The Fire and Water Podcast Presents: WHO'S WHO: THE DEFINITIVE PODCAST OF THE DC UNIVERSE, Volume XXIIThis time around we chat about WHO'S WHO: Volume XXII, discussing characters such as the Golden Age Superman, the Silver Age Superman, the Modern Age Superman, Supergirl, Swamp Thing, Starman, Star Sapphire, and more! We wrap up the show with Listener Feedback!
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Special thanks to Michael Bailey!
Thanks for listening!
First, I am doubly honored to not only have my Who’s Who Earth One Superman faux entry featured on your podcast as if it were an actual entry, but to also have it covered not only by your good selves but by Superman podcast authority Michael Bailey. My thanks for both that and the Yellow Dot award (which shines proudly on my desk when the glare from my computer monitor hits it just right…).
ReplyDeleteYes, I pulled the art from my copy of the 1984 DC Style Guide, except for the Clark Kent vignette, which is reconstructed from a Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (praised be his name) panel in DC Comics Presents #4. The text was a meld of various sources, including the Superman Sourcebook and other Who’s Who entries, and my rereading certain stories covered in the History -- in particular, E. Nelson Bridwell’s “The Origin of Superman” from my Secret Origins of the Super DC Heroes hardcover (which in this later reading I saw Jor-El portrayed by Bill Nye the Science Guy and the Kryptonian Council by GOP congressmen), and the two issues of “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.” Though I agree somewhat with Mister Bailey on the ending of the latter story, since these issues pretty much closed the book on the pre-Crisis Superman, it seemed appropriate to use them as the ending of the Who’s Who History section.
And yes, I did forget to mention his “super costume” under Powers and Weapons -- despite being inundated with references to “my invulnerable cape” in many a silver age Superman story. I suppose that is what age does to you. I am wondering if there should have been a mention of the Super Mobile as well. Maybe that should have had its own entry. That was a pretty cool device in its day…
I created this piece because I could not let the injustice of slighting the Earth One Superman in Who’s Who continue. So it should come as no surprise to anyone, given my association with Shannon Farnon, that I am already under way in creating an Earth One Wonder Woman entry for episode XXVI…
Again, my thanks, gentlemen.
Best,
Xum
Other random thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. I wonder if Lewis Call checked back with DC after reading History of the DC Universe… (cue Shirley Bassey music: “It’s all just a little bit of History Repeating…”)
2. I can take solace in the fact that my multi-page “Superman’s Fortress of Solitude” entry is still intact in my “Superman Versus the Flash” tabloid book, drawn beautifully by Neal Adams (who I am sure also designed the three-tier structure) -- even though it did not feature the top floor. Did DC ever revisit that in a future Superman tabloid as promised?
3. I liked Starfire II. She may have first appeared in the New Teen Titans book as a stereotypical sex symbol, but she soon had a fleshed-out backstory that made her a well-rounded character…
(Why is my wife laughing after what I just typed?)
… well, until Crisis and the Tamaranean Royal Wedding and Brother Blood subplots, at least. But then, all of the Titans characters seemed to go downhill for a while “at the time of this writing” in Who’s Who.
4. I bought the Prince Gavyn Starman run of Adventure Comics more for the Plastic Man stories, but I remember enjoying the Starman segments as well. I thought it was a pretty solid story and had some interesting twists. I also was pleasantly surprised to see the character appear in the Bruce Timm produced “Justice League Unlimited” cartoon. One point that wasn’t quite clear in the Who’s Who recap was that Gavyn’s powers are actually internal. The gauntlets do not give him powers; they help him direct his solar energy powers into his heat and stellar blasts. Gavyn is essentially the solar battery that makes the gauntlets work.
5. I liked how you did the New Adventures of Superboy recap of Sunburst on your podcast, which is how I remember him. Unfortunately, the Who’s Who entry itself had started to retroactively insert the “Crisis #11 earth” history, with Rising Sun of the Global Guardians filling Superboy’s role.
6. Sterling Silversmith obviously was living in the late 1700s -- which is when the US did adopt the silver standard, I understand…
The “corpse in the Batman statue” story was in Detective Comics #446, with amazing art by Jim Aparo. I remember liking this story, even though I am still scratching my head at Batman’s solution for preventing himself from being shot in the head (you will know what I am talking about when you read it; I will say that the “What in--?” word balloon attributed to Batman was actually for the off-panel Silversmith).
I do think Shag is correct about the state of the gold standard at the time of the original story. The U.S. abandoned it in 1973, two years before this Detective Comics issue – though I think some people at the time thought this was a temporary measure and it would be reinstated.
7. Superman I: I believe that is the Superman of Earth One punching the asteroid in the surprint, and not the Superboy of Earth Prime.
ReplyDelete8. Superman II “doesn’t go poo.” I seem to recall a mention of Superman having a “super-efficient system” once or twice in the John Byrne comics, which would count as an in-comics reference. I also recall Superman stating a number of times that he does not feel hungry -- which suggested to me that Superman absorbing solar radiation provided his body with sustenance and thus he didn’t need to eat at all. Another item of note is that the John Byrne Superman was essentially a “normal child” in his early years until long-term exposure to the sun developed his powers. Thus he broke his arm at age four while he survived a bull charge at age eight. So did this “super-efficient system” develop over time, or was it always… um, there? I’d like to believe the latter, as Superman v2 #2 states that Clark Kent was never sick. I suppose Jonathan and Martha probably felt that the non-necessity of having to change diapers was one good benefit to come from those “awful Russian experiments”…
(And I am spending way too much time on this subject…)
One other item of note: The mention of long-term exposure to Kryptonite being fatal to humans in this entry essentially spoiled the “big reveal” in the Lex Luthor story in Action #600 for me. I essentially saw it coming since Luthor first wore the Kryptonite ring in Superman v2 #1.
Again, my thanks, Gentlemen. I await the next episode.
Best,
Xum
Full disclosure, this was not my first Who's Who page. This was:
ReplyDeletehttp://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/line9-6-7.jpg
Enjoy.
Best,
Xum