Is it time to reinvent Superman?

Superman is a typical superhero. He wears a colorful suit and a cape. This clothing is a special recognition feature and helps that superheroes can be distinguished from each other. The colors of their clothing can also have a specific meaning. The colors red and blue are two of the three colors of the U.S. National Flag. So it is no wonder that Captain America, Spiderman and Superman wear these colors. If Captain America, for example, wouldn´t have been a propaganda figure, then today his suit would probably look different. Nevertheless, their suits went through many changes over the decades. However, only the designs have been changed, but not the colors.

Today, times have changed. Superheroes with colored suits with a letter on the chest and a cape look for the modern man corny and clichéd. Now some questions: Wouldn´t it be time for a rethink? Are colorful suits and capes still up-to-date? Please do not misunderstand: I have nothing against suits or colors. But when I look at Superman, I see a man in a blue "pajamas" with a red "underpants" (he wears outside), red boots and a red cape. What bothers me about it?

1. It looks childish. I mean, who among us would wear such a thing? He looks like a walking U.S. flag. (Transferred patriotism.)

2. Why does Superman need a cape? The cape has no function.

In addition, there are some logic errors:

a) Is it realistic that Superman wears the letter (S) on his chest? Initially, the S-shield had one meaning: S for Superman. Why would an alien wearing the first letter of the name, the people have given him? And if this letter is from his home planet, where would his father have known that people will call him Superman? I know, this is not the case (I wanted to mention it yet). According to the original story from the Golden Age comics, Superman's suit was made from the cloths and blanket he had when his capsule crashed into Earth. But who made the suit? If his mother made the suit, how could she sew the fabric? The fabric is indestructible yet. If I have understood something wrong, please correct me. Back to the (S): Over time, the meaning of the letter changed. Wiki:

One of the first alternative meanings was presented in Superman: The Movie, in which it was not an S, but rather the S-shaped Coat of arms of the House of El. After the Superman reboot story The Man of Steel, the symbol's story was that it was designed by Jonathan Kent and was derived from an ancient Native American symbol. The symbol was featured on a medicine blanket given to an ancestor of the Kent family by a Native American tribe after he helped to cure them of a plague and was supposed to represent a snake, an animal held to possess healing powers by the tribe (implying that, by wearing this symbol, Superman was a metaphorical healer). In 2004, Mark Waid's Superman: Birthright series says the S-Shield is the Kryptonian symbol for "hope" and Superman believes it may have begun as a coat of arms for the House of El. Later, writer Geoff Johns confirmed it was indeed a coat of arms, as well as a symbol for hope.

No matter which origin was ever invented: it looks cheesy and out of date, in any case.

b) A pair of glasses as a perfect disguise? Isn´t it strange that when Superman wears normal clothes and has a pair of glasses on his nose no one recognizes him? Well, his hair is a little different, but does it matter so much? What about his face, his voice and his body size?

c) How does his hero gap fits under his regular clothes? Can you pull socks and shoes over long boots? And where's the cape?

d) Clark Kent rips the clothes off and flies away. The following things are left:

Underwear

Shirt

Tie

Jacket

Pants

Socks

Shoes

Coat

Watch

Glasses

Briefcase

Purse

ID card

Nobody finds these things? And when they are found, everyone knows who they belong to. This means you know who Superman is. In addition, Clark Kent would have a ton of the same garments. And almost every day he would apply for a new ID card. (Or does he flies back quickly after ending rescue operations and collect all his things?)

As a solution to this problem one came up with the following:

His Kryptonian bio-tech armored suit allows him to change his clothes without having to find a phone booth or having to wear the same blue suit, white shirt and red tie, that he did for decades before the Pre-Crisis reboot. The specially treated suit that could be compressed into his super cape without wrinkling. http://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/21910/what-is-the-secret-of-supermans-suit

In the movies, the clothes problem was still there - why?

For these reasons, I ask: Is it time to reinvent Superman? I am only referring to Superman himself, especially with focusing to the cinema. Here my amendments:

There are two possibilities:

No.1: Superman looks different than Clark Kent. If he want to have contact with humans, he takes the form of Clark Kent. If it is needed, he turns into Superman. Superman's real skin color is bluish. So that people are not afraid of him, he uses the human skin color for his face, his neck and his hands. The rest of his body remains bluish. His private parts and buttocks are covered by extra skin. His bluish skin is his suit (no cape). He is barefoot. Why does an alien who can move planets need shoes?

No.2: If Superman turns into Clark Kent, he needs a belt (a high-tech device from his father, which he has put into the space capsule). Before Superman was born, his father had been visiting Earth to explore. This explains the existence of the fortress of solitude. The belt is very flat and maybe very flexible, it can also become invisible. Inside the belt many clothing options are saved. If Superman activates one of these options, he is fully clothed. If Clark Kent turns into Superman, he deactivated his belt. Then he has his bluish skin color again. Or he activates the bluish suit, which is programmed in the belt. Sounds like the Kryptonian bio-tech armored suit, but at least the belt is a larger gadget.

Personality

In the comics and in the movies Superman stands for good virtues. However, I get the impression that he has no edges. He is more of the soft type, someone who never loses his attitude. This is of course nothing bad. But I still feel that Superman should be rough (a little batman-like). In short: he should be a badass. Even as Clark Kent, I think it would be better if he would be a normal guy; even as Clark Kent. If he's angry, he smashes a rock or he rushes at full speed into space - maybe he sits down on the moon and pouts :-). Man, I want to see how Superman grabs a bank robber by the throat, lift him up and says in a hoarse deep voice: “The money stays here.” And if the bank robber is cheeky, he flings him into his getaway car. Bam! "Is this your getaway car?" Second BAM! "That was your getaway car." :-)

Story

The story begins the same: The home planet is about to fall. His father is building a space capsule and sends his son to Earth. I imagine, like the weird thing strikes perpendicular to the ground. A childless couple found the baby. His childhood and youth is similar to the movie "Chronicle". First he must get to know his super powers and learn where he came from. All the information he needs, he takes out of a book that his father has placed in the space capsule (a metal object). Thus, Superman would be a mixture of Chronicle and Hancock.

(Sorry, if my english is faulty. I´m german.)

This is literally one of the most ridiculous Superman topics I've seen for some time. And that's saying something. So basically what you want is to get rid of everything that makes Superman such an awesome character? Yeah bad idea. Very bad idea. Can't say I disagree more with the sentiment of this thread. Blue skin? Making Superman into another 'badass' character? And no cape? The cape is awesome. I'd wear a cape all day if I could :P

*sighs*

Superman Lives, Part 2.

They should reinvent Batman. Instead of all black, he should wear pink. Also, they should replace his cape with a Dora bag. Instead of crime fighting, he should become a travelling hate salesman and change his name to "Hatman".

Kids wear their pillow case around their necks and jump off their beds to try and fly, that is because of Superman. Why would you want to destroy that?

As you can see, Batman has already worn pink.

Anyway, im pretty sure this is an elaborate troll, I simply do not believe anyone can think this for real. The fact his avatar is the Hulk is pretty telling. Also, he deliberately glosses over changes that have already been made for better or worse, like the removal of the red trunks, and his blue suit now being armor that can look like anything and recedes into the S- Shield.

LMAO. That would have made the 60s Batman seem brooding in comparison :P

this is a stupid thread made by someone who obviously knows nothing about superman or what makes him cool.

blue skin ?

No cape ?

No S shield ?

Get out.

Also...

The S on his home planet means Hope. It was Lois who thought of the name based on that S and named him Superman.

b) A pair of glasses as a perfect disguise? Isn´t it strange that when Superman wears normal clothes and has a pair of glasses on his nose no one recognizes him? Well, his hair is a little different, but does it matter so much? What about his face, his voice and his body size?

The reason why he wears glasses is to hide his unique blue coloured eyes. A lot of people don't know Superman has another side to him, they believe he is constantly helping around the world. Plus other people have dressed up as Superman, I.E Martian Manhunter who can change his appearance to be like Superman and they both have appeared in the same place. So people just don't realise it nor think of a god-like being who would do this. Like Lex. Lex found out and wouldn't believe it.

Recently in Batman comics

Now I'm going to argue just for the heck

1. It looks childish. I mean, who among us would wear such a thing? He looks like a walking U.S. flag. (Transferred patriotism.)

Considering he was created by 2 AMERICANS as WW2 loomed in the distance, it's understandable. Propaganda's a powerful tool. But I get you, too much Jingo in Comic Books (I'm not American)

2. Why does Superman need a cape? The cape has no function.

He uses it to foil sword fighters. Well he would, if he wasn't a flying brick

a) Is it realistic that Superman wears the letter (S) on his chest? If this letter is from his home planet, where would his father have known that people will call him Superman? If it were the initial of his name, it would be understandable. Which alien would make a (S) on his chest, so he is called Superman?

Um, how long have you been reading Superman? I thought it was common knowledge in this community that the "S" is the family crest of House El. The public started calling him Superman, not his dad

b) A pair of glasses as a perfect disguise? Isn´t it strange that when Superman wears normal clothes and has a pair of glasses on his nose no one recognizes him? Well, his hair is a little different, but does it matter so much? What about his face, his voice and his body size?

Someone made an excellent point somewhere on this site. When most people see Superman, it's in times of crises. Blood, dust, smoke and such obscure him. He flies so he's probably also seen from quite a distance. Not to mention actual physical reactions from people that are panicking and running for their lives; shock, hormones, memory blocks/loss. Makes partial sense that the glasses and suit would work. And I don't think anyone other that Lois Lane would suspect a shy klutz of a reporter to be the guy who always saves the day. Simple misdirection

c) How does his heroes gap fits under his regular clothes? Can you pull socks and shoes over long boots? And where's the cape?

N52 gone and explained that away. He sticks a little "S" shield onto his chest that warps into armour when he wants it to. I think the cape grows out of it as well

There, I think I've sufficiently argued against the reasoning of this thread. Also, how would people react if they made his skin blue? Remember Electric Superman? Hell, the reaction to giving WW pants just goes to show that comic fans are the whiniest b*tches on the planet. Almost completely unreceptive to change. We HATE it

Are you referring to Action Comics #900? If so I don't think that wasn't disbelief but rage that Luthor felt because, IIRC, he found out that Superman had a human side. Something Luthor thought he didn't deserve.

Hmmm. . . .

What I would do is kill him off, have 5 or so guys try out to be superman, and whoever is the best one can replace him, oh wait...

@guttridgeb said:

I think he's talking about this:

@smashbrawler said:

@guttridgeb said:

@supreme_marvel said:

b) A pair of glasses as a perfect disguise? Isn´t it strange that when Superman wears normal clothes and has a pair of glasses on his nose no one recognizes him? Well, his hair is a little different, but does it matter so much? What about his face, his voice and his body size?

The reason why he wears glasses is to hide his unique blue coloured eyes. A lot of people don't know Superman has another side to him, they believe he is constantly helping around the world. Plus other people have dressed up as Superman, I.E Martian Manhunter who can change his appearance to be like Superman and they both have appeared in the same place. So people just don't realise it nor think of a god-like being who would do this. Like Lex. Lex found out and wouldn't believe it.

Are you referring to Action Comics #900? If so I don't think that wasn't disbelief but rage that Luthor felt because, IIRC, he found out that Superman had a human side. Something Luthor thought he didn't deserve.

I think he's talking about this:

Ah, okay thanks. I haven't read that one.

I love how one can be quasi-intellectual and still be ridiculous. That "S" shield analysis of the OP made me laugh!!! Haha! This thread is humorous!

@guttridgeb: It's a pretty good story that tackles the whole "Why doesn't anyone realize Superman and Clark Kent are one and the same?" dilemma. Luthor's reaction to Superman's true identity is gold.

@smashbrawler: Awesome, I'll keep an eye out for it :)

There are a lot of things that can be added to the existing Superman to enhance his prestige without redoing the character. I'm sure there are creative ways to do that.

The only thing I would change is that he is an adult when he leaves Krypton. This my idea for a movie. He lands on the Kent Farm and they take him in and teach him English and Earth culture. He would then meet Lois when her car breaks down near the kent farm. Kal falls in love with her at first sight and she with him. One day the ship he took releases a signal to locate Kara's ship. Lexcorp detects it and sends a strikeforce to get it. The kents are killed in the firefight. And Lois and Kal go on the run for Kals powers havent deveolped yet. Eventually he and Lois arrive in Metropolis, were when kals powers come in and he fights Lexs forces. After the battle, Lois's father Sam who works for the Defense Department talks to Kal. He tells him to be a hero. The government gives Kal his Secret identity of Clark Kent, starts dating Lois. Lois then gives him the name Superman. Post credits Lois and Sam are talking. It is stated that Clark is the second Kryptonion that government has meet and Sam is isnt really Lois's father.

Everyone is getting so worked up on this, and honestly reasonably so, but I don't think the guy has read a Superman comic a day in his life. I would question if he's ever even seen any of the movies, frankly. No one can be this clueless if they know anything about Supes.

I have to agree about the silly costume and stupid disguise but Superman is on tons of merchandise so the costume can be changed a little at a time only. The easy solution to the stupid disguise problem is just to get rid of the secret identity. Dc has been trying to improve Superman's boring personality over the decades and the relaunches are coming out almost every year bec of poor sales. As for the origin, I prefer to just redo the origin of Superman as an earthling so that most of Dc's superheroes can also have their origins changed to earthlings and no more strange heroes from other planets. Dc has too many superheroes from other planets or places like OA, paradise island, atlantis, thanagar, mars, daxam, colu, braal, etc.

Just get out of the superman forum please.

Superman has no reason to change.

This and bring back the panties already.

Really though, id rather they make a new character then mess with a classic every single time, it doesnt serve a purpose since people like him for who he is.. else he wouldnt be so popular.

@akindoodle: Thank you, for your arguments. I refer mainly to movies. In comics anything is possible: color, appearance, etc. But when it comes to comic book movies, then it gets tricky. In my opinion, Superman is one of the superheroes that are difficult to film. So I've made ​​a few thoughts. The rejection for my topic was predictable. Comic fans are very sensitive to changes. I have nothing against criticism, as long as it is objectively.

Comic heroes were constantly subjected to changes and fans have accepted it; even some origins have been changed. I've seen all the Superman movies and I think that Superman needs some changes in order to survive on the silver screen, especially in the modern era. Yes, I know: comics are not movies. But can this fact help us to make good movies? (I created the images with GIMP. The skin color is not turned out the way I had imagined. But it is enough to show roughly what I mean.) Electric Superman? You mean this one? :-)

The next superman movie costume has no yellow belt and no red panties so it is pretty close to a plain blue body suit that might be worn in the real world by exercising females.

@colonyofcells: You have interesting arguments. Have you seen the movie Chronicle? The three youths are just regular people. And one day they are entering a cave an found a luminous crystal. The next day they have telekinetic abilities; they can even fly. By your suggestion many problems would be solved at a stroke. Although I did not mind that Superman is from another planet. I find it very interesting. However, DC should be limited the number of alien Superheros to a few (Superman needs equal opponents) or just one.

@deaditegonzo said:

Okay, this is hilarious. I'm gonna have to buy it online now.

Sigh

@avenging_x_bolt: Wasn't there an issue where Superman used shapeshifting?

@zardu said:

@avenging_x_bolt: Wasn't there an issue where Superman used shapeshifting?

that was in the silver age. he doesnt have most of those powers anymore.

@zardu: Oh wow. I'm actually arguing with an intelligent, receptive being. That's a compliment by the way. If you put it like that, then definitely, most superheroes and not just Superman need some tweaking before bringing them to the big screens. It works for Marvel because their heroes have always been grounded in "realism" of sorts. They've always had a far more aesthetically easier-to-translate appearance than DC's. I think a lot of them were created with the intention to see real people wearing the costumes at some point in the future. Just look at Iron Man versus Green Lantern (even Captain America is easier on the eyes and he's walking jingo at it's finest)

Nice talking to someone who doesn't try and lynch you for arguing with them. Respect, sir

@zardu: Okay first off aside from the fact you are HORRIBLY misinformed about Superman, his character, and really what makes Superman Superman, you do have a good imagination. I won't correct you as a few have already. Honestly? What you described for Superman could be an interesting to say the least Elseworlds story. But that's it. An ELSEWORLDS story, having not even the TINIEST bit to do with the mainstream Superman. That's the best and only thing I can say good about your idea

One way to have a secret identity is for Superman to wear kryptonian helmet and look like dr fate or iron man. Terrorist Superman can also wear a mask like v for vendetta and the S can be used as a symbol of rebellion.

Yea no

My guess is the Superman costume will continue to evolve to become more like the Iron Man armor.

Seems like it. Seems like most superhero goes down that route. New Batwing looks like a cross between Bats and Iron-Man.

A lot of the Leaguers' costume back in Alex Ross's Justice went and became all Iron-Man-ish.

@smart_dork_dude: Thank you. I'm thinking about a lot of comic characters: Batman, Superman, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow. There is always an improvement or change. Many elements of those characters were invented in times in which they worked. The Superman comic was published in 1938. Since, there were very different ideas and concepts.

Then it was enough to use gamma radiation to make someone a superhero. Today, it does not work anymore. But not only the scientific elements change with time, but also the aesthetics and coolness. In those days it was still cool to wear a superhero cape, it was sort of the ne plus ultra, the epitome of a superhero (probably a remnant of the ancient world). Today, the cape is more of a relic from a bygone age. For this reason, I would give Superman a modern look. Perhaps the rejection of such changes is the image that has been ingrained in our minds. Some images are difficult to replace with new ones. Sometimes traditionalism and nostalgia plays a role. It need not necessarily be reactionism, but many people reject any form of renewal.

I do not want to destroy Superman, as I said, I just want a change that conforms to the modern. And I doubt that the loss of the cape would be Superman´s death knell. But that's just my own opinion.

Its like you're talking about the Superman of the 60's, they've changed present day Superman a bit. I had to stop reading when you were asking how he hides his superhero uniform underneath his normal clothing...

"Typical superhero"

Isn't he the first?

Therewas too much to read so I scrolled, saw Arnold and was like"wat" And then went on to reply.

@tacos_kickass: That´s right. But in the movies it was reintroduced. I focus primarily on movie itself.

Superman's by no means homogenized. He's the prototypical superhero. He's the basis and inspiration for so much of what's come since his creation. He's the progenitor for what we think of a superhero today.