-spirited jab at DC. But I gather the Sentry is supposed to be a mocking insult to Superman. However, if you read just that short run of comics the way I did, then it's an example of how I wish Superman was done.

Also, BIG BANG COMICS did several ersatz versions of DC super-heroes. I wouldn't say their comics were perfect, because the people working on them were sometimes not experts in the field. Many of the comics looked like what I would produce in my apartment using my limited resources. Their Superman counterpart was Ultiman (actually two Ultimen, one "Golden Age" and one "Silver Age"). Curt Swan and Murphy Anderson even did a cover for BIG BANG COMICS No. 3 (October '94).

BiG BANG also published the Sphinx by Jeff Weigel. The Sphinx wasn't exactly a Superman doppelganger but Weigel has a beautiful Curt Swan style--and what he contributed to the Sphinx and Ultiman for BIG BANG is on a professional level relative to some of the other work. But I think it's nice that BIG BANG employed people who really loved classic DC comics. In the '90s, I was reading these comics as a substitute for what I was missing from the actual DC at the time.

[Kuwagaton]

As I soaked in bath another Alan Moore yarn that may have been a take on Superman sprang to mind: Tom Strong. This is something I read ages ago, and quite enjoyed.

Strangely (??) when I read it, it never really occurred to me that it was a take on Superman (except...of course...any super hero owes something to Superman), and when I saw others say Ton Strong was obviously a take on Superman, my initial reaction was one of surprise.

Superman owes a bit to Doc Savage, and Tom Strong owes a good deal. I'd say check out the Roberson stories from Dynamite.

[Ascended]

Superman owes a bit to Doc Savage, and Tom Strong owes a good deal. I'd say check out the Roberson stories from Dynamite.

A lot of that pulp stuff from Dynamite and IDW is really strong. And I loved the Black Beetle book that Dark Horse put out.

Got the first issue of Batman-Shadow sitting on my desk but havent gotten around to reading it yet......

Lots of love for Tom Strong, but my favorite ABC title was Promethea.....at least until it turned into a weird Crowley theory fan-wank.......

[manduck37]

I can't believe I forgot Tom Strong. Take Golden Age Superman, mix with Mr. Fantastic and throw in a healthy dose of Pulp. So much fun.

I also forgot to mention Samaritan from Astro City. Astro City isn't about Samaritan all the time, as it's more about life in a city of Superheroes. Really though, it's well worth reading all of Astro City and The Samaritan kicks it all off. He appears in several stories as a major player. Astro City is one of my all time favorites.

[Kuwagaton]

A lot of that pulp stuff from Dynamite and IDW is really strong. And I loved the Black Beetle book that Dark Horse put out.

Got the first issue of Batman-Shadow sitting on my desk but havent gotten around to reading it yet......

Lots of love for Tom Strong, but my favorite ABC title was Promethea.....at least until it turned into a weird Crowley theory fan-wank.......

Batman/Shadow is kinda cool. Dynamite is great because they are super active with the Shadow license and give it their top talent, like Matt Wagner, Ennis, Colton Worley, etc. They had Jeff Parker do some fantastic flash Gordon comics, which aren't really Superman like but reflect Superman's pulp influences. Jeff Parker, of course, being the writer behind the Ages of Sentry, the one really good thing done with that character.

IDW was cool enough to reprint the newspaper strips of the real Superman. Valiant has a few heroes including Solar. He's more of a general science hero, but that doesn't drift too far from Superman.

Along those more vague lines, two DC products I'd recommend are the Major Bummer trade and the Orion omnibus.

[JackDaw]

Another possible "contender" and one I certainly enjoyed: the McDuffie/ Bright run on Icon.

Icon's powers (strength, speed, invulnerable, very intelligent) were certainly similar to Superman's, but arguably his character was very different...he was far more detached than Superman? But even that difference in character could be assigned to the main action in series taking place when Icon was near 200 years old, his foster parents and the friends of his youth long dead. McDuffie may well have written him the way he did because of that.

[PyroTwilight]

I know it's essentially the reverse of what the OP's asking for but I've always loved the deconstruction done in Irredeemable.

Essentially showing just how bad a person with abilities and alien weirdness can go HORRIFICALLY wrong. In many ways while diving into the dark it showed us how lucky Clark was to have people who loved him unconditionally by showing us almost the complete opposite.

In many ways Superman being the quinttessential hero makes other heroes look like him in some way.

When Hickman's Hyperion first appeared they REALLY went something of a Silver Age Superman with him. IE from a dying universe who decides to protect others as he cherishes life so much after seeing his entire universe die and working hard to ensure survivial for all. Even soem fans laughed at how endearing it was despite being really on the nose.