Which type of Fortress of Solitude do you like better?

[Xybernauts]

I was wondering which type of Fortress of Solitude is more popular.

[MaxofSteel]

I enjoy the majestic quality of the crystal fortress, but I want more stuff goin' on inside the fortress instead of just more crystals. I feel like a composite fortress would be best. I'd be awesome if the fortress were bigger on the inside than on the outside as well, like that one other fortress he used to have.

[datriadx18]

The crystal fortress has a surreal look about it. The technological ones from the comics look like a huge lab. I generally love the crystal fortress, mainly because of the movies... that was the way I saw the fortress growing up.

[ruppan]

I enjoy the majestic quality of the crystal fortress, but I want more stuff goin' on inside the fortress instead of just more crystals. I feel like a composite fortress would be best. I'd be awesome if the fortress were bigger on the inside than on the outside as well, like that one other fortress he used to have.

Agreed. I like the fortress' exterior to look like crystal because it creates a link to Superman's Kryptonian heritage. At the same time, the fortress' interior must be suitable to house some of Superman's more iconic possessions, like the giant statues of Lara and Jor-El, the bottled city of Kandor, etc. With a strictly crystalline interior, these items would look out of place or haphazard.

[WorstThingUS]

How could you put the original Fortress which lasted the longest under "Other." That giant key was the best!

[Dorsai]

In my mind, the fortress should be a fortress, labratory, home, zoo, rec center, trophy room, armory, etc. It should essentially be a swiss-army knife of utility and leisure. Whatever gets that point across is fine with me.

[mgs]

I can't vote! I like both the crystal one from the movies AND the tech one from Kingdom Come! :(

[Mr. Palmer]

Most definitely the crystal fortress.

[The Shadow]

I was wondering which type of Fortress of Solitude is more popular.

What an interesting question.

I like the crystalline fortress made of crystals like in the Superman movies and Smallville.

The Superman movie was pretty much my introduction to Superman and it had the greatest impact on me as far as what I like and my expectations in the comics.

[hYPE]

We need some pictures to compare. I know he had almost four Fortresses correct?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Solitude

[The Batman]

I've always been a fan of the Crystal FoS from the movies. I like that they've brought that into the comics while still allowing for some of the more traditional elements of the Fortress to remain.

[Xybernauts]

I think they should combine the two fortresses.

I always had this idea... Bare with me...

What if the crystals were neurological interfaces. When Superman or any Kryptonian interfaces with the fortress their mind is able to enter a virtual environment in the form of the technological fortress. So being in the tech fortress is like being in the Matrix so to speak. Superman doesn't physically enter the virtual environment, just his mind does when he's in the crystal fortress. Anything he brings into the fortress, like say the alien zoo, or Kandor can become transformed into energy and stored within the crystals in the form of Kryptonian computer code; thus digitized. If he wants to take that something out of the fortress he has to reconvert that something back into matter.

The Tech Fortress is real, and fully functional. He can use the computers and grow crops on his farm (Kingdom Come) or create robots or whatever virtually and if Superman needs to bring something in the tech fortress out into the real world then the crystals are able to use matter/energy digitization to transform the digital/virtual object into a something physically tangible.

If a human like Lex Luthor went to the fortress all they would see is the crystal fortress because human minds can't interface with the crystal.

Has anyone seen Legion of Superheroes. In the last episode you see a similar concept used by evil Brainy. He had the power to digitize whole planets.

I think using this ideas would be a great way to reconcile the two conflicting forms of kryptonian tech. You'd even see this concept applied on Krypton as well. The planet would be covered in crystal structures that would act as a mass interface while the electronic aspect of the society would be virtual.

It would be like taking peanut butter (crystal fortress) and jelly (tech fortress) and putting it together.

[Syzygy]

How could you put the original Fortress which lasted the longest under "Other." That giant key was the best!

Giant key! Giant Key!

[Mon-el]

Giant Key works the best for me.

[Xybernauts]

The reason I didn't put the giant key is because I never really considered it. I'm not even really familiar with it to tell the truth, it doesn't make any sense to me. I mean where does he keep the key, in his pocket. No I know, he places it under a rock in his front yard. They key just seems to inconvenient. Maybe if they had a modern take on it that made it so it made sense...

[dupersuper]

We need some pictures to compare. I know he had almost four Fortresses correct?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Solitude

Way more than 4 by my count (and the wikki link). Even not counting his treehouse or barn loft from childhood, the idea that his secret identity is a metaphysical fortress, OR out of continuity fortresses like the original, the pre-crisis giant key 1 (though the key did show up in the modern fortress recently), the DC 1,000,000 version, All-Star version, etc. That still leaves him with at least 5;
1) the original created by the Eradicator
2) the hypersphere he made with John Henry
3) the South American fortress
4) the current crystal fortress
5) he made reference to 1 he somehow set up in the 6th century in a recent B&B

[Xybernauts]

Well technically I was just talking about the Antartica Fortress. Because they have two differant styles which they use to portray that fortress. Although, you list was insightful. I didn't know about they hypersphere and the eradicator fortress.

[protege]

I'm in the minority, as usual, but i actually liked the fortress that was transformed from a mayan pyramid.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

The Crystal Fortress is the one I like the most. I find Max's idea really cool. But isn't that what the current Fortress is like, anyway, as shown in Action Comics Anuual #10?

[Mon-el]

The reason I didn't put the giant key is because I never really considered it. I'm not even really familiar with it to tell the truth, it doesn't make any sense to me.

Since you state that your not familiar with it, I'll grant you a little slack.....


I mean where does he keep the key, in his pocket. No I know, he places it under a rock in his front yard. They key just seems to inconvenient.

That's the beauty of it all. He doesn't have to hide it. It's disguised as a Airplane marker to the North Pole. Only a "Superman" can lift it, and use it.


Maybe if they had a modern take on it that made it so it made sense...

......sigh............:frown:

[TROUBLEZ]

the crystal one. It's more unique. In a comic universe with all sorts of alien races and technologies, the crystalline architecture/technology makes Krypton stand out.

[TROUBLEZ]

I like the old school Fortress too. The giant key, and all that stuff. I hope they include the new key Superman made in All-Star, into the regular series.

[pariah-1972]

I like the original just cause it looks more homey than the crystal one and serves more of a purpose besides just looking "cool"

Although i wouldn't object to a compromise between the two were the outside is crystal and the inside is like the original.

[Super Buddies Forever]

I've never liked the idea that Superman has a place up north where he lounges around with robotic and wax replicas of his friends and enemies. Makes him come off as a bit creepy. Furthermore, I never like when the Fortress is used as Superman's Batcave. So I like my Fortress of Solitudes practical and with some logic behind them as how they relate to the character.

So I guess it would be the Eradicator's antarctic Fortress (which I'm guessing is still the original in modern continuity, since the timeline following Man of Steel is still mostly intact) and the current arctic crystal fortress. The former was weird and alien to Superman, a little piece of Krypton on Earth, and the latter is where he can go to reconnect to his Kryptonian roots. All other versions of the Fortress, especially the iterations with giant keys, are just entirely too silly.

One thing that I think would go a long way to improving the current fortress is having it full of the little Kryptonian robots from Byrne's Krypton. I loved those guys.

[sabongero]

I'll go with the Superman TAS one.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

While I love the giant key, I've always preferred the crystalline fortress because its the only one that doesn't look like something from Earth.

[pariah-1972]

The thing i liked about the original Fortress was that it was like a museum and a home away from home were he could kick back and just be himself, the Crystal one doesn't let him do that.

[NotSuper]

Crystal, but I'd prefer a mix of the two. I love the current version, it's the best of both worlds.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

Crystal, but I'd prefer a mix of the two. I love the current version, it's the best of both worlds.

Indeed. It has a lab, an intergalactic zoo, and all that jazz. I love the current rendition.

[KryptonianFan315]

I like them both, the Fortress is supposed to be endless space inside so I think the idea of both is feasable.

[Xybernauts]

I always wondered though, is the "ghost" of Jor-El that inhabits the Fortress a hologram or is it more? I mean in "Superman 2" Clark gives up his powers. Later on in the movie he realizes he needs his powers so he goes back to the fortress. If I interpret correctly, what happens next is that the "ghost" of Jor-el gives up it's Kryptonian lifeforce energy giving it to Clark thus returning his powers to him. Something about Jor-El seems to make him seem to be more than just an advanced hologram. Any ideas?

[pariah-1972]

I always wondered though, is the "ghost" of Jor-El that inhabits the Fortress a hologram or is it more? I mean in "Superman 2" Clark gives up his powers. Later on in the movie he realizes he needs his powers so he goes back to the fortress. If I interpret correctly, what happens next is that the "ghost" of Jor-el gives up it's Kryptonian lifeforce energy giving it to Clark thus returning his powers to him. Something about Jor-El seems to make him seem to be more than just an advanced hologram. Any ideas?Kryptonian tech in the movies and in smallville always seem more like magic to me anyways.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

I always wondered though, is the "ghost" of Jor-El that inhabits the Fortress a hologram or is it more? I mean in "Superman 2" Clark gives up his powers. Later on in the movie he realizes he needs his powers so he goes back to the fortress. If I interpret correctly, what happens next is that the "ghost" of Jor-el gives up it's Kryptonian lifeforce energy giving it to Clark thus returning his powers to him. Something about Jor-El seems to make him seem to be more than just an advanced hologram. Any ideas?

I agree with pariah. Part of the magic of The Fortress comes from Jor-El's presence. I've always thought that he was more than just a hologram, especially when I saw his reaction to Lois' presence in The Fortress in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

Damn, that scene was unbelievably awesome.

[KryptonianFan315]

I agree with pariah. Part of the magic of The Fortress comes from Jor-El's presence. I've always thought that he was more than just a hologram, especially when I saw his reaction to Lois' presence in The Fortress in Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.

Damn, that scene was unbelievably awesome.

I believe in the movies and Smallville its a representation of Jor-Els mind downloaded into the crystals. In Donners Superman II it was clear that Jor-El had predicted that Kal-El one day would make the mistake of giving up his powers and he had the fail safe of his personality giving him the powers back

[666MasterOfPuppets]

And the comics have established him as a "simulation".

I had thought about him being what you said: Jor-El's consciousness transferred in some way into the Father Crystal.

[MythicBrawn]

The crystal one seems ridiculous to me. The technological one is more "real". Unfortunately, I don't think the crystalline one will be going anywhere anytime soon.

[Xybernauts]

And the comics have established him as a "simulation".

I had thought about him being what you said: Jor-El's consciousness transferred in some way into the Father Crystal.

That's what I've always thought. Maybe they can make copies of their consciousness. I once saw something like this in the anime movie Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society. I think it'd be a great concept.

I also thought it'd be great if Supermans consciousness could interface with the crystal allowing him to enter a technological virtual reality.

[NotSuper]

Hmmm. This is a close poll. Looks like DC made the right decision to combine the crystal and classic Fortresses.

[NotSuper]

Double post.

[whoop1]

i miss the giant key