The most SHOCKING Superman moments?

[MatterEaterLad]

Back in the old 10, 12 and 15 cents days, the stories were short and the challenge on the writers was pretty great.  I was always bugged by how Superman could fall in love like a rock fell on him as long as the relationship never had a long term chance.  He fell in love with Lyla Lerroll instantly, and then fell in love with her android duplicate even faster (even ripping up pictures of Lois and Lana in front of her).

This story bothered me a lot:

http://superman.nu/wiki/index.php/Amnesia_Machine

Superman became so obsessed with "dicovering" Batman and Robin's identity after a mind wipe that he neglected his own job (sulking while warnings of a disaster came over emergency broadcast channels) and it was up to Batman to make sure that Superman succeeded so that he could get over his mental flaw.

[Permanus]

The funny thing is, I don't think these moments are necessarily all that bad an idea, as they give Superman such a concrete personality.

I agree with you: there's a clear appeal to seeing Superman as a fallible character, even one bordering on the psychotic. His world and situation are completely insane, when you think of it. He is a serial liar who spends half his time pretending to be someone else, he is secretive to a degree that might be diagnosed as paranoid, or at the very least severely depressed. It's almost reassuring to see him fail in these ways.

What's interesting, though, especially in the 1950s stories, is the fact that just about everyone behaves in this way, as if the entire world were bipolar (which, in some ways, it was back then). Lois goes to extraordinary lengths to weasel out Superman's secrets, Perry wants impossible stories, Jimmy hoards Superman memorabilia. The general public is frequently portrayed as craven, money-driven and emotionally stunted - I remember a story in which some inventor perfects a machine that erases people's memories (I thought at first it was the one referred to by MatterEaterLad above, but it's not that one), and people go mad for it, everyone having guilt or grief that they want rubbed out.

[MBE]

Lois and Clark having sex in that 1976 Xavier story (ok so the more explicit implications were cut out but still. Jimmy almost killing Superman when he thinks he killed Clark Kent in a 1967 story.

[Genis Vell]

- Superman kills the 3 Kryptonians. Then I iscovered that he killed in the Golden Age, so the impact of that event diminuished.

- The Toyman kills the Toyman II.

- Blaze kills Jerry White.

- WORST OF THE WORST:

The Toyman kills children cutting their throats.

[Uncle Mxy]

Seeing the Toyman in S:TAS the first time kinda shocked me.

[MBE]

The post Crisis Superman has a lot of gore. Even MXYZPTLK kills by the late 80s.

[crispy snax]

sometimes writers get in their heads that mxy will make a "cool villian" and give us stories where he turns evil... i dont like these stories as they break the character, it was ok in alan moores "whatever..." but that was because it was supposed to be the "final" story and so it couldnt really be developed on. after you get past the shock that this loveable character has gone bad you have just got another nasty all powerful villain on your hands


the last thing modern comics needs is another nasty all powerful villain

mxy should stay as comic relief i think, a filler character

that said, i like how more recent comics have portrayed mxy as a nostalgic character who views superman as a friend, which just confuses superman because he doesnt remember most of their battles

[leandar]

...mxy should stay as comic relief i think, a filler character...

I agree.  Mxyzptlk works great as a prankster and practical joker, but I can't see it as believable that he would take a life on his own.  No incarnation of Mxyzptlk that I've ever seen, in the comics, and on TV and such, have ever shown him to be a murderer.