Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,092
edits
Superman & Batman: Generations: Difference between revisions
fix unconverted spoiler markup
m (trope=>work) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (fix unconverted spoiler markup) |
||
| (6 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{work}}
An [[Elseworlds]] series written and illustrated by [[John Byrne]], ''[[Superman & Batman: Generations]]'' is built upon one central conceit: the complete and total [[Aversion]] of [[Comic Book Time]]. ''Generations'' consists of three different series:
* ''Generations I'' (1999) focuses primarily on [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Superman and Batman]], beginning with their first meeting in 1939, with each subsequent chapter jumping ahead ten years to show later events in their lives as well as the lives of their children, grandchildren, and so forth.
* ''Generations II'' (2001) details events that take place between the chapters of the previous series, as well as giving larger roles to other DC heroes like [[Wonder Woman]], [[The Flash]], and [[Green Lantern]]. The series starts in 1942, with each subsequent chapter jumping ahead by 11 years.
* ''Generations III'' (2003-2004) crafts an epic story by bringing in [[Jack Kirby]]'s [[New Gods]] and focusing on [[Darkseid]]'s plan to conquer the universe (or, at least, get those pesky human superheroes out of the way first). The story starts in 1925 and each subsequent chapter jumps ahead 100 years, before reaching its ultimate conclusion {{spoiler|that retcons itself out of existence}}.
{{tropelist}}
* [[Accidental Murder]]: {{spoiler|Superman accidentally electrocutes Ultra-Humanite-in-Luthor while trying simply to stop him from using a brain-transferring device.}}
* [[The Ages of Super Hero Comics]]: Explored as part of the aversion of [[Comic Book Time]]. Each of the books of Generations I debatably covers one of the ages.
Line 31 ⟶ 30:
** President Harold "Hal" Jordan strangely hits upon this insight, given that his normal DC Universe counterpart as [[Green Lantern]] turns on the [[Green Lantern Corps]] after the destruction of Coast City and becomes Parallax.
* [[Big Good]]: {{spoiler|After Ra's al-Ghul's death, Bruce Wayne takes over his organization and turns it good, simply by turning the "front" organizations legit. He passes it on to Bruce Jr. so he can go back to being Batman.}}
* [[Blasting It Out of Their Hands]]: Jonah Hex does it to {{spoiler|Johnny Kent}} during their [[Showdown At High Noon]], explaining that the former's desire for revenge is misguided (see [[You Killed My Father]] below)
* [[Blessed with Suck]]: The formula that the Ultra-Humanite/Lex Luthor gave Joel Kent to restore his Kryptonian powers ended up killing him after a few hours, despite his mentor's original claims of the contrary. Which, of course, was what Ultra/Lex was hoping that Joel would believe.
** Later, however, it was revealed that Ultra/Lex had come up with a formula that did restore Kryptonian powers ''without'' killing whoever drank it, as Superman and his grandson Clark Wayne (Knight-Wing) had found out.
* [[Brain In a Jar]]: Metallo {{spoiler|who, in this story, is Lex Luthor.}}
* [[Brain Uploading]]: In ''Generations III'',
* [[Cain and Abel]]: {{spoiler|Joel Kent is the Cain, having been stripped of his hereditary Kryptonian powers while in the womb and mistakenly thinking he's [[The Unfavorite]]; Kara is the Abel. They even play this up to the point where Joel kills Kara.}}
* [[Call Forward]]: In the first chapter, Bruce and Julie look at a poster for the Flying Graysons, and Bruce says he heard that their son is a real "Boy Wonder".
** In the 1929 chapter, Bruce (as Robin) improvises a boomerang out of a piece of scrap metal, foreshadowing the Batarang. And in the 1919 chapter, young Bruce makes a costume from random parts (including a fox mask) and calls himself the Flying Fox; as Superboy helpfully thinks to himself, the flying fox is another type of bat.
** In Generations II, {{spoiler|Kara tells BJ about her Supergirl wig, saying that it won't come off unless she removes it on purpose or she dies.}} This is of course a reference to Generations I, {{spoiler|where Kara's wig falls off her lifeless body after Joel murders her.}}
* [[Canon
* [[Combat by Champion]]: In the 1959 chapter, a group of aliens come to Earth looking for a great champion to help them. Both Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite think their hero is best, but to ensure a fair contest, each of them has to test the other's champion.
* [[Comic Book Time]]: Averting it is the central conceit of the series.
Line 53 ⟶ 52:
* [[Decoy Getaway]]: Played for tragedy: {{spoiler|Joker sets a trap that kills Batman II (Dick Grayson); Robin II (Bruce Wayne Jr.) switches costumes in secret to maintain the illusion that Batman is immortal.}}
* [[Deliberate Values Dissonance]]: Reflecting both real-life and comic book attitudes. For example, in the 1939 chapter, Superman and The Bat-Man are willing to kill if need be, and Lois Lane eagerly talks about how cigarettes are part of her complete breakfast.
* [[De-
* [[Design Student's Orgasm]]: Deadman describes the Joker's mind as "It's like [[
* [[Diabolus Ex Machina]]: {{spoiler|Lara Wayne exposes herself to Gold Kryptonite so she can age normally and be with the man she loves. As she's doing this, he gets mortally wounded in a battle far away, and she arrives just in time to helplessly watch him die with the knowledge that her powers would have let her save him.}}
* [[Draft Dodging]]: In the 1969 chapter, both Joel Kent and Bruce Wayne Jr. refuse to get deferments, Joel because he wants to [[Freudian Excuse|prove himself]], B.J. because he doesn't think it's fair. {{spoiler|After Dick is killed by the Joker, B.J. does accept the deferment so he can become Batman.}}
* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him]]: The [[Recap Episode]] of Generations III shows that several characters died over the course of the series, we just never heard about them until now The list includes {{spoiler|Hal Jordan, Clark and Lois Wayne, OMAC, and Lex Luthor.}}
* [[Dropped a Bridget On Him]]: Most of Generations III's 22nd Century chapter focuses on who we (and the heroes) assume to be Kamandi. At the end of the chapter we learn it's actually his identical daughter Kam.
* [[Elaborate Underground
* [[EMP]]: Metallo ({{spoiler|Lex Luthor}}) unleashes one in his first battle in 2008, which shuts down Cyborg. He uses an even bigger one in Generations III that brings about [[The End of the World as We Know It]].
* [[The Empath]]: Wonder Woman's daughter Stephanie Trevor (Wonder Girl) shares an empathic link with Kara Kent (Supergirl) that allows her to sense whatever pain Kara is feeling.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Rather famously, Joker's reaction when he learns Red Skull is a Nazi:
{{quote|
* [[Evil Plan]]: {{spoiler|Joker's plan to finally kill Batman, which involves escaping prison in secret and posing as a copycat criminal called Joker Junior, buying a certain building in Gotham and installing an elaborate death trap, and then getting Batman to go there at which point the trap is sprung.}}
* [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"]]: The identity of Mrs. Bruce Wayne was never clarified, and any time her face was shown she was either in Halloween make-up or a very old woman.
* [[Expospeak Gag]]: In one chapter, Luthor says he traveled through time with a field "generated when acetylsalicylic acid is irradiated at a 108 megahertz frequency". Or, in plain English, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130512003418/http://superdickery.com/images/stories/science/luthorstimedevice0sq.jpg "I shined a flashlight through some orange juice cans."]
* [[Expy]]: The Justice League of America started out as the children and sidekicks of the Justice Society banding together, pretty much making them this universe's version of the [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]].
* [[Fashions Never Change]]: Lampshaded and played straight. When Superman accidentally ends up in the 19th century, he simply dons the shirt and slacks of his Clark Kent suit and dirties himself up with road dust, after thinking to himself that mid-20th century fashions aren't exactly in vogue around here.
Line 72:
** Hal Jordan also does the same when he becomes Green Lantern.
* [[Fridge Brilliance]]: The emblem on Luthor's armor is {{spoiler|Superman's S-shield flipped upside-down with black in place of red, appropriate for Superman's evil son.}}
* [[
* [[Getting Too Old For This]]: Batman thinks this word-for-word when dealing with Mr. Mxyzptlk in 1959. Alan Scott also goes through this, mainly because Hal Jordan declined to take up the Ring, forcing Alan to stan on until Kyle Rayner entered the picture.▼
** A less villainous one occurs in Generations III: {{spoiler|Mrs. Wayne tells Bruce and BJ that they aren't really father and son and asks them not to investigate any further, all as part of an elaborate scheme to get BJ to use the Lazarus Pit and become Robin again, making up for the fact that she never allowed BJ to be Dick's partner. Her final message even ends with a self-aware "So...just how well do I know my boys?"}}▼
▲<!-- * [[Getting Too Old For This]]: Batman thinks this word-for-word when dealing with Mr. Mxyzptlk in 1959. Alan Scott also goes through this, mainly because Hal Jordan declined to take up the Ring, forcing Alan to stan on until Kyle Rayner entered the picture. -->
* [[GPS Evidence]]: Spoofed in the 1929 chapter. Superboy and Robin examine the crate that contained Lex Luthor's robot for clues, and eventually say that together they can track its origin within 100 square miles. At this point Lois Lane helpfully chimes in with the exact location...which she read off the shipping label.
* [[Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!]]: Exposure to magic has pretty much made Lana Lang immortal, and she's just as beautiful in the 31st Century as she was in the 1920s, despite being alive for nearly a millennium.
Line 87 ⟶ 89:
* [[Hero Insurance]]: In the 1939 chapter, Superman destroys a giant robot from the World's Fair that Ultra-Humanite was controlling. The fair's owner goes to complain, but Superman simply cows him with a glare and leaps off.
* [[Humongous Mecha]]: Lex Luthor and the Ultra-Humanite love using them. {{spoiler|Hits [[Fridge Brilliance]] later on after Ultra takes over Lex's body.}}
* [[Identity
** Robin II (Bruce Jr.) keeps a copy of the Batsuit microcompressed in his belt (created for them by [[The Flash|Barry Allen]]) in case Batman needs to be in two places at the same time. {{spoiler|When Joker manages to kill Dick Grayson, BJ dresses Dick's corpse in the Robin costume and dons his spare Batsuit so nobody discovers that Batman was killed.}}
* [[I Lied]]: Pulled with extreme ruthlessness by Lex Luthor: {{spoiler|After spending decades convincing Joel Kent that his family hates him, eventually leading to his murdering his younger sister Kara, Lex tells a dying Joel (as a result of a [[Super Empowering]] serum Lex gave him) that "I lied, as I always have."}}
Line 96 ⟶ 98:
* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]: The Bat-Man takes one of Ultra-Humanite's goons on top of a planet display and threatens to let him drop if he doesn't spill his guts. The goon drops, but Superman saves him...and when he realizes what was going on, he proceeds to ''help'' Batman by threatening to throw the goon over the edge again, at which point he sings.
* [[Jack the Ripoff]]: The Hyena, an [[Original Generation]] villain from the 1989 chapter who prides herself on imitating Batman's greatest foes; Batman III counters that . Also Joker Junior, {{spoiler|who's actually the original Joker in disguise.}}
* [[
* [[Kid From the Future]]: {{spoiler|Superman unwittingly becomes this in Generations III, when an attempt to travel to the 30th century runs into turbulence and sends him back to the 19th, where he runs headlong into Johnathan Kent and Martha Clark as young adults and helps save Martha's life.}}
* [[Killed Off for Real]]: Many characters, thanks to the aversion to [[Comic Book Time]] and [[Snap Back]].
Line 120 ⟶ 122:
* [[My Own Grampa]]: Rather, great grampa. In ''Generations III'', Batman marries Lara Wayne, who is the daughter of Clark Wayne, the adopted son of Bruce Wayne Jr. and the biological son of Joel Kent. So, Bruce Wayne becomes his own great-grandson, albeit not by blood.
* [[Mythology Gag]]: Oh, so very many...
** In the first chapter, while looking at a poster for the
** Luthor's classic green and purple [[Powered Armor]] and bodysuit from ''[[Superfriends]]'' are worn by {{spoiler|Joel Kent when he crashes his sister's wedding}}.
** In Generations, Kamandi is a descendant of Buddy Blank (OMAC), both characters created by [[Jack Kirby]].
* [[Named After Somebody Famous]]: Generations III introduces future Green Lantern Jordan Kelly, who says he was named for "the greatest Green Lantern to ever live".
* [[Neck Snap]]: {{spoiler|How Luthor kills Lois Lane.}}
* [[The Neidermeyer]]: Joel Kent is this to his troops in Vietnam. {{spoiler|They even
* [[Never Found the Body]]: Used pretty much every time someone is "killed". Batman lampshades it both times it happens with the Joker, including in the Captain America crossover.
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: {{spoiler|1=Ultra-Humanite's robots spent decades restoring Lex Luthor's brain in the hopes of rehabilitating his evil personality. This backfires in the short-term by turning Lex into ''Generations''' version of Metallo, and in the long term in Generations III where he causes [[The End of the World as We Know It]].}}
Line 132 ⟶ 134:
* [[Off on a Technicality]]: Averted. {{spoiler|Everyone involved is more than willing to give Superman the benefit of the doubt when he kills the Ultra-Humanite - it was an accident and self-defense to boot. However, since Ultra had murdered everyone important to Supes, he says he can't be sure he didn't ''want'' to kill Ultra and thus asks the court not to make him a special case.}}
* [[Older Than They Look]]: After Bruce Wayne has his soul fused with Ra's al-Ghul's in the Lazarus Pit, not only is his youth restored to his prime adult age (with a bit of white hair streak), he also ages one year for every one hundred years that passes.
* [[One-Winged Angel]]:
* [[Original Generation]]: A few characters, like Blackhawk II (the inheritor of both the [[Hawkman]] and [[Blackhawk]] legacies) and Ransak {{spoiler|both the original and his daughter}}.
* [[Our Presidents Are Different]]: Both [[Green Lantern|Hal Jordan]] and [[Batgirl|Barbara Gordon]] are Presidents Action by default.
Line 138 ⟶ 140:
* [[Phantom Zone]]: {{spoiler|Batman suggests this as a punishment for Superman after he kills Ultra-Humanite, since he's depowered and wouldn't last a day in normal prison, but solitary confinement would be cruel. He ends up interacting with the real world once in order to save his grandson Clark Wayne's life.}}
* [[Powers as Programs]]: Gorilla Grodd figures out a way to use Weather Wizard and Mirror Master's powers to let them steal the powers from Supergirl and Kid Flash. They don't get to put it into practice before the kids break out.
* [[Power
* [[Ragnarok Proofing]]: Justified: {{spoiler|In Generations III, Clark Wayne and his daughters go to the Fortress of Solitude to see if Luthor's technology-nullifying bomb has really worn off. Clark tests the theory by trying to start Pa Kent's car, but makes an off-hand remark about field generators designed to keep all of Superman's exhibits in perfect condition.}}
* [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]]: The immortal characters don't look any worse than 40 or 50. Superman eventually has to wear makeup to appear older when he's in his Clark Kent identity.
Line 170 ⟶ 172:
* [[Together in Death]]: {{spoiler|Bruce Jr. rejects the chance to live even longer, saying that he's kept Kara waiting for over 300 years. The sight of their spirits departing to the afterlife together is enough to make even Batman shed a tear.}}
* [[Twin Telepathy]]: Supergirl (Kara Kent) and Wonder Girl (Stevie Trevor) were born at practically the same moment, so they exhibit a degree of empathy, which is how Wonder Girl finds the captive Supergirl, Robin, and Kid Flash when they're captured by the Rogues.
* [[The
▲* [[Underground Lair]]: Ultra-Humanite's lair is beneath the World's Fair, the entrance hidden in the model city.
▲* [[The Unfavorite]]: Joel thinks he's this due to not having powers, {{spoiler|something Luthor gladly encouraged for the sake of his revenge plot. His equally powerless son is given to Bruce Wayne Jr. to raise, in order to prevent little Clark from going the same route as his father.}}
* [[Unfinished Business]]: After the Joker kills Dick Grayson, he begins haunting the psychotic clown and comes very close to killing him, until the ghost of Alfred manages to talk Dick into moving on.
* [[The Un-Reveal]]: Bruce's wife is never given a positive identity, but it's strongly implied to be Julie Madison; he's dating her in the first chapter, and his wife is from high society.
Line 180 ⟶ 181:
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: {{spoiler|Said by the Justice League to Batman III (Bruce Wayne Jr.) when his crime-fighting methods become increasingly violent and dangerous. He denies it until he nearly kills Alan Scott and has a [[My God, What Have I Done?]] moment.}}
* [[Whole-Episode Flashback]]: The 24th Century chapter of Generations III goes back to 2008 and resolves a dangling plot thread from Generations II: Bruce's wife saying that Bruce Jr. isn't his son. {{spoiler|It turns out she was lying and just wanted to make up for her denying Bruce and BJ the chance to be a team.}}
▲* [[Xanatos Roulette]]: {{spoiler|The Ultra-Humanite-in-Luthor's plan, as follows: De-power Superman's son, become the boy's mentor while instilling a hatred for the Kents, pose as Lois' doctor so he can get close enough to kill her, give Joel powers so he can kill his sister BEFORE the treatment kills him, jump into the future, and rely upon pre-set plans to kill off all of Superman's friends and relations while he goes on a wild goose chase looking for a Luthor who isn't there. All this so he can steal Superman's body and powers.}}
▲** A less villainous one occurs in Generations III: {{spoiler|Mrs. Wayne tells Bruce and BJ that they aren't really father and son and asks them not to investigate any further, all as part of an elaborate scheme to get BJ to use the Lazarus Pit and become Robin again, making up for the fact that she never allowed BJ to be Dick's partner. Her final message even ends with a self-aware "So...just how well do I know my boys?"}}
* [[Year Outside, Hour Inside]]: {{spoiler|Superman experiences this in Generations III when he's stranded on New Genesis and when he finally leaves, only to come back some time later and find that his children with Beautiful Dreamer are now adults who think their father abandoned them.}}
* [[You Can't Fight Fate]]: Double subverted. {{spoiler|Clark and his parents find out about Thomas and Martha Wayne's impending deaths thanks to a Kryptonian [[Chronoscope]]. They manage to warn the Waynes, who decide that Batman is too important to the world and willingly go to their deaths -- though they make sure Bruce knows how much they love him before they leave.}}
Line 191 ⟶ 190:
[[Category:DC Comics Series]]
[[Category:The Great Depression]]
[[Category:
| |||