Tom Brevoort on Superman

[Hullababy]

I agree with a lot of his points but I don't think the marriage needs to be undone at this point. Let it be.

[Alan2099]

I really miss the Lois/Clar/Superman triangle. I don't think anything they've done with the marriage has been nearly as interesting is that was.

[Mr. Holmes]

I really miss the Lois/Clar/Superman triangle. I don't think anything they've done with the marriage has been nearly as interesting is that was.

Although the marriage hasn't been written to its potential, its already infinitely more interesting than the two-people love triangle ever was.

[Mia]

Well, I don't think he is doing that. But he doesn't seem to like the marriage of Lois and Clark. To be honest, Clark has been that type of person who didn't know others like him exist. He met the Justice League and it worked.

Really? I find that hard to believe given what he's said about Peter Parkers marriage to MJ. Or the sentiment I've heard him express about hoping that Jean Grey (Cyclops dead wife) stays dead. I just get the impression that the man does not believe in the institution of marriage. Or some woman burned him really bad in a relationship and he's written off the whole thing. But then again to be fair, judging by the entire post of the interview and other interviews I've read with him. Brevoort just sounds like an angry and negatitve man in general. Not a soupie fan, but I hope to God Brevoort stays away from the franchise, I would hate to see the character get contaminated by Brevoort sour attitude.

[nightwing45]

I like Tom, I think he's a smart businessman. I disagree with his view of Superman though and his opinion on the marriage. I feel that Clark is who he is because there is no way he would have any memory of Krypton. Even if he was an infant. He would only remember the love and affection of his adoptive parents. The bond he would have with them would instill in him that he is human in all ways, but biology.

That's why I liked John Byrne's reboot. Because the previous origins were dumb, and made no sense.

[Silver_Leopard]

Tom's actually a sappy, happily-married type.

That he doesn't think it's what Superman should be (and remember, it's someone else's phrasing, not Tom's) doesn't mean that he doesn't think anyone should be. His daily life isn't meant to be the stuff of adventure, starring a displaced Kryptonian orphan.

I doubt he thinks Batman should be a salaried office commuter, or Wolverine a lifelong anime fan, either.

Not all judgments about fictional characters are intended as reflections of one's self. I'd think very few of them are. Except to the extent that we have to imagine those circumstances and how a person would react in them, given their history and such, which requires a certain amount of tailored projection.

kdb

This is very true. This is why I connect with Superman. Just like Kurt said, writers do not reflect their everyday life to the character.

I feel you guys are right, the original status quo would give Superman more adventures and stuff. I loved the old late 50's and early 60's Superman stuff. That's what made the character awesome.

I even liked Earth-2 Superman. The Kingdom Come stuff with him expressed a whole lot.

I could imagine a non-married Superman. It worked back then, it could work now.

As for the Kents. Remember on the first movie with Christopher Reeves that Pa Kent died? I actually dig the movie for being very straight forward about the Man of Steel and not anything else like (being tied down or anything). You are right Kurt.

Really? I find that hard to believe given what he's said about Peter Parkers marriage to MJ. Or the sentiment I've heard him express about hoping that Jean Grey (Cyclops dead wife) stays dead. I just get the impression that the man does not believe in the institution of marriage. Or some woman burned him really bad in a relationship and he's written off the whole thing. But then again to be fair, judging by the entire post of the interview and other interviews I've read with him. Brevoort just sounds like an angry and negatitve man in general. Not a soupie fan, but I hope to God Brevoort stays away from the franchise, I would hate to see the character get contaminated by Brevoort sour attitude.

Well, you would understand that Jean Grey did die. Scott is seeing Emma Frost (to my dislike I wish he was seeing Dazzler instead). I think he does believe in marriage, but in real life marriage. I honestly like Spider-Man and MJ's marriage. It could work since he is always fighting crime and she gets worried about what happens to him. Plus, she helped him too. With Superman, it's different. Back then, he went on adventures and stuff and did his status quo. He is more adventurous in every place in the DCU. He founded the Justice League. He went to Colu (whatever the name of that planet Brainiac is from). Then, he found the shrunk city of Kandor. I mean, Superman has a decent story without being tied down. I can see the problem of breaking Spider-Man's relationship up, but Superman is a plausible reason to break the marriage with Lois up. It'd be sad if it means killing the Lois Lane character off altogether.

Can you show me his interviews so I can examine his persona?

[Sean Walsh]

Yawn.

I mean, Jesus.......does the mythos have to always remain in its original format? Do the dynamics get to evolve and not stay the same?

And with all due respect (and a bit of odd humor mixed in), I'm starting to wonder if Quesada and Brevoort grew up in broken homes or something, and are using this as a reason to back this "break up them marriages" mentality.

[Jake V]

While I agree that Superman probably shouldn't have been married - he is now, and setting back the clock shouldn't be an option. Either make it work or don't bother writing the book.

I also disagree about alienation being central to Superman's character. That's just a cheap and easy way of giving him some marvel-style angst, and I'm not interested in an angst-ridden Superman.

Also, what's with this "Kal El is the real identity" nonsense? Since when was "Kal El" even an identity? Even if you ignore Byrne's "birthing matrix," Superman never had a true Kryptonian identity. He grew up as Clark Kent and later became Superman. I think there's some truth to the idea that Smallville Clark is as close to his "true" identity as one gets, but I disagree with the idea that he has personas. Superman isn't a mask, and neither is Metropolis Clark, at least at this stage of his character development.

As for Brevoort himself, I think it's massively disrespectful for anyone to presume to know his thoughts on actual marriage or his mental state because he thinks that a comic book character shouldn't be married.

[Alan2099]

While I agree that Superman probably shouldn't have been married - he is now, and setting back the clock shouldn't be an option.

Who ever said you couldn't get rid of something without setting back the clock?

[md62]

if anyone tried to pull a OMD on Lois and Clark, I'm done...there is nothing Superman can gain from being single. Lois Lane is not Mary Jane Watson, she's just as inaugural to the story as Clark Kent.

Same here. I read the first 3 issues of BND & then dropped ASM. I thought I would really miss Spidey but after a few months I realized the character I wanted to read about was gone & this post OMD ASM was a totally different character that I have no interest in reading.

[Silver_Leopard]

While I agree that Superman probably shouldn't have been married - he is now, and setting back the clock shouldn't be an option. Either make it work or don't bother writing the book.

I also disagree about alienation being central to Superman's character. That's just a cheap and easy way of giving him some marvel-style angst, and I'm not interested in an angst-ridden Superman.

Also, what's with this "Kal El is the real identity" nonsense? Since when was "Kal El" even an identity? Even if you ignore Byrne's "birthing matrix," Superman never had a true Kryptonian identity. He grew up as Clark Kent and later became Superman. I think there's some truth to the idea that Smallville Clark is as close to his "true" identity as one gets, but I disagree with the idea that he has personas. Superman isn't a mask, and neither is Metropolis Clark, at least at this stage of his character development.

As for Brevoort himself, I think it's massively disrespectful for anyone to presume to know his thoughts on actual marriage or his mental state because he thinks that a comic book character shouldn't be married.

I do not like an angst ridden Superman. I like the boy scout that made me idolize him. I like his ways. I don't think making him isolated could fix things. But breaking the marriage is a good idea. I like it better than him being tied down. I can see Spider-Man being tied down, but not Superman. He has jobs to do. And he doesn't need people to hate him like Marvel characters get in their daily lives as superheroes.

Superman is suppose to be a well respected character. I would really hate someone to make him an angst driven character. I don't respect that at all.

Superman with morals > Angst Driven Superman
Single Superman > Married Superman

[stk]

I just get the impression that the man does not believe in the institution of marriage.

I think he believes in the institution of Drama. I agree with him. It has nothing to do with liking or not liking marriage in general.

Also, what's with this "Kal El is the real identity" nonsense? Since when was "Kal El" even an identity?

There are literally decades worth of multiple Superman comic series prior to MoS based on the premise that Kal-El is who he is, and that Clark is a disguise he wears. This isn't something Brevoort made up or pulled out of nowhere.

[sirvk]

Disagree. I seem to disagree on Breevort with everything, the man doesn't seem to have any idea and fears anything slightly 'new'.

[stk]

and fears anything slightly 'new'.

Are you talking about the same Tom Brevoort who had Avengers traditionalists so up in arms these past several years? The one who oversaw the radical reworking of the Avengers franchise? Are there two Tom Brevoorts? The one who manages New Avengers and the one you say fears change?

[LorrieK]

Wow. Brevoort's ideas are depressing. Both Kents dead. The marriage gone. I supposed he'd want to off Conner and Kara as well? That way Clark could be really isolated. Maybe he's a big fan of Doctor Who or something, and would like to see Supes in the role of Lonely God. Yeah, like that didn't get old after a while (and that's coming from a huge fan of the RTD era).

Brevoort's ideas just don't work, not unless the whole DC universe was rebooted and many characters removed from existence. Even if Lois and the marriage was magically removed, Superman has friends who understand his situation. Clark isn't the only alien living on Earth. He's hardly the only character with near god-like abilities. Many of the heroes cope with secret identities. Many to most of them have tragic pasts, many of which are far more traumatic than Clark's. As things stand now, how much of an outsider can he realistically be portrayed?

Frankly, the idea of a Superman who is alienated from humanity is kind of scary. Admittedly, Irredeemable has made this fresh in my mind, but it certainly occurred to me even as a kid that Superman was pretty much the most dangerous character in comics. You don't want a guy like that to feel apart from humanity. Clark was raised by human parents. It makes no sense that "Kal-El" is the "real" Clark. He may have the power of a god thanks to his Kryptonian genes, but his morality and values were inspired by his human parents. Isn't that the point of him?

What the hell is wrong with having a hero who is in love with his wife? Are there really that many stories about a single Clark that could be told without ending up in the same place we already are? Is anyone really dying for a return to the days when Lois didn't know the truth about Clark/Superman? Really? The Superman-Lois-Clark "triangle" had it's time. It's antiquated, it's over, and good riddance. Superheroes with secret identities should not get seriously involved with people who don't know the truth about them. It's creepy.