Monday, October 22, 2012

Battle of the Super-Origins: The Story/Conclusion


Well, after two freakin’ months, I’ve gotten to the end of this long and arduous battle. It didn’t go too bad. I know I will definitely want to do something like this again I have a few ideas on what things could get matched up against.  When they’ll come out, I don’t know. I got a 3,000+ paper work on.  I do know that it’s not going to take two months to get through it!
Before I start the final round, here a few interesting facts on these writers:
  • All have worked on a Justice League comic of sorts.
  • All have done a run on a Superman comic book (except Waid. Come on DC!!!!)
  • Waid, Morrision, and Johns worked on the mini-series 52.
  • All of these guys at one time or another did work with Marvel.
  • Morrison and Byrne are known for having worked on an X-Men book.
  • Waid and Johns are known for working on The Flash.
Well, as Batman and Superman tend to say in every DC animated movie, “it ends tonight!”

There are things I love about these stories. I like MoS’s uniqueness in that it looks at Superman through different of his career. I like Birthright’s detailed look at Clark and Lex. With Secret Origin, I like the various characters that show up,  and I like the new attitude of the Kal and the backups that Fisch has done in Nu52.  Are there things I don’t like? Well, with MoS, it’s the fact that we don’t get more of a younger Superman and the lack of better villains. Superman isn’t that inspiring in Birthright and Secret Origin has that outrageous origin for the Parasite.  The only thing I don’t like about the Nu52 version is that there isn’t time for Clark/Superman to develop ties and relationships with other characters.

Yeah, I like this moment. I wish he'd do this more often to Lex.

There are also some obvious similarities with the plots of these stories. The biggest ones that have that similarity is Secret Origin and Birthright. In a way, they essentially got the same plot. The same could be said for the Nu52 version, but for only a few things. For example, there’s the whole “the city being wary of Superman” thing. Anyway, in SO and BR, they develop through the early parts of the book and then go to the city as Superman. In both stories, they also have to deal with Lex’s smear campaigns and there’s the development with Lois and Jimmy. I have no problems with the similarities because that stuff unfortunately happens (Example: SUPERMAN - EARTH ONE).
Next time, JMS...next time…Ha Ha Ha!!!

Now Morrison did do something unique in revealing Superman’s origins with the two-parter involving the ship. That was a good story. It’s just that some things like the Anti-Superman Squad, the Older Superman, and the Older LoS felt thrown in for little to no reason. All of that was for the run in general. It still gets me excited for the end of Morrison’s run though. Here’s hoping Andy Diggle kicks some mighty butt when he comes.
No really, who the heck are you?

Well, it’s time for that big decision…

This is a tough one to do. I like all of these different stories, but one is going to get the point. It’s kind of given me a better appreciation for the Man of Steel in general. This “battle” was something that I thought could not be done, but I was wrong. I think I’ve hinted toward this before, but my favorite one of the four is Birthright. The story is focused the Clark/Lex side of things and it’s got good art…but that ain’t it. Oh Well!

The one that gets the point…and the win here in this battle is Secret Origin. You can read the rest of the posts and see why I liked certain aspects of Secret Origin. Another thing I didn’t talk about the fact of Superman’s influence on the city. Before he comes, Metropolis is Lex’s. Everyone looks to him as the greatest thing ever. Then Superman comes and they see something better. They see a man who is selfless and giving. It’s his presence that turns Metropolis from a Lex-controlled city to its own city. Are there things I don’t like? Yeah, but as you saw, there are a lot of things I liked about this origin. So, there is my decision and if you don’t like it…Come at me bro!!!! 
I had to use this someday.

Score tally:
Man of Steel (MoS): 2
Superman Birthright : 3
Superman Secret Origin : 5
Superman and the Men of Steel (...Nu52): 2


And if you excuse me, I need to work on a paper that looks at security violations in the workplace. Here's hoping it's a knockout. Peace and God Bless. 


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