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    Superman

    Character » Superman appears in 18886 issues.

    Sent to Earth as an infant from the dying planet Krypton, Kal-El was adopted by the loving Kent family and raised in America's heartland as Clark Kent. Using his immense solar-fueled powers, he became Superman to defend mankind against all manner of threats while championing truth, justice, and the American way!

    A brand new more modern take on Superman by me

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    Smart_Dork_Dude

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    #1  Edited By Smart_Dork_Dude

    Now while this isn't the first time someone has attempted to reboot Superman to their vision, this is less about reinventing and more reestablishing and reinterpreting several key facets that have existed across the multiverse and from various other versions into a singular Superman. With that out of the way, let's get started.

    The basic origin, Krypton, Smallville, etc, is all intact. The difference is that Clark's adventures as Superboy are still in effect... The difference being he's more like an urban legend and designed the costume as a kid with the big S-shield to stand for "Superboy", using the design from a small memory of seeing it on Jor-El's chest as an infant, and did so when he was roughly 10 years old. Keep in mind, he's a kid and WOULD think of something like that. I'd like to tackle the costume, it's the most basic thing. The costume is more or less? Darwyn Cooke's take

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    Now it may seem like the classic Superman costume, the big difference here is the briefs or lack there of. Yes, those are not briefs they are shorts pure and simple. The simple truth of the matter is Superman's costume needs them to really break up blue it's just a requirement and a red belt does not help at all in that area. A lot of people have pointed out Captain Marvel Jr's costume as proof Superman without the briefs can work as for the longest time they had the same color scheme, but notice this little exercise

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    The center option almost seems to have neutered Superman with its lack of definition. While option three might be acceptable in this panel, in some poses or in very small panels in the comics his legs might overlap the groin area and the entire pose might loose definition. You literally might not be able to tell his leg from his a-hole. Old time wrestlers, particularly the show wrestlers that preceded the modern day spectacle of the NWA, WWF, WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA and other similar leagues would often wear tight shorts or briefs over top of their stockings, as the stockings tended to be see through and would slip around as they wrestled. Even plenty of MODERN wrestlers wear them. The tight little shorts they wore were not really underwear, but closer to modern day swimwear, it just looked like underwear because it was so tight and form fitting. Whatever the profession, a male character wearing small shorts implies a man of action and athleticism.

    The shorts variant of Cooke's design is more of a happy medium and it's a small touch I like. But as I said, Clark's career as Superboy largely consisted of secret rescues and encounters with the Legion of Superheroes who would call him to the future to aid them, but not wipe his memory of the events, instead should Clark learn something he isn't SUPPOSED to know yet Saturn Girl carefully editing that out.

    Clark throughout his life would have an innate sense of adventure, actively enjoying the situations he finds himself in. Not disregarding any lives at stake however, his main priority is making sure no one is hurt, but the action and the twists and turns it can take is something he loves. He loves being Superman, but that's not to say he was ALWAYS Superman. Becoming Superman officially when he's 25, Clark would spend the time when he was 15 acting as sort of a secret superhero, not really wearing the costume though as he wants to make sure no one sees him too easily as he is still working out the best possible disguise. Clark's main goal is to help people in anyway he can and loves to feel useful to the people around him, to the point when he feels he isn't useful he can take it quite hard for sometime but will always bounce back to his cheery and upbeat personality rather quickly. He however does struggle with issues of when he should intervene and anytime he encounters a problem has to deal with long term effects. There are no quick fixes where Superman is concerned in this, he stops one villain... But potentially creates another disaster that will reveal itself down the road.

    Clark's powers would be largely a mix between physical and not so physical. Kryptonians can naturally lift in excess of 10 tons under optimal conditions as part of a genetic trait, which is due in large part to the fact while Krypton's gravity is similar to Earth's, Kryptonian materials are by and large far denser and add in prehistoric Krypton's dangerous forms of wildlife and predator's this physical supremacy would be invaluable under such circumstances.

    Under the light of a yellow or blue sun however, Kryptonians gain several powers not available otherwise. As they grow and their natural solar absorption abilities mature(Along with their physical abilities), they gain greater levels of power. The most powerful of these is a small psychokinetic field that permeates their bodies and provides the basis for greater strength, speed, and near total invulnerability to all physical assault and most forms of energy attacks. For Clark this means his strength is more an act of conscious will on energy fields than actual physical strength. It is this act of conscious will that enables him to perform physical feats that are beyond the mere application force, from something as large scale as moving an entire mountain without it crumbling under its own mass or holding someone by their hand while flying and supporting them effortlessly

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    The exact limits of Superman's speed are very high, though it can be assumed it is far less than those who have a connection to the Speed Force. He is capable of surviving a supernova explosion though such a taxing of his invulnerability will leave him unconscious for sometime.

    As a general note, Kryptonians do not grow more powerful due to absorbing more yellow sunlight but rather it is more or less a catalyst for these powers to kick in and any and all examples of Superman appearing more powerful than other Kryptonians comes from him being able to focus his powers to greater levels than them, having had years to hone and control them, such as being able to focus his psychokinetic field in such a way to allow him to increase his strength to any level he needs for a given task.

    With this in mind, Superman is as strong as he needs to be. Powers such as his so-called "X-Ray" Vision are a combination of his telescopic and microscopic vision, allowing him to clearly see past an object. He can also discharge heat beams from his eyes, which is a by product of using not just starlight in general though Krypton's red sun was so low fueled those on Krypton could not facilitate this. His ability to hear even in the vacuum of space has less to do with hearing and more to do with being able to pick up radio signals. Jimmy's Signal Watch can emit both a high frequency sound and a specialized radio signal that is so faint yet distinct only Clark could pick it up.

    He is of course not without weakness. Magic which is a force that defies all known scientific understanding and physics can bypass his invulnerability. Also Kryptonite, a radioactive mineral that made up the entirety of both Krypton's core and its two moons(Both of which shattered when Krypton exploded) ended up following the gravitational pull from his ship's gravity engine which sent him to Earth. Thus the Earth has small chunks of it laying in various places all over the world, in some cases infecting local radioactive minerals with the radiation but at smaller levels to where it is not deadly like true Kryptonite... But can weaken him.

    Other small facets are that Clark would actually have had eye trouble for the longest time, needing to wear glasses as his alien eyes are not adapted to Earth's atmosphere. Upon learning how to focus his senses he no longer NEEDS to wear glasses, but does so for disguise purposes when out of the costume. Clark puts up a more nerdy front, playing up his admittedly more nerdy interests when not in costume, as well as wearing suits two sizes too big and speaking in a more nervous or less poised and confident manner. He is also quite fond of fedoras and you would be hard pressed to find him without one when he's not Superman.

    No Caption Provided

    So yeah that's just my take on my favorite superhero. Feel free to comment!

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    SaintWildcard

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    Eww. fedoras.

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    Smart_Dork_Dude

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    #3  Edited By Smart_Dork_Dude

    @saintwildcard: I happen to wear Fedora's thank you very much. That aside, what do you think? I think I captured a modern take pretty well.

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    SaintWildcard

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    @saintwildcard: I happen to wear Fedora's thank you very much. That aside, what do you think? I think I captured a modern take pretty well.

    ...Eww.

    As for the pitch... IDK. The only part I can comment on is the way the powers are set up since that seems to be clearer in my head. It's an interesting take and you obviously want to make everything as bound in science as possible which is a good thing. I actually do like sun dipping, but think it needs to be set within certain parameters as to no make him have that crutch available to whenever he pleases. Kryptonians being naturally strong is one thing that should be the case always, so that's good. I never understood why under the Red Sun he becomes powerless. He'd still be stronger than an average human.

    The Kryptonite thing was cool. Makes sense, cus Kryptonite can't really follow Clark from Krypton to Earth.

    The personality and upbringing aren't grabbing me. It's something I have to see in practice, or at least broken down more. Like elaborating on his relationship with the people around him and the Kents.

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    darkdetective27

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    Its sounds pretty good.

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    kidchipotle

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    #6  Edited By kidchipotle

    Better than anything @saintwildcard has ever come up with by himself.

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    SaintWildcard

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    deactivated-57e73a0365070

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    Titanbreaker

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    I like it. The idea of Kryptonian's already possessing strength is a good idea and really helps differ the races given the evolution rates as well as the massive differences in planets, the bio field I like and also the will and practice of using his powers for so long giving him the edge other others such as Zod or Jax Ur although I doubt you would make either less of a threat to the world as both are quite intelligent and would quickly catch on.

    After reading Superman For all seasons I find Clark without glasses weird and think you having him always have them not just for a disguise helps solidify the disguise as in pictures of him in high school, as a young adult ect. Clark would always be seen with them on so people would forever see them as a part of him, knowing someone who wore glasses most of their life and then they suddenly wore contacts I was surprised by the difference, so yeah the disguise idea is somewhat grounded.

    Overall I like it, wish you could make your version of Superman real as I would want to read it, think you would do takes on other characters in his mythos such as Lex, Lois or the Kents?

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    HeavenlyDarkDragon

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    The general idea is nice and could work but in my opinion there are things that could be improved.

    First of all Krypton. By putting aside the greater gravity even if it was the New 52 take of 5 times that of Earth, which is totally feasible by the way, you're not really explaining how such higher and denser material formed on Krypton in the first place. You could for example simply say that some cosmic event like, small pieces of white dwarf matter or even smaller pieces of a neutron star, had somehow found their way to prehistoric Krypton, collided with the planet, went deep into it's core and once there the planet started to produce new/exotic more dense matter naturally, that eventually spread through the planet geology and from there to all its lifeforms.

    Another thing you could add was that all kryptonian lifeforms also get powers from red stars. But unlike yellow, white or blue it's catalyst effect was much more limited. Granting all kryptonians superhuman abilities both physical and mental, but still nowhere near that of higher types of stars.

    Also their powers would not come from sunlight but stellar presence. A kind of quantum entanglement if you will to the star closest to them. Making them living miniature stars. That even without being in the presence of a star they could still recharge using cosmic radiation, only it would be at a much more slower rate.

    Has for the powers. The mental take is to me the right approach. It would explain why Superman could sometimes seem weaker and other times seem stronger. But you'd have to explain things in great detail in this department. Leave no room for questions or doubts. For example both his heat and x-ray visions were basically a manipulation of his inner energy. It wouldn't really be x-rays or infrared radiation, but different forms of psychokinesis. In one state it would be highly accelerated/concentrated energy like that of a particle accelerator, in another state it would penetrate matter.

    His enhanced senses nothing more than higher brain functions (telepathy) associated to his natural senses. Telescopic vision a kind of clairvoyance. Hearing and talking in the vacuum of space, mental communication that a kryptonian could also adjust to manifest in electronic devices like comm device's. How a kryptonian could hear any particular sound anywhere on the planet despite the distance.

    Flying... Again his energy used in the form of tactile telekinesis so he could willingly force his body to move by thought alone, even bypass/shield himself from gravity allowing him to put aside things like special relativity or relativistic effects while moving at FTL, and hold objects with such mass that they don't crumble on themselves or even flying with other people and how just by touching a part of the body the rest of it would fly naturally under Superman control.

    He wouldn't be limited to just "heat" and "x-ray" visions but he'd also be able to extend his energy to the point he could release energy from not just his eyes but his whole body, allowing him for example to create a psy field that would make Clark unrecognizable when compared to Superman either by blocking the associative functions of the brains around him or simply projecting a slightly altered image of his face. Allowing the ditch of the glasses altogether.

    And Superman superiority over the other kryptonians could come from a special mental training machine that Jor-El invented. A kind of cerebro or brainiac device that allowed the kryptonian to train his mind to achieve ever more higher and complex forms of consciousness. That he could use to develop new fighting techniques, manipulate his inner energy in new magnitudes and ways.

    Allowing for things like resistance to magic, to a certain degree and even resistance to kryptonite at least in its raw form.

    The Superboy phase. No cape. No shorts. This is the 21st century we're beyond shorts at this point. Give him something cool, like Spider-Man 2099 cool. Or Tron cool. Has for his Superman suit. The Godfall suit always comes to mind. Keep the red, paint the white lines yellow and substitute the black/gray for blue/dark blue, keep the metallic boots but painted red, and you'd have one badass suit.

    Other than this... All the other stuff could work if well executed.

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    stormshadow_x

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    darkdetective27

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    SaintWildcard

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    #13  Edited By SaintWildcard

    Little do you know he's just trolling me and has admired some of the things I've pitched to him in our PM's. BAKA!

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    darkdetective27

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    @saintwildcard: You can still quote something even if its trolling.

    Also good for you if he liked your pitches.

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    SaintWildcard

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    #15  Edited By SaintWildcard

    @darkdetective27 said:

    @saintwildcard: You can still quote something even if its trolling.

    Also good for you if he liked your pitches.

    No... no you can't. Cus it makes the whole thing invalid. It's like cheering a guy on cus you agree with his points, then you find out he's a pedophile.

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    darkdetective27

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    @saintwildcard: That would still work because you may still think that person makes some good points even if that person doesnt believe in the points the person is making.

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    SaintWildcard

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    @saintwildcard: That would still work because you may still think that person makes some good points even if that person doesnt believe in the points the person is making.

    Nope, the bridge is burned. But hey, you sympathize with pedophiles, that's none of my buisness.

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    MadeinBangladesh

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    @darkdetective27 said:

    @saintwildcard: That would still work because you may still think that person makes some good points even if that person doesnt believe in the points the person is making.

    Nope, the bridge is burned. But hey, you sympathize with pedophiles, that's none of my buisness.

    FLAGGED AND REPORTED TO THE MODS.

    ~MiB

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    ccraft

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    @MadeinBangladesh: That's the best you got? DD wanted our help to burn SW and this is what you do? For shame!

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    DieHard200904

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    @smart_dork_dude: I like the idea of baseline super strength and durability. If Krypton had a different environment than Earth, it makes more sense to me that a Kryptonian would have a high natural strength even under a red sun.

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    HeavenlyDarkDragon

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    Little do you know he's just trolling me and has admired some of the things I've pitched to him in our PM's. BAKA!

    It's funny how that works. In one moment we think to ourselves "Hey. Here's a interesting dude. I'll pitch some ideas to help him out." and later on the mask falls off and we see we were just wasting our time.

    Can relate to that.

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    SaintWildcard

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    @saintwildcard said:
    @darkdetective27 said:

    @saintwildcard: That would still work because you may still think that person makes some good points even if that person doesnt believe in the points the person is making.

    Nope, the bridge is burned. But hey, you sympathize with pedophiles, that's none of my buisness.

    FLAGGED AND REPORTED TO THE MODS.

    ~MiB

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    Battle123axe

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    Interesting

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    SaintWildcard

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    It's funny how that works. In one moment we think to ourselves "Hey. Here's a interesting dude. I'll pitch some ideas to help him out." and later on the mask falls off and we see we were just wasting our time.

    Can relate to that.

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    HeavenlyDarkDragon

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    SaintWildcard

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    @saintwildcard:

    I see my message went all over your head...

    Chill.

    A gif of that Sherlock dude making a face like that with a hashtag saying awkward is hardly me overreacting. But yes,I didn't understand what you meant by this since it doesn't connect to what had been previously said

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    Abishai100

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    Futurama: Feng Shui

    I like the idea of simplified figurine contouring and more sleek line-cutting and powers coordination.

    We definitely need to think about how the modern world has new imagination and therefore requires new stories for the beloved Man of Steel.

    This is the sort of stuff that gives Brainiac, perhaps Superman's most menacing nemesis, his dominion. The modern world sees computer-generated holography and portable media technologies (i.e., iPods). How would Brainiac take advantage of technological breakthroughs and scientific discoveries (i.e., nuclear weapons)? That's the sort of question explored in Sidney J. Furie's "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" [1987] in which the Man of Steel had to contend with a nuclear monster named Nuclear Man designed/created by the sinister Lex Luthor.

    Do we feel like Superman (DC Comics) is up-to-date in style and substance with modern age advancements in tech design and science imagination? Sure his X-ray vision feels timelessly intriguing, but would Brainiac dare Superman to deal with science advancements in nanotechnology?

    Brainiac

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