Superman and Batman being...reborn?

Superman and Batman being...reborn?

DC is finally doing something with Superman and Batman.

News
By ArmouredAvenger - Dec 07, 2009 05:12 PM EST
Filed Under: DC Comics
Source: DCU

Starting next year, DC Comics will unveil SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE and BATMAN: EARTH ONE. Two new graphic novels which spotlight the most powerful heroes of the DC Universe in their first years and earliest moments retold on a new Earth with an all-new continuity in a standalone, original graphic novel.

Return to Smallville and experience the journey of Earth’s greatest adopted son as he grows from boy to Superman in SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE by J. Michael Straczynski and artist Shane Davis.



Watch from the darkest corners of Crime Alley as a young boy is struck by unbelievable tragedy that will forge the greatest crime-fighter to ever stalk the rooftops of Gotham City in BATMAN: EARTH ONE, by writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank.





J. Michael Straczynski:

“What I’m trying to do is to dig in to the character and look at him through modern eyes. If you were to create the Superman story today, for the first time, but keep intact all that works, what would it look like?”

“It is monumental for us as comic readers to see Superman birthed for the first time,” Davis said. “It’s a privilege to realize that you’re the artist that gets to draw it, better yet having the luxury to do it in an original graphic novel. This is going to be epic!”

What about Geoff Johns? Well, we happen to have a bit from his first interview as well:

“BATMAN: EARTH ONE allows Gary and I to break the restraints of any continuity and focus on two things: character and story.”
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LEEE777
LEEE777 - 12/7/2009, 5:41 PM
Ahhhh man, i thought you was talking MOVIE news for a minute lol!!

But these look great @ KING im gonna be buying them, cheers dude!
KUSlacker
KUSlacker - 12/7/2009, 5:45 PM
exciting!!!! that will be sumthing to look forward to fo sho!
SupahPhreak
SupahPhreak - 12/7/2009, 5:56 PM
Coo.
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 12/7/2009, 6:56 PM
I wanna know why they need a reboot, both birth right and year one are phenomenal.
StrangerX
StrangerX - 12/7/2009, 7:02 PM
I liked BIRTHRIGHT it was a great story. I mean don't get me wrong I love Supes. It's just I'm really tired of the Superman origin stories. Plus as far as Superman graphic novels go nothing beats All Star Superman. Batman on the other hand looks cool only because he's Dark his story can have a bunch of different angles.
TheDurkinKnight
TheDurkinKnight - 12/7/2009, 7:54 PM
Ultimate Batman and Superman!! Badass!!
wussupman
wussupman - 12/7/2009, 8:36 PM
How many times are people gonna tell that dried up a$$ Superman origin story , enough already !!! This is proof that this character really sucks and blows .
Jp499
Jp499 - 12/7/2009, 8:44 PM
jjj
flames809
flames809 - 12/7/2009, 8:54 PM
looks great
jusme6
jusme6 - 12/7/2009, 9:53 PM
Looks like DC is taking a page out of Marvel's book here. Looks like "Earth One" is DC's version of Ultimate Marvel. Very very good idea. DC needs to make it easier for new readers to pick up their books. Personally I stay far away from DC comics because there's a TON of back story that I know NOTHING about. Reading a DC comic is like overhearing someone else's joke starting at half-way through the story.

Looks great just as long as they keep Jeph Loeb far away from this.

Good find KING!!!
ASSASSIN666
ASSASSIN666 - 12/7/2009, 10:20 PM
How the f**k many origin stories can you rewrite?????? Now the writers are getting like f**king hollywood and rebooting everything in sight, LAME, WEAK, BULLSHIT!!!!!
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 12/7/2009, 11:47 PM
To be fair assassin, the origins of batman and superman are some of the coolest comic stories ever told so you can't blame the the writers for wanting to play with them. I mean to be asked to do that is like being asked to start for the red sox or something for writers it's a dream come true.

why are these comments in red?
Betty
Betty - 12/8/2009, 12:14 AM
Haven't there been enough "what if" Superman stories. Sentry, Hyperion, Supreme, Irredeemable, that Liefeld one, all superman stories of alternate realities. Enough.

They just want to make him a "teen" or early twenties guy. Smallville.
Phinehas
Phinehas - 12/8/2009, 12:39 AM
Ok, this is weird. Superman: Secret Origins is in its third issue right now. So why are we doing it over...AGAIN??? If anything, they need to visit his vulnerabilities again and how he can and can not overcome them. Then bring a baddie on the scene to test this pathos.
TheDemonHunter
TheDemonHunter - 12/8/2009, 3:36 AM
Oh cool! Another different version of Supes' and Bats' Origins!

*starts the countdown to the inevitable "Super Mega Infinite Identity Crisis on a Googolplex of Earths" Super-Duper-Mega-Epic Crossover Extravaganza Event*
invalensname
invalensname - 12/8/2009, 4:40 AM
@Thedemonhunter- lol!
@Phinehas- I just saw that in my comic book shop today. I love JMS but Im sick of Suprman origin stories too.
I hate DC and their rebooting. I wish they would have just stuck with the Miller 80s reboot of Batman too. To this day, a good starting point. I like with Marvel they way they have never updated things (apart from the Ultimate universe), and just have time moving at a different pace.
Brand New Day, however, smacks of DC!!
invalensname
invalensname - 12/8/2009, 6:39 AM
I also see Batman is not wearing underwear outside his tights
Phinehas
Phinehas - 12/8/2009, 9:07 AM
Invalensname, I'm not put off by it. I just don't understand it. Namely for the reasons you stated. The continuity is going to be interesting following the outcome of Blackest Night. So then, why reboot?
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 12/8/2009, 11:49 AM
Because DC is ran by poorly trained chimpanzees Phin, not the kind that write Shakespeare.
ArmouredAvenger
ArmouredAvenger - 12/8/2009, 2:35 PM
A lot of people are forgetting one thing. DC/Warner Bros. lost the rights to the Superman origin. So the Superman story is gonna have to be a different story then we all know. And if it is like Marvels Ultimates. The each story would be different. Cause in the Ultimates they don't follow the original characters story-line. They're different on the own. We just have to wait and see what they do with this. And maybe Warner Bros is waiting to see how the Superman story goes andsee if they wanna make a new movies after that.
thwhtGuardian
thwhtGuardian - 12/8/2009, 2:46 PM
That's a good point. I think my mind likes to black out the fact that DC has lost the right to use the planet Krypton. Phin said it in another thread, and I agree, DC should make superman a tertiary character for a while just to show what happens when they greedily try and grab superman from the public. He belongs to the people, he does well because of the readers, if you want to make moey off of him you have to respect the readers not lessen the character by taking bits away.

And still I ask, what's up with the colors?
TheDemonHunter
TheDemonHunter - 12/8/2009, 6:40 PM
I dunno what's up with the colors. I used a "/font" tag in my post, thinking it might clear it up, but apparently that wasn't it.

As for the whole Supes legal fight, I think DC/Warner is damned no matter what they do until it's cleared up.

EDIT: Added a "font color=black" tag at the start of my post and the red went away finally
silentjay
silentjay - 12/8/2009, 7:14 PM
def getting these...sounds awesome
Phinehas
Phinehas - 12/8/2009, 9:07 PM
So I was at the comic book shop, and he said its definitely a reboot, but a different reality than that of Johns. Johns is doing Secret Origins, and this will not conflict. No more sweating...
Demon Hunter-With the success of Green Lantern, and the current run on BLackest Night, they'll be sitting pretty for a few years to come. DC will be safe despite Superman's absence.
TheDemonHunter
TheDemonHunter - 12/9/2009, 6:33 AM
Oh I have no doubt DC will survive this. My comments were meant more in response to whatever they do with Superman.

If they've lost parts of his back story and try to write a completely new one to replace it, they risk alienating casual fans. We're not talking about rewriting Animal Man's origin here. This is a character that everyone on the planet has heard of and I'd say it's about 50/50 for English-speaking non-comic readers to know the story of him coming to Earth from Krypton. I mean, this is a big one.

If they do make him a tertiary character (which would probably require discontinuing his titles for a while to actually have any real impact), I'd think they run the risk of facing additional legal battles, with claims that they're trying to damage the character's value, because the value is the heart of the legal battle that led to losing Krypton.
Phinehas
Phinehas - 12/9/2009, 12:23 PM
"I'd think they run the risk of facing additional legal battles"

While this is true, they always have the ace in the hole that they've been doing disconjointed parallel universe stories for years without any objections from the holder of copyrights. And this is exactly what this will be. John's Secret Origins will remain as the main continuous thread in DCU, and this Supes will be an alternate reality on Earth 1. Along with Bats.
TheDemonHunter
TheDemonHunter - 12/9/2009, 5:04 PM
Perhaps there's a misunderstanding on what it would mean to make him a tertiary character. My thought is that they'd heavily reduce his role in the DCU to reduce any kind of value the character has, thereby removing the leverage the families of Siegel and Shuster have.

  • Move him to the back burner for a while.
  • Cut back on the titles he has. Turn over Action to a different character, for example.
  • Position other heroes to be more visible and influential.


He would not have a primary role of any importance in the DCU until this is resolved.

If they want to play games with the character and try to nickel and dime DC and Warner for each and every detail of the character, then fine. Let them get a royalty for each appearance of Supes going forward. Then make it so the character drops off the map for a while. See how long it takes for them to settle on a simple lump sum, with a written agreement worded by a lawyer who's got an IQ over 7 that provides no avenue for future legal entanglements on this matter.

If things had been handled properly with a binding written agreement in '74 when the settlement was initially reached, none of this would be happening now.

Yes, I'm that evil to manipulate things in that manner for as long as it takes to force a settlement.
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