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Superman: Last Son of...Earth

post #1 of 34
1/8/10 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry if this bit of trivia is common knowledge among comics, and more specifically Superman, fans, but it was news to me. It's a letter from Jerry Siegel detailing an entirely different origin for The Man of Steel that I thought was a pretty fascinating glimpse into what could have been...

Quote:
Here is the script for a possible sunday strip. It will acquaint you with the secret of Clark Kent's origin.

1. In his laboratory, the last man on earth worked furiously. He had only a few moments left.
2. Giant cataclysms were shaking the reeling planet, destroying mankind. It was in its last days, dying...
3. The last man placed his infant babe within a small time-machine he had completed, launching it as ---
4. --- the laboratory walls caved-in upon him.
5. The time-vehicle flashed back thru the centuries, alighting in the primitive year, 1935 A. D. A passing motorist sighted the metal cylinder...
6. ...and upon investigating discovered the sleeping babe within.
7. The infant was placed in an orphanage. The first day, it playfully bent its metal bed out of shape. The astounded attendants, of course, did not realize they were caring for a child whose physical structure was millions of years advanced from their own.
8. The babe, named Clark Kent, was a physical wonder. At the age of five, when an older boy sought to bully him, Clark sent him flying thru the air.
9. Clark's colossal strength was a source of wonder and pleasure to him. He found, at twelve, that he could easily shatter the world's high jump and dash records.
10. His powers increased unbelievably. When maturity had been attained, Kent discovered he could leap over a ten story building, raise unheard-of weights, run as fast as an express train, and that nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his tough skin.
11. & 12. Early, Kent decided he must turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind. And so was created SUPERMAN, champion of the oppressed, the physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need!
Full letter can be found here...

http://www.lettersofnote.com/
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post #2 of 34
1/8/10 at 10:29pm
Wow, that's news to me. Personally it sounds like a recipe for a super-villain rather than hero. In the comics it's always pointed out that it's Supes' Midwestern, salt-of-the-Earth upbringing that made him the man he is. Not to say that orphans can't be heroes (otherwise we wouldn't have Batman) but I don't buy this 'decides to channel his powers for the benefit of humanity' part that comes out of nowhere in part 11 & 12.
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post #3 of 34
1/8/10 at 10:41pm
Thread Starter 
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At the age of five, when an older boy sought to bully him, Clark sent him flying thru the air.
All I can think of is teenage Clark kicking the football in Donner's Superman. Basically, I'm imagining Superman becoming a murderer at age five.
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post #4 of 34
1/9/10 at 12:39am
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Millar kind of borrowed this idea for the ending of Superman: Red Son, with the added twist that Kal-L was the direct descendant of Lex Luthor.
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post #5 of 34
1/9/10 at 2:11am
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Originally Posted by Fafhrd View Post
Spoilers
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Millar kind of borrowed this idea for the ending of Superman: Red Son, with the added twist that Kal-L was the direct descendant of Lex Luthor.
Beat me to it. It's nice to know that the bit of business was an homage to the original origin story. On a tangential note, Red Son might very well be my favorite Superman story. It is woefully under-rated.
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post #6 of 34
1/9/10 at 3:09pm
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Originally Posted by dynamotv View Post
Beat me to it. It's nice to know that the bit of business was an homage to the original origin story. On a tangential note, Red Son might very well be my favorite Superman story. It is woefully under-rated.
I've actually had the Red Son graphic novel in my hands with the temptation to purchase it a few times now, I've always been a bit of a sucker for the better DC Elseworlds stories just because they have the potential to be so clever and imaginative and this premise always grabbed me in particular. Good to hear it's good. I reckon I may have to grab it at last.
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post #7 of 34
1/9/10 at 4:39pm
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Originally Posted by dynamotv View Post
It is woefully under-rated.
No it fucking isn't.
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post #8 of 34
1/9/10 at 5:34pm
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Originally Posted by Brad Millette View Post
No it fucking isn't.
Amen...sure its better than the usual Mark Millar comic, but it drags on and becomes quite ridiculous very fast, specially in the latter half of the book.
Also, I could swear I read in a book about superman that the original pitch had Superman as a mind controlling, evolved and evil superhuman; I think it was actually named "Beware the Superman!"

EDIT: Also, come on, Soviet Batman looked fucking stupid:

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post #9 of 34
1/9/10 at 5:55pm
It wasn't the original pitch, it was a science fiction story that they'd written for their high school or college.
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post #10 of 34
1/9/10 at 5:57pm
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Originally Posted by Brad Millette View Post
It wasn't the original pitch, it was a science fiction story that they'd written for their high school or college.
You're right, i got the sci-fi tale and the pitch story confused; txs, Brad!
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post #11 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:07pm
Thread Starter 
Shit, I've read Red Son but had completely forgotten about doing so. I'll have to refresh my memory on how Millar incorporated the original time travel origin into the ending.
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post #12 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:19pm
Basically after Luthor makes Superman really sad or something because he showed him how mean he was being, Superman "disappears". Then it flashes forward through the ages to show how Luthor created some kind of scientific artistic paradise society and then it gets to the far flung future where the Earth's sun is dying (I.E. it's a red giant now) and the last of the long line of Luthors is sending his son back in time via a rocketship and OH IRONY.

It's pretty dumb, and it's written in all of Mark Millar's GOD I WANT TO BE GRANT MORRISON SO BADLY glory.
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post #13 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:20pm
But he's so much less threatening than Grant Morrison!
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post #14 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad Millette View Post
Basically after Luthor makes Superman really sad or something because he showed him how mean he was being, Superman "disappears". Then it flashes forward through the ages to show how Luthor created some kind of scientific artistic paradise society and then it gets to the far flung future where the Earth's sun is dying (I.E. it's a red giant now) and the last of the long line of Luthors is sending his son back in time via a rocketship and OH IRONY.

It's pretty dumb, and it's written in all of Mark Millar's GOD I WANT TO BE GRANT MORRISON SO BADLY glory.
I bet there's a review out there that claims this is about a love/hate relationship between Communism and Capitalism.
Still, its not as bad as Civil War or Wanted.
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post #15 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:22pm
He always looks like such a pedo with that creepy little 'stache of his.
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post #16 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad Millette View Post
He always looks like such a pedo with that creepy little 'stache of his.
Coupled with the picture Wizard used a lot for his profile (the one with the bra), im amazed the guy isnt in some watch list.
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post #17 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:26pm
He did create Hit Girl.
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post #18 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:28pm
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Originally Posted by Luca S. View Post
He did create Hit Girl.
No, he created the character movie Hit Girl is based upon; its the same as Wanted: the comic vs Wanted: the movie.
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post #19 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad Millette View Post
Basically after Luthor makes Superman really sad or something because he showed him how mean he was being, Superman "disappears". Then it flashes forward through the ages to show how Luthor created some kind of scientific artistic paradise society and then it gets to the far flung future where the Earth's sun is dying (I.E. it's a red giant now) and the last of the long line of Luthors is sending his son back in time via a rocketship and OH IRONY.

It's pretty dumb, and it's written in all of Mark Millar's GOD I WANT TO BE GRANT MORRISON SO BADLY glory.

Thanks. I had even forgotten about the bat-ushanka until the pic above was posted.
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post #20 of 34
1/9/10 at 6:46pm
This is the face of a dependable fella who is varied in output but never in quality!!




From hard bastards out of Belfast to hard bastards out of the SAS, you never know what Ennis will cook up next!
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post #21 of 34
1/19/10 at 6:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad Millette View Post
It's pretty dumb, and it's written in all of Mark Millar's GOD I WANT TO BE GRANT MORRISON SO BADLY glory.
I seem to remember Millar saying that the ending of Red Son was suggested by Morrison back when the two of them were co-writing a bunch of titles.
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post #22 of 34
1/20/10 at 10:40am
It wouldn't surprise me.

Maybe had Morrison written the book, it might have worked better. He's got a better grasp at out there concepts. As it stands, the poor execution is still due to Millar's mediocre skills as a writer.
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post #23 of 34
1/20/10 at 6:09pm
Wasnt there a series about Superman's baby pod crashing in Britain instead of America published around the same time as "Red Son"?
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post #24 of 34
1/20/10 at 6:24pm
Superman: True Brit, co-written by John Cleese.
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post #25 of 34
1/20/10 at 6:28pm
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Originally Posted by Matt M View Post
Superman: True Brit, co-written by John Cleese.
Thats it...never checked it, was it any good anyone?
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post #26 of 34
1/20/10 at 10:47pm
What's interesting is that Superman coming from the future rather than another planet makes a lot more sense, thematically (not to mention logically), especially since it creates the element of Superman having a specific goal, to save the future.

Also, it's pretty much the exact same as the origin of The Samaritan, the Astro City version of Superman.
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post #27 of 34
1/29/10 at 6:30am
While we're on the subject of how bad a writer Milllar is, here's two of the last panels in Kick-Ass(The last issue just came out, apparently. I want to see the movie, but I hate making Millar richer.)

http://www.insanerantings.com/mbimages/kickass_1.jpg

http://www.insanerantings.com/mbimages/kickass_2.jpg
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post #28 of 34
1/29/10 at 6:51am
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Originally Posted by ryoken View Post
Thats it...never checked it, was it any good anyone?
It's terrible, he fights the Bat Man, but it's not what you think, find it in a book store and read it just don't buy it.

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Originally Posted by Cameron Hughes View Post
While we're on the subject of how bad a writer Milllar is, here's two of the last panels in Kick-Ass(The last issue just came out, apparently. I want to see the movie, but I hate making Millar richer.)

http://www.insanerantings.com/mbimages/kickass_1.jpg

http://www.insanerantings.com/mbimages/kickass_2.jpg
it comes out Feb 12

as for those panels, what the fuck? I know it's taken out of context but still..
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post #29 of 34
1/29/10 at 11:41am
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Originally Posted by MoonBaseNick View Post
It's terrible, he fights the Bat Man, but it's not what you think, find it in a book store and read it just don't buy it.



it comes out Feb 12

as for those panels, what the fuck? I know it's taken out of context but still..
Will Skip "Tru Brit" then.
As for Kick Ass, the only praise i have for it is that JR.jr sure is a professional to stick around and at still manage to make it look good; its like Millar gets partenered with great artists just to make up for the atrocious plots/dialogue.
His FF run was poison, now that i think about it.
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post #30 of 34
1/29/10 at 3:38pm
Yeah, funny enough I saw Tru Brit in a book store last night and being a sucker for new takes on the Superman origin, picked it up and read it...yeah..terrible. I did enjoy Birthright though.
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post #31 of 34
1/29/10 at 8:13pm
I was gonna post how much this sounds like The Samaritan, good on ya Prankster.

The best alternate Supes origin I read was the one where Kal-el's pod lands in Gotham City and is found by Thomas Wayne. Can't remember the title.

On a very tenuously related note, Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek is one of the best Superman graphic novels I've ever read.
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post #32 of 34
1/30/10 at 1:20pm
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Originally Posted by Matches_Malone View Post
I was gonna post how much this sounds like The Samaritan, good on ya Prankster.

The best alternate Supes origin I read was the one where Kal-el's pod lands in Gotham City and is found by Thomas Wayne. Can't remember the title.

On a very tenuously related note, Secret Identity by Kurt Busiek is one of the best Superman graphic novels I've ever read.
Isnt the Kal-el become Batman story called "Stray Bullets" or something like that?
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post #33 of 34
1/30/10 at 1:29pm
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Originally Posted by ryoken View Post
Isnt the Kal-el become Batman story called "Stray Bullets" or something like that?
Speeding Bullets. It was a fun graphic novel, it would have been interesting to have continued the story for more then one issue.
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post #34 of 34
1/31/10 at 5:34pm
The thing that I like about Speeding Bullets is that it presents the reader with a concept that their nerdy, more reptilian brain is no doubt clamoring for, and then goes on to explore the Superman/Batman dichotomy in such a way that basically winds up saying that Batman represents the ideals of an emotionally stunted manchild, and Superman represents the psychology of an involved and compassionate adult. It does so very simply and quickly, and is not entirely satisfying, but I still have to give that story props for attempting to pull the rug out from under its readers' feet a little bit.

I think the "Red Son" ending may have been a tad more effective if the time-rocket had landed in Kansas instead of Ukraine. As it is, it comes off as a not-quite clever meta statement on "they story causing itself," whereas having the rocket land in Kansas preserves some of the meta aspects while giving the end a somewhat more archetypical ending for a SUperman story: Superman saves the world.
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