Superman's *Other* Pals

[arbre_rieur]

Three pages from ACTION COMICS 8...

Comments

[blake_reitz]

Lex Luthor leaking information to Clark Kent in the hopes of turning around the sorry state of Metropolis. I like that. It harkens back a bit to All-Star Superman where Lex tells Clark that he's always liked him because he's so human.

[q99]

Yea, likewise.

And meanwhile the 'are you Superman?' thing helps explains why Lex never suspects Clark.

[skjam]

I like that this version of Luthor has admiration for Einstein.

[darkknightjrk]

Reminds me of the "Prey to Einstein for a miracle" line from All-Star. :D

[biod]

I'm pretty sure that was canon before.
There was a great story where all Luthor wanted to do was visit some college to comemmorate his hero.

[icon_uk]

Has there been a version which hasn't?

[skjam]

Early Silver Age Lex was more a Genghis Khan, Napoleon and Alexander the Great fan.

[sadoeuphemist]

There was this bit in Earth 2 where Luthor keeps an Einstein bust in his office with an AI assistant installed inside. On one hand, he admires the man, on the other hand it gives him the opportunity to keep ordering Einstein around.

[starwolf_oakley]

Clark is almost blase` about his secret identity since (at this point) he doesn't have to worry about villains murdering everyone at the Daily Planet.

[superfangirl1]

*lol*

Yet.

But yeah it's funny how blase he is about it.

[nemryn]

'Mrs. Nyxly'? I've got a bad feeling about that many consonants together in one place...

[avantre]

I've never seen her say her name backwards, either... very suspicious.

[darkknightjrk]

Yeah, there's a possibility of something going on there...but I think the Little Man is the actual Mxy.

[silicondream]

Probably named after Ferlin Nyxly, actually, but if she does turn out to be Gsptlsnz or something I'll be very happy.

[biod]

What kind of person would name themselves Icarus? That's just setting yourself up for failure.

[md84]

Probably the same kind of person who'd call himself Ozymandias.

[icon_uk]

One who wanted to give the person they are manipulating an impression of humility.

[biod]

You win this round...

[grazzt]

That's why I always disliked Prometheus. You know that dude got chained to a rock with birds picking out his insides, right?

[biod]

Well, Prometheus means "Foresight", he created mankind, stole fire for them, and sacrificed his further life free from liver-pecking vultures to do so. Not the worst guy to be named after.

[grazzt]

Yeah, but Prometheus was a villain. Any elements of self-sacrifice in his namesake are tossed out the window, leaving "stealing fire from gods" and "liver being pecked out".

I don't think the former is worth the latter.

[quatoria]

A villain? Maybe from Zeus' perspective, but not from ours. He tricked the gods for the benefit of mankind. He was our champion, and he was punished with excruciating torture for upbraiding and defying the will of Zeus in our favor. The least we can do is consider him kindly, I'd say.

[crinos]

I think he meant the guy who took the name Prometheus is the villain.

I think he took the name because his whole schtick was killing super heroes, the "Gods" of Modern day, since Prometheus also has the theme of defying the Gods.

[icon_uk]

Don't think I've ever imagined Pa Kent as being the type to be into "surreal practical jokes". A good sense of humour yes, but surreal?

[sadoeuphemist]

You have a kid who can pick up a tractor, you tend to expand your imagination.

[crabby_lioness]

I started to feel a bit wibbly reading this.

Then I checked the writer. Grant Morrison.

Shit.

Now I'm waiting for the 20-ton boots to drop.

[sadoeuphemist]

Are you mistaking him for Mark Millar or something?

[crabby_lioness]

Nope, I've been reading Morrison since Animal Man. His penchant for starting strong is only equaled by his penchant for crapping in the sandbox as he leaves.

[lascoden]

You mean a Planet X type scenario?

[sadoeuphemist]

What, you're worried he might reveal Lex to be a terrible human being?

[lascoden]

More that he'll reveal Jimmy to actually be Luthor, dispose of everything that makes him a unique villain, and then kill Lois Lane.

[sadoeuphemist]

That's the worst comparison. How was Xorn anywhere close to Jimmy Olsen? How is Magneto's campaign against homo sapiens sapiens not part of his uniqueness? How is part of Lois Lane's schtick being killed and then brought back to life?

[lascoden]

Xorn was an interesting character, a genuinely good guy with a terrible condition. Then he turned out to basically be a complete lie. Magneto is a villain who is sympathetic, you can understand why he does what he does. All sympathy is lost when you turn him into an insane Nazi, which also flies in the face of his origin. Jean was killed (or at least is staying dead) because they believed that it would make Scott more interesting. Look at the new Earth-2 or the DCnU to a lesser degree.

[sadoeuphemist]

Wait so what do you have against Grant Morrison? You think it was wrong of him to create a brand new sympathetic character and then reveal him to be secretly evil? Really? It is somehow his fault that when he killed off Jean "Phoenix" Grey that writers after him decided to keep her dead? And you are aware that there were Jews who, following WWII, actually ran concentration camps?

[lascoden]

I have nothing against Grant Morrison. I loved a lot of the concepts introduced in NXM, I enjoyed Batman Inc, look forward to its 2nd half, enjoyed Flex Mentallo, and AC has been pretty good. However, I did hate Planet X. I thought Xorn had great potential as a character, and that was thrown away. I think him turning out to be evil could have worked, but it just didn't make any sense to me. Plot twists aren't bad, but they're hard to do. To be honest, Jean's death was really the least of my problems with it. I don't expect someone named "Phoenix" to stay down. I've always loved Magneto because of that aspect moral ambiguity. He's by no means a good guy, but he's always had the potential to be a hero. A lot of his actions got close to Nazi-like, and I loved the scene where Xavier pointed that out on one particular occasion. But, There's a big difference between that and throwing people into furnaces, and snorting drugs. It ruined any chance of his redemption, and got rid of all complexities of his character. It was a lot like Unforgivable in FF. It turned him into a simple purely evil bad guy.

[sadoeuphemist]

So do you think he tends to crap in the sandbox when he leaves, or did you just not like that one arc, or what? Because I'm kind of confused what our discussion is about now.

[lascoden]

I think that it is very hard to follow him. He's very chaotic, everything is broken down and remade as he goes through a series. A lot of very nice things come out of this. As I said, I loved the concepts he introduced in NXM and Batman Inc. But, he always ends on a big earth-shattering note, and the next writer is left to pick up the pieces. There's not a cooling off period, no time for things to settle. It's almost like a game of hot potato. And, usually, a few big time characters are destroyed by the end. I'm more then a little worried about Talia in Batman. But, I think Planet X was the worst, and I admit that the other instances weren't nearly as bad.

[sadoeuphemist]

Okay then. And anyway, Magneto's part of the X-men now, so that all worked out in the end.

[salinea]

And you are aware that there were Jews who, following WWII, actually ran concentration camps
Exactly what are you referring to?

[bariman]

Hmm. So maybe the landlady is ol' Myxy or another fifth-dimensional imp, and they're testing Clark to make sure he's the best hero he can be? Sort of like what Myxy himself and Q say they're doing. Like here he says he doesn't go into showbusiness because he doesn't care about money. And her question about whether he's really Clark or Superman seems to be important too.