Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Superman:Earth One

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #46
    That's only the cover people he still wears the traditional suit.

    Comment


    • #47
      I couldn't care less about the hoodie...... LOOK AT HIS FACE!!!

      HE LOOKS LIKE A FREAKING DEMON!

      Comment


      • #48
        Originally posted by liebevision
        I couldn't care less about the hoodie...... LOOK AT HIS FACE!!!

        HE LOOKS LIKE A FREAKING DEMON!
        Why because he's about to use his heat vision.Superman always looks pissed and evil when he uses his heat vision.Hey at least they haven't done a story where Superman is a commie oh wait.

        Comment


        • #49
          can you say "misrepretation"? I'm certain that pic isn't reflective of the tone of the entire story. And this likening of Superheroes to Twilight is the height of absurdity. So he's pissed and about to fry something with his heat vision, It's not like Superman's never been shown like that before

          Comment


          • #50
            so who's picking it up today?

            Comment


            • #51
              Picked it up today. Not all of my thoughts will be spoilers, but I'm going to spoiler tag the whole thing because it's just easier and I don't want to inadvertently ruin anything for anyone until people have had the chance to read it for themselves.

              [SPOILER]
              You know that feeling that you get when you're watching a rerun of the pilot of one of your favorite television series? A pilot has many responsibilities: introducing the main characters, setup their relationships, hook the audience into the central conceit in order to grab viewers and get them to commit to future episodes. In this sense, pilots of successful series are typically good enough that they warrant second viewings, but rarely are they some of the best episodes the series has to offer. If they were, the series would get canceled. You can't peak episode 1.

              This is sort of the feeling I had at the end of Superman: Earth One. For people worried that this would feel like a rehash of the basic Superman origin story... well... that's exactly what it is. Now, I think it's a pretty solid version, certainly better than the mess that was Superman: Secret Origin, but that doesn't get it off the hook for being a retread of everything we've already seen before, with only mild changes made for the purpose of updating the time period.

              So, what's changed? Well, The Daily Planet is now a struggling news outlet, updated for the economic crisis facing many major newspapers in the 21st Century. Jimmy Olsen gets a major upgrade from bow-tie wearing redheaded stepchild to self-assured photojournalist, which honestly makes the character relevant for the first time in ages. Oh, and Krypton's destruction is now attributed to the residents of its neighboring planet making a deal with an unknown alien to gain supremacy over their particular part of the galaxy. Who is this mystery alien? Could be anybody, and the ultimate reveal will probably be saved for future installations in the Earth One franchise, since Straczynski didn't want to waste an important villain on his "pilot". Instead, we get Tyrell, a new villain saddled with your generic alien invasion plot who looks a little like the Borg lady from Superman III.

              Now, there's a lot to like in this opening installment. I am now a fan of Shane Davis. His illustrations are actually quite beautiful, even if his characters rarely have more than 2 facial expressions. I wish the colors weren't so muted, but I can't really fault him for that, since it seems to fit with the story that's being told.

              Straczynski's writing works best in the simple things he adds in to make the story his own. I really do like that we get to see Clark trying to choose a career, basically having his pick of anything his heart imagines. I like that it's a difficult choice for him, a situation where almost anything he picks is actually going to be beneath him. It adds a special insight into his character that he almost HAS to be Superman, because he has to create an "occupation" of sorts that will be worthy of his abilities.

              There's also a moment in the story that I both loved and hated at the same time. At one point, Jimmy Olsen stands up against one of Tyrell's attack-bots, to the point where Tyrell actually thinks that Jimmy might be the superpowered survivor of Krypton that he's been looking for. This was a great moment for Jimmy, and really showed a lot of chutzpah for a character that has often been portrayed as something of a hapless dork (even moreso than bumbling Clark). What I hated about that moment was, in all honesty, I think it overshadowed the heroics of Superman much in the same way Richard overshadowed Superman in Superman Returns.

              In fact, the reason given by Straczynski for Clark choosing to take a job at The Daily Planet is because Lois and Jimmy help Superman in the fight against Tyrell. Lois and Jimmy inspire him. This is even expanded upon in Clark's article where he goes on to say, "If the word 'super' is to be applied to anyone, it should be applied to all of you, to all of mankind. Against that power, against that truth... I'm just a man."

              Look, I "get it". Much of the Superman myth is really about us, about how mankind has this sort of infinite potential for good, maybe only needing a "light to show us the way". I just... and maybe this is the Smallville detractor in me... I'm sick and tired of seeing OTHER PEOPLE inspire Superman. I don't want Green Arrow telling Clark Kent what kind of hero he should be. I don't want Superman's impetus for becoming a hero to be Jimmy Olsen standing up to an intergalactic battle droid (I know there's more to it than that). And yes, I realize he needs to have SOME reason to become the hero he becomes, and I understand that there needs to be some sort of internal conflict over the choices available to him in order for that decision to be drama worthy of a book, but I really do prefer a Superman that decides to be a hero just because it's the right thing to do, and that's the way he was raised. That's WHY Ma and Pa Kent are important characters, for me. Maybe this is unfair of me, since there can't only be one interpretation of the character, but these are just my two cents anyway.

              I also pretty much hated that this degenerated into your basic alien invasion story. Seriously, they did that on Justice League... like 10 years ago... not to mention about a thousand times in the comics. Not only is it a lame, "been there - done that", story, but it is also a HORRIBLE way to introduce this specific character. With a bunch of aliens threatening to destroy the entire planet, what is Clark Kent supposed to do? Just sit there and do nothing? Obviously he's going to fight. It takes all the momentum out of his decision to reveal himself to the people of Earth, because he's left with no choice... at all. The whole first half of the book is Clark deciding what he's going to do with his life and you basically end up taking that decisions completely out of his hands. It'd be one thing if he has to decide to save a plane. Planes crash all the time. The world keeps spinning. If he does nothing here, the whole planet dies. Not much of an option either way.

              Let's also get into the issue of the public backlash. After Superman stops Tyrell, there are pages of the book where people ponder whether or not the whole thing was a ruse setup by Superman so that he could take over the planet. I understand this is not new territory, but if he wanted to take over the planet, it was pretty much mission accomplished with Tyrell's armada. The military flat out acknowledges that there's NOTHING they can do to stop Tyrell. So, if Superman was working to take over the planet all along, why would he even need to bother with a complicated ruse when he could just... ya know... take over the planet? The internal logic of the story really fails there.

              And, finally, I think the biggest problem that I have with the story is that it really does sweep under the carpet the fact that MANY people are dead now because of Superman. This is a character that generally feels guilty when even one person dies, but he sails off into the sunset here with a shrug of his shoulders at the fact that Tyrell murders a lot of humans and several ENTIRE PLANETS to get to Superman. I had the same problem with the Abrams Trek movie, where the Enterprise and its crew (which includes Spock) warp off happily to their next adventure even though billions of Vulcans are now dead. I don't care which way you slice it, a tragedy of that magnitude isn't grounds for a happy ending, and I don't think Straczynski earned a happy ending here either. After all, if this new and updated version of Superman is going to be all conflicted and mopey about his place in the world BEFORE the alien invasion, how crappy do you think he'd feel after a few billion innocents die? Makes no sense.

              Aside from that, my biggest complaint is that this just feels like a retread of stuff we've seen before.

              Krypton blows up, Jor-El and Lara send him to Earth, Kents find and adopt him, he grows up confused but with a strong moral foundation, goes to Metropolis, becomes a reporter, saves the day, feels alone, blah blah blah... Now, that's all a good story, and its illustrated well here, but "I've seen that episode". What else ya got?

              6/10
              [/SPOILER]
              Last edited by Backward Galaxy; 10-27-2010, 12:37 PM.

              Comment


              • #52
                Nice review, Backward.
                I was satisfied, yet not entirely impressed with what was done. I did like the minor update to the suit, an origin story without Lex, the new twist on what happened with Krypton, but the ending just didn't grab me like I was hoping. JMS is kind of hit and miss in that category, though.

                Comment


                • #53
                  wait Lex isn't in the story? At all?

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Originally posted by Rival X The Great
                    wait Lex isn't in the story? At all?
                    [SPOILER]
                    Correct.
                    [/SPOILER]

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      I am not catching the problem.

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        yeah i think i'm going to pass up on this one.

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Put my avi up today. I've been working all weekend so I'm gonna pick it up sometime on Sunday.


                          I look forward to reading that review, BG. The other review leads me to believe it's fraking awesome. I'm guessing your review is a more evened approach to the story. I'm also guessing by the length you liked it?

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Originally posted by cksidekick
                            Put my avi up today. I've been working all weekend so I'm gonna pick it up sometime on Sunday.


                            I look forward to reading that review, BG. The other review leads me to believe it's fraking awesome. I'm guessing your review is a more evened approach to the story. I'm also guessing by the length you liked it?
                            I gave it a 6/10. I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was revolutionary enough or brought enough new to the table.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Originally posted by Backward Galaxy
                              I gave it a 6/10. I enjoyed it, but didn't think it was revolutionary enough or brought enough new to the table.
                              Wow! you just said exactly what I didn't want to hear or read or whatever. I was hoping to finally get that revolutionary upgrade to the 21st century. I for one like Secret origin just fine. I guess I'm just able to take it for what it is and roll with it. Earth One is supposed to be the book written just for me. A story that shows us the next step in the evolution of the character. I'm going to remain hopeful. If I can give it an 8/10 with heavy leaning on the art I won't cry.....too much.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Originally posted by cksidekick
                                Wow! you just said exactly what I didn't want to hear or read or whatever. I was hoping to finally get that revolutionary upgrade to the 21st century. I for one like Secret origin just fine. I guess I'm just able to take it for what it is and roll with it. Earth One is supposed to be the book written just for me. A story that shows us the next step in the evolution of the character. I'm going to remain hopeful. If I can give it an 8/10 with heavy leaning on the art I won't cry.....too much.
                                Well, it is only my opinion. You might think differently.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X
                                😀
                                🥰
                                🤢
                                😎
                                😡
                                👍
                                👎