DiscipleofBob
2017-03-31, 12:26 PM
Something big just happened in the universe of the DC comics. Not in the sense of a big crossover event or reboot (thank Rao), but a lot of the more recent mysteries surrounding the modern Superman mythos just got explained. Granted, probably more than a few took its place, but still...
The thing is I've only been religiously reading since Rebirth. I got into comics proper later in life and couldn't stomach New 52 at the time, and while I've done my research, the ramifications of recent events go beyond DC Rebirth, beyond New 52, all the way into Pre-2011 lore.
I may need the perspective of people who've actually been reading the DC comics of that era, particularly Superman.
It occurs to me that many old DC readers might have stopped reading at some point before or after 2011, and many DC/Superman fans may not regularly read the comics, so I'm going to (try) to be comprehensive in catching everyone up so we can try to be on the same page.
So yeah... spoilers... if you already know this stuff feel free to skip one or more spoiled sections.
[Flashpoint and the New 52]
Every 5-10 years DC for better or worse has the habit of doing a big crossover event that changes some of the continuity in a 'reboot.' It doesn't erase the entire history, just cleans it up a bit. Erases some unnecessary stuff, resurrects some characters who died, cleans up a few plot points, moves characters forward in time so we don't have to wonder why Superman and Batman are so young despite selling war bonds in WW2.
The most recent one of these was Flashpoint in 2011. In it, Flash goes back in time, f***s up history because its Flash going back in time, goes back in time again to fix it by f***ing up some more, and, surprisingly, ends up f***ing up history EVEN MORE.
This is where we get the New 52, a reboot where very little of the DC universe history remains intact. Most of the characters don't even recognize each other and have to meet for the first time again. I could go into many reasons why I dislike New 52, but it still fans and I'm not posting this to bash them or New 52.
What can be said is that New 52 did not sell well. Except for the occasional upswing that a major reboot or crossover event, sales were way down for New 52. A lot of older comic fans felt alienated by having decades of their favorite comics' history erased. There were other reasons, but again, that's a different debate, one that's been rehashed on this and other forums.
[Convergence]
During New 52, someone got a really good idea, and then a really bad one. The really good idea was to have a large, multiverse-wide crossover event celebrating long-forgotten elseworlds, eras of DC history, and even some of the spinoff tv shows and games. The really bad idea was to then have them all fight to the death Battle Royale/Hunger Games style until only New 52 remained. Fortunately, they never got around to that second part.
In Convergence, Brainiac has a bunch of bottled cities from different times, dimensions, universes, etc. Brainiac disappears and another villain feels the need to have the heroes/villains of each world fight each other for some reason.
Convergence got a lot of critical flak for its premise alone, but it deserves some mention for some really cool elements. They had versions of the DC universe from Pre-Flashpoint, Pre-Zero Hour, Pre-Crisis, Silver Age, Golden Age, and more. If you had a favorite era of comics, it had its own universe, and therefore canonically still exists. Even the animated Timmverse and the video game Injustice verse made appearances. It also brought back a lot of old, classic talent that left for one reason or another during New 52.
I've gone off on a bit of tangent, but here are the highlights as far as the current topic is concerned.
Pre-Flashpoint versions of characters still exist, along with other versions from different eras of DC history.
Pre-Flashpoint Superman in particular is alive and married to Lois Lane, who gives birth to a son during Convergence, ironically delivered by Flashpoint Batman aka Thomas Wayne.
Despite initial fears that DC or someone at the top was going to wipe out the multiverse, that never happened. Instead all those worlds still canonically exist. Including forgotten past versions of DC main canon.
[Pre-Flashpoint Superman Returns]
At some point between Convergence and Rebirth, Pre-Flashpoint Superman arrived in the main (New 52) universe along with Pre-Flashpoint Lois Lane and their kid Jonathan Kent. I haven't read any comics from this period since it's still New 52, but I do know that PFSuperman and PFLois Lane agree to recognize that N52 Superman is the Superman of this world, so instead they move to the old Kent farm and lay low.
[Rebirth]
First thing's first: Rebirth is NOT a reboot. It does not restart the continuity or erase history. All the New 52 stuff is still canon (well, except for most of New52 Wonder Woman's history, but that's a different topic). In fact, Rebirth is pretty much the exact opposite of a Reboot, as the focus appears to be gradually returning characters and elements from before Flashpoint.
The most striking example is in the first Rebirth book which launched the event. In it, Pre-Flashpoint Wally West is stuck in the Speed Force and is trying to ground himself back in reality. After some failed attempts with people who don't recognize him, he finally gets rescued from the Speed Force by Barry Allen, who up until that moment had forgotten he ever had a sidekick.
It's then revealed that it was Flash screwing up that caused 10+ years of history to be erased from everyone's minds, but a mysterious outside force. We as readers are teased with a cutaway panel that shows a smiley face button with a drop of blood found in the Batcave, and another cutaway to Mars where it's implied that Dr. Manhattan of Watchmen is somehow behind all of this.
[Rebirth Action Comics/The Modern Superman Mythos]
This is where things get complicated.
So first we have Pre-Flashpoint Superman and New 52 Superman.
We also have Pre-Flashpoint Lois Lane and New 52 Lois Lane.
New 52 Superman gets killed just before Rebirth starts. He explodes into energy giving superpowers to New 52 Lois Lane and Lana Lang.
New 52 Lex Luthor is trying to be a hero and makes an Iron Man style suit with Superman's suit with Superman's S shield on it. He declares himself Metropolis's Superman. (he genuinely tries but it does not go well)
New 52 Lois Lane tries a superhero career as Superwoman. Lana Lang does the same but can't think of a name. New 52 Lois Lane gets killed the Superwoman book and the title starts revolving around a superpowered Lana Lang and Steel instead.
There's also Kara Zor El aka Supergirl and a New Chinese Super-Man, but they aren't relevant at the moment.
And to top it all off, a man claiming to be Clark Kent appears, boring human Clark Kent who was never Superman. This is especially odd since New 52 Superman's secret identity as Clark Kent had been exposed to the world. Yet this new Clark Kent has all the memories human Clark Kent would have, and every scientific scan Pre-Flashpoint Superman and Lex Luthor can think of reveals that Clark Kent is completely human and also telling the truth.
Also, an enigmatic man in a green cloak keeps making mysterious appearances and talking about his big plans for Superman, but he's still a mystery.
Now that the background stuff is out of the way, here's the most recent arc I wanted to talk about:
[Superman Reborn]
In a four-part crossover between Action Comics and Superman (which really both star Superman) we finally learn the identity of human Clark Kent, after he starts to crazy stalker on Lois Lane. As it turns out, human Clark Kent is none other than Purple Hat himself, Mr. Mxyzsptlk.
Hereafter referred to as Mr. M so my autocorrect can stop getting seizures, Mr. M reveals that he was trapped by the same robed figure that's been haunting the Superman line all through Rebirth. He managed to escape his dimensional prison by shouting his name backward several times, but when Mr. M escapes, he needs to hide from someone seemingly more omniscient than M is. So he disguises himself as normal-human Clark Kent, wipes his own memory, and takes over where New52 Superman left. He also hints that all the Mr. M's in every continuity are actually one and the same. He even mentions his role in the classic Bruce Timm cartoon in some 4th wall breaking action.
He kidnaps Superman's son, Jonathan, and, through various 5th dimensional memory-and-reality altering shenanigans, tries to erase Classic Superman and Classic Lois while bringing back New52 Superman and New52 Lois, but what ends up happening is that Classic and New versions merge together instead. New52 versions glowing red, and Classic versions glowing blue before they become one whole.
Now I know of the old Red and Blue Superman stories this seems to be referencing, but haven't read them personally. Are there any plot points or ramifications from this I'm missing?
The thing is I've only been religiously reading since Rebirth. I got into comics proper later in life and couldn't stomach New 52 at the time, and while I've done my research, the ramifications of recent events go beyond DC Rebirth, beyond New 52, all the way into Pre-2011 lore.
I may need the perspective of people who've actually been reading the DC comics of that era, particularly Superman.
It occurs to me that many old DC readers might have stopped reading at some point before or after 2011, and many DC/Superman fans may not regularly read the comics, so I'm going to (try) to be comprehensive in catching everyone up so we can try to be on the same page.
So yeah... spoilers... if you already know this stuff feel free to skip one or more spoiled sections.
[Flashpoint and the New 52]
Every 5-10 years DC for better or worse has the habit of doing a big crossover event that changes some of the continuity in a 'reboot.' It doesn't erase the entire history, just cleans it up a bit. Erases some unnecessary stuff, resurrects some characters who died, cleans up a few plot points, moves characters forward in time so we don't have to wonder why Superman and Batman are so young despite selling war bonds in WW2.
The most recent one of these was Flashpoint in 2011. In it, Flash goes back in time, f***s up history because its Flash going back in time, goes back in time again to fix it by f***ing up some more, and, surprisingly, ends up f***ing up history EVEN MORE.
This is where we get the New 52, a reboot where very little of the DC universe history remains intact. Most of the characters don't even recognize each other and have to meet for the first time again. I could go into many reasons why I dislike New 52, but it still fans and I'm not posting this to bash them or New 52.
What can be said is that New 52 did not sell well. Except for the occasional upswing that a major reboot or crossover event, sales were way down for New 52. A lot of older comic fans felt alienated by having decades of their favorite comics' history erased. There were other reasons, but again, that's a different debate, one that's been rehashed on this and other forums.
[Convergence]
During New 52, someone got a really good idea, and then a really bad one. The really good idea was to have a large, multiverse-wide crossover event celebrating long-forgotten elseworlds, eras of DC history, and even some of the spinoff tv shows and games. The really bad idea was to then have them all fight to the death Battle Royale/Hunger Games style until only New 52 remained. Fortunately, they never got around to that second part.
In Convergence, Brainiac has a bunch of bottled cities from different times, dimensions, universes, etc. Brainiac disappears and another villain feels the need to have the heroes/villains of each world fight each other for some reason.
Convergence got a lot of critical flak for its premise alone, but it deserves some mention for some really cool elements. They had versions of the DC universe from Pre-Flashpoint, Pre-Zero Hour, Pre-Crisis, Silver Age, Golden Age, and more. If you had a favorite era of comics, it had its own universe, and therefore canonically still exists. Even the animated Timmverse and the video game Injustice verse made appearances. It also brought back a lot of old, classic talent that left for one reason or another during New 52.
I've gone off on a bit of tangent, but here are the highlights as far as the current topic is concerned.
Pre-Flashpoint versions of characters still exist, along with other versions from different eras of DC history.
Pre-Flashpoint Superman in particular is alive and married to Lois Lane, who gives birth to a son during Convergence, ironically delivered by Flashpoint Batman aka Thomas Wayne.
Despite initial fears that DC or someone at the top was going to wipe out the multiverse, that never happened. Instead all those worlds still canonically exist. Including forgotten past versions of DC main canon.
[Pre-Flashpoint Superman Returns]
At some point between Convergence and Rebirth, Pre-Flashpoint Superman arrived in the main (New 52) universe along with Pre-Flashpoint Lois Lane and their kid Jonathan Kent. I haven't read any comics from this period since it's still New 52, but I do know that PFSuperman and PFLois Lane agree to recognize that N52 Superman is the Superman of this world, so instead they move to the old Kent farm and lay low.
[Rebirth]
First thing's first: Rebirth is NOT a reboot. It does not restart the continuity or erase history. All the New 52 stuff is still canon (well, except for most of New52 Wonder Woman's history, but that's a different topic). In fact, Rebirth is pretty much the exact opposite of a Reboot, as the focus appears to be gradually returning characters and elements from before Flashpoint.
The most striking example is in the first Rebirth book which launched the event. In it, Pre-Flashpoint Wally West is stuck in the Speed Force and is trying to ground himself back in reality. After some failed attempts with people who don't recognize him, he finally gets rescued from the Speed Force by Barry Allen, who up until that moment had forgotten he ever had a sidekick.
It's then revealed that it was Flash screwing up that caused 10+ years of history to be erased from everyone's minds, but a mysterious outside force. We as readers are teased with a cutaway panel that shows a smiley face button with a drop of blood found in the Batcave, and another cutaway to Mars where it's implied that Dr. Manhattan of Watchmen is somehow behind all of this.
[Rebirth Action Comics/The Modern Superman Mythos]
This is where things get complicated.
So first we have Pre-Flashpoint Superman and New 52 Superman.
We also have Pre-Flashpoint Lois Lane and New 52 Lois Lane.
New 52 Superman gets killed just before Rebirth starts. He explodes into energy giving superpowers to New 52 Lois Lane and Lana Lang.
New 52 Lex Luthor is trying to be a hero and makes an Iron Man style suit with Superman's suit with Superman's S shield on it. He declares himself Metropolis's Superman. (he genuinely tries but it does not go well)
New 52 Lois Lane tries a superhero career as Superwoman. Lana Lang does the same but can't think of a name. New 52 Lois Lane gets killed the Superwoman book and the title starts revolving around a superpowered Lana Lang and Steel instead.
There's also Kara Zor El aka Supergirl and a New Chinese Super-Man, but they aren't relevant at the moment.
And to top it all off, a man claiming to be Clark Kent appears, boring human Clark Kent who was never Superman. This is especially odd since New 52 Superman's secret identity as Clark Kent had been exposed to the world. Yet this new Clark Kent has all the memories human Clark Kent would have, and every scientific scan Pre-Flashpoint Superman and Lex Luthor can think of reveals that Clark Kent is completely human and also telling the truth.
Also, an enigmatic man in a green cloak keeps making mysterious appearances and talking about his big plans for Superman, but he's still a mystery.
Now that the background stuff is out of the way, here's the most recent arc I wanted to talk about:
[Superman Reborn]
In a four-part crossover between Action Comics and Superman (which really both star Superman) we finally learn the identity of human Clark Kent, after he starts to crazy stalker on Lois Lane. As it turns out, human Clark Kent is none other than Purple Hat himself, Mr. Mxyzsptlk.
Hereafter referred to as Mr. M so my autocorrect can stop getting seizures, Mr. M reveals that he was trapped by the same robed figure that's been haunting the Superman line all through Rebirth. He managed to escape his dimensional prison by shouting his name backward several times, but when Mr. M escapes, he needs to hide from someone seemingly more omniscient than M is. So he disguises himself as normal-human Clark Kent, wipes his own memory, and takes over where New52 Superman left. He also hints that all the Mr. M's in every continuity are actually one and the same. He even mentions his role in the classic Bruce Timm cartoon in some 4th wall breaking action.
He kidnaps Superman's son, Jonathan, and, through various 5th dimensional memory-and-reality altering shenanigans, tries to erase Classic Superman and Classic Lois while bringing back New52 Superman and New52 Lois, but what ends up happening is that Classic and New versions merge together instead. New52 versions glowing red, and Classic versions glowing blue before they become one whole.
Now I know of the old Red and Blue Superman stories this seems to be referencing, but haven't read them personally. Are there any plot points or ramifications from this I'm missing?