39,327
edits
The Death of Superman: Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (revise quote template spacing) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 1:
{{work}}
[[File:capeflag.jpg|frame]]
For some reason, killing off [[Superman]] is a popular idea. It may be because, being the [[The Cape (trope)|Ultimate Hero]], it is [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|awesome]] to see him make the [[Heroic Sacrifice|ultimate sacrifice]]. Maybe it's because he's normally [[Invincible Hero|invulnerable to nearly everything]] and so his death comes as a shock. Maybe it's a [[Messianic Archetype|Christ]] [[What Do You Mean Its Not Symbolic|allegory]]. Or maybe it's because some people can't stand the character and want to see him offed [[Status Quo Is God|even if only for a short while]]. Whatever the case, this has been done several times in various media over the decades.
The first occasions were as "imaginary stories" (that is, set outside of the official [[Continuity]]) published during the [[Silver Age]] of comics.
Line 28:
* '''The Man of Steel ([[Steel]]):''' A [[Race Lift|black]] hero wearing a suit of [[Powered Armor]]. He was the only one to both admit he was NOT Superman from the start ''and'' not actively claim the name for himself. [[Meaningful Name|John Henry Irons]] merely wanted to keep the spirit of Superman alive (although there were hints that he may have been literally serving as an anchor for Superman's soul).
Each of these characters was allowed to star in one of Superman's then current titles for a few months. It was eventually revealed that the real Superman was {{spoiler|none of them, he wasn't even dead but rather in [[Suspended Animation]]}} and in fact the {{spoiler|Cyborg Superman}} was a ''villain'', with {{spoiler|Mongul}} as his [[The Dragon|Dragon]]. whom the others had to team up to stop. Superman was soon [[Back From the Dead]] afterwards, and (very infamously) came back with a ''mullet'', which [[Dork Age|lasted four maddening years]]. The Superman [[Legacy Hero|legacy carriers]] stuck around for other stories, with two of them ([[Superboy]] and [[Steel]]) even getting their own series. Steel would also appear in ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]'' and ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]''.
The storyline also had a huge impact on [[Green Lantern]]. {{spoiler|The Cyborg Superman}} turned out to be a villain collaborating with {{spoiler|Mongul}} to prepare Earth to be converted into a [[War World]] (basically like a Death Star). He started by annihilating [[Green Lantern|Hal Jordan's]] home town of Coast City, while Jordan was in space. When Jordan returned, his grief drove him into his controversial turn as [[Face Heel Turn|Parallax]].
Line 47:
* [[Affirmative Action Legacy]]: Sort of with the African American Steel. He didn't outright want to replace Superman, but just wanted to keep his spirit alive.
* [[Back From the Dead]]: Superman, he can't stay dead forever.
* [[Badass Long Hair]]: Supes came back with [[Fan Nickname|The Super-Mullet]] that he wore for a good portion of the nineties. He cut it back to his traditional spitcurl when he got married to Lois.
* [[Cash Cow Franchise]]: The compiled first part of the arc, called "The Death of Superman", is the best-selling graphic novel of all time.
* [[The Dark Age of Comic Books]]
Line 55:
* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: How Supes goes out.
* [[I Am Not Left-Handed]]: Superman kills Doomsday by not holding back against him.
* [[Legacy Hero]]: Superman gets four of them.
* [[Mutual Kill]]: Supes and Doomsday
* [[Nineties Anti-Hero]]: Both Cyborg Superman and the Eradicator are pastiches of this 90's trend. {{spoiler|Only the Eradicator plays this straight. Cyborg Superman (aka Hank Henshaw) is a villain.}}
| |||