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Author Topic: The Hidden Parallels of All-Star Superman  (Read 17628 times)
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Permanus
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« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2006, 03:39:27 PM »

Quote from: "JulianPerez"
For instance, the story of Samson and Delilah has a moral about not trusting shiksas.

My first belly laugh this week, I believe. Thanks, Julian.
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Doug Barr
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« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2006, 02:48:10 AM »

I dont think the parallel is between Superman & Herculese at all. Its Moses. Lex is Pharo. Superman will lead us from evil to the promised land yet.When Moses saw a burning bush, Superman found a fortress. one found fire, the other ice, but both found their true nature as saviors.Superman was what the Isreaalites BELIEVED a real Messiah to be at one time. A God-like figure sends us his only son to show us the way. "Be patient with them Kal EL, they are a good people. they lack only someone to show them the way" or something like that.
   Yes. he seems more Hebrew prophet than Greek God to me, & I see many biblical comparisons.
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Doug Barr
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« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2006, 02:48:22 AM »

Also, I dont understand this "Crises" thing, If I am correct it has to do with all the characters in the DC universe banding together to fight some group as bad as they are good?  I dont like it. I do like this series, from the very 1st page.There are Comics, & then there are COMICS. Take 'Spider-man'. Has never been as good as it was when Ditko drew it, & that lasted, I think, 4 years tops. Superman has its ups & downs, But it always gets good again! The origin story ensures this. It IS our modern myth, & until another comes along thats better, Superman will always get good again. Right now is a good time for Superman, too. When, 50 years from now, they look back at the era 2002- 2006 or so, they will think "high water mark for Superman there, best era since Kandor was created." many people dont see eye to eye with me on this, but "Smallville" had a lot to do with it. This site has a lot to do with it. Scuse me, tonight is season closer for season #5, & it looks like its going to be GOOD.Lex is really getting evil! I dont know WHAT to make of Lionel - is he possessed by Jor-EL??? Is lex somehow going to be possessed by Zod??? Is Kandor really in that ship of Dr Fines (Brainiac)?
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« Reply #11 on: May 14, 2006, 12:27:30 AM »

I was going to say that Superman is more like Thor,because of is many fantastic power,or maybe because is father has sent him on Earth/Midgard for protecting the humankind,but something has appeared on my mind,that these great mythologic heroes were really powerful,but not real smart in opposite of the Kryptonian! :wink:
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Defender
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« Reply #12 on: June 10, 2006, 04:34:36 AM »

I think it's difficult to pin Superman into any kind of mythological role, simply because his concept isn't quite as set in stone as the heroes of myth. Superman is interesting as a fictional character because while much of the mythology has been established, the mythology itself is also malleable, and has been altered to fit the milieu of the times he's being written in. That's something you don't often find in contemporary fiction, apart from modern serial characters.

 If anything, Superman is equal parts Samson and Odysseus. He has the raw physical power but (when written well) that serves merely as a tool to service his cunning. He is an iconic, mythical figure, but he's very much equal parts of what has gone before. He's Jor-El and Lara's only son, sent to Earth to help redeem humanity, he's a tireless crusader for justice and the last scion of a dead society, his homeworld gone forever. He has the power to rule, but he chooses to lead by example. He embodies the principle of might for right, of using your abilities and talents for the good of your community, and bringing your talents to bear in dealing with what is while never losing sight of what was.

 I do love aspects of Morrison's run on JLA and his work in DC ONE MILLION (The idea of the House of El as a legacy and lineage that extends into the 853rd century is seriously cool, and while they haven't been used since Kal Kent and Solaris were a great hero/villain pair).

 Superman is a modern metamyth. He's as real as we care to make him, yet malleable in the sense that each of us have our own ideal of what he is that we hang on his framework. Quite fascinating stuff if you think about it.

 -Def.
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alschroeder
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« Reply #13 on: September 04, 2006, 01:22:52 PM »

Given my initial premise, I thought it was quite interesting that Nasty filled the role of Charon and rowed Superman/Kent out of the underworld...literally...in All-Star Supes #5.

---Al
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Al Schroeder III, former letterhack (met his wife through Julie Schwartz' lettercolumns) of MINDMISTRESS http://mindmistress.comicgenesis.com---think the superhero genre is mined out? Think there are no new superhero ideas?

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« Reply #14 on: February 02, 2007, 04:35:01 AM »

Well, what I think is rather interesting is that All-Star Superman is engendering this type of discussion.  The quality of this thread is very indicative of the quality of the story in All-Star.

Very neat.
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JulianPerez
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« Reply #15 on: February 27, 2007, 01:14:30 AM »

As for the mythology = heroes thing...well, you can project similarities onto anything, really. My favorite was a Boondocks cartoon back in 2004 where they compare the JLA to the Democratic Nominees:

"See, Howard Dean is Superman, and Wesley Clark is Batman."

"So, does that make Carol Mosely Braun Wonder Woman?"

"Nah, she and Al Sharpton are the Black Wonder Twins."

And the whole Grant Morrison mythology = superheroes doesn't work for the JLA, but it especially doesn't work with the Avengers. If that was the case, then Mars would be more powerful than Zeus, but he still listens to Zeus because Zeus fought in World War II.

(Then again, both Zeus and Captain America have a shield. Nope, no way this could be a coincidental reappearance of weapons. It must be MYTHIC ARCHETYPES!)

So, does that make Hawkeye Apollo? Surely the mighty Lord of Light deserves a little better than a beer-swilling ex-Carnie. Actually, this is a pretty good parallel: remember in Homer, when Apollo starts a West Coast branch of the Olympian Gods?

Anyway, superhero comics have nowhere near as many parallels to mythology and world spirituality as do sitcoms. For instance, THREE'S COMPANY, a show that has the trinity as the fundamental human relationship, with John Ritter as the Father (or Brahma), Susanne Sommers as the Son (or Shiva) and that brunette as the Holy Ghost (or Vishnu the Preserver). THINK ABOUT IT, PEOPLE!

There is one tale that occurs in the myths and stories of all people all over the world: the legend of Steve Urkel, legendary wise trickster-god.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2007, 01:20:53 AM by JulianPerez » Logged

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