Man of Steel Part 2
Good day, and welcome to our Man of Steel comparison as promised last time. Firstly though, long time readers of this space will remember my reaction to the announcement of the Buffy reboot. I am pleased that they have backed off of the idea of replacing Buffy and that they are going to have a new slayer telling stories in Buffyverse. It makes me think that this was the plan all along, and that they had announced it differently so that they could get some publicity out of it all (nothing generates more publicity these days then manufactured outrage) considering the environment the network was in when the news was revealed.
Now on to the show.\
When we left off last time, John Byrne had come over from Marvel to DC to create the Man of Steel. Marv Wolfman, the writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and an old colleague of Byrne's from their joint time on the Uncanny X-Men, convinced Byrne to do it based on conversations they had before Byrne made the switch where Superman would be reworked to become truly the Last Son of Krypton, which meant keeping only the very bare-boned essentials of Krypton. That meant the vast majority of the Silver and Bronze Age continuity of Superman was gone. (A lot of these concepts ended up being reintroduced later, but that is something you need to read the first five years post-Crisis to see.) An example of the change, Black Zero went from being a criminal pirate that blew up Krypton, to a terrorist group in Krypton's past. (The book below, which told the story of Black Zero the pirate, has a classic Neal Adams cover and is one of my favourite stories of all-time. It is mentioned because of a later influence, as we will soon see.)
Byrne has cited some influences as we went through the concepts of the series. He thought that having a Superman learning the ropes and having his powers develop gradually would be the best way to portray the character, as opposed to the old way were Superman had all of his powers instantly when he landed and embarking on a super career as a teenager (or at eight as shown in the original More Fun Comics story that introduced the concept. In this, Byrne was influenced by Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie. Krypton also became more sterile, but Byrne insists the movie did not influence it (there are less crystalline references in the comics, at least at first; this was later writers adding to it.) Byrne also decided that when the regular series were to be back in print, (They had taken a hiatus while this series was published; a technique used again in future when Superman died) Superman needed to be an established hero.
Let us begin with the storyline synopsis, shall we?
BOOK One - "The Legend Begins"
We discover Krypton is a cold and sterile environment where Jor-El and Lara create a son through a birthing matrix rather than through usual reproductive methods (a nice clean way to say it). This matrix is what gets sent to Earth, thus Superman is actually born an American. He is discovered by the Kents, who are baffled by the origins of the rocketship, and think he was sent from Russia. As his powers developed gradually, he became a football hero and Lana Lang became his best friend, aware of his differences. After high school, he uses his powers to anonymously help others before begin forced to reveal himself to the public by rescuing an experimental space plane (This scene has been paid homage to in both Superman Returns and the Supergirl TV series), Clark flying away when the crowd of people get too close to him. He goes home and with his parents, designs a costume and becomes Superman.
BOOK Two
After Superman's costumed debut, Daily Planet Editor Perry White assigns reporter Lois Lane to get the story behind the man. As she is not able to corner him, she creates a situation where Superman has to rescue her and she gets her story, only to find out she was beaten to the punch by a new reporter by the name of Clark Kent. Here we find the new personality that Lois Lane was given, including a new hair colour.
BOOK Three
Superman encounters the Batman for the first time after Superman follows rumours of a masked vigilante operating in Gotham City. Batman is on the trail of a bad girl by the name of Magpie when Superman confronts him as an outlaw. Batman then informs Superman that if he accosts him in any way a bomb will trigger and kill a random innocent person. The two work together to catch Magpie, and come to a mutual understanding hen Batman reveals he was the person the bomb would have killed. The two then part ways, Batman wondering that if things were different, they could be friends.
BOOK Four
Clark and Lois are guests on billionaire Lex Luthor's yacht when Luthor reveals to Lois is feelings for her. She is appalled as she knows some of his past (including his seven wives), grabs Clark, and leaves. The yacht is then attacked by terrorists, who throw Clark overboard. hie the terrorists are doing their thing, Superman lifts the boat out of the water, scaring and surprising everybody. Luthor then offers Superman a job, while admitting he staged the attack as a test. The Mayor of Metropolis who is there then deputizes Superman to arrest Luthor. Later Luthor warns Superman of a reckoning. Lex Luthor is now imagined as a businessman, rather than just an evil genius, who goes to great lengths to cover up his involvements in everything.
BOOK Five
The book begins with Superman confronting Luthor after another one of his revenge schemes. Superman is scanned by a machine as he leaves Luthorcorp and the machine tries to scan and duplicate Superman's alien DNA, which proves impossible. The clone turns into a "Bizarro" creature and after it is dumped by Luthor, wakes up and thinks he is Superman. After terrorizing the city, he encounters a blind Lucy Lane (Lois' sister) and Superman and the clone battle. The clone is turned to dust that mysteriously returns Lucy's sight. In this issue, we learn that Superman still doesn't know about his alien origins, but Luthor does now as a result of the scan. We also see how far Luthor is willing to go against Superman, with the destruction of his own lackey. According to the story, Superman has been active for five years.
BOOK Six
Superman returns to the Kent farm, where he is confronted by the ghost of Jor-El who touches him and brings him and brings him face-to-face with his real mother, Lara. After the hallucination is over, Clark sees Lana. In flashback, we see the night that Clark told Lana about his powers, and she confessed her love for him. But she realizes he belongs to the world, and lets go. The next day, Clark feels a calling and goes to where the ship as, only it's gone and Clark seems to be under a psychic attack. But it turns out he was transfer all of the knowledge of Krypton, as he is truly the last son of the planet. He is happy he has the knowledge, but it makes him embrace his humanity even more.
The series overall changes several things, the biggest being that the Kents are still alive, as Pre-Crisis (and in the New 52) they had died just after Clark graduated high school. Lana knows his secrets and although she loves him, lets him be.
The series overall covered ten years, thus establishing Superman as a hero for a while before the continuity picked up again.
Next time, we will visit the 2018 series and, then a comparison and discussion to follow.
Ottawa News and Notes - I don't have anything new at the moment, other than that September will be a busy month around the area, and I will have a detailed calendar on September events real soon.
Until next one, folks, keep on reading.
Now on to the show.\
When we left off last time, John Byrne had come over from Marvel to DC to create the Man of Steel. Marv Wolfman, the writer of Crisis on Infinite Earths, and an old colleague of Byrne's from their joint time on the Uncanny X-Men, convinced Byrne to do it based on conversations they had before Byrne made the switch where Superman would be reworked to become truly the Last Son of Krypton, which meant keeping only the very bare-boned essentials of Krypton. That meant the vast majority of the Silver and Bronze Age continuity of Superman was gone. (A lot of these concepts ended up being reintroduced later, but that is something you need to read the first five years post-Crisis to see.) An example of the change, Black Zero went from being a criminal pirate that blew up Krypton, to a terrorist group in Krypton's past. (The book below, which told the story of Black Zero the pirate, has a classic Neal Adams cover and is one of my favourite stories of all-time. It is mentioned because of a later influence, as we will soon see.)
Byrne has cited some influences as we went through the concepts of the series. He thought that having a Superman learning the ropes and having his powers develop gradually would be the best way to portray the character, as opposed to the old way were Superman had all of his powers instantly when he landed and embarking on a super career as a teenager (or at eight as shown in the original More Fun Comics story that introduced the concept. In this, Byrne was influenced by Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie. Krypton also became more sterile, but Byrne insists the movie did not influence it (there are less crystalline references in the comics, at least at first; this was later writers adding to it.) Byrne also decided that when the regular series were to be back in print, (They had taken a hiatus while this series was published; a technique used again in future when Superman died) Superman needed to be an established hero.
Let us begin with the storyline synopsis, shall we?
BOOK One - "The Legend Begins"
We discover Krypton is a cold and sterile environment where Jor-El and Lara create a son through a birthing matrix rather than through usual reproductive methods (a nice clean way to say it). This matrix is what gets sent to Earth, thus Superman is actually born an American. He is discovered by the Kents, who are baffled by the origins of the rocketship, and think he was sent from Russia. As his powers developed gradually, he became a football hero and Lana Lang became his best friend, aware of his differences. After high school, he uses his powers to anonymously help others before begin forced to reveal himself to the public by rescuing an experimental space plane (This scene has been paid homage to in both Superman Returns and the Supergirl TV series), Clark flying away when the crowd of people get too close to him. He goes home and with his parents, designs a costume and becomes Superman.
BOOK Two
After Superman's costumed debut, Daily Planet Editor Perry White assigns reporter Lois Lane to get the story behind the man. As she is not able to corner him, she creates a situation where Superman has to rescue her and she gets her story, only to find out she was beaten to the punch by a new reporter by the name of Clark Kent. Here we find the new personality that Lois Lane was given, including a new hair colour.
BOOK Three
Superman encounters the Batman for the first time after Superman follows rumours of a masked vigilante operating in Gotham City. Batman is on the trail of a bad girl by the name of Magpie when Superman confronts him as an outlaw. Batman then informs Superman that if he accosts him in any way a bomb will trigger and kill a random innocent person. The two work together to catch Magpie, and come to a mutual understanding hen Batman reveals he was the person the bomb would have killed. The two then part ways, Batman wondering that if things were different, they could be friends.
BOOK Four
Clark and Lois are guests on billionaire Lex Luthor's yacht when Luthor reveals to Lois is feelings for her. She is appalled as she knows some of his past (including his seven wives), grabs Clark, and leaves. The yacht is then attacked by terrorists, who throw Clark overboard. hie the terrorists are doing their thing, Superman lifts the boat out of the water, scaring and surprising everybody. Luthor then offers Superman a job, while admitting he staged the attack as a test. The Mayor of Metropolis who is there then deputizes Superman to arrest Luthor. Later Luthor warns Superman of a reckoning. Lex Luthor is now imagined as a businessman, rather than just an evil genius, who goes to great lengths to cover up his involvements in everything.
BOOK Five
The book begins with Superman confronting Luthor after another one of his revenge schemes. Superman is scanned by a machine as he leaves Luthorcorp and the machine tries to scan and duplicate Superman's alien DNA, which proves impossible. The clone turns into a "Bizarro" creature and after it is dumped by Luthor, wakes up and thinks he is Superman. After terrorizing the city, he encounters a blind Lucy Lane (Lois' sister) and Superman and the clone battle. The clone is turned to dust that mysteriously returns Lucy's sight. In this issue, we learn that Superman still doesn't know about his alien origins, but Luthor does now as a result of the scan. We also see how far Luthor is willing to go against Superman, with the destruction of his own lackey. According to the story, Superman has been active for five years.
BOOK Six
Superman returns to the Kent farm, where he is confronted by the ghost of Jor-El who touches him and brings him and brings him face-to-face with his real mother, Lara. After the hallucination is over, Clark sees Lana. In flashback, we see the night that Clark told Lana about his powers, and she confessed her love for him. But she realizes he belongs to the world, and lets go. The next day, Clark feels a calling and goes to where the ship as, only it's gone and Clark seems to be under a psychic attack. But it turns out he was transfer all of the knowledge of Krypton, as he is truly the last son of the planet. He is happy he has the knowledge, but it makes him embrace his humanity even more.
The series overall changes several things, the biggest being that the Kents are still alive, as Pre-Crisis (and in the New 52) they had died just after Clark graduated high school. Lana knows his secrets and although she loves him, lets him be.
The series overall covered ten years, thus establishing Superman as a hero for a while before the continuity picked up again.
Next time, we will visit the 2018 series and, then a comparison and discussion to follow.
Ottawa News and Notes - I don't have anything new at the moment, other than that September will be a busy month around the area, and I will have a detailed calendar on September events real soon.
Until next one, folks, keep on reading.
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