Superman & Batman: Generations: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

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 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}}.

** [[The Modern Age of Comic Books]]: Book 4 (1999), which has a back-to-basics, optimistic approach free of the goofiness and darkness of the past.

* [[Alternate Timeline]]: Of an alternate timeline. The basis of ''Generations III'' is that an alternate future from the one shown at the end of the first series is created, but by the end the timeline is wiped out and replaced with the proper one shown in the first one.

* [[And Your Little Dog, Too]]: {{spoiler|Not satisfied with killing Superman's family, Ultra-Humanite kills off his friends and ''their'' families too, including [[Jimmy Olsen]], Lucy Lane, Perry White Jr., and a dozen others.}}

* [[Anti-Hero]]: Batman III (Bruce Wayne Jr.), owing primarily to his unresolved rage over {{spoiler|his wife's murder}}.

* [[Asian Baby Mama]]: Mei-Lai, first the wife of Joel Kent and the mother of his son Clark. When Joel dies, Mei-Lai marries Bruce Wayne Jr., and is more successful in helping him break out of the grim mindset Kara's death brought on him than she was with Joel.

* [[Aside Glance]]: Superman winks at the reader at the end of the 1942 chapter, just like he did back in the day.

* [[Badass Damsel]]: [[Lois Lane]] gets captured a few times, but she still manages to kick some ass before the bad guys take her down.

* [[Badass Normal]]: Any of the Batman Family up to Clark Wayne, but special mention has to go to Johnathan Kent, who goes after Ultra-Humanite with a shotgun to help Clark and Bruce (and is actually the one responsible for Ultra being parapalegic).

* [[Berserk Button]]: The Ultra-Humanite/Lex Luthor's murder of Superman's wife, daughter, and son becomes this for the Man of Steel, leading to his [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]].

** 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)]].

** 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 Uploading]]: In Generations III, [[spoiler:Lex Luthor uploads his brain into the computer banks of the Superman Museum, granting him access to the whole planet's computer network.

* [[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.}}

** 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 Dis Continuity]]: {{spoiler|Generations III writes ''itself'' out of existence: when the heroes destroy Darkseid once and for all, reality "shatters". The last page shows Kal, Bruce, and Lana in space as per the ending of Generations I, with Kal and Bruce commenting that something feels off and hoping that they haven't forgotten anything important.}}

* [[Comic Book Time]]: Averting it is the central conceit of the series.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Clark Wayne's twin daughters, Lois and Lara, call themselves Supergirl Red and Supergirl Blue respectively. This is a nod to the infamous "Superman Blue and Superman Red" imaginary story which later was used in a different form in the 1990s Superman stories.

* [[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 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.

* [[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:

* [[Hand Wave]]: In the authors' notes for Generations II, Byrne admits that he had [[Wonder Woman]] debut one year later than she did in reality (1942 rather than 1941), mainly because he didn't want to wait until another sequel series to bring her into the story.

* [[Happily Adopted]]: {{spoiler|Clark Wayne, Joel's biological son, is given to Bruce Jr. to raise following Joel's death. He finds out some time later after learning Vietnamese, but it never really changes how he feels about BJ.}}

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Bruce Wayne Jr. seeing his wife Kara Kent with her heart ripped out.

* [[Heroic Sacrifice]]: [[Blackhawk]] member Chuck stops a smart missile from hitting a military hospital by [[Ramming Always Works|ramming it with his plane]], and then insists on staying in the plane in order to steer it away from the hospital (none of the heroes present can help him for various reasons).

** Ra's al-Ghul appears in the story, so of course he deserves a mention. {{spoiler|He also discovers that if two people enter the Lazarus Pit at the same time, one will die and his life force will be transferred to the other, making him immortal. He and Bruce Wayne enter and Bruce emerges, restored to his prime. He eventually discovers that he ages one year for every century he lives. Generations III further reveals that that single Pit was permanently changed, conferring this immortality on anyone who bathes in it.}}

** The 2919 chapter shows that {{spoiler|Lana Lang became immortal thanks to all the magic and [[Super Empowering]] she went through as a young woman.}}

* [[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.}}

* [[Mythology Gag]]: Oh, so very many...

** In the first chapter, while looking at a poster for the Flyin Graysons, Bruce says their son is supposed to be "something of a boy wonder".

** 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".

* [[The Neidermeyer]]: Joel Kent is this to his troops in Vietnam. {{spoiler|They even gets [[Unfriendly Fire|fragged]] when he orders them to [[Moral Event Horizon|kill women, children, and the elderly]].}}

* [[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.

* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Since Superman is involved, of course Clark Kent qualifies. During the [[World War II]] portion, he tells Lois that he was declared 4F; his inner monologue reveals that he got a little over-eager and read the eye exam chart ''in the next room'' with his X-ray vision.

* [[Offhand Backhand]]: Bruce Jr. does it to one of Hyena's thugs in the 1986 chapter.

* [[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]]: [[spoiler:After spending centuries as a brain in a jar, Luthor manages to get into the Superman Museum and cobbles together a robot body that vaguely resembles his old self.

* [[Painting the Fourth Wall]]: Whenever the subject of a hero disguising his voice comes up, it's represented by an appropriately-shaped [[Speech Bubble]] (the pentagonal shield for Superman and a bat for Batman).

* [[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.}}

* [[Power Seep Power Creep]]: Done intentionally: Superman can't fly in 1939, but Superboy can in 1929 because that's how it was in the original comics (the Superboy stories being written after Supes gained the ability to fly).

* [[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.}}

* [[The Slow Path]]: {{spoiler|After Superman gets sent back in time to the 19th century, Metron puts him in a capsule that holds him in stasis until he can be revived 700 years later, which means Batman finds the capsule just moments after seeing Supes fly off.}}

* [[Some Kind of Force Field]]: Green Lantern Kyle Rayner surrounds {{spoiler|Ultra-Humanite}}'s hideout in what appears to be green amber to keep greedy villains from raiding it for its secrets; several failed attempts can be seen around the perimiter.

* [[Spin Offspring]]: Superman and Batman generate a dynasty of offspring that take after their forebears. Wonder Woman has her daughter Stephanie, Barry Allen (Flash) has his daughter Carrie, and Wally West (Kid Flash) has his son Jay.

* [[Spirit Advisor]]: {{spoiler|Alfred to Bruce, but the story remains vague on whether it's this trope or just Bruce's imagination. It's probably the former, since Alfred helps bring Dick back from the edge.}}

* [[Super Empowering]]: {{spoiler|Humanite-in-Luthor develops a cure for Gold Kryptonite, which Superman uses to restore his own lost powers as well as giving them to his grandson Clark Wayne. In Generations III, Supergirl Blue and Batman use it as well, with the [[Hand Wave]] that Batman's immortality let him survive it.}}

* [[Take a Third Option]]: In the 1959 chapter, Superman and Batman are "tested" by Mr. Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite to see who's the strongest, and therefore which one will be taken deep into space to help some aliens in need. {{spoiler|They pretend to be killed, which causes the aliens to take Mxy and Bat-Mite instead.}}

* [[Time Skip]]: Each chapter jumps ahead by a set number of years for each series: 10 for Generations I, 11 for Generations II, and 100 for Generations III.

* [[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.}}