June 27, 2013, I was a featured speaker at Nerd Nite Detroit. Since the topic this month was super-heroes, I was asked to speak about my favorite comic book character, Superman.
Live on stage at the Old Miami in Detroit
This room full of (otherwise very organized) nerds didn't get video, and the lighting was bad anyway, otherwise I might just share the video that was taken by my lovely lady. Instead, here's the text of my speech, with some of the slides involved (along with new commentary). It was a fun night, and I wish you had been there. Hope you enjoy it!
My kid drew this. She's cool like that.
[Images below belong to DC Comics, and were 'borrowed' from various websites. if you own any of these pictures, and need me to take them down, please contact me here. Thank you.]
Thanks, nerds! It’s a real pleasure to be here tonight, amongst my people. I’ve been reading and collecting Superman comics for three quarters of my life. Good to know I have 20 minutes to finally get it all out of my head.
When Nathan asked me to come here tonight and talk about Superman, I had no idea how to condense seventy-five years of history into such a short presentation. And I couldn’t decide what made Superman my favorite. It’s like being asked “why do you like chocolate ice cream?” I dunno. I just like it. So I picked just one aspect of what I love about Superman comics; and that’s the fact that he’s an alien that can never go again. His home planet, Krypton, is gone.
"Great, now I have Krypton in my hair... that'll never wash out"
Superman was created in 1938, but readers never knew anything about Krypton until ten years later, when the first comprehensive origin story of Superman was told. Of course, a lot has changed since then.
"Hey, these are all in black & white!"
Comics used to be written for ten-year olds and they sold a million copies a month. These days, they’re written for 30 year-olds and popular book sells maybe fifty thousand. True, kids are more sophisticated today. Comics are more expensive now, and there are a lot more entertainment choices vying for the consumers’ dollars, but I miss stories like the ones I’m about to share with you tonight. Sure, there’s plenty of good stuff out there for kids, I find things to share with my nine-year old daughter, but nothing that will directly lead to her reading any current mainstream titles. It bums out a little bit that I can’t just hand her a copy of this week’s Superman and have her find it as enjoyable as I did when I was her age.
That being said, here are some great recommendations for kids.
(Note that none of them are "current mainstream comic books")
Find these and more at your local comic book shop.
(Note that none of them are "current mainstream comic books")
Find these and more at your local comic book shop.
| | |
Even the new Man of Steel movie (which I liked) felt the need to extract any fun, humor or romance out of the adventure, citing the need to be “more realistic”. But by their very nature, superhero comics aren’t realistic. That’s kind of the whole point.
I’m here to share with you how fun comics used to be, using Krypton as just one example.
Before I continue, I need to start with a couple of caveats.
First, in creating this little talk, I took it as my own personal nerd challenge to only use my own books and other reference material. I didn’t go to Wikipedia or some other internet source for information. I did, however utilize the ‘net for many of the pictures you will see tonight. We all know how laborious scanning can be, so that was just for timesaving purposes.
Second, I stopped reading and collecting new comics about a year ago. I had a couple of reasons for this. It was no longer economically viable, for one. Also DC Comics changed. Everything. In fall of 2011 they rebooted their entire universe so that all the accumulated history of their books was destroyed or modified and started over fresh. This particular reset button has left me uninterested for reasons we can cover some other time.
Here's my reason: It sucks.
| | |
In pop culture in general, this is a new trend. Bringing in new audiences for things like Star Trek or James Bond can revitalize a franchise. In comics, reboots like this have happened pretty regularly. And sometimes there’s a really good reason. Let me clarify.
In the comics world, you’re a Marvel reader, a DC Comics reader or an independent comics snob… er aficianado. I’m a DC guy. Always have been.
When I first started reading comics in the early 80’s, I fell in love with DC’s rich history. All the stories they ever told since 1938 were still part of their universe.
In the comics world, you’re a Marvel reader, a DC Comics reader or an independent comics snob… er aficianado. I’m a DC guy. Always have been.
When I first started reading comics in the early 80’s, I fell in love with DC’s rich history. All the stories they ever told since 1938 were still part of their universe.
As time went on, the timelines were occasionally adjusted and tweaked. It was determined at one point that all the heroes that appeared around World War II actually lived on a parallel Earth called Earth 2. So the “original” Superman that appeared in 1939 still had adventures on that Earth, while “our” Superman interacted with modern heroes in our time on Earth 1. And sometimes the Modern Superman and his Golden Age counterpart would team up. It was fun.
There were an infinite number of Earths where different heroes lived. Captain Marvel or “Shazam” lived on Earth S. You may have heard of a super-group called Watchmen. Well, they were based on heroes that lived on Earth 4. An evil version of the Justice League called The Crime Syndicate lived on Earth 3. This also meant that there were multiple versions of most heroes. Many Flashes, Hawkmen and Green Lanterns. In 1978, Superman of Earth 2 married Lois Lane and in 1979, Batman of Earth 2 actually died, like permanently.
If this sounds confusing, the editors at DC Comics thought so too. So in 1985 they created an event called Crisis on Infinite Earths that destroyed any superfluous worlds and characters, and condensed it all into what they hoped would be one cohesive universe. It kind of worked.
If this sounds confusing, the editors at DC Comics thought so too. So in 1985 they created an event called Crisis on Infinite Earths that destroyed any superfluous worlds and characters, and condensed it all into what they hoped would be one cohesive universe. It kind of worked.
| | |
In the aftermath of the Crisis, Superman got a fresh start in a mini-series called Man of Steel: six issues written and drawn by John Byrne, a Marvel Comics superstar. This was intended to give Superman a fresh start and entice new readers who had never read a Superman book. It worked pretty well, bringing in a new generation of readers who no longer felt they needed to know fifty years of comics history to enjoy the new adventures of Superman.
Unfortunately, one of the aspects that suffered in this transition was the planet Krypton. It went from becoming a vibrant world full of wonders like Flash Gordon jetpacks and spaceships to a cold, sterile world where things like love and bare skin were demonized. DC editor and writer Len Wein, co-creator of Swamp Thing, called the new Krypton so sterile that it “deserved to blow up” [see note at end of post]. And I agree. The version created in 1986 is quite similar to the Krypton in the movie Man of Steel, and used a similar visual aesthetic to Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies. I really wouldn’t want to live on any of these Kryptons.
Unfortunately, one of the aspects that suffered in this transition was the planet Krypton. It went from becoming a vibrant world full of wonders like Flash Gordon jetpacks and spaceships to a cold, sterile world where things like love and bare skin were demonized. DC editor and writer Len Wein, co-creator of Swamp Thing, called the new Krypton so sterile that it “deserved to blow up” [see note at end of post]. And I agree. The version created in 1986 is quite similar to the Krypton in the movie Man of Steel, and used a similar visual aesthetic to Christopher Reeve’s Superman movies. I really wouldn’t want to live on any of these Kryptons.
 Before |  After |
But Krypton before these reboots used to be a wondrous place that Superman would actually mourn losing. There were fascinating wonders to behold on Krypton. You could visit the Fire Falls, Gold Volcano, and Jewel Mountains; vacation at the Rainbow Canyon, the Scarlet Jungle or Magnetic Mountain (don’t bring your keys up there).
There were ancient ruins, the Striped River, the Glass Forest, a fungus-filled cavern and a ghost city. And since this map was drawn up in the 1970’s, it mentions Vantho Island home of Krypton’s “highly developed Black race”. This is a direct quote from then-editor E. Nelson Bridwell in 1971: “You see blacks in the US because their ancestors were brought here as slaves. That never happened on Krypton”. Let’s move on.
"I lost my car keys on Magnetic Mountain..."
One of the interesting aspects of Superman from the 50’s to the 80’s was that he was kind of a tragic figure. His adoptive human parents passed away, he lost his entire planet. And in stories from this Silver Age of comics, he pined for home quite often. He was the Last Son of Krypton.
Of course, that didn’t stop the writers of these stories from constantly introducing other survivors of Krypton. An easy way to do that was the discovery of the Phantom Zone. Superman’s father, Jor-El, discovered the Phantom Zone. He was Krypton’s preeminent scientist. He was the only one on the planet that saw Krypton was doomed, and tried to do something about it. He tried to convince other Kryptonians to evacuate the planet, but only got as far as building an experimental rocket. That’s why only baby Kal-El survived.
The Phantom Zone was introduced into the comics in 1961. Jor-El thought it would be a more humane way to punish prisoners. Prior to the Phantom Zone, prisoners were exiled to space in capsules while in suspended animation. While imprisoned, their criminal tendencies would be erased using a special sleep gas, so that in a hundred years, they could become useful members of society (very similar to what we see in the Man of Steel movie). In the Zone, people became ghostlike, corporeal beings who communicated with each other using telepathy, only able to observe the real world from a distance. I think I’d choose the space capsule myself.
Of course, that didn’t stop the writers of these stories from constantly introducing other survivors of Krypton. An easy way to do that was the discovery of the Phantom Zone. Superman’s father, Jor-El, discovered the Phantom Zone. He was Krypton’s preeminent scientist. He was the only one on the planet that saw Krypton was doomed, and tried to do something about it. He tried to convince other Kryptonians to evacuate the planet, but only got as far as building an experimental rocket. That’s why only baby Kal-El survived.
The Phantom Zone was introduced into the comics in 1961. Jor-El thought it would be a more humane way to punish prisoners. Prior to the Phantom Zone, prisoners were exiled to space in capsules while in suspended animation. While imprisoned, their criminal tendencies would be erased using a special sleep gas, so that in a hundred years, they could become useful members of society (very similar to what we see in the Man of Steel movie). In the Zone, people became ghostlike, corporeal beings who communicated with each other using telepathy, only able to observe the real world from a distance. I think I’d choose the space capsule myself.
You know the Phantom Zone from the movies. In 1978, Marlon Brando sent Terence Stamp there for crimes against Krypton. In the movie, the method for sending people to the Phantom Zone is quite elaborate with spinning rings and the album cover to Queen’s Greatest Hits.
"Fat Bottom Kryptonians, you make the rockin' world go 'round..."
In the comic books, this is the device that sent people into the Zone.
This is a panel from Superboy #104 1963. It shows Jor-El demonstrating the device on his wife, Lara in front of the Science Council. There are two buttons on this glorified flashlight. The black one sends you to the Zone, the white one gets you out. There is no safety switch, so be careful where you point this thing.
Ambush Bug found out the hard way.
People not in the Phantom Zone could communicate and observe the prisoners by using a device called the Zone-o-Phone.
You may have noticed in the Man of Steel movie that there is a broken moon hanging in the sky. Well, that was Jax-Ur’s fault. He accidentally destroyed the moon Wegthor, killing 500 of its colonists, while intending to destroy a passing asteroid. Jax-Ur was said to be the first person to be imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
This accident prompted Krypton to abandon its space program, the head of which was General Dru-Zod. With nothing left to command, he created an army of robots to take over Krypton. He was defeated, and sentenced to forty years in the Phantom Zone.
Faora Hu-Ul was a stone cold killer and martial arts master. She kept men in “concentration camps” and tortured and killed them for reasons known only to her. She was another prisoner of the Phantom Zone.
Along with many others, Zod, Jax-Ur and Faora found ways to escape from the Phantom Zone many times over the years, their Kryptonian powers making them more than a match for Superman. I mention them specifically because since the Phantom Zone survived the destruction of Krypton, they would often team up in the books, and also all appear in the Man of Steel movie.
You may have noticed in the Man of Steel movie that there is a broken moon hanging in the sky. Well, that was Jax-Ur’s fault. He accidentally destroyed the moon Wegthor, killing 500 of its colonists, while intending to destroy a passing asteroid. Jax-Ur was said to be the first person to be imprisoned in the Phantom Zone.
This accident prompted Krypton to abandon its space program, the head of which was General Dru-Zod. With nothing left to command, he created an army of robots to take over Krypton. He was defeated, and sentenced to forty years in the Phantom Zone.
Faora Hu-Ul was a stone cold killer and martial arts master. She kept men in “concentration camps” and tortured and killed them for reasons known only to her. She was another prisoner of the Phantom Zone.
Along with many others, Zod, Jax-Ur and Faora found ways to escape from the Phantom Zone many times over the years, their Kryptonian powers making them more than a match for Superman. I mention them specifically because since the Phantom Zone survived the destruction of Krypton, they would often team up in the books, and also all appear in the Man of Steel movie.
Poor Mon-El looks on from the upper-left corner... but he's a story for a different post...
| | |
Lest you think that only criminals ever survived Krypton, you should know that whole cities also survived the destruction of the planet. Superman’s cousin, (Kara Zor-El) was born in Argo City. When Krypton exploded, Argo City was flung free into space, saving them from the concussion that wiped out all others. Fortunately, a large bubble of air came along with that chunk. Also, they had a food machine that could help them stay alive indefinitely.
No, seriously. This happened.
However, the nuclear planetary explosion converted their shattered chunk into Kryptonite, which can kill Kryptonians. Luckily, Jor-El’s brother, Zor-El had a roll of lead in his lab. The lead could stop the radiation emanating from the ground. Fortunately, this was one of those miles-long rolls of lead that most scientists have lying around in their labs.
"That's right, even though the word 'Kryptonite' was invented on Earth, we some how know about it! Science!"
Unfortunately, fifteen years after Kara was born on the chunk in space, a meteor shower smashed holes in the lead shield. (I guess Zor-El, only had the one extra roll.) To save his daughter, Zor-El sent her to join her cousin on Earth, where she became Supergirl.
"Space" was a popular design for baby girls' nurseries that year in Argo City. Boys still preferred the perennial favorite, "Baseball".
Yeah, Superman... because girls can't fly. That would be stupid.
What Kara didn’t know, is that before Argo City succumbed to the kryptonite radiation, her parents escaped to the conveniently named Survival Zone, a Phantom Zone-like dimension. Some years later, Supergirl rescued her parents, shrunk them down and put them in a bottle.
But not just any bottle; the bottled City of Kandor.
But not just any bottle; the bottled City of Kandor.
Don't shake it before you open it... it'll get all fizzy.
Kandor was the capital city of Krypton. It was captured before the planet’s explosion by the evil Brainiac. Brainiac was a robot-like alien from the planet Colu, boasting a 12th level intelligence. He roamed the universe, visiting planets, shrinking cities very small, and putting them in bottles. Because comic books.
"Evilest"? I guess Superman has never been to Mos Eisley Spaceport.
"...but first, I gotta fix this hole in the side of my house."
After rescuing the bottled city from Brainiac, Superman kept it in his arctic Fortress of Solitude. For years he tried to restore Kandor to it’s original size, but was always thwarted by things like a shortage of a certain element to create a “grow ray”, instability of the process or simply not able to find a suitable new planet for the Kandorians.
For the sake of a good story, there was always a way to shrink and grow a few people at a time, just never enough for a whole city. And it gave writers an interesting way for Superman to regularly visit and be visited by some of his Kryptonian counterparts. For example, sometimes he would visit Kandor with his pal, Jimmy Olsen, and they would be superheroes like Batman and Robin. They called themselves Nightwing and Flamebird. Because what else is Superman gonna do on his day off, but be Batman?
For the sake of a good story, there was always a way to shrink and grow a few people at a time, just never enough for a whole city. And it gave writers an interesting way for Superman to regularly visit and be visited by some of his Kryptonian counterparts. For example, sometimes he would visit Kandor with his pal, Jimmy Olsen, and they would be superheroes like Batman and Robin. They called themselves Nightwing and Flamebird. Because what else is Superman gonna do on his day off, but be Batman?
Superman is powerless in Kandor, thus, "flight belts".
Kandor was eventually returned to normal in 1979, when Superman finally got around to really, actually trying.
"Whew! I crossed that off my list..! Now I can finally get around to re-organizing my linen closet."
| | |
In an adventure from 1960, Superman was trying to defeat a monster out in deep space, when suddenly he realized he was flying too fast, and ended up going back in time. He quickly realized that he was flung back to Krypton’s past. Under a red sun, and his powers fading he quickly landed on the planet, accidentally stumbling upon a movie being filmed. There he met the Kryptonian actress Lyla Lerrol.
But Jor-El, everything has worth, as long as someone is willing to pay for it.
He stumbles upon his parents as well, and attends their wedding. It’s in this issue that we are introduced to the wonders of the planet. Kal-El tours the planet with his dad (who doesn’t know he’s related to his new friend). While on Krypton, he also falls madly in love with the beautiful Lyla, who also shows him around Krypton. He also finds time to check in on Earth on a special video viewer and helps his future parents, The Kents, from being swindled by a crooked banker (it’s a really long story).
In the movie version of this scene, The Turtles are singing "Happy Together" in the background.
He eventually gets home (spoiler alert), by accidentally getting trapped in a spaceship on the movie set that takes him off-planet, to a star system with a yellow sun. In subsequent stories, he thinks fondly of Lyla, perhaps his one true love.
I've had sad thoughts, but I'm not sure I've ever been choked up to the point where I actually thought "choke".
It's a drawing, not a photograph. Couldn't it be adjusted so that 'north' points 'north'?
In this earlier drawn, insanely inaccurate map of Krypton, we see many of the same features that we saw before, but this one has a zoo. The map mentions the metal-eating beast, the wheel creature and the radium-eating gorilla. Krypton is home to many fascinating creatures like this, including dogs.
Krypto was young Kal-El’s pet on Krypton before Jor-El used the pup as a test subject for the rocket. He eventually found his way to Earth, became Superboy and later Superman’s super-powered pooch. Krypto is one my favorite characters in Superman’s universe, because everybody should have a cool dog at least once in their life, and Krypto is cool, and a great friend.
Krypto was young Kal-El’s pet on Krypton before Jor-El used the pup as a test subject for the rocket. He eventually found his way to Earth, became Superboy and later Superman’s super-powered pooch. Krypto is one my favorite characters in Superman’s universe, because everybody should have a cool dog at least once in their life, and Krypto is cool, and a great friend.
Krypton had monkeys, too. Beppo was another rocket test subject who found his way to Superboy. He was kind of a nuisance, so Superboy flew him out into deep space and abandoned him there. He found his way back eventually.
Superbaby was Superman as a baby, annoyingly scripted by writers who had obviously never heard a child talk. "Me take it off and fix it" is something no toddler ever said. Ever.
Beppo and Krypto went on help form the Legion of Super Pets, featuring non-Kryptonians Comet the Superhorse, and Streaky the Supercat. Comics used to be fun, man…
| | |
The Rondor, a rhino-like beast also makes a cameo in Man of Steel. (I had a hard time finding a good picture of one, but its basically a rhino.) The Rondor has a horn on its snout that has medicinal properties. The creatures were protected by law, but a guy named Nam-Ek slaughtered several of them to create a potion from their horns. He became disfigured, immortal and smelly. Rondors smell horrible. This made him an outcast.
Luckily, his clothes still fit. Comic book clothes are so stretchy!
Since Nam-Ek was invulnerable, he actually survived the destruction of Krypton floating aimlessly through space, until one day he found himself on Earth where he and Superman punched each other for a while, until Superman sent him to the Phantom Zone. Nam-Ek punches Superman in Man of Steel as well. He’s the nine-foot tall Kryptonian that punches the snot out of Superman for a while.
And now, we come to my favorite thing that ever appeared in a Superman story: The Kryptonian Thought Beast. I’ll show you the slide after I describe it… The Kryptonian Thought Beast is a huge animal that lives in the Scarlet Jungle. It’s called a Thought Beast because it lets you know what its thinking. It does this via a big view screen on its head. Here it is...
False advertising: There has NEVER been a "great" Superbaby story.
I cannot possibly fathom the evolutionary process that created such an animal, but I’m glad it did. Superman encountered one on another visit to Krypton, and Supergirl even encountered Thought Beast that met her parents. She could tell it was the same one, because of the view screen. The Kryptonian Thought Beast: The greatest Kryptonian thing ever created.
I love this animal so much. So much.
Krypton has a rich, wonderful history. If I had more time, I would share more. Batman, Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor and Lois Lane have all visited Krypton. Lois even tries to hook up with Superman’s dad. I’m not sure she thought that one all the way through.
Comics fans each have their own favorite style of story. Mine is obviously the silly ones. Superman has been through many changes in seventy-five years. If you dig though enough issues of enough books, you’ll definitely find the right version for you.
Thanks for listening tonight, nerds! It’s been real pleasure sharing these ridiculous stories with you.
Comics fans each have their own favorite style of story. Mine is obviously the silly ones. Superman has been through many changes in seventy-five years. If you dig though enough issues of enough books, you’ll definitely find the right version for you.
Thanks for listening tonight, nerds! It’s been real pleasure sharing these ridiculous stories with you.
NOTE: I asked Len Wein via Twitter about his Krypton quote. He had this to say about it:
If you're interested in any of the stories I've told above, check out many of the links I've provided, or (even better) visit your local comics shop. Find yours at Comic Shop Locator!
To hear more of my thoughts on Superman, check out Episode 12 of the Nerdetroit podcast.
And here's some random thoughts about Superman II.
To hear more of my thoughts on Superman, check out Episode 12 of the Nerdetroit podcast.
And here's some random thoughts about Superman II.
Share:
| | |
RSS Feed