Superman Through the Ages! Forum

There are some ideas that just don't belong in their respective universes. Ideas that were shoehorned in and make everything weaker by their inclusion, not because the ideas are bad, but because they are totally inappropriate to what the Marvel or DC universes are.

I would place Marvel's KILLRAVEN space gladiator comic in that category. The whole "this is the future of the Marvel Universe" makes all the classic Marvel guys look like chumps because they couldn't save the Earth from one measly Martian invasion.

Same thing for MACHINE MAN. The most interesting thing about Machine Man was that everything he went through, he went through for the first time. Put him in the Marvel Universe, and he's like the fourth or fifth robot to achieve sentience, his story undercut because you've got a married Vision on the evening news.

But one comic that should absolutely not, no way ever have shunted off to its own dimension, that absolutely belongs in DC?

PREZ: THE FIRST TEENAGE PRESIDENT.

Generally, in DC comics after ZERO HOUR, there is a ten year sliding timescale more or less from when Superman first appeared. Thus, whenever a YEAR ONE or flashback story is done to "the beginning of my career" and they use a President, consequently, the figure is this silouette intentionally left vague who represents whoever the President ten years ago was.

So, why not in one of these flashback stories with Superman in the early days of his career have the President step out from the overly inked black shadows he resides in...and it turns out it's Prez?

"I'm pleased I could be of service, Mr. President."

"Wow, it's cool, Superman! You just closed the generation gap, dude!"

Just put Prez on the post-Zero Hour sliding timescale. "for the first four years after Superman showed up, our country had a teenage president." Then of course, we could have Prez's books in play, tell some good flashback stories, and let his eventual fate as seen in SANDMAN remain canon.

The EARTHWORM JIM cartoon had a joke about this, where Earthworm Jim took his friend Peter Puppy to meet the President:

"Wait a minute...YOU'RE not the President!"

"That's right! I'm one of these generic Presidents that cartoons use to keep from becoming out of date."

"A pleasure to meet you, sir, Mr. Generic President!"

I think Machine Man found a great place that still honoured Kirby's original premise in Earth-X, where X-51 takes over the Watcher's old job.

Prez has been updated a few times, memorably by Ed Brubaker and also by Morrison, I think.
A bad concept (although fun in retrospect) made good.

Heh.... I remembered that joke on "Earthworm Jim" (and "Earthworm Jim" itself)... :-)