tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post143012610780770328..comments2024-03-27T08:49:38.786-03:00Comments on Siskoid's Blog of Geekery: Reign of the Supermen #35: Superman of Earth-OneSiskoidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-40479047229445818332010-11-26T21:38:06.581-04:002010-11-26T21:38:06.581-04:00You have a good point about the Peter Parkerness, ...You have a good point about the Peter Parkerness, and in time maybe JMS will show us a Clark who has really internalized responsibility. Martha Kent disappoints me the most, though, by telling Clark it'd be okay if he chose just to be the world's best banjo player ... no. Just no.<br /><br />I guess I can accept fascist Elseworlds Superman more readily because Earth One is also going to feature a Batman, and probably more and more heroes if sales are good. You can have a broken Wonder Woman or even a broken Batman, but if yer Superman's broken the entire universe is broken.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-76817190087529733192010-11-26T19:00:31.008-04:002010-11-26T19:00:31.008-04:00I don't think you're necessarily wrong, an...I don't think you're necessarily wrong, and I can't believe I'm defending a JMS story. Basically, it's only awful to JMS haters and it's only really good to JMS lovers. So if you thought JMS was overrated, or the book was too pricey, you could pick it apart. But I don't think it's bad enough for that. Just middle of the road. If this were that kind of review, I'd say it's a Rental, not a Buy. It may even be a Wait for it to turn up on TBS.<br /><br />As for Superman's altruism, it's not that he didn't want to help humanity, it's that he didn't know how. The journalism bit is not chosen lightly (it's not even one of his super-talents like all those other jobs). He decides to work at the Planet because Jimmy and Lois showed bravery, valor and ethics during the crisis.<br /><br />Yes, he's closer to a Spider-Man who learns responsibility of power, rather than a pure-hearted boyscout who would uphold the good even without powers. He's not your eternally 30 Superman, he's maybe 22. He didn't become Superboy, putting on the tights is not second nature. You do have a case, I just mean to show that it can be seen another way.<br /><br />Also, it's an Elseworlds in everything but name. We wouldn't be bothered if Superman turned out to be, say, a fascist in an Elseworld.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-5014010252021056282010-11-26T17:28:23.785-04:002010-11-26T17:28:23.785-04:00I have to admit I haven't actually read "...I have to admit I haven't actually read "Superman: Year One", I'm just going off what I've read in reviews and in sample panels online. So I may be missing major nuances.<br /><br />But I haven't seen much to make me think that Clark has a strong instinct to help those in need. An alien invasion forced him into action, and he decided he liked the idea of being a journalist. Which would be fine for any number of heroes ... but Superman doesn't really have the luxury of considering public service "optional", not without losing something core to the character anyway. Kind of like you couldn't do a Captain America who was an isolationist in early 1941, and who only slowly grew to realize the Nazis were a big problem.<br /><br />Basically, the fact that there is a Superman who takes duty to community that seriously, allows for the creation of other heroes who don't achieve the gold standard of civic responsibility. Take that away from Superman and you diminish the character and leave a void in the DC Universe.<br /><br />Now a Clark Kent who initially eschewed costumed heroics because he felt it wasn't the right way to help others ... that might work. It might even explain Clark's various high-paying jobs (where he gives 95% of his earnings away to charities).<br /><br />Eh, I'm doing a lot of griping over a comic I haven't actually read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-32311457952802656882010-11-26T16:59:05.375-04:002010-11-26T16:59:05.375-04:00Well though he's aimless at the beginning, he ...Well though he's aimless at the beginning, he does end up choosing the low-paying job where he could "do good". So I think that's his instinct, though he still applied all those other places. We're seeing the events that made him realize who he was.<br /><br />As for Perry's "passive voice", it's not the right term, but he is right about which is the better phrasing for a newspaper.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-8240862194894474462010-11-26T15:22:04.757-04:002010-11-26T15:22:04.757-04:00Wait, am I to understand that this is a Superman w...Wait, am I to understand that this is a Superman who doesn't believe his powers oblige him to serve others? That's like a Batman who only fights crime when there's nothing on TV. Whatever else is going on in "Superman: Earth One", if he doesn't start off with a sense of duty to his community, it's a swing and a miss. (Ma Kent's "I just want you to be happy whatever you're doing" stance is a travesty.)<br /><br />And Perry ... ? Changing the position of phrases in a sentence doesn't flip the voice from "passive" to "active". No wonder nobody respects your newspaper.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-78348430382638821332010-11-24T20:49:14.177-04:002010-11-24T20:49:14.177-04:00Colin at toobusythinkingaboutcomics.blogspot.com ...Colin at toobusythinkingaboutcomics.blogspot.com wrote a 4 part piece criticizing Superman Earth One. He did so by comparing Superman's character in Earth One to his character in All-Star Superman. Seeing Earth One provoke such differing reactions from reviewers and bloggers make me want to check it out, although I probably won't until I see it at the library.<br /><br />- Mike LoughlinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-44447506571942759232010-11-24T19:19:44.557-04:002010-11-24T19:19:44.557-04:00I dunno, overall looks like "comic book hands...I dunno, overall looks like "comic book handsome".Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-71190708009028138582010-11-24T17:26:07.438-04:002010-11-24T17:26:07.438-04:00Haven't seen anything of this beyond this blog...Haven't seen anything of this beyond this blog post, but going by that first image they seem to be channelling Brandon Routh for his face.<br /><br />Which isn't really the best model to pick, is it?Radagasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03422101417730536911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-83745142400856350302010-11-24T16:40:15.413-04:002010-11-24T16:40:15.413-04:00I wish I were that clever!
My preferred joke abou...I wish I were that clever!<br /><br />My preferred joke about "Grounded" is: "You will believe a man can walk".Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-5359242387740788562010-11-24T16:19:40.186-04:002010-11-24T16:19:40.186-04:00Is that Frost reference a pun about Grounded?Is that Frost reference a pun about Grounded?Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-78550256393429841072010-11-24T16:11:55.664-04:002010-11-24T16:11:55.664-04:00I'll go a step further and say JMS isn't h...I'll go a step further and say JMS isn't happy <i>unless</i> he's going off in a new unexplored direction. Sometimes it works out, but sometimes the path less traveled is so for a reason.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-63268945016582286772010-11-24T16:10:44.533-04:002010-11-24T16:10:44.533-04:00My work here is done!
(It's from the Buffy Se...My work here is done!<br /><br />(It's from the <b>Buffy</b> Season Eight story <b>Buffy Has F#@$ing Super Powers!</b>)Craig Oxbrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388821789251515974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-89980265930640041632010-11-24T11:15:34.882-04:002010-11-24T11:15:34.882-04:00Matt: Criticism levied againt him re: Spider-Man, ...Matt: Criticism levied againt him re: Spider-Man, Superman and Wonder Woman is that he changed the characters too much, ignoring many of the things readers felt were integral to the characters or showing a deep misunderstanding of the character's under-pinnings. So yes, I think he works better outside continuity.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-70859570191278375712010-11-24T10:51:08.420-04:002010-11-24T10:51:08.420-04:00He's seems a bit more emo too, but not to the ...<i>He's seems a bit more emo too, but not to the point where I'd compare Earth-One to Twilight. To Claremont's X-Men, maybe. Let's call it angst.</i><br /><br />Good point. There is, after all, a long standing tradition of angst in comic books that predates the Twilight craze by decades. <br /><br />I haven't had a chance to read this yet. I've heard mixed things, so it's probably something I'll keep an eye out for used and pick it up on the cheap.Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-1216122066084240552010-11-24T10:40:34.210-04:002010-11-24T10:40:34.210-04:00I enjoyed Earth One. I too liked that JMS avoided...I enjoyed Earth One. I too liked that JMS avoided Luthor, and was bold enough to provide a different take on the reason why Krypton exploded. As you say, much better than his monthly work. I never cared for what I read of his Spider-Man (his only other regular work I tried), so perhaps he works best when operating with his own separate continuity. I wouldn't say that I await the sequel with bated breath, but I am looking forward to it.Matthew Turnagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08115327182071167651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-58775339589709713622010-11-24T09:00:53.463-04:002010-11-24T09:00:53.463-04:00Ooh, Craig. This is one I hadn't seen before!Ooh, Craig. This is one I hadn't seen before!Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37940560.post-799155559427077922010-11-24T08:43:08.029-04:002010-11-24T08:43:08.029-04:00Definitely needs more guys freaking out, who may o...<a href="http://images.tfaw.com/covers/400/16/16668.jpg" rel="nofollow">Definitely needs more guys freaking out, who may or may not be caricatures of members of the creative team.</a>Craig Oxbrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16388821789251515974noreply@blogger.com