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Kip Stiles
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Joined: 28 May 2005
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 10:49am | IP Logged | 1  

I have been a fan of yours for a number of years and was extremely pleased by the reboot of my favorite character, Superman, you did back in 1986.  At that time, you gave a number of interviews regarding the changes you made to that character as well as the supporting characters in Superman's life.  I remember one in particular where you explained your reasons for keeping Jonathan and Martha Kent alive and a vital part of Superman's adult life.  Sadly, though, most of those interviews seem to be lost to the ages and unattainable today.  If it's not too much trouble, would you mind reflecting on that decision and sharing those thoughts again with us?  I don't remember verbatim what you had to say at that time, but I remember thinking it was an inspired idea.  Any thoughts you could share would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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John Byrne
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 12:41pm | IP Logged | 2  

A number of factors contributed to my decision to keep Ma and Pa Kent part of Superman's life. One was something that had bothered me quite a bit, when I was a kid reading Superboy stories. That came on the rare occasions when Superman's backstory was recounted, and we would be shown the deathbed scene, wherein Pa Kent, before passing, cautioned Clark that he must only use his great powers for the good of Mankind. When I first read that scene, I was, of course, unaware that it dated all the way back to the very beginnings of Superman as a character, and so I was troubled that Pa felt a need to say this to Clark -- who was sometimes even portrayed as Superboy in this scene -- when, as we all knew, Clark had been doing just what his father bid him to do for close to a decade. Did Jonathan think that, without his presence, Clark would suddenly turn over to the "dark side"?

As I began thinking about what I would do with the Superman mythos, were it ever turned over to me (and this long before that actually happened), I began to realize that the retcon (not a term I used at the time) of Superboy had made the deathbed scene not only unnecessary, but actually insulting, and I resolved that I would not use it in "my" version of the character. Pa Kent should (and would) be confident enough in the moral upbringing he and Martha had given Clark that he would feel no need for that "reinforcement".

Thinking along those lines gave me occasion to consider how important Ma and Pa were in the whole tapestry of Superman's life -- and to further realize that the only reason they were dead at all was that Seigel and Shuster had begun their chronicles with Superman as an adult, alone in Metropolis, unencumbered by anything before the first of his adventures. (Even Krypton, as important as it came to be in later retellings, was tossed off in a few panels, and considered so insignificant to the mythos that it was years after his original publication before Superman himself learned of his origins on that distant -- or not so distant, depending on the version read -- world. "Origins", it is important to remember, were of little consequence in those early days. Batman didn't even have one in his first story! And most -- Green Lantern was an exception* -- had origin stories that were recounted in full in a handful of panels.)

All this coming together as I sat down to finally assemble "my" Superman, I decided to go back to Seigel and Shuster and eliminate Superboy from the canon -- but keep certain elements of his story by retaining Ma and Pa Kent as viable characters. (No small part of this was informed by my realization that Superman had no need of a "Fortress of Solitude" -- something cribbed from "Doc Savage" anyway -- since it was Clark Kent who provided that function for him -- a place to which Superman could retreat to escape the pressures of his superhero career. Ma and Pa Kent, and the home back in Smallville, added to this. So I made Ma and Pa younger when they found the baby, and closer to the ages they had been in SUPERBOY and ADVENTURE COMICS when Clark was an adult.

At the time, with the prescience available only in comic fandom, but fortunately without the InterNet to empower it, the notion of keeping Ma and Pa Kent was resoundingly condemned by many -- who had not seen the as yet unpublished work, of course. I was, it was insisted, turning Superman into a super-powered "Beaver Cleaver" who would forever be running home to Mom and Dad whenever things got rough.

You remember all the times that happened, right?




*The inappropriateness of the art notwithstanding, the original Green Lantern had a very "modern" origin, with the whole story being spent building up to a last panel in which he dons the costume and declares himself to be the title character.

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Wes Wescovich
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 1:01pm | IP Logged | 3  

Giving Clark Kent his parents back and putting a Wonder Woman back into the World War 2 JSA are the two things that I love ya most for JB!
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Darren Taylor
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 1:23pm | IP Logged | 4  

 Wes Wescovich wrote:
...are the two things that I love ya most for JB!

;-)

I'm glad we're not getting the full list of things you love John for-LOL

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Kip Stiles
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 2:02pm | IP Logged | 5  

I would like to thank you, Mr. Byrne, for your comments.  As I said, I was one of the few who saw this as one of the greatest changes to the legend which would have long-lasting effects.  As we prepare for Mr. Singer's motion picture, as well as the final season of the television program "Smallville", I have no doubt we will see the untimely demise of Jonathan Kent (in keeping with the storyline laid out by Richard Donner and Mario Puzo's motion picture) in those forays.  But we will always have the legend as you told it to remind us how important Mr. and Mrs. Kent are to Clark.  Thanks again.

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Stephen Robinson
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 2:08pm | IP Logged | 6  

Keeping the Kents alive also gives Clark a reason for having a secret identity (well, aside from Clark now being the "real" identity and not some time-consuming fake one). Once Superman had a fortress of solitude, you wondered why he even bothered with the Clark Kent identity -- especially since he had devices in the fortress capable of seeing into time, which means he hardly needs to be a newsman to learn of disasters when they happen.

 

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Jacob P Secrest
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 3:23pm | IP Logged | 7  

 Kip Stiles wrote:

I would like to thank you, Mr. Byrne, for your comments.  As I said, I was
one of the few who saw this as one of the greatest changes to the legend
which would have long-lasting effects.  As we prepare for Mr. Singer's
motion picture, as well as the final season of the television program
"Smallville", I have no doubt we will see the untimely demise of Jonathan
Kent (in keeping with the storyline laid out by Richard Donner and Mario
Puzo's motion picture) in those forays.  But we will always have the legend
as you told it to remind us how important Mr. and Mrs. Kent are to
Clark.  Thanks again.

Kip, I love the avatar, and the name, "Kip", awesome, is it short for
anything?
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Lars Johansson
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 3:36pm | IP Logged | 8  

To me Superman's new origin with the matrix and young paerents were ahead of its time. Right now when it really feels right with those ingredients, the gold age Superman mythos being a bit old, after the cold war, they change it back a la 1980, hmm.

 Jacob P Secrest wrote:
Kip, I love the avatar, and the name, "Kip", awesome, is it short for anything?

Not directed to me, pardon me, but Kip Walker is the Phantom.

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Flavio Sapha
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 3:51pm | IP Logged | 9  

"They wanted a piece of me." How you come up with these things?
Never, in a million years...
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Hugh Cherry
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 5:18pm | IP Logged | 10  

 Lars Johansson wrote:

Not directed to me, pardon me, but Kip Walker is the Phantom.


I thought it was Kit Walker?!?
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Troy Nunis
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 5:49pm | IP Logged | 11  

isn't Kip Walker the former Alice Cooper bass player who formed his own band with such hits as "Seventeen" and "Madaline"?

Edited by Troy Nunis on 28 May 2005 at 5:50pm
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Matt Reed
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Posted: 28 May 2005 at 6:01pm | IP Logged | 12  

 Stephen Robinson wrote:

Keeping the Kents alive also gives Clark a reason for having a secret identity (well, aside from Clark now being the "real" identity and not some time-consuming fake one). Once Superman had a fortress of solitude, you wondered why he even bothered with the Clark Kent identity -- especially since he had devices in the fortress capable of seeing into time, which means he hardly needs to be a newsman to learn of disasters when they happen.

Too true.  I also think having the Kent's alive serves Clark in that it grounds him in humanity.  At the time, before Lois discovered his identity and their subsequent marriage, they were the only people Clark could be around as himself.  He wasn't just Superman or just Clark.  He was the whole package.  Ma and Pa Kent keep him in touch with who he is, what he stands for and where he's come from more than any other character in his story.  That's why I think it's vitally important to keep them alive and kicking, always a touchstone as well as window into how Clark Kent became Superman.

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