Alternate versions of Superman
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| Superman | |
|---|---|
 Cover for the hardcover edition of "Mythology: The DC Comics Art Of Alex Ross". Art by Alex Ross. |
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| Publisher | |
| First appearance |
Action Comics #1 (1938)
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| Created by |
Joe Schuster
Jerry Seigel |
| Characters | |
This is a list of the alternate versions of Superman from all media, including DC Comics multiverse, Elseworlds, television and film.
Contents |
[edit] In mainstream comic continuity
[edit] Different versions of Kal-El
- Kal-El is the modern Superman. The history of the Earth-One Superman, the only one not erased from existence after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, was modified in The Man of Steel miniseries by John Byrne, and later revised in Superman: Birthright by Mark Waid.
- Kal-L is the version of Superman retconned in the 1960s as having been the one active during the Golden Age to explain how Superman could have been active since the 1930s. He was the first superhero of Earth-Two and emerged before World War II. He was a member of the Justice Society and later the All Star Squadron. Clark Kent for the Daily Star as a reporter and eventually as Editor-in-Chief. He eventually settled down with Lois Lane for several decades, and eventually became step-father to his long-lost cousin Power Girl. This version eventually died at the conclusion of Infinite Crisis battling his Earth-Prime counterpart.
- The Silver Age Kal-El is most closely associated with the Mort Weisinger era. The most significant differences between the Golden Age version (later retconned as inhabitant of Earth-Two) and Silver Age version (an inhabitant of Earth-One) of Superman are the Daily Star becoming the Daily Planet and an increase in Superman's power levels, though there are other changes. This Superman first revealed himself to the world in his youth, as Superboy. Superboy, in turn, inspired the Legion of Super-Heroes. Lex Luthor also met Superboy in Smallville before they became bitter mortal enemies as adults. During Crisis on Infinite Earths, all existing Earths were collapsed into one, and though the Earth-One Superman survived, his history was modified in the The Man of Steel miniseries, as mentioned above (though later stories such as Superman: Birthright brought much of the Silver Age mythos back into continuity). The Silver Age version of Superman was given a send-off in the Alan Moore-penned imaginary non-canonical story Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
- Superman-Prime is from "one million months" into the future. After retreating into the Sun, Kal-El, progenitor of the Superman Dynasty returned to defeat the tyrant sun Solaris and recreate his one true love. Superman-Prime emerged from the sun radiating golden light and capable of god-like acts. A version of Superman-Prime appears in All Star Superman.
- Superboy-Prime is the superhero turned supervillain from Earth-Prime, who is defeated after a prolonged battle that forces Kal-El to sacrifice his powers and Kal-L to give his life.[1]
- Superman Red/Superman Blue was the subject of several storylines. The Silver Age version of the tale was an "imaginary story" in which Superman split into two beings, one which married Lois Lane, and the other married Lana Lang, and both were happy. The modern tale was a controversial storyline in which Superman changed powers (to energy-based), and to a corresponding new costume. He eventually split into two versions of the energy-Superman: red and blue.
- The Superman of the "Absolute Power" storyarc of Superman/Batman was raised to rule the world with Batman by Legion of Super-Villains members Lightning Lord, Saturn Queen, and Cosmic King. The Legion altered the timeline by killing Jonathan and Martha Kent, and the murderer of Batman's parents. After Superman and Batman corrected the timeline, they retained the memories of the previous world. However, the tyrant versions of the heroes have made further appearances since the correction, fighting and killing one of the Maximums.
- Ultraman is an evil version of Superman and a prominent member of the Crime Syndicate. Ultraman originally came from Earth-Three, a world where good is evil. During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Earth-Three was destroyed by an antimatter wave. Another Ultraman later surfaced in the antimatter universe of Qward. Originally human, Lt. Clark Kent was an astronaut and during a deep space instrument he was experimented upon. His mind became twisted, but his body became superhuman after exposure to anti-kryptonite, although regular access was required to maintain his powers. He most recently appeared in Supergirl, ruling Kandor under the control of Saturn Queen.
- Sunshine Superman is a black version of Superman who comes from Dreamworld, a world based around drug culture of the 60s and 70s. He is a part of the Love Syndicate of Dreamworld, alongside Magic Lantern and Speed Freak, first appearing in Animal Man.
[edit] "Superman" in name only
- Kon-El, the modern Superboy, a clone of the Man of Steel, arrived in Metropolis shortly after Superman's death. Originally, he had no name besides "Superman". When the original returned, he told the clone he had earned the name "Superboy", much to his dismay. He eventually became a hero is his own right, and Superman came to think of him as family, giving him the Kryptonian name of Kon-El and a human alias Conner Kent, cousin to Clark. Conner became Superman in the Titans Tomorrow timeline, after Kal-El had died.[2]
- Hank Henshaw was one of several to claim the name of Superman, following the original's death. To differentiate him from the others, the press dubbed him Cyborg-Superman. After the Coast City incident, he was referred to simply as the Cyborg, not to be confused with Victor Stone.
- The Eradicator also emerged as a Superman imposter during the Reign of the Supermen. No longer able to absorb energy directly from the sun, he used Kal-El's corpse as a power source. He eventually became delusional and believed himself to be Superman, but this taught him humanity, and he eventually gave his life to stop the Cyborg-Superman and restore Kal-El's powers.
- John Henry Irons made a suit of armor and cape emblazoned with the Superman-insignia, as tribute to the fallen Man of Steel. Unfortunately, he was lumped in with the other Superman imposters, even though he made to no claim to the name. Eventually dubbed "Steel" by the resurrected Superman, he became a close ally and friend to Kal-El.
- The Superman Dynasty is the line of Superman's descendants and successors, featured in DC One Million. In this story, his first direct successor was his son by Lois Lane, called Superman Secundus. In the 853rd century, Kal Kent is the last scion of the dynasty, and leader of Justice Legion A.[3]
- Bizarro is the imperfect clone of Superman. There have been several versions of the character, who was originally created by Lex Luthor. Due to an inability to adequately replicate Kryptonian DNA, the clones bodies would degenerate into a chalky-skinned caricature of the Man of Steel.[4] Luthor was eventually successful by grafting Superman's DNA to human DNA, and created the modern Superboy.[5] Bizarro #1 is the only Bizarro that has survived, although he was not created like the others; having stolen the powers of Mr. Mxyptlk, the Joker created him.[6] Unlike the others, Bizarro #1's suit is purple toned and he has a name tag that says "#1." The Bizarros are also characterized by having reverse Kryptonian powers including heat breath and freeze vision.
[edit] Elseworlds
- All Star Superman is from the comic book of the same name. Writer Grant Morrison has said that for all intents and purposes, he is the Silver Age Superman, or at the very least has the backstory as the Silver Age version, including powers and continuity. For example, Clark Kent first revealed himself during childhood as Superboy, and Jonathan Kent has died. (However, in actual Silver/Bronze Age stories, both Jonathan and Martha Kent had died by the time Clark was active as Superman).
- Frank Miller's Superman - The Superman of All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder is not the same as the Superman of All-Star Superman. The artist of All-Star Batman, Jim Lee, has said he is based on the Golden Age Superman,[7] which is why he is shown running on water instead of flying.[8] However, they make no mention of this in the actual comic. Conversely, Frank Miller's Superman is seen flying in his other comics about Batman. This is notionally the same Superman who will evolve to the government agent seen in The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again, at least from Miller's authorial point of view, as there is no official canonical link between the All Star and Dark Knight continuities as yet.
- Kingdom Come shows an alternate future, in which Superman went into self-imposed exile following the death of Lois Lane. He returned after 10 years at the behest of Wonder Woman.
- JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail show Superman raised by Amish folk instead of the Kents. His Amish upbringing delayed Superman revealing himself to the world.
- Superman: The Dark Side (1998) - Kal-El's rocket is diverted from Earth to Apokolips, and Superman is raised by Darkseid.
- Superman: Red Son explores what would have happened if Superman's ship had crashed in the Soviet Union instead of the United States.
- Superman: True Brit is a humorous reimagining of Superman in which the ship crashed in England.
- Superman: Speeding Bullets puts Superman in Batman's shoes. Found and adopted by the Waynes and christened Bruce, he sees them murdered in front of him and grows up to be a superpowered Batman.
- Superman: Last Son of Earth is a dramatic role reversal for many Superman traditions. In this story, he is Clark Kent, biological son of Johnathan and Martha Kent, who is sent into space to escape the impending destruction of Earth by collision with a space rock. He lands on Krypton and is adopted by Jor-El and Lara as their son, Kal-El, eventually discovering a Green Lantern ring.
- Super-Soldier is a hybrid of Superman and Captain America that appeared in the Amalgam Comics titles following the Marvel vs DC storyline.
- Thor-El is another hybrid Superman from the Unlimited Access DC/Marvel limited-run story arc. He is a combined version of Thor and Superman Blue. He often makes mixed references to Kryptonians as Asgardians.
[edit] Film and television
- In the Superman cartoons produced by Max Fleisher, Superman is much as he appears in the first issue of Action Comics, despite changes in his costume. He is said to have been found by "a passing motorist" who brought him to an orphanage. As there is no mention of his parents, it is plausible that he grew up there.
- Kirk Alyn stared as Superman in two 15-chapter serials produced by Columbia Pictures. In it, Superman has many of the powers demonstrated in the comics. The origin story is similar to what's described in a 1942 novel about Superman, with his parents being named Sarah and Eben.
- Adventures of Superman was a television series that featured George Reeves in the title role. This Superman was often portrayed as tough compared to others. While he had many of the powers demonstrated in the comics the show often featured Superman battling generic gangsters.
- In 1966, Filmation aired The New Adventures of Superman which was a television series aimed at younger viewers, and from 1973 to 1986, Hanna Barbera produced different versions of the Justice League influenced Super Friends also aimed at children. In both cartoons, Superman was a rough variant of his comic book counterpart (by this time, his Earth-One counterpart) and the shows' backstories and character designs are similar enough that they could be considered the same version of the character.
- In Superman: The Movie and its sequels,[9] Christopher Reeve played Superman, who was depicted as possessing a seemingly endless array of different abilities never before seen in the comics, even by his Silver Age self. He was able to erase Lois' memory of his secret identity with a kiss, restore the Great Wall of China to pristine condition with the use of a blue eye beam, apparently teleport, create illusions of himself (Although this may have been caused either by him moving rapidly between several different locations, or more simply through Kryptonian image projection technology in the Fortress of Solitude), and so on and so forth. Kryptonian foes such as General Zod even demonstrated telekenetic ability. He also displayed Silver Age-level strength when he pushed the moon to eclipse the sun over Earth.
- In 1988, two years after Crisis, the producers of Superman: The Movie aired a series entitled Superboy which featured John Haymes Newton in the role for one season before he was fired and replaced by Gerard Christopher. The show concentrated on a college-aged Kal-El as a journalism student at Seigel University. While the show has at least a cult-following, many legal issues have prevented the series from coming to either syndication or DVD and VHS, with the recent exception of the first season.
- In Superman Returns, Brandon Routh takes over the role of Superman. Director Bryan Singer has stated that the new film's continuity is based only loosely on the first two Superman films directed by Richard Donner and Richard Lester, and thus Reeve and Routh's Supermen, though similar in places (even having identical fathers—Jor-El played by Marlon Brando and Jonathan Kent played by Glenn Ford), may not be the exact same individual. For example, the events of the third and fourth films are ignored.
- In the Superman (1988 TV series), produced by Ruby-Spears Productions. This was the first true Superman series since Crisis on Infinite Earths. Influenced by story editor Marv Wolfman's comic version, the series presents various elements from The Man of Steel. In this series, Lex Luthor is not a publicly known criminal, but a rich entrepenuer instead. Clark Kent is Superman's alter ego, instead of Superman being Clark Kent's alter ego. Furthermore, Martha and Jonathan Kent are still alive in Superman's adulthood in this series. Here Superman was never Superboy as a teenager, although his powers had appeared very early in childhood. Clark Kent is clumsy in this series being likened to the Christopher Reeves version of Clark Kent. Clark's confidence in this series is shown when he takes Lana Lang to prom.
- In Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, Dean Cain played the first live-action adult Superman since Crisis on Infinite Earths and The Man of Steel, which heavily influenced the show. This is the first show that showed Clark Kent as his "real" persona and Superman as somewhat of a facade. As he explained to Lois in one episode, "Superman is what I can do, Clark is who I am." As the title implies, Clark is the main character, while Superman makes more sporadic appearances. The Lois and Clark version was also notable for having the reverse of the traditional distinction between Clark Kent and Superman's hairstyles; here it is Superman who has the slicked-back hair and Clark whose fringe falls more naturally, perhaps to reinforce the notion that Kent is the "genuine" personality where as Superman is the artificial disguise. In neither mode does the character feature his trademark spitcurl, making it one of the few depictions of Superman to lack this distinctive feature.
- The Superman of the DC animated universe is a synthesis of Superman's 60-plus year history. At first glance, it appears to be an adaptation of The Man of Steel, but also took many aspects of the 'Silver Age' and modernized them. In this continuity, Superman was believed to be the only Kryptonian survivor; except for Kara In-Ze (Supergirl) from Krypton's "sister" planet, Argo and the artificial intelligence of Brainiac) until Professor Hamilton found a device with access to the Phantom Zone where two other Kryptonians were found. His archenemy is the 'wealthy business tycoon' version of Lex Luthor. His parents are still alive, and this Superman was never Superboy.[10] The Superman on Justice League Unlimited is portayed as slightly older and has a different actor providing the voice (although cast members such as Dana Delany and Clancy Brown reappeared in guest appearances) but is much the same and the show is usually considered a continuation of it, as well as the various Batman cartoons that preceded it.
- The Clark Kent of the Smallville leads his life differently, never becoming Superboy, although he is active in secretly performing heroic deeds when needed. He meets Lois at a younger age, maintains a friendship with Lex Luthor into young adulthood and is romantically interested in Lana Lang. This Clark has discovered The Fortress of Solitude, met Vic Stone, Bart Allen, Aquaman, Green Arrow, the Martian Manhunter, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Maggie Sawyer, and Jor-El and has even fought Zod, Brainiac and Mister Mxyzptlk, but still has yet to assume his identity. Clark's best friend in this version is a girl named Chloe Sullivan who works as a reporter for the Daily Planet. It is strongly hinted that one day he will fulfill his destiny, but the course of his life will take him in a different direction to his comic, movie and previous television realities.
[edit] References
- ^ DC Comics Presents #87
- ^ First appearance in Adventures of Superman #500, 1993
- ^ DC One Million
- ^ The Man of Steel #5
- ^ Adventures of Superman #500, 1993
- ^ Superman: Arkham, Superman: Emperor Joker, 2001
- ^ Wizard Magazine
- ^ All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #4, 2006
- ^ Superman: The Movie, Superman II, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
- ^ The Superman animated series
| Superman | |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster |
| Characters: | Superman (Clark Kent) • Lois Lane • Jimmy Olsen • Perry White • Jor-El • Ma Kent • Pa Kent • Lana Lang • Steel • Supergirl • Superboy (Kon-El) • Krypto |
| Villains: | Lex Luthor • Bizarro • Brainiac • Cyborg Superman • Darkseid • Doomsday • Eradicator • General Zod • Metallo • Mongul • Mr. Mxyzptlk • Parasite • Toyman • Ultra-Humanite • Intergang • Phantom Zone villains |
| Locations: |
Daily Planet • Fortress of Solitude • Krypton • Metropolis • Smallville |
| Storylines: | Relationship of Clark Kent and Lois Lane • The Death of Superman • Alternate versions of Superman • Publications • Superman in popular culture |
| Miscellanea: | Kryptonite • Powers • Symbol |
