Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2015 17:50:16 GMT
*THIS THREAD MAY SHOW SPOILERS FOR REALLY OLD COMIC BOOKS, GUYS*
This is a simple discussion. We've all read or heard about at least one 'Imaginary Tale' or alternate universe story that we wished had some sort of major influence on the main universe it is supposed to deviate from. Which are yours?
I think we can all agree that Alan Moore's legendary send-off for the Silver Age Superman, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? should be canon for the Silver Age Earth-One universe. The story acted as a perfect finale for Silver Age Superman, as it featured a certain Fifth-Dimensional magic imp causes Superman's foes to all become more wicked and aggressive. In the climax, there is a fierce showdown around the Fortress of Solitude between Superman's friends and a Brainiac-possessed Luthor's alliance of supervillains. It was branded as an Imaginary Tale*, meaning that the whole story may not have any true meaning whatsoever if it doesn't feature the 'real' Superman. Since the original Earth-One universe and the rest of the old multiverse was recently restored to life due to Superman and Parallax's meddling with the Crisis on Infinite Earths (or perhaps it was always alive in secret... The exact details aren't really clear at this moment), there is a chance that this story may turn out to be canon. I won't hold my breath.
The reason why the story worked so well is because Alan Moore put so much effort into making it look and feel like an authentic Silver Age tale, and put in so many references to Superman continuity, making it pure 'continuity porn' as TV Tropes puts it to Superman fans. The ending is so open to interpretation that people still analyse it to this day. Was Moore trying to comment on how simplistic Comics Code Authority era morality was too simplistic? Was Superman at the end having a slight mental breakdown and being selfish, or was his sacrifice genuinely noble and right?
*An Imaginary Tale was simply the Silver Age equivalent of an Elseworlds story, though they generally didn't diverge much from main continuity as much as Elseworlds stories did, but would still often change the comic series irreversibly if they were canon. The reason why this comic is still contended as being an Imaginary Tale is because the Silver Age Superman's adventures couldn't continue anyway after the Crisis, meaning that there's no reason for it not to be canonical.
This is a simple discussion. We've all read or heard about at least one 'Imaginary Tale' or alternate universe story that we wished had some sort of major influence on the main universe it is supposed to deviate from. Which are yours?
I think we can all agree that Alan Moore's legendary send-off for the Silver Age Superman, Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? should be canon for the Silver Age Earth-One universe. The story acted as a perfect finale for Silver Age Superman, as it featured a certain Fifth-Dimensional magic imp causes Superman's foes to all become more wicked and aggressive. In the climax, there is a fierce showdown around the Fortress of Solitude between Superman's friends and a Brainiac-possessed Luthor's alliance of supervillains. It was branded as an Imaginary Tale*, meaning that the whole story may not have any true meaning whatsoever if it doesn't feature the 'real' Superman. Since the original Earth-One universe and the rest of the old multiverse was recently restored to life due to Superman and Parallax's meddling with the Crisis on Infinite Earths (or perhaps it was always alive in secret... The exact details aren't really clear at this moment), there is a chance that this story may turn out to be canon. I won't hold my breath.
The reason why the story worked so well is because Alan Moore put so much effort into making it look and feel like an authentic Silver Age tale, and put in so many references to Superman continuity, making it pure 'continuity porn' as TV Tropes puts it to Superman fans. The ending is so open to interpretation that people still analyse it to this day. Was Moore trying to comment on how simplistic Comics Code Authority era morality was too simplistic? Was Superman at the end having a slight mental breakdown and being selfish, or was his sacrifice genuinely noble and right?
*An Imaginary Tale was simply the Silver Age equivalent of an Elseworlds story, though they generally didn't diverge much from main continuity as much as Elseworlds stories did, but would still often change the comic series irreversibly if they were canon. The reason why this comic is still contended as being an Imaginary Tale is because the Silver Age Superman's adventures couldn't continue anyway after the Crisis, meaning that there's no reason for it not to be canonical.
