Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Differences between Earth 2 Superman and Earth 1?

Earth 2 Superman is from the Golden Age while Earth 1 is from the Silver Age right?

Well I am actually asking about personality. Earth2 Superman (white sideburns)seemed tougher. No BS type. The Earth1 Supes...or atleast post crisis seemed more like a softie.

I never liked Supes much. But if he was more like the Earth2 Supers I may have.

Earth-1 Superman and post-Crisis Superman were two separate beasts.


Earth-1 and Earth-2 Supermen actually had a lot more in common than E-1 and PC Supes, as one was essentially the extension of the other.

Earth-2 Supes was basically the Earth-1 Superman taken to a logical conclusion. He married Lois, took over the Daily Star, semi-retired from heroing, and was basically able to relax and settle down. Earth-1 Superman had the same wisdom and leadership, and the same outlook, but his relationship with Lois was still on shakier ground and he didn't yet speak with the same note of experience E-2 did, but he was far from soft.

Post-Crisis, they went all over the road with the character, so it's easier to argue just about any personality facet for him.

Golden Age Supes is portrayed as more a working man's hero fighting gangs and other earth-bound threats to quality of life.

In the first years of the Byrne Superman reboot, Post-C Superman resembled the Golden Age Superman. The stories were more or less confined to Metropolis. Superman had a lot of working class friends, newspaper reporters, cops and Bibbo the bar operator. Also the fact that Lex Luthor was rebooted as a rich industrialist highlighted what Superman stood for.

Gotcha I confused PC Superman and E1 Superman. My bad.

But I like the blue collar E2 Superman.

Thanks guys

Yeah Jorg, it wasn't until after Crisis that Superman became more whiney and unsure of himself. That's kinda the "PC Superman" of post-Crisis.

Earth-1's pre-Crisis Superman was very similar to Earth-2's Golden Age Superman, but with less experience and wisdom.

I also like the blue collar Superman too.

The Earth-2 Superman was also suppose to be weaker - more in keeping with the power levels of the Golden Age.

Similarly, Power Girl couldn't fly. She could only do the leaping an 8th of a mile.

http://www.legionworld.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001785;p=1

Do you guys miss Ka-L, I do. Don't all modern heroes pale in comparison. Maybe we'll see him again soon.

I know I already did this in the shoutbox, but it really is the only response to that:

*Reboot slams a 200kg AoA Handbook on Tamper Lad's head. That's gotta hurt... but then again... where there's no sense... there's no feeling!*

In a semi-related note, my two year old son Kaelan, refused to acknowledge anyone unless they referred to him as 'Superman' in Circle Time yesterday.

Why? Because he refused to remove his Superman shirt w/cape earlier that morning and was 'Superman' all day.

We call him Kael for short but I'm beginning to wonder if he'll respond better to Kal...or Kal-El.

Back on topic, I love the original Superman and it's his value system that nearly every Superman since has been based on.

And he originally could not fly, either. He was just 'able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...

Jamie

You sure about that? It was my understanding that Kal-L and PG couldn't fly at the start of their careers but eventually could do so. I'm positive she flew in Infinity, Inc. and CoIE.

You are correct.

What was most wonderful to me about Earth 2 Supes (Kal-L) in the pre-crisis was the real feeling that he was THE daddy of all the superheroes. As such, as he aged, he stepped back and let the younger Earth-2 heroes take the lead, but was willing to step in (like a good dad) when the kids were over there heads.

I will never forget his first appearance in the 1970s All-Star Comics. Clark leaves his office at the Daily Star, steps into the broom closet or somesuch, and you see the silhouette of Superman appear through the frosted glass in the door. Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine. No matter his power level, you KNEW this was SUPERMAN. You could understand why Power Girl had a chip on her shoulder. Deep down, you would not want to disappoint this Superman. He was the greatest inspiration and role model anyone could have.

Gerry Conway, Paul Levitz and Marv Wolfman really got that Supes was the dad figure, for both Earth-2 and Earth-1. That sense of being the first, the most powerful, the most wise, etc. This is why I ALWAYS loved the Earth-2 Supes more than any other version, pre- or post-Crisis. The need for the "real" Superman to be always 29, always unmarried, childless, etc., robbed him of the paternal qualities that were innate in the character and his place in comics history.

Gerry's initial portrayal of Power Girl as the rebellious surrogate "daughter" to Earth-2 Supes may have been stereotyped, but I always thought it was more interesting and realistic than the relationship between Earth-1 Supes and Supergirl.

I truly hope that, as a result of Infinite Crisis, we get a Superman who embraces his role as the father of all super-heroes, and takes that role seriously. Earth-2 Supes may not have been always known best in his surrogate father role, but at least he took the role seriously, heroically, not like some diffident, whiny "hero" from another publisher's universe.

I don't know that I agree that Superman needs to remain 29, unmarried, and childless. Heck, he *was* married in the All-Star Comics issue you were so stoked about. I'm a fan of the passage of time, so seeing Superman move on was great for me. I just wish he'd had a child, but I suppose the idea was that Kryptonians and humans couldn't breed.

I could be wrong but I think it's the other way around. Power Girl could fly from the get-go in her early appearances in All-Star comics presents the JSA. She was injured in a Giffen JLE issue and then experienced a de-powering. She could only leap, was less strong and less fast, etc.

That's possible, Burger Eater Lad. But they gave PG flight back so quickly that it was hard to notice the difference.

There was also a scene in the 70's revival of the JSA ("All Stars", maybe?) that defined Superman of Earth 2 -

"STOP!"
The insert said something along the lines of
"Only one voice had the authority to halt them in their tracks" - speaking of the massive civil war that broke out with the members of the JSA in that issue.

That sorta cemented Earth 2 Superman's place in ANY universe for me. He was THE original.