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Superman: Difference between revisions
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(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Franchise.Superman 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Franchise.Superman, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
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On the technologically advanced planet of Krypton, scientist [[Ignored Expert|Jor-El]] discovers that his planet will soon be destroyed by natural disasters. No one will believe him, however, and in a desperate attempt to save what can be saved, Jor-El builds a small rocket vessel to carry his infant son, Kal-El, to a different planet -- Earth. Because Kryptonians physically resemble humans in every way, the boy can blend in without being seen as alien.
As Krypton explodes, baby Kal-El is sent to Earth without any knowledge of his real identity. He lands outside of the rural town of Smallville, a small town in Kansas (although [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?|it wasn't too clear originally]] -- see [[Wikipedia (Wiki)|Wikipedia]] for a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallville_(comics)#Location full list of canonical locations]). The baby is adopted by [[Muggle Foster Parents|Jonathan and Martha Kent]], who name the boy Clark, give him a loving home and teach him right from wrong.
However, Clark turns out to be different from humans after all. Kryptonians had evolved to absorb and store solar energy. While on Krypton, which orbited a relatively low-heat Red Giant (or in some versions Red Dwarf), their physical abilities were about identical to humans. When exposed to the rays of Earth's much younger, brighter yellow Sun, Clark learns that the surplus of energy gives him incredible powers, which increase as he grows up. Deciding to use his power for good, Clark puts on some spandex (or indestructible Kryptonian uber-cloth, [[Depending On the Writer]]) and fights crime as Superman! (Or at first as [[Superboy]], in [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|the Silver Age]] version of his origin). When not fighting evil, he masquerades as a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, ''The Daily Planet'', which helps him find disasters and emergencies that much sooner.
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Naturally, the Clark Kent/Superman dichotomy has been explored a great deal and has changed over time (with Kent going from nervous, geeky klutz to sharp-witted [[Intrepid Reporter]], among other changes). In the [[Golden Age|Golden]] and [[Silver Age]], Clark Kent was little more than a facade for Superman. After ''[[Crisis On Infinite Earths]]'', this idea was reversed. Nowadays, [[Depending On the Writer]], either Clark Kent is the "real" person and Superman the façade, or both people are equally valid and natural aspects of his personality. Both sides also tend to be a lot more psychologically/emotionally vulnerable than you'd expect. Given his powers, and the usual [[Dumb Muscle|stereotypes]] about strength of his level, it would be easy to mistake him for a simplistic oaf; but Supes is actually quite a complex guy.
Aside from fighting crime, much of Clark's personal life is explored in relation to his supporting cast from the ''Daily Planet'', his hometown of Smallville, Kansas, and his beloved home city of [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?|Metropolis]]. Possibly the most famous supporting cast of any superhero, it consists of a large number of changing characters, the fixtures of which are: his doting parents Jonathan and Martha (aka "Ma and Pa") Kent, who continue to support and advise him throughout his adulthood (or [[Pre Crisis]], throughout his childhood and teen years, before dying shortly after Clark's high school graduation); his [[Da Editor|gruff, hot-tempered, long-suffering boss]], Perry White, who gladly accepts Clark's constant disappearances and eccentricities as long as he comes back with a headline story; his best friend (in both identities) [[Jimmy Olsen]], a young cub reporter/photographer with a wildly fluctuating age, the highest [[Weirdness Magnet]] rating in the DC universe and the unique gift of a signal watch he can use to call Superman anytime he gets into trouble; and most importantly, his sharp-tongued, recklessly determined go-getter of a reporting partner (and longstanding object of his affections) [[Lois Lane]], who was [[Loves My Alter Ego|desperately in love with Superman but who always dismissed the mild Clark Kent.]] However, she would eventually fall for Clark, not Superman, before learning they were the same person and marrying him.
Originally created by two sons of Jewish immigrants, who, after several tries, finally got him published in ''Action Comics'' #1, where he immediately took off; imitations of him pretty much created [[The Golden Age of Comic Books]].
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* ''[[Ruby-Spears Superman (Animation)|Ruby-Spears Superman]]''
* ''[[Lois and Clark (TV)|Lois and Clark]]'': The first TV series to pick up on the John Byrne-era post-Crisis idea of Clark as the real person and Superman as the disguise, and of Lex Luthor as a corrupt CEO.
* ''[[Superman:
* ''[[Smallville (TV)|Smallville]]'': One of the more unique takes on Superman, it follows young Clark Kent's journey from adolescence to adulthood and explores his reasons for becoming Superman. Recently surpassed ''Stargate SG-1'' to become the US's longest running sci-fi show.
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** ''[[Superman III (Film)|Superman III]]''
** ''[[Superman IV the Quest For Peace (Film)|Superman IV the Quest For Peace]]''.
*** ''Superman'' and ''Superman II'' were very well received and are the reason most people are familiar with him. Both ''Superman III'' and ''[[So Bad
* ''[[Superman Returns (Film)|Superman Returns]]'', a film supposedly in the same continuity but [[Canon Dis Continuity|ignoring]] ''Superman III'' and ''IV'', starring Brandon Routh. Opinions vary as to whether it was a return to form or an ill-advised misfire. Met with reasonable success, though not enough to warrant a sequel. However, the Superman costume created for the movie would later be {{spoiler|reused 4 years later in ''[[Smallville (TV)|Smallville]]'''s tenth season.}}
* ''[[Man of Steel (Film)|Man of Steel]]'', a 2012 reboot of the character, directed by [[Zack Snyder]]. Not, as the name suggests, an adaptaption of John Bryne's 1986 [[The Man of Steel|miniseries]], it stars Henry Cavill as Superman, [[Amy Adams]] as Lois Lane and Michael Shannon as General Zod. It's produced by [[Christopher Nolan]], who has had success with [[The Dark Knight Saga|another DC hero]].
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* [[Kryptonite Factor]]
* [[Kryptonite Is Everywhere]]
* [[Kryptonite
* [[Kryptonite Ring]]
* [[Phantom Zone]]
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* [[All Just a Dream]]: The first issue after the [[The Death of Superman|Death and Return]] storyline had Lois waking up to find Clark getting out the shower, causally commenting that she must have had a bad dream. Based on her reaction, the TV show [[Dallas]] was indeed broadcast in the DCU.
* [[Alternate Continuity]]: Between the various media adaptations and the "[[Elseworld|Imaginary Stories]]", arguably more than any other fictional character.
* [[Ambiguously Jewish]]: Superman's background story is a pastiche of [[Moses in The
* [[Anti Hero Substitute]]: During ''[[The Death of Superman]]'' arc, Eradicator was essentially Superman if he were a [[Nineties Anti Hero]].
* [[Arch Enemy]]: Lex Luthor, always. Depending on the continuity, [[Brainiac]], General Zod, and [[Darkseid]] may be up there as well.
* [[Armor
* [[Attack of the 50 Foot Whatever]]: Titano
* [[Badass]]: And I will fight anyone who disagrees. And they [[Made of Explodium|will explode]].
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* [[Big Good]]: Leader of the Justice League, on top of being the [[Captain Obvious|most powerful superhero of all time]].
* [[Bored With Insanity]]: Mr. Mxyzptlk, in an [[Elseworld]]/"imaginary story".)
* [[Blessed With Suck]]: [[Post
{{quote| He knows he cannot save them all. ''And he still tries.''}}
** This idea led to one of the most iconic Superman [[World of Cardboard Speech|speeches]], in the series finale of the [[Justice League Unlimited]] cartoon, where Superman is fighting Darkseid and declares:
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** Jimmy Olsen who, due to [[Comic Book Time]] and [[Ret Cons]], repeatedly goes back and forth between being a journalist in his early twenties and a tag-along photographer in his mid teens fetching coffee.
** The possibility of Superman having children with Lois Lane, or any other female human for that matter, some writters goes with the basic: DNA extruture being completely different from each other, imposible to make children; others goes with the [[Power of Love]] full stop, different species can't stop true love so children can be made, no problems. Or [[Take a Third Option]]: It ''becomes'' possible with the help of [[Sufficiently Advanced Science]].
* [[Depraved Kids' Show Host]]: The Prankster
* [[Determinator]]: Oooooooh, just ASK Supes to give up if you're a villain. Let's see how long you last afterwards.
* [[Devil in Disguise]]: In the comics from the early 90s, it was revealed that publisher Colin Thornton, who had hired Clark Kent away from ''The Daily Planet'' to serve as editor for ''Newstime'', was a mortal disguise used by the demon Lord Satanus.
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** Really though, if you can't expect mercy from [[The Cape|Superman]], who can you expect it from?
* [[Enemy Civil War]]: Several. Often Bizarro World.
* [[
* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Ultraman ([[Ultraman|No, not THAT one]]), Cyborg-Superman, and Superboy-Prime.
* [[Evil Knockoff]]: Bizarro
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** [[Nerds Are Sexy|Speak for yourself.]]
* [[Good Is Not Dumb]]: Sometimes invoked, according to the writer.
* [[Good Is Old
* [[Going for The Big Scoop]]: Lois Lane, frequently.
* [[Great Gazoo]]: Mr. Mxyzptlk.
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* [[Happily Adopted]]: Clark is from outer space, but he and his folks are closer than blood.
* [[Heavyworlder]]: Superman's powers were, in many older stories including the entire [[The Silver Age of Comic Books|Silver Age]] run, due in part to Krypton's heavier gravity.
* [[High Altitude Interrogation]]: Superman has, [[The Cape|surprisingly]], [[What the Hell, Hero?|has done this]]. On at least one occasion, he dropped a mook, used superspeed to catch him, and said, "Now, we can keep doing this until I get tired, or..."
* [[
** In [[The Movie]]... not so much.
* [[Hologram]]: Usually of Jor-El.
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* [[Human Aliens]]
* [[Iconic Logo]]: The S-symbol, one of the most instantly recognizable symbols in the world in real life, as well as the actual logo used on his comic book, with block letters at a slant.
* [[Identity Impersonator]]: [[Identical Stranger|Lookalikes]], [[Hologram|holograms]], a friendly [[Shape Shifter]] or two; he used to have a fleet of Robots for just this but they [[Instant AI, Just Add Water|kept going sentient]] and [[Turned Against Their Masters|becoming villains]]
* [[Incorruptible Pure Pureness]]
* [[Incredible Shrinking Man]]: The Bottle City of Kandor. For that matter, Brainiac's shrink ray that put it in the bottle in the first place.
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* [[Intrepid Reporter]]: Clark Kent and Lois Lane, later Jimmy Olsen.
* [[Invincible Hero]]: Most writers take pains to avert this trope, but Supes is hard to write unless [[Kryptonite Is Everywhere]], and that gets old fast. [[Alan Moore]] was a master at finding compelling stories for him. The best Superman stories (''[[Kingdom Come (Comic Book)|Kingdom Come]]'', among others) thus tend to be the ones that focus on the problems his powers ''can't'' fix. A perennial favorite is "Sure, you're invincible. But everyone else isn't." Also leads to [[Blessed With Suck]].
* [[Involuntary Shapeshifting]]: This was the most common effect of Red Kryptonite in [[The Silver Age of Comic Books]], with [[Re
* [[It Amused Me]]: The Prankster
* [[The Jailer]]: The Master Jailer
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* [[Lex Luthor]]
* [[Lilliputians]]: People from the Bottle City of Kandor.
* [[Line
* [[Loves My Alter Ego]]: Lois Lane (used to be the [[Trope Namer]]. While Lois is known for more than just that, she is the iconic example.) At least, until the Post-Crisis era when she finally learned the truth.
* [[Mad Scientist]]: [[Lex Luthor]], back in the day. And back in [[The Golden Age of Comic Books]], there was the Ultra-Humanite.
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* [[Make Me Wanna Shout]]: Silver Banshee
* [[Master of Disguise]]: Jimmy Olsen, when he had his own book.
* [[
* [[The Messiah]]
* [[Mind Screw]]: A story arc in ''Superman #307-309'' written by Gerry Conway was about Superman being tricked by Supergirl into thinking that they are actually Earth-born mutants (because Superman was being a [[Soapbox Sadie]] over potential ecological disasters).
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* [[Mix and Match Man]]: The Conner Kent version of Superboy.
* [[Modesty Bedsheet|Modesty Cape]]: [[Real Life]] example: This has become a staple for the actresses who play Lois. Margot Kidder originated the pose, followed by Teri Hatcher and Erica Durance.
* [[Moses in The
* [[Muggle Foster Parents]]: The Kents.
* [[My Dear Idiot]]: Lois Lane's use of "Smallville" for [[Superman|Clark Kent]] in some continuities goes from insulting to affectionate over the course of time.
* [[Mythology Gag]]: In at least two continuities, Superman turned evil--one of of which involved serving [[Evil Overlord|almighty]] [[The Fourth World|Darkseid]]. Similarly, in at least three continuities--one of which is the mainstream DCU--Lex Luthor aspires to or becomes [[President Evil]].
** Much of the new ''Action Comics #1'' is this to the original. This is a young brash Superman who is more activist like the original, his costume isn't finalized, his powers are mostly limited to the ones he had in the original Action Comics #1 (though the new version already has his heat vision and x-rays so this might also be a nod to Smallville), he even works for George Taylor at the Daily Star like he did in the original (they only changed the name to the Daily Planet because at the time there was an actual Daily Star and there were trademark concerns.)
* [[
* [[Never Be a Hero]]: Nine times out of ten, when someone gets superpowers it's not a good thing.
* [[New Old Flame]]: Both Lana Lang and Lori Lemaris were introduced this way.
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* [[Polar Bears and Penguins]]: The location of the Fortress of Solitude, somewhere up north.
* [[Powered Armor]]: Ruin. And sometimes Luthor.
* [[Power Creep, Power Seep]]: Especially during [[The Silver Age of Comic Books]], when he could fly many times faster than light, move planets by pushing on them, and survive the interior of a supernova.
** In his first comic book appearances, Superman ''couldn't fly''. That helps to illustrate just how far the power creep has gotten...
* [[Powers As Programs]]: The Parasite
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* [[Secret Identity]]
* [[Secret Identity Change Trick]]
* [[Secret Secret Keeper]]: [[Pre Crisis]], childhood friend Pete Ross was the first person to figure out Clark's identity. He didn't let him know he knew until they were both adults. [[Post
** Lori also figured out his identity long before telling him she knew; she's telepathic, after all.
* [[Shock and Awe]]: Livewire
* [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]
* [[Sidekick]]: Jimmy Olsen straddles the line between sidekick and plain supporting cast member.
** When [[Jack Kirby|Kirby]] was writing him, Jimmy got his ''own'' sidekicks, the Newsboy Legion.
* [[Smart People Play Chess]]: Lex Luthor.
* [[Space Pirate]]: Amalak. Also Terra-Man.
* [[Space Western]]: As well as being a [[Space Pirate]], Terra-Man is also a literal, time-displaced [[Space Western|Space Cowboy.]] Complete with an alien flying horse. (The [[Post
* [[Spider Tank]]: A recurring [[Running Gag]] in Superman stories (including ''[[Superman Birthright]]'' and ''[[Superman Doomsday (Animation)|Superman Doomsday]]'') is Supes having to fight a giant robotic spider, due to [[Executive Meddling]] on the never-made '90s Superman film.
* [[Spinoff Babies]]: Superboy, "Superbaby"
* [[Starfish Character]]: Comic fans had almost forgotten it too
* [[Stealth Mentor]]: Mr. Mxyzptlk, [[Depending On the Writer]].
* [[Story
* [[Strike Me Down With All of Your Hatred]]: Some dark heroes tried to get Superman to do this to discredit his idealism.
* [[Superboy]]
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* [[Stock Superhero Day Jobs]]: "Mild Mannered Reporter for a great Metropolitan newspaper..."
** In an episode of ''[[Smallville (TV)|Smallville]]'', Tess Mercer points out that a Superhero might think twice about being a reporter, as their coworkers make a job out of REVEALING SECRETS, among other things. She says this in response to a character that's more or less read off the list of reasons why being a reporter is a Stock Superhero Day Job.
* [[Strong As They Need to Be]]: Supes' strenght seems to be all over the place sometimes, writers differentiated it by making scales of power between the other earths, in which the Superman from that universe isn't as strong as the Superman from the other one; [[Crisis On Infinite Earths]] came and mostly made the presence and worth of other earths useless, with this Supes was (in theory) given a consistent power level; still it's common to see writters making notes about how Superman ''can destroy Earth'' with his [[One
* [[Superheroes Wear Capes]]
* [[Super Hero Origin]]: There was this planet, see, and it exploded...
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** It made more sense when phone booths were walled off boxes you couldn't look inside, rather than tiny glass bubbles around a phone [[Technology Marches On|that don't exist any more anyway]]. [[Superman (Film)|The movie]] got a good gag out of Superman trying to duck into a phone booth, only to find a booth-less kiosk. However, there is also another wrinkle to the legend: when reporters found themselves in the middle of a story, they would duck into the first phone booth and call the editor. Perfect alibi!
*** In ''[[Smallville (TV)|Smallville]]'', it makes sense again: the Daily Planet basement still has old-fashioned phonebooths from when the building was built. The booths are tucked away in a corner of the basement and the one exposed side is covered with stained glass. Granted, though, Clark only seems to use it at night when no one else is in the basement.
* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?]]: Both Smallville (see above) and Metropolis-- though the "Big Apricot" is almost universally on the East Coast somewhere, and 90% of writers make it a [[Captain Ersatz]] of New York City. In the Fleischer cartoons, in fact, it was specifically stated that Clark & co. lived in ''Manhattan''; it was a plot point in the "Electric Earthquake" short.
** Eventually, it was settled that Smallville's location would be in rural Kansas. As for Metropolis, it's often hinted that it's at the bottom of upstate New York, somewhere on the state's small coastline.
* [[Wife Basher Basher]]: In the very first issue of his own comic in the 1930's, Superman deals with an abusive husband by brutally throwing the guy into a wall and beats HIM until he promises to never hit his wife ever again.
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** And not even then. It isn't ''technically'' a lie if he says his name is Kal-El when asked, after all...
* [[Wolverine Publicity]]
* [[Weaksauce Weakness]]: Mr. Mxyzptlk goes back to [[Another Dimension|his own dimension]] if tricked into saying his name backwards, though [[Post
* [[Wonder Child]]
* [[Wrong Parachute Gag]]: In #176, which explains how Superman decided on his ideal location for his Fortress of Solitude, he's on a flight over the arctic as Clark Kent when the plane suffers engine troubles. Almost immediately, everyone went for the parachutes, but Clark, who was inspecting the packs with his x-ray vision, notices a ripped parachute and switches it with his good one. Luckily for Clark, nobody notices the [[Human Aliens]] dropping like a stone in the arctic night.
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