Source: Superman vol.1 #417 (1986)
Type: Imaginary story
Imagine a planet Mars that is closer to John Carter's than to J'onn J'onzz. Now imagine little baby Kal-El crashlanding on that planet Mars instead of Earth. Further, imagine that little baby kicking a number of warriors' asses and their warlord adopting him on sight, a warlord whose emblem looks like the S shield we know so well. Well, no real need to imagine it, because Elliot S! Maggin put that thought to paper during Superman's lame duck year:
Raised as Skaggerak, Son of Norr, he would grow up to be a great warrior, and would wear the red and blues found in his rocket in service of his father, uniting the whole of Mars' many tribes under the same tyrannical regime. And when there were no more tribes to conquer, they looked to the stars, or rather to the blue planet we call Earth. They built ships, came to our home during the Holidays and delivered their ultimatums. But Skaggerak wondered if they were conquering Earth with respect to its customs and wanted to learn more about us. He put on glasses, a white wig and a beard and visited a soup kitchen. When a street Santa fell ill, a policeman gave him the opportunity to replace him. And so he learned about us.
He found that we could both be thieves AND generous. That we could be honest AND liars. We had the potential to be peaceful AND warlike. Thinking on the thieving, lying warriors who raised him, Skaggerak turned against them and attacked the Martian fleet. From that day forward, he would be Superman, the champion of Earth, defending his second adopted world from his first. It was a Christmas miracle.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, It's a Clinical Depression Christmas Charlie Brown... All fine holiday fare. But why don't more people retell the story of when a Martian came to Earth and saved us from more Martians? We should never forget the classics!
Type: Imaginary story
Imagine a planet Mars that is closer to John Carter's than to J'onn J'onzz. Now imagine little baby Kal-El crashlanding on that planet Mars instead of Earth. Further, imagine that little baby kicking a number of warriors' asses and their warlord adopting him on sight, a warlord whose emblem looks like the S shield we know so well. Well, no real need to imagine it, because Elliot S! Maggin put that thought to paper during Superman's lame duck year:
Raised as Skaggerak, Son of Norr, he would grow up to be a great warrior, and would wear the red and blues found in his rocket in service of his father, uniting the whole of Mars' many tribes under the same tyrannical regime. And when there were no more tribes to conquer, they looked to the stars, or rather to the blue planet we call Earth. They built ships, came to our home during the Holidays and delivered their ultimatums. But Skaggerak wondered if they were conquering Earth with respect to its customs and wanted to learn more about us. He put on glasses, a white wig and a beard and visited a soup kitchen. When a street Santa fell ill, a policeman gave him the opportunity to replace him. And so he learned about us.
He found that we could both be thieves AND generous. That we could be honest AND liars. We had the potential to be peaceful AND warlike. Thinking on the thieving, lying warriors who raised him, Skaggerak turned against them and attacked the Martian fleet. From that day forward, he would be Superman, the champion of Earth, defending his second adopted world from his first. It was a Christmas miracle.Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, It's a Clinical Depression Christmas Charlie Brown... All fine holiday fare. But why don't more people retell the story of when a Martian came to Earth and saved us from more Martians? We should never forget the classics!
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