When I introduce my son to Superman, I’m going to expose him to the character in a very specific order (I have a similar plan for the Star Wars movies and Expanded Universe as well). This of course is subject to amendment as new comics and movies come out.

Just as with myself, the first film he’ll ever see is the original 1978 Christopher Reeve classic.

• Superman: The Movie
• Superman II

After that, I want him to be exposed to the comics that visually defined the character for me:

• The Man of Steel (John Byrne’ 1986 miniseries)
• The Death of Superman
• Funeral for a Friend
• Reign of the Supermen

Then, I’ll take him through the rest of the essential post-crisis Superman stories in more-or-less chronological order (I’m limiting myself to arcs I’ve collected in full as of now, though this will likely expand as I continue to buy back issues through Comixology, such as the New Krypton arc. Any suggestions would be appreciated):

• Secret Origin
• For Tomorrow
• Infinite Crisis
• Up, Up, and Away
• Final Crisis (including Superman Beyond)
• Braniac
• Grounded

I’ll likely introduce him to Flashpoint at this time (just as he’ll be reading R.I.P. prior to Final Crisis and Batman and Robin following it), and expose him to the New 52 in this order:

• Action Comics (Grant Morrison’s run)
• Justice League (at least through Trinity War, assuming it remains at Geoff John’s usual caliber)

The stories I’m most struggling with are the various “endings” to the Superman myth. At the moment I’m considering placing them in his curriculum (these are all required reading assignments as part of his homeschooling) following grounded but prior to Action Comics. Are there any alternate suggestions? Also, when's the proper time for Birthright?

• Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
• Kingdom Come
• All-Star Superman

Red Son will be introduced last of all, simply because the complexities of the cold war and the political theories underling communist and capitalist theories are concepts I want him to have a full grasp on prior to reading it.

What if he/she prefers Batman?

I think what I'll do is expose them to a bunch of heroes at once, then explain to them who is who when they ask.

@Selinaky said:

What if he/she prefers Batman?

I of course have a batman curriculum planned as well, including (in order)...

• Year One
• All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder
• Knightfall
• Hush
• Batman and Son
• The Black Mask
• R.I.P.
• Batman and Robin Reborn
• Batman vs. Robin
• Batman and Robin Must Die
• The Return of Bruce Wayne
• Batman Inc.
• The Black Mirror
• The Court of Owls
• Death of the Family

That's a pretty good set there.

@RideASpaceCowboy said:

@Selinaky said:

What if he/she prefers Batman?

I of course have a batman curriculum planned as well, including (in order)...

• Year One
• All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder
• Knightfall
• Hush
• Batman and Son
• The Black Mask
• R.I.P.
• Batman and Robin Reborn
• Batman vs. Robin
• Batman and Robin Must Die
• The Return of Bruce Wayne
• Batman Inc.
• The Black Mirror
• The Court of Owls
• Death of the Family

You're certainly prepared! I think a child might first be interested in animated films and series, I'd probably just let them watch some and hope he/she likes them at all.

Assuming I ever have kids, it'll be with Superman: TAS and Justice League.

@Joygirl said:

I wish my homeschooling involved Superman and Batman. :(

You and me both.

Anyway, I'd start with the Fleischer Superman series, then Superman 1 and II, Superman TAS, and finally Man of Steel.

@Joygirl said:

I wish my homeschooling involved Superman and Batman. :(

My son's homeschooling will be comprehensive and multifaceted, including of course traditional subjects such as grammar, Greek, history, Latin, literature, mathematics, philosophy, and science, but in addition to these his education include the analysis of important properties from popular culture across various media, such as comic books, film, and video games. He'll have courses on the Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings (I myself had courses in Lewis and Tolkien in undergrad and grad school) , Batman, Superman, Star Wars, and many others.

Constant reruns of Superman: The Animated Series.

@RideASpaceCowboy said:

@Joygirl said:

I wish my homeschooling involved Superman and Batman. :(

My son's homeschooling will be comprehensive and multifaceted, including of course traditional subjects such as grammar, Greek, history, Latin, literature, mathematics, philosophy, and science, but in addition to these his education include the analysis of important properties from popular culture across various media, such as comic books, film, and video games. He'll have courses on the Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings (I myself had courses in Lewis and Tolkien in undergrad and grad school) , Batman, Superman, Star Wars, and many others.

I almost forgot. In addition to stories from popular culture, I've also written several fairy-tales and other short stories of my own (which with continued work will comprise an entire anthology), and these will be among his nightly bedtime readings. Another aspect to such will be the Interlinear Children's Bible (English, Greek, and Latin verses side-by-side, accompanied by illustrations) that I plan to begin work on prior to his conception, as I'm adamant that he be raised as a polyglot from a young age.

I'm really not sure, my first Superman experience was TAS and it bored me to death.

@RideASpaceCowboy: For all your comments I have read in this thread I can say: You're going to be a good father.

@The_Tree said:

Constant reruns of Superman: The Animated Series.

Having seen only a few of the episodes when they were first on, I cannot remember if they were legitimately decent or not. I would have to watch them myself before deciding whether or not to include them in the curriculum. My son's education will be just as deliberate in what he is not exposed to as in what he is. While I plan to teach him to be intellectually honest and expose him to competing viewpoints once he's demonstrated discernment and critical thinking, I do plan to censor media which lacks any and all artistic merit and is merely sophomoric and juvenile. Thus, even at a (relatively) young age, I'd be less worried about him watching episodes of South Park such as Cartoon Wars, With Apologies to Jesse Jackson, or Margaritaville, than with shows as "innocuous" as Spungebob Squarepants (though I would permit him to watch the original Loony Tunes episodes and classic Disney shorts).

why try to give them the exact same experience and route as you took? I see that as just some kind of personal desire to mimic something. for everything I've loved and or love, and want to share with my future offspring, I'll just give a bunch of stuff to them and say: check it out, I really dig it. and if they like it, cool, if they don't, still cool.

I wont tell them what comics to read or what games to play, I'll just give them some and they can play/read all, or they can just go through a few.

PS: though if that particular "franchise" still exists and goes on, I'll probably try to introduce them to the stuff that's going on during his present, unless it's really crappy, then if he wants to he can go check it out afterwards.

@RideASpaceCowboy said:

@Selinaky said:

What if he/she prefers Batman?

I of course have a batman curriculum planned as well, including (in order)...

• Year One
• All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder
• Knightfall
• Hush
• Batman and Son
• The Black Mask
• R.I.P.
• Batman and Robin Reborn
• Batman vs. Robin
• Batman and Robin Must Die
• The Return of Bruce Wayne
• Batman Inc.
• The Black Mirror
• The Court of Owls
• Death of the Family

Why? That would just be really confusing.

"Daddy? Why is Batman an abusive douche now?" Poor kid...

That shouldn't be part of the mainstream required reading. You should introduce him to all of the Millerverse at the same time (excluding Year One of course, that is canon and needs to be what he starts out with.)

@Suprman said:

@Gambit1024 said:

Assuming I ever have kids, it'll be with Superman: TAS and Justice League.

This. But if I HAD to pick a comic, I would pick All Star Superman.

These

I will have the entire DCAU on DVD. Batman TAS, Superman TAS, JL/JLU, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Young Justice, and GL TAS. The first four I grew up on and are the reason I'm a comic reader.

@ZEELLO said:

OP, were you homeschooled yourself?

No, I went to public school in New Jersey from kindergarten through twelfth grade, which is what convinced me to never send my child to public school (by the time of graduation over ninety percent of what I had learned was only as a result of personal studies motivated by intellectual curiosity on my own part, as formal classrooms were filled with mediocre educators teaching at slow and/or disruptive students, preventing any real learning from taking place). I attended private universities for both undergrad and grad school, and both were a noticed improvement and worth the extra money, but I know I can do an even better preparing my son for college by home schooling him than even private elementary and high schools could.

@knighthood said:

@RideASpaceCowboy

Good luck. Most kids nowadays prefer video games. To answer your question, I made sure my son watched the Superman movies. I'm not really Supes fan so getting him attached to Superman was never a goal of mine.

I intend to provide a comprehensive multimedia education that include video games and comic books in addition to literature. What better way is there to study Objectivism than to pair the lessons with a play through of Bioshock and asked the question of whether the game developers had fairly portrayed the consequences of such a philosophy in actuality through their depiction of society in Rapture? What better way is there to study Utilitarianism than to pair the lessons with a character analysis of Ozymandias in Watchmen?

I'd have him read the comics first then watch the movies because i don't want him to turn out like those people who think superheroes only exist in movies\games

Probably through animated series and movies!

Then i would pass him the torch to comics :-P