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Yes, that seems to be the new status quo. "Don't explain it; ignore it!"

Oh man, you opened THE can of worms....

Okay, first. Separation. There are TWO Linda Danverses. There's the Silver Age Supergirl, Linda LEE Danvers. And there's the modern age Supergirl, Linda Danvers (who wore the animated-style costume).



Modern Age Supergirl history WENT like this:

(brace yourself.)

It all started when the Crisis wiped out Superboy from continuity. Why does this matter? Because it crippled the Legion of Superheroes continuity. The REASON the Legion existed was because they were inspired by Superboy, teen hero, to become a legion of teen heroes.

To explain THIS away, they had one of the Legion's villains create a "pocket universe" where Superboy DID exist, and transport the WHOLE Legion there to keep their continuity intact. (sort of. Supergirl was still wiped out and replaced with Laurel Gand....)

In the Pocket Universe, Earth only had one hero, a Superboy who existed during 'modern' times, who had all of the Pre-Crisis abilities (time travel, etc). Alexander Luthor was a hero there, and he was married to Lana Lang. Superman (post-crisis) ended up traveling there and meeting Superboy, Luthor, et all during the Byrne run, circa 1986-ish or so. Shortly after that visit, a Supergirl appeared on earth, frozen in the antarctic, apparently for centuries.

Once she's thawed out, she grabs Superman and tells him to come to the Pocket Universe to avert some crisis or other. Turns out she's a protoplasmic being Luthor created, based on Lana and Superboy. He sent her to the regular universe and sent her back into the PAST assuming Superman had time travel abilities like Pocket Universe Superboy and may find her sooner. ( rolleyes )

SO. Supergirl is made of "Matrix Protoplasm", and so ends up adopting the name Matrix, or "Mae" for short. The Pocket Universe is either destroyed or just Luthor dies (Lana is apparently already dead)...I'm not clear on this point. Mae ends up living with the Kents (Hence the name Mae Kent on our guild's Matrix Supergirl), and has some heroic adventures in Action Comics and her own miniseries' during the time of Superman's death.

Matrix's powers are the following:

-Flight
-Telekenesis
-Invisibility
-Shape shifting (though major shape shifts tire her)
-Regeneration

She apparently generates enough interest to have her own series spun off, written by Peter David. David HATES the whole Pocket Universe origin for Supergirl, and doesn't seem too fond of her powerset either. Immediately he starts rewriting the character, starting by having her protoplasm 'merge' with a dying girl she saves from a cult, named Linda Danvers. From this point on, Linda Danvers is her secret identity, and the only mode she can shape shift into. She also apparently can't turn invisible or regenerate anymore. I should point out that she's still wearing the blue and red costume at this point. To change costume, she shape shifts into the Matrix Supergirl.

David incorporated a lot of religious theology themes into his writing, and ended up revealing that Supergirl was, in fact, one of three "Earthbound Angels" sent by heaven....the Angel of Fire. When she became righteously angry, her cape would turn into wings of flame. I'm skipping over a LOT of side plot here involving demons and Linda Danvers' soul because frankly, it bored the pants off me and came off as severely preachy...

At about issue #50 in the series, either on his own or due to pressure from editorial, Peter David SPLIT Linda Danvers from Supergirl, who became a full-fledged Angel. Linda Danvers kept SOME powers, mainly superstrength and the ability to leap long distances. To keep her Supergirl identity, she forged her own costume, the 'animated look' costume.

Some manner of plottage took place here I haven't read yet that involved Linda meeting Matrix for one last time and getting her full regiment of powers back (telekinesis, flying). Sales at this time were FLOPPING, and David was becoming annoyed with people asking him when the "REAL" Supergirl was coming back....

...so he brought back the "REAL" Supergirl. The last 5-6 issues of the Supergirl comic are dedicated to the Silver Age Supergirl, Kara Zor-El suddenly appearing in modern times, thanks to cosmic forces causing her rocket that was supposed to crash in the Silver Age appearing in modern times. Sales spiked during the storyline, which included Linda Danvers Supergirl taking Silver Age Supergirl's place in the past and living a whole life at one point (though it ends up being a hypertime reality). However, the comic was already cancelled at this point, and the plans Peter David had for his Supergirls (apparently, teaming them up with Power Girl and creating a super Birds of Prey-like team called "Blonde Justice") died.

The last issue showed Linda Danvers, disenchanted about coming back to life after living in the Silver Age and marrying Superman (and having a daughter with him) that she abandons her Supergirl name, sends all her stuff to Clark, and dissappears.

The Sales figures spoke volumes, though, and Editorial started making plans for Kara Zor-El to return.

eek


crying

Thanks for straightening that out.

Thats okay, I never really liked or even knew those two versions. Superboy Prime could easily created a new origin for The White shirt Supergirl.

P.S. to Geoff Johns. Continuity Waves, and being too lazy to do research makes you an ASSHAT!

Damn DC, why cant we move forward, instead of trying so hard to relive the past over and over and over?!

So I picked up Action Comics #839, the most recent entry in a very "meh" storyline called "Up, Up, and Away!"

The writing has left a lot of gaps that all cannot be chalked up to a big reveal at the end, especially since this should be a retelling of the Superman mythos, Post-Infinite Crisis, Post-Birthright, Post-Superboy-Prime-Punches.

However, the art was great, and I absolutely LOVED the fact that Clark was excelling at reporting, loving being "human" and was still impacting the world around him without his powers. I hoped it would last quite a while, but it didnt. It seems that Clark's powers have actually increased, which is cool and all, but nobody ever seemed to write Clark at his OWAW levels before the Infinite Crisis anyway. Takes too much talent I guess.

Anyway, here's why Im talking about this issue.

CLARK IS WEARING THE COSTUME FROM 'SUPERMAN RETURNS!'

Thats right folks. Dark dark blue, metallic shield, boy shorts, the whole ugly shebang! ARGH WHY!
gonk scream

Thank god he at least had the gold S on the cape, and his front shield wasnt teeny-tiny.

I gotta ask...


Just what IS your ideal portrayal of Superman? Which storyline(s) do you consider to be the ruler to which you measure everything else against? I'm curious, because you've been so down on the Superman portrayal for the last year or so, what IS "THE SUPERMAN" to you?


Since I've asked, I'll answer, maybe we can get everyone's opinions.

To me, the IDEAL Superman is the Superman of the 70's. Just before, and just after the Superman movie. Written by Elliot S! Maggin, this is the Superman who struggled with radical shifts in his life both as Superman and as Clark Kent. Elliot wasn't afraid to take stories to WILD contexts (entire issues in a future where Superman was remembered only as a legend, and the man himself may only show up in a panel!), and who had a set plan for what exactly was going to happen in the future (Superman would marry Lois, Luthor would reform, and after Lois died Superman and Luthor would wander the galaxy until Luthor too died. After that, Superman would fly away and Earth wouldn't see him again).

Elliot S! Maggin's Superman acknowledged all of Superman's past, even the 'corny' parts like Krypto, and yet managed to move on towards the future.


What's your Ideal Superman, Kyle?

Well, what I'm trying to get here is a focus on examples of what IS the Ideal Superman, rather then examples of what ISN'T. What is OWAW? What parts of it are the definative portryal of Superman? Which writer/designer has the spirit of Superman nailed for you?