Favourite Superman Continuity by Cybersnark

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Favourite Superman Continuity

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POSTED BY: CYBERSNARK
UPDATED: Monday, December 4, 2006 20:54
SHORT URL: http://goo.gl/mfvFP
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Monday, December 4, 2006 9:13 AM

Inspired by Chrisisall's movie threads: which continuity does everyone prefer?

Pre-Crisis?
(Rocketted to Earth as an infant, Superman [who wears the symbol of his Kryptonian family] disguises himself as a bumbling goofball to hide his identity from Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, a megalomaniacal mad scientist. Jonathan Kent died when Clark was young. As a teenager, Clark called himself Superboy, and adventured in and around Smallville. Supergirl was Kara Zor-El, from a lost Kryptonian colony.)

Movies?
(Based on pre-Crisis, but in which there are no other superheroes on Earth, except possibly for Supergirl, a refugee from a probably-destroyed Kryptonian colony. There was (probably) never a Superboy. The Fortress was grown from a seed sent along with Clark by Jor-El. Clark's mother is a widow. Lois does not know Superman's identity, and is married to Richard White, with a son by Superman. Lex is a corrupt and mildly crazy businessman who was arrested, served time, and has now sworn vengeance.)

Smallville?
(Pre-Crisis, featuring a Smallville that is an hour's drive from Metropolis, frequent guest appearances by Lois, Perry, and various future superheroes and villains, and an ambitious teenaged Lex Luthor who inherited his wealth from his corrupt businessman father. Clark adventures as a teenager, but doesn't adopt the "Superboy" identity. The Fortress's seed and the S-shield come from Krypton, with Jor-El's instructions.)

Lois & Clark?
(Based on pre-Crisis, but with scattered post-Crisis elements, such as a cool, intelligent, and stylish Clark Kent, and a Lois that figured out his secret identity on her own. The Fortress doesn't exist, and the S-shield was apparently designed by the Kents [both of whom are alive]. Lex is a brilliant but corrupt businessman, origin never really explored.)

Post-Crisis/Man of Steel?
(Rocketted to Earth as a fertilized egg, "born" on American soil. Krypton was a sterile and emotionless world, and Clark's personality was shaped by the Kents. Clark Kent is cool, athletic, socially-skilled, a gifted writer, and an award-winning novelist. The Fortress of Solitude [and its various robot servitors] was created by the Kryptonian Eradicator [an AI, dsigned to teach Kal-El how to be a "proper" Kryptonian]. Lois & Clark are married, and the S-shield was designed by Jonathan Kent [who still lives]. Lex Luthor was an orphan who grew up on the streets of Metropolis, and earned his fortune through blood, sweat, hard work, and sheer willpower, rebuilding the city into what it is, and eventually running for and becoming President [defeated Bush in 2000

], before being indicted and becoming a fugitive. Doomsday killed Superman, who revived, heralded by four pretenders [a cloned Superboy, a man in Steel armour, the reborn Eradicator, and the Cyborg]. The clone was the first [and only] Superboy, and there have been three Supergirls: one a shapeshifter from an alternate universe, another an Earth-Born Angel, and the current Kryptonian survivor Kara Zor-El.)

DC-Tooniverse?
(Pre-Crisis continuity, with post-Crisis elements; Clark is cool, Krypton was a lot like Earth, Lois knows Clark's identity, but they aren't married. Doomsday appeared, but was quickly defeated by an alternate-universe Superman, and never managed to kill Supes. Superboy does not exist, Steel and Supergirl's origins remain unexplained. Lex is an egotistical supergenius who was revealed as a supervillain, merged with Brainiac, did time, escaped, and apparently sacrificed himself to destroy Darkseid.)

Birthright?
(Pre-Crisis origin, with a Smallville-esque Lex Luthor [with added supergenius] and a Kryptonian S-shield, dovetailing into a "Post-Crisis + Tooniverse" present; Clark and Lois are married, brilliant ex-President Luthor is on the run as an overt supervillain.)

You can probably guess which is mine. MoS, all the way. Luthor's just a more interesting villain there.

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Monday, December 4, 2006 8:54 PM

ROCKETJOCK

A couple of slight corrections; in the DC Animated Universe, both Supergirl and Steel have distinct origins.

The DCAU Supergirl is Superman's adopted cousin, last survivor of Krypton's "Sister Planet" Argo, which was blown out of its orbit when Krypton went "Bang". (By implication, the Argonians were descendants of Kryptonian colonists.) She (and several others) tried to survive in suspended animation, but by the time Kal-El traced an automated signal to their outpost, all but Kara had died through equipment failure.

The DCAU version of Steel is a former Lexcorp scientist who designed his battle-suit as a way of making up for the damage his former employer had caused with his weapon designs.

And as for my favorite version of the big red "S"? The Pre-Crisis, Mort Weisinger era, no question. Silly, goofy, self-contradicting, and clearly kid stuff--but honestly kid stuff, without pretentions. Give me the bottle city of Kandor, Kryptonite in all the colors of the rainbow, and a menagerie of super-pets, and I'll be a happy man.

Just call me a Krypto-revisionist.

"Us hate beauty. Us love ugliness. Is big crime make anything perfect on Bizarro World." -- Bizarro Superman #1

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