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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 9, 2015 12:48:30 GMT -5
I did a few of these on the old board at CBR many moons ago. But they're long gone. And we have a whole new batch of folks, so I'd see if it would work again. If so, I'll post one now and then.
So...Who is your Superman?
The Man of Steel is past 75 years old and has been in a ton of incarnations. The populist original. The Silver Age demi-God. Christopher Reeves making you believe a man could fly. Various animated incarnations. He's certainly one of the most iconic comic book characters.
So who is your Superman? And why?
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jul 9, 2015 12:59:14 GMT -5
And, to answer my own question...
I despise Superman. Always have. I don't like him. Over-powered. Boring. Particularly the Silver/Bronze Age version. Not even Alan Moore could make me like him.
So I was pretty shocked that I actually like the original Superman by Siegel & Shuster. His first year or so is a damn fine read. Yeah, the writing and art are rough and simplistic, but at least they're interesting. Supes isn't the quasi-God he would become, but fights actual injustice, wife-beaters, corrupt industrialists, war-profiteers. It's exciting and fun Populism.
A close second would be the Fleisher cartoons. Really a quality follow-up to those early stories.
My Superman is the original. And he's the only one I've had even a modicum of interest in.
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Post by Trevor on Jul 9, 2015 13:14:39 GMT -5
Your title certainly fits Slam!  |
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Post by gothos on Jul 9, 2015 14:23:00 GMT -5
Mine is certainly the Silver Age version edited by Mort Weisinger. I didn't see the George Reeves version growing up, had only a mild liking for the Filmation cartoon, and the few Golden Age reprints seemed to me tedious and childish. (I'm surprised any of these saw reprint during Weisinger's tenure: he worked damn hard to force Jerry Siegel and his interpretation of the character out of the picture.)Even though there were things I didn't like about the Superman character-- I thought he should be more vulnerable to massive forces, a la the Byrne version-- the stories had a whimsical air ameliorated somewhat by occasional notes of pathos.
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 9, 2015 14:43:30 GMT -5
His first year or so is a damn fine read. Yeah, the writing and art are rough and simplistic, but at least they're interesting. Supes isn't the quasi-God he would become, but fights actual injustice, wife-beaters, corrupt industrialists, war-profiteers. I love that story (I think it's in an early issue of Action) where Superman goes on a crusade against bad drivers.
And then there's that awesome story (Superman #7, I think) where they send Clark to investigate the trouble in "Gay City" and Lois can't go because "it's no job for a woman!"
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 9, 2015 14:46:35 GMT -5
The late 1950s and early 1960s! Swan, Plastino, Boring! Supergirl, Krypto, Brainiac!
Lois, Leopard Queen! Werewolf Jimmy Olsen! The Superman Emergency Squad!
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Post by Cei-U! on Jul 9, 2015 15:11:39 GMT -5
Hmm, tough question! The '50s TV series was my introduction to the character. My exposure to his comics in my formative years was spotty and scattered. I liked Mxyzptlk, the Bizarros and the Super-Pets but I didn't really fall in love with him until I read the Powerstone two-parter reprinted in the sacred pages of the 100-page Superman #252. That led to my seeking out whatever reprints of the Golden Age stuff I could find, including the treasury-sized reprints of Action #1 and Superman #1. I think it was only by seeing him in the context of the era of his creation, stripped of all the space opera detritus of Weisinger's Silver Age, that I finally got what Jerry and Joe had in mind. There are plenty of other versions and runs I like--Binder and Swan's surreal Jimmy Olsens, Paul Dini's animated version and its comic book companion, the Earth-Two Superman as written by Bates, Levitz, Bridwell and Thomas, the Fleischer cartoons, the Wolfman-Ordway issues of the '80s reboot (but not the Byrne stuff, sorry) and the Gibbons/Rude World's Finest mini, to name just a few--but if I must identify "my" Superman it's Seigel and Shuster's original Man of Tomorrow, no question.
Cei-U!
I summon a bird! No, a plane! No, Superman!
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Post by Hoosier X on Jul 9, 2015 15:29:58 GMT -5
I didn't really fall in love with him until I read the Powerstone two-parter reprinted in the sacred pages of the 100-page Superman #252. As much as I love goofy Silver Age Superman, the Powerstone two-parter from Superman #17 and Action #47 (I think those issue numbers are correct) is my favorite Superman story of them all. |
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Post by Pharozonk on Jul 9, 2015 15:31:22 GMT -5
Late Bronze Age Superman (80-85ish) is my favorite. It struck the right balance between the fantastic whimsy of the Silver Age and the more serious storytelling that DC was experimenting with at the time.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2015 15:49:13 GMT -5
My Superman,Would be George Reeves and Christopher Reeve, why George made Superman more relevant and Reeve made Superman more real meaning that a man can fly. These two would tie for 2nd Place and rightly so. Reeves made Superman more human ... Reeve made Superman more real. In this short Filmation Video - Justice League of America - Target Earth - I watch this on a weekly basis (I have it downloaded it on my Computer) for my love of the awesome power of SUPERMAN - to me, this represent HOPE for the world and to me he is the Savior. I know that many of you here can't stand him at all. But, seeing him moving the Earth back in it's original orbit is the single most impressive feat by Superman in the glorious days of the 60's. Yes, it's Superman... strange visitor from another planet, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men! Superman... who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands ...To me, the words in George Reeves series in italic rings true in the cartoon that I've provided ... "Powers and Abilities far beyond" ... Means he has the power and the strength of ATLAS"Course of Mighty Rivers" ... Means he has the power and the strength of SAMSON"Bend Steel in Bare Hands" ... Means he has the power and the strength of HERCULESTo my own interpertation, he is those three mythological/biblical heroes all rolled into ONE; and that's why I consider Superman a class by himself and that's why he's the centerpiece of DC COMICS - Bar None. Power, Strength, Flight, (Superhuman) Abilities, and Might ... He is one Superhero is a force to be reckon with. One of my favorite picture of Silver Age Superman
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Post by crazyoldhermit on Jul 9, 2015 18:16:06 GMT -5
In terms of attitude it's the original Siegel/Shuster version. In terms of ability and look it's Fleisher all the way. A Superman who has to put his back into pulling a freight train to its destination is my Superman.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2015 18:40:41 GMT -5
Not even Alan Moore could make me like him. Hee...not even Superman could make me like Alan Moore.... But to answer the question, I think the Andru/Bates/Swan issues were my favourite...these were the first Superman comics I read albeit in the early 90s when I was still pint-sized Jez. |
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Post by benday-dot on Jul 9, 2015 20:17:30 GMT -5
Great topic.
I also have a fondness for the original Superman as well, but I am going to throw my vote behind the Silver-Age Weisinger version.
I find this Superman most interesting for those very reasons Slam gives for disliking him. I completely get where Slam is coming from, but I still maintain that Silver-Age Supes is thoroughly fascinating precisely because he is so very god-like. It is what sets him apart and it is what makes him for me a subject of fascination.
It was Superman's seemingly unlimited store of powers (and the very existence of kryptonite I feel is an error and is itself the real bore in the mythos)that made him a creature of almost bizarre character, and indeed of great loneliness and melancholy. He wanted to belong, but he never really could. As a god he was a freak, and this has made him to me rather more interesting than his National rival Batman. His freakishness gave rise to humour, even some derision, but above all of to a state of permanent exile from those he swore to protect.
In this sense Superman emerges as DC's most surreal character.
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Post by fanboystranger on Jul 9, 2015 20:47:03 GMT -5
When I think Superman, I don't automatically go to specific character traits so much as an image of the character. That image is drawn by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.
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Post by JKCarrier on Jul 9, 2015 21:11:12 GMT -5
Bronze Age Superman, particularly as written by Elliot S! Maggin. His two prose novels, Last Son of Krypton and Miracle Monday are the definitive take on the character, as far as I'm concerned.
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