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How do you make Superman more interesting? Give him more powers.
- Thread starter Escape Goat
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U n i o n 0015
Member
Looks like he can summon nukes out of thin air.
You could call him... Nuclear Man.
NO! DON'T DO IT!
THE PEOPLE!
Zeus Molecules
illegal immigrants are stealing our air
I always thought the whole purpose of All Star superman was to show what really made superman great was his empathy and love for his fellow man (regardless of his power level).
Superman struggles a lot. Even before the reboot. His stories are no less dramatic than Batman taking five issues to figure out a crime from someone he's caught 500 times or Spider-Man struggling to pay his Brazzers account for the 60th month in a row.
BKatastrophe
Member
I want this to be a story.
The power has a name: Super Flare
If I were adding powers, I'd try to think of something that enables the secret identity with minimal collateral impact... I don't know if anything like that is possible while staying within acceptable boundaries but that's where my thought process would go. The Amnesia Kiss is justifiably ridiculed, but it did serve a plot purpose.
Something that causes harmless temporary prosopagnosia / face-blindness / aphasia... but then that wouldn't address mechanical and electronic recordings / observers.
I dunno, any ideas for a power that cures the identity issue?
If I were adding powers, I'd try to think of something that enables the secret identity with minimal collateral impact... I don't know if anything like that is possible while staying within acceptable boundaries but that's where my thought process would go. The Amnesia Kiss is justifiably ridiculed, but it did serve a plot purpose.
Something that causes harmless temporary prosopagnosia / face-blindness / aphasia... but then that wouldn't address mechanical and electronic recordings / observers.
I dunno, any ideas for a power that cures the identity issue?
Where the Tivo?
BKatastrophe
Member
Or his Super Breath?
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Why? The beauty of Superman's identity lies in its simplicity, in its reliance on the average person to expect the fantastic. Superman could ride the subway in full costume and people would just think he's a guy wearing a superman costume, on the virtue that he's not flying, and superman flies. You don't need super hypnosis or constantly vibrating your face at super speed.
People tend to cite anecdotal incidents like that- riding the subway- which may work once or twice (which may be all you need for an issue or a film) but it doesn't hold up over time or under scrutiny. It's one of the reason most people are pleased with Lois not being subjected to being unable to see through Clark's disguise in MOS.
I don't need comics to be totally rationalized. I'm fine with Superman as-is... but if I was going to invent a power to add to the mythos, I'd give the non-comic readers something to hang their hat on to end that particular critique of the character / mythos.
I don't need comics to be totally rationalized. I'm fine with Superman as-is... but if I was going to invent a power to add to the mythos, I'd give the non-comic readers something to hang their hat on to end that particular critique of the character / mythos.
I never had much issue with Superman's disguise. I once got my haircut (went from shoulder length to close fade buzz) and got some new clothes. Went to work the next day and my assistant manager didn't recognize me at all. I had been there 3 years by that time.
I think people underestimate the difference the change in a look can have. Supes changes his whole demeanor, pitch in voice, physical mannerisms, and provides something most people dont see from Superman; an average Joe personality. The glasses as silly as they are become nothing more than a cherry on top of a perfect disguise.
I think people underestimate the difference the change in a look can have. Supes changes his whole demeanor, pitch in voice, physical mannerisms, and provides something most people dont see from Superman; an average Joe personality. The glasses as silly as they are become nothing more than a cherry on top of a perfect disguise.
It's more that most people aren't going to think that Superman is a regular person at all. He's constantly saving people all over the world, going into space, and doing charity events. And, Clark has his own life so they both look like completely different people. And now, I believe most every important character close to him knows about his dual identity or are suggested to. At least a good chunk of them before the reboot.
Mr. Poolman
Member
Back on the golden age, they explained the identity issue with super hypnotism.
I kid you not.
Also, look for super ventriloquism and super mathematics.
BTW Superman, the answer is 3,200, not 32,000, but I guess my math is not super enough.
As a comic reader, I'm fine to go along with it, I'm familiar with all the apologetics. I just don't think it holds up outside of comics for non-comic readers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGg85QbPC-U
I don't mind a good anecdote. My favorite one is where Jewel isn't recognized as Jewel singing her own songs (at the end of the video). Granted, these are to drunks but, sure, you can anecdotally fool someone... that's different than fooling them on a day to day basis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmv1VhrtYRo
Yup, I know, and it was also tied to his glasses to justify it as part of his disguise... I'm wondering if there's a modern update for that which could be palatable for modern and skeptical audiences. Without outright saying, "Superman actually mindrapes all sentients and fries all electronics around him."
Delta Assault
Member
At the end of the day... if you can accept a guy flying at the speed of light, holding up skyscrapers and aircraft carriers, and punching out Gods, but can't believe in a secret identity with glasses... I don't know what to tell ya.
BKatastrophe
Member
Also, look for super ventriloquism and super mathematics.
BTW Superman, the answer is 3,200, not 32,000, but I guess my math is not super enough.
Super Mathematics allows you to just use your own numbers, basically.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Is it really fair to say that other characters in the comic are dumb for not realizing Superman's identity when we, as the reader, are constantly aware of that fact?
Again, this is for the benefit of the non-reader and the skeptical. Basically, an easy deflection or answer for the fan to give to address that external question.
The honest answer is that it's a trope, but if a non-fan is unwilling to accept that answer, wouldn't it be nice for a mechanical explanation to exist if for no other reason than to end the inquiry?
Sibersk Esto
Banned
The most a "non-fan" is ever going to think of superman is that he stands still for 30 pages and then the problem fixes itself.
No, of course it isn't. It's one of those things we suspend disbelief for in comics. For the most part we just roll with it for other times we get amusing subversions like in All-Star Superman or Year One.
Com'on that's hardly fair. Superman's leaked out into popular culture.
It's a challenged raised by non-fans all the time...
http://www.break.com/topics/dwayne-the-rock-johnson-clark-kent-snl/
Assuming you could answer, "A wizard did it!" with a little more credibility, wouldn't be a bad thing.
Edit: Come to think of it... that wouldn't be a totally terrible answer. It would kill two birds with one stone. The logistics of the secret would be unassailable because "it's magic" (like Parker's devil deal) AND it would resolve the common misconception that Superman is allergic to magic... you can easily point to him being the recipient of a beneficial blessing without breaking into hives (although, I've been using making out with Wonder Woman to accomplish the same so far).
Alx
Member
.
He should definitely switch to the metric system...
*Now legal in 36 states.
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Was Supes getting murked too often in the Goku matchups and they've felt the need to add a Spirit Bomb unlock to even things out?
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Pie and Beans
Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
Looks like Superman has been flying around a bit too much and thus skipping leg-day by default. The last son of Krypton should not be slipping into skinny jeans.
The Silver
Member
Super Flare? Sounds like Sun God's(Marvel's alternate universe Superman copy) power.
freethought
Member
Oh yeah ultimately. It's just his power up never really comes into play but the other stuff does so I thought it was kind of a bad example to use.
edit: Well, it does, and they ultimately sort of blend together I guess.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Is it the same thing? The speed force is an all encompassing component of the flash character. It's the source of all his powers. The same thing that makes him run fast also allows him to not rip his clothing to shreds while running. Ok, fine. Consider Byrne's Superman, who had a minor level of telekinesis which was used to explain why his costume was as durable as he was, or how he could fly, or how he could lift things easily while flying. If he had a power whose only purpose was JUST to preserve his identity, then I'm sorry but that's bad writing.
BKatastrophe
Member
I've been wanting to read a good action comic recently. Would the New 52 Superman be a good pick for that? Because I wasn't a fan of his character in the Justice League run (I read the first four trades).
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Geoff Johns run on the title started on issue 32 and has been enjoyable, although some are put off by Romita's artwork. Action comics is the other superman title, which grant morrison started out writing for. It's divisive, but I liked it. Greg Pak's run, starting with issue 25 and is still going, is considered very good.
It's never going to end, dude. Never. Anyone who's been a Superman fan for any length of time can let you know that. People love to take a shot at the big guy. Always have, always will. Driveby posts just to let you know that they still think Superman is terrible is the norm, not the exception.
I thought maybe Man of Steel could turn the zeitgeist around on it. I'd hoped it would at least get people interested in him for the wrong reasons. That I can work with. But...nope. I doubt Batman v. Superman will do any more than convince people that in order for a Superman movie to be good, it just needs more Batman. That's best case scenario.
It really is a pity. He's my favorite. If I just related to the ways he sucks like I do with Reed Richards or Cyclops, that'd be one thing. But most of the common accusations slung at Superman are blatantly untrue. That's highly frustrating.
Depending on what kind of comics you like, certain runs of Action Comics in the New 52 era might not be a bad fit. One of my biggest criticisms of New 52 Superman is that his character is written highly inconsistently from writer to writer, book to book. Only Grant Morrison managed to capture anything that when I closed the book, I thought, Now that was a Superman story! I only read a very little bit of Greg Pak's run on Action, but he seemed pretty solid as well.
I also hated how he was presented in Justice League. It's like all the writers at DC got a memo saying what the characters were going to be like in the New 52 and under Superman they'd written "Arrogant". Some of those writers interoperated that to mean that Superman got to enjoy being super powered a little more, had a little swag (Grant's Action.) Some interoperated that to mean he was a self-absorbed prick. Clark Kent should never, ever be a self-absorbed prick.
FunkyPajamas
Member
Also, look for super ventriloquism and super mathematics.
BTW Superman, the answer is 3,200, not 32,000, but I guess my math is not super enough.
So Supes is Editor In Chief @ vgchartzzz, confimed.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Also, Superman under the rays of a blue sun once got the power to give other people his powerset. He gave it to his dad, who beat the shit out of Bizarro-Doomsday.
This is awesome.
This is awesome.
BKatastrophe
Member
I appreciate the input. I'm genuinely looking for a superhero comic that has sick fights, basically. If New 52 Superman or Action Comics fit that bill, then I'll pick up the trades for one or both of those and get cracking.
Everyone in the Justice League run sucked except for Aquaman. His intro panel is amazing, and I enjoyed the Throne of Atlantis arc immensely. I would love a statue of that specific scene. It also pissed me off when I found out the movie adaption of this arc, War, swapped him out for Shazam. It meant that I was going to be able to see this glorious scene animated.
Escape Goat
Member
That Aquaman pic is pretty convenient. Ill just assume he summoned his sea friends on his way there to be on stand by Somewhere off panel.
Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!
Member
Still cant get over how shitty that costume is no matter how much they try and "improve" it
Skinny Pete
Banned
It's still weird seeing JRJR drawing Superman.
MisterHero
Super Member
You missed the story arc where he could turn into Doomsday and set planets on fire just by flying near them
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
I appreciate the input. I'm genuinely looking for a superhero comic that has sick fights, basically. If New 52 Superman or Action Comics fit that bill, then I'll pick up the trades for one or both of those and get cracking.
Everyone in the Justice League run sucked except for Aquaman. His intro panel is amazing, and I enjoyed the Throne of Atlantis arc immensely. I would love a statue of that specific scene. It also pissed me off when I found out the movie adaption of this arc, War, swapped him out for Shazam. It meant that I was going to be able to see this glorious scene animated.
You're cool, bro. They recreated this scene and swapped in inexplicably Atlantean Black Manta for the parademons in the DCAU throne of Atlantis.
It was better than War, he says, damning with faint praise.
I think so. The Speed Force is the codification of a trope... that being, "scientific Mercury." The powers of the Flash aren't internally self-consistent except to achieve that laudable goal (just, for example, why can he travel faster than escape velocity yet must move via running rather than flight). It's an elegant handwave to get you everything you want about the character.
The same could probably be accomplished for Superman and probably with greater internal consistency than Flash, you just have to have a little imagination rather than dismissing it out-of-hand... Superman is ostensibly powered by radiation and his powers could be justified as electromagnetic manipulation.
Exposure to powerful em can cause temporary aphasia, short term memory loss, temporary savant abilities, etc. (transcranial magnetic stimulation)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiP22kTxq_g
Likewise, powerful em could befuddle mechanical recording techniques... thus providing a handwave for protecting the ID. The specific mechanics and nuance would have to be parsed just as the Speed Force could be, but insofar as answering any question about the topic of the ID, all you'd have to say is, "He's got a power for that."
An external apologetic might be that Myxlplyx manipulates reality to make it all work, but I'm just saying if we're going to be adding powers to Superman at all, we might as well make them lubricate the concept for prospective fans. It is not happening now, so the discussion is a harmless thought experiment.
Superman Unchained is a pretty obvious recommendation for you if you liked Jim Lee's art in Justice League and are looking for something action heavy.
Wolverine is more interesting and less powerful than Superman right? How many good stories does he have? Why doesn't he have nearly as many good stories as Superman?
What abouat Namor? People think he's cool as hell because he's a Marvel character....how many good Namor stories do you know off the top of your head?
Black Panther? Name me 5 good BP stories off the top of your head.
Green Arrow?
Iron Man?
Hawkeye?
Johnny Storm?
Guardians of the Galaxy?
None of those guys have as many good stories as Superman, and they've been around forever. The only ones who beats him in that department is Batman and Spider-Man. How powerful he is has nothing to do with it.
Yeah, I don't know if Grant's run on Action will be your cup of tea then. It wasn't so much big fights as it was big ideas. But that's Grant all over. Superman gets attacked by ghosts from another dimension and gets saved by an alien dog, for example. That's one issue. There's a lot of time travel and talk about tesseract space. Demons from the fifth dimension. Storms of angels on Mars. It's pretty trippy. Not as much time dedicated to the punching though. Still, I would sell my soul to Darkseid to get Morrison back on Action.
Best bet is probably Superman, but--and I can't stress this enough--do not start from the beginning of the New 52 with that. The first arc of Superman was slow, aimless and crap. If you start with volume 2, you'll probably be ok. That's from the fight with Hellspont on.
Also this. Dunno how I forgot that one.
Avengers 40 beats anything with Superman's name on it from the last 15 years. Easily.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
It'll turn 10 this year.
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