Favorites - Favorite Supporting Characters for Superman

Well, September has come to an end. I was able to get to all the supporting players I wanted to get to. Yeah, I left out a couple like Krypto, Emil Hamilton, and maybe Bibbo, but I had to end it somewhere. Besides, I already got a Krypto post from a few years ago that’ll satisfy most folk. As for other personal stuff, I’ll save that for a Random Thoughts post. I’m not done with the Man of Steel’s people yet. So, it’s time for the obligatory favorites list. This time, I’ll be listing down my 12 (sort of) favorite supporting characters from the franchise. The list isn’t really in order, but my favorites are at top.

1. Lois Lane

I might as well start off with his first supporting character. Lois has been around as long as Superman has. She’s been the rival reporter, the love interest, and a cool character especially in modern times. While I’ll admit that she wasn’t always the best during her 80 years, Lois is still an essential part of Superman’s life. Without her (married or not), things feel off. You can’t keep those two separate for long.

2. Jonathan and Martha Kent

Next, we got the Earth parents of Superman. In a lot of ways, they are the ones who made Clark into Superman. Yeah, the Els helped, but the Kents had to raise him. They taught him the values of humanity and how to live in the world. They even had things to share even when they got to live and see Clark become Superman. While they aren’t needed for every story, I think it’s cool to have them around at times. I don’t need them showing up in almost every other episode, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

3. Batman

Yeah, I got the Dark Knight on this list. What of it? Of all the superheroes Superman interacts or teams up with, Batman is right up there. It’s cool to see those two interact since they approach things differently. They both tend to learn things off of one another and they’re usually the closest of friends. Batman’s not essential to Superman’s story, but he adds variety to it from time to time.

4. Jimmy Olsen

While I do rag on Olsen at times, I think that has to do with how he’s sometimes written. When written well, Jimmy can be cool. When it comes down to it, Jimmy’s is more or less us. He’s just a regular guy in an extraordinary world. He has to pay the bills like everyone else. He just happens to be friends with one of the most powerful people in existence. At times, even he can get in on the action. He is the “Man of Action” after all.

Tales from the 50 Cent Bin! - Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #239

Next up for the month is the superhero team from the 31^st century: The Legion of Super-Heroes. You could say that they’re the first superhero fanboys/fangirls in comics. They were inspired by Superman to become superheroes. They were first introduced in Adventure Comics #247 as they made Superboy into a LOSH member. They spent a few years in that book until they were put into backups for Action Comics. They were then put into Superboy’s book and eventually, that book became theirs. They were probably at their height during the 70’s and 80’s. The team also had a lot of different characters with different powers. The characters would also age, die, and get married.

Things changed for the Legion when they hit the post-Crisis era. Since Superboy was removed from continuity, things got weird there. That team would go for a few years until the Legion was rebooted after Zero Hour. For LOSH fans, this would become a repeating pattern especially in the 2000’s. I think there were three Legion teams in that decade. I can kind of see why they’ve been shelved since the New 52. The Legion has also appeared in the DCAU, Smallville, and Supergirl. They also had a cartoon on the WB that lasted for a couple of years.

I was going to review their show’s first season today, but that DC Universe app kept freezing on me. I also thought about reviewing Justice League of America’s “The Lightning Saga,” but I’ll save that for later. So, I’m going to go back into the day and talk about a random LOSH issue. Superboy and Legion of Super-Heroes #239 was released May 1978. The writers were Jim Starlin and Paul Levitz. Starlin also handled the pencils for the issue. Joe Rubinstein handled the inks. So, what happens when a LOSH member is accused of murder?

Superman Month - Time to Meet the Family and Friends

It’s another year and another Superman Month. He’s one of my favorite characters and has had many stories over these 80 years. While I’ve devoted a month to a few other things over the years, Superman (and martial arts) is one of the consistent topics. Every September, I try to have a certain theme for the month. Even when the theme is a bit vague, it’s kind of there. I don’t know what I was going for a couple of years back. I think the theme may have been “Divisive Works” or something since I looked at some things that folk are still divided over.

"Hey, what's Steve Harvey doin' back there?"

Last year, I looked at the many villains. This time, I decided to devote some time to another big aspect of Superman: the people in his world. It’s Family and Friends month. I’ll try to cover stories and episodes that look at Superman’s supporting cast as well as characters most associated with him. You may even see someone important from last year get a spotlight on his bald, shiny head. So, come around during the month of September, grab some of Ma’s apple pie, help Conner feed the cows, hang with Lana in the loft, and stay away from that Luthor boy. He’s been no good since he stole those 40 cakes, I tell ya!

Tales From the $3.99 Bin! - Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds

Next up for the month is a more recent villain who was once a hero: Superboy-Prime. I’ve called this character by the name of “PRIME” here mostly because he ain’t worthy of the Superboy title and it gets tiring typing “Superboy-Prime” a lot. Plus, he’s actually pretty easy to make fun of. “I’ll Kill you to Death” was one phrase that was uttered from the poor, poor boy. The character first appeared in DC Comic Presents # 87 in 1985. He was from Earth-Prime which was supposed to be the “real” world of the DCU. He was a fanboy named Clark Kent who one day gained powers.

Afterwards, he went right into the action with Crisis on Infinite Earths where he, Alexander Luthor (Earth-3 version), and Superman (Earth-2 version) defeated the Anti-Monitor. He then went into limbo for 20 years only to be brought back as one of the villains for Infinite Crisis. After that, he appeared in the Sinestro Corps War as Superman-Prime since the name “Superboy” was being fought for in court. Finally, he appeared in Countdown to Final Crisis and the less said about that, the better. To make a long story short, it apparently sucked.

Today’s story is Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds. It sort of ties into Final Crisis. If you wondered where Superman was while the forces of Apokalips reigned on Earth, here you go. This story was also the continuation of re-introducing the original Legion of Superheroes into current continuity. It even served as a way to acknowledge the other rebooted Legion teams. Now that is one, long story that I won’t get into here. I also remember this mini being especially late when it was released. Geoff Johns, the pusher of that storyline, is the writer. Legendary artist George Perez is on the pencils and Scott Kolbish handles the inks.

Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds

Writer: Geoff Johns

Pencils: George Perez

Inks: Scott Kolbish

Colors: Hi-Fi Design

Letters: Nick J. Napolitano

Editors: Eddie Berganza and Adam Schlagman

Battle of the Super-Origins: Supporting Superheroes

Today’s post will stay within the spirit of the week and concentrate on the other superheroes that showed up in these origins. Yeah, I know that Birthright had no other heroes, but still...it's my show! So, let’s start off with that one hero who everyone loves for some reason: The Rick James-Slappin’ Batman!