There’s also another one, the first, the original superman, before superman even existed as a superhero. His appearance and origin(somewhat) was used for lex luthor.
I could imagine Stardust The Super Wizard being a pretty early version of an Evil Superman trope. Barely saves anyone in his comics, and ends up punishing criminals and villains in overly bombastic ways.
In the Golden Age, Superman had an older brother. Halk Kar who was not evil though from Superman 80. Perhaps is anti-matter version will show up leading the Crime Syndicate one day.
@@capeworldcomics in Marvel there was Count Nefaria and to a lesser extent Nefarius afterwards who took down the Avengers including Wonder-man and Thor.
I do like doing these comic book history videos, but by and large they don't bring the views like death battle videos. Still, I will try to do more of these!
Love the final words of this vid and couldn't have said it better myself. Mostly because I tend towards rambling preamble and get lost in the weeds whenever making a point. XD
I really enjoyed this. You did a really good job on your research and everything. You remember the the evil Superman in Superman 3. The movie with Richard Pryor? That movie was so silly but it had a few good points to it, but It was much better than Superman 4 Quest for Peace !
A play was called Man and Superman in 1903 that was 35 years before Action comics Superman. Übermensch was translated as Superman in 1907 and Tarzan was called Superman by Jane in 1912. 1934 pulp magazine ad Superman Doc Savage master of mind and body in 1934. Doc Savage was named Clark had a fortress of solitude in the Artic and called The Man of Bronze. Also, Steel Sterling was called the man of Steel before Action Comics called Superman the man of steel.
This was a cool video. The Silver Age is the one I know the least about so it is cool to hear some stories from it. For a while, I felt like the evil Superman thing was overdone, but not because of Homelander or Omniman which are clever characters. It was the constant questioning of whether Superman would go bad within DC. This was a major question in Batman v. Superman. Having a gritty and disconnected Superman does not feel like Superman. The New 52 DCAU movies were like this too. I really liked those movies, but they really overused Superman going evil. Off the top of my head, I remember he almost got brainwashed on Apokolips in Justice League War, was controlled with magic in Justice League Dark, he along with the rest of the Justice League were mind-controlled in Justice League v. Teen Titans, and he was controlled by Poison Ivy in Batman: Hushed. It was very repetitive. To me stories that question whether Superman will go evil (or have a moment where something makes him go evil) work best when it is done to show how good he really is and not just as shock value or for a cheap fight. Superman and Lois and My Adventures with Superman (shows that have an excellent portrayal of Superman) both have an evil Superman story, however, the Clark we are following in both stories is so good we could never imagine him going evil like the others. There are a few other stories that do cool things with it like Red Son, and the end of STAS (which to be fair to Zach Synder may have been close to what he was going for if he got to see what he started to the end), but those are another thing altogether
In the Silver Age when Superman had the bottled city of Kandor in the forteress of solitude, the Atom could have had the possibility to retrieve a few Kryptonians from there and bring them up to full size to stop Kal El if he ever went bad.
I think the change has not been "sometimes there's evil Supermans" it's "We're featuring an evil Superman because we feel all men with power are evil, you should hate all of them" The concept is old, the message is pretty new. I mean it's been around since the 70s, but it's pretty recent that it eclipsed all other belief systems and became enforced by criminals.
@@KairuHakubithat's... Not quite my read on it - moreso that there's just an unfortunate cynicism towards the concept of someone just being a generally good person these days. The Boys or Brightburn or Invincible come out and people point to them going "look at how much more realistic they are!", and call me naive but I find that disheartening, and almost a bit of a scapegoat - the idea that all people are revealed to be awful when given power over people sort of removes accountability from those that do. Maybe it's NOT inevitable, it's just that the people who abuse it are assholes. Anyway I have no issues with "evil superman" as a concept, just when that stuff is put onto Clark Kent himself. Like, just let Superman be Superman, make cynical little "what is" all you like but don't you dare try to tell me that Superman is a danger to his world because some people can't grasp a powerful person being good Lex Luthor- I mean, Injustice.
@@matthewbibby8921 that's true too actually, the average schmoe who isn't part of the alphabet mafia is mostly just depressed and pessimistic rather than outright misandrist. And just as evil can't comprehend good, depression has trouble comprehending hope. But more than that, I feel like we used to have a more solid distinction between our escapist media and reality. we didn't WANT it to reflect the limits-in-possibilities of the world as we see it. But then again, there are some stories about failure where I defend them saying "what OTHER story could you tell in the 20s? One about success? That's an alien concept now, we couldn't digest it"
7:38: only in the minds of insecure fanboys👍 I remember the evil supes, and was it nuclear man? from the movies🤣 I liked the injustice story, i don't care it's because of a game. It's a realitic perspective, being just a man in the end he can turn from saviour to tyrant.
The concept of an evil Superman wouldn't even be such a bad thing, if there was a big and successful normal Superman franchise with a good and wholesome and kind Superman to act as contrast to all the evil ones. Sadly, we don't even have one good example given how DC has mismanaged the character. From the failure of the DCEU and the firing of Henry Cavill, to the controversies currently ongoing in the comics. It seems like the idea of a good Superman, of a character who had omnipotent power not misusing it for selfish gain (see Homelander and Omniman) is less relevant and culturally important than it's ever been before.
I agree with you on why an evil Superman isn't bad if he is contrasted with an actual good Superman. Have you seen Superman and Lois, Man of Tomorrow, or My Adventures with Superman? Those both have really kind and wholesome Superman characters. Some comic stories stand out as well such as Up in the Sky, Mark Waid's World's Finest, and the Warworld Saga. All of those stories especially the two ongoing shows make me think things have changed course
@@johnperry3093 The boys and Invincible get millions of viewers and rave reviews with each new episode, with people complimenting how cool Homelander and Omniman are and how 'fresh' and 'interesting' and 'creative' each show is. Meanwhile My Adventures With Superman is a show barely anyone watches forced to slum it up with Rick & Morty and Robot Chicken. Superman and Lois was cancelled after three seasons, and Man Of Tomorrow is a direct to DVD movie with limited reach meant for a niche audience.
There’s also another one, the first, the original superman, before superman even existed as a superhero. His appearance and origin(somewhat) was used for lex luthor.
You're right! Keep watching, I do talk about him at the end.
@@capeworldcomics oh, sorry, I thought it was more exposition. You sir, get a like 👍
I could imagine Stardust The Super Wizard being a pretty early version of an Evil Superman trope. Barely saves anyone in his comics, and ends up punishing criminals and villains in overly bombastic ways.
That last part was surprisingly deep.
There were a number of Kryptonian villains who battled Superman as early as the 1950s.
All would qualify as evil supermen
Hugo Danner from Philip Wylie's _Gladiator_ was incredibly amoral and predates all of these.
Edge case: Black Adam, 1945.
But then, we all know what became of that drip from a leaky Fawcett…
Nice wordplay!
In the Golden Age, Superman had an older brother. Halk Kar who was not evil though from Superman 80. Perhaps is anti-matter version will show up leading the Crime Syndicate one day.
I remember him! I ought to do a video on him one day and the various alternate "Supermen" that showed up in old comics, like Vartox.
@@capeworldcomics in Marvel there was Count Nefaria and to a lesser extent Nefarius afterwards who took down the Avengers including Wonder-man and Thor.
I prefer this direction for this channel that the death battlr stuff.
I do like doing these comic book history videos, but by and large they don't bring the views like death battle videos. Still, I will try to do more of these!
Love the final words of this vid and couldn't have said it better myself. Mostly because I tend towards rambling preamble and get lost in the weeds whenever making a point. XD
I really enjoyed this. You did a really good job on your research and everything. You remember the the evil Superman in Superman 3. The movie with Richard Pryor? That movie was so silly but it had a few good points to it, but It was much better than Superman 4 Quest for Peace !
A play was called Man and Superman in 1903 that was 35 years before Action comics Superman. Übermensch was translated as Superman in 1907 and Tarzan was called Superman by Jane in 1912. 1934 pulp magazine ad Superman Doc Savage master of mind and body in 1934. Doc Savage was named Clark had a fortress of solitude in the Artic and called The Man of Bronze. Also, Steel Sterling was called the man of Steel before Action Comics called Superman the man of steel.
Lore of Who Is The First Evil Superman? Momentum 100
This is a good video. Your research is great. You sir have a new subscriber!
Hyperion was named after Sun Titan from Greek mythology.
This was a cool video. The Silver Age is the one I know the least about so it is cool to hear some stories from it. For a while, I felt like the evil Superman thing was overdone, but not because of Homelander or Omniman which are clever characters. It was the constant questioning of whether Superman would go bad within DC. This was a major question in Batman v. Superman. Having a gritty and disconnected Superman does not feel like Superman. The New 52 DCAU movies were like this too. I really liked those movies, but they really overused Superman going evil. Off the top of my head, I remember he almost got brainwashed on Apokolips in Justice League War, was controlled with magic in Justice League Dark, he along with the rest of the Justice League were mind-controlled in Justice League v. Teen Titans, and he was controlled by Poison Ivy in Batman: Hushed. It was very repetitive.
To me stories that question whether Superman will go evil (or have a moment where something makes him go evil) work best when it is done to show how good he really is and not just as shock value or for a cheap fight. Superman and Lois and My Adventures with Superman (shows that have an excellent portrayal of Superman) both have an evil Superman story, however, the Clark we are following in both stories is so good we could never imagine him going evil like the others.
There are a few other stories that do cool things with it like Red Son, and the end of STAS (which to be fair to Zach Synder may have been close to what he was going for if he got to see what he started to the end), but those are another thing altogether
In the Silver Age when Superman had the bottled city of Kandor in the forteress of solitude, the Atom could have had the possibility to retrieve a few Kryptonians from there and bring them up to full size to stop Kal El if he ever went bad.
There is certainly a cultural trends towards violence and ugliness where it not ought to be.
I think the change has not been "sometimes there's evil Supermans" it's "We're featuring an evil Superman because we feel all men with power are evil, you should hate all of them"
The concept is old, the message is pretty new. I mean it's been around since the 70s, but it's pretty recent that it eclipsed all other belief systems and became enforced by criminals.
@@KairuHakubithat's... Not quite my read on it - moreso that there's just an unfortunate cynicism towards the concept of someone just being a generally good person these days.
The Boys or Brightburn or Invincible come out and people point to them going "look at how much more realistic they are!", and call me naive but I find that disheartening, and almost a bit of a scapegoat - the idea that all people are revealed to be awful when given power over people sort of removes accountability from those that do.
Maybe it's NOT inevitable, it's just that the people who abuse it are assholes.
Anyway I have no issues with "evil superman" as a concept, just when that stuff is put onto Clark Kent himself. Like, just let Superman be Superman, make cynical little "what is" all you like but don't you dare try to tell me that Superman is a danger to his world because some people can't grasp a powerful person being good Lex Luthor- I mean, Injustice.
@@matthewbibby8921 that's true too actually, the average schmoe who isn't part of the alphabet mafia is mostly just depressed and pessimistic rather than outright misandrist. And just as evil can't comprehend good, depression has trouble comprehending hope.
But more than that, I feel like we used to have a more solid distinction between our escapist media and reality. we didn't WANT it to reflect the limits-in-possibilities of the world as we see it. But then again, there are some stories about failure where I defend them saying "what OTHER story could you tell in the 20s? One about success? That's an alien concept now, we couldn't digest it"
nah the grittier darker super hero content is way better than the corny idealistic content. It's better suited for for adult audiences
@@Bacchus325 and yet only a 21st century child or a clueless executive would think those need to be separated
7:38: only in the minds of insecure fanboys👍
I remember the evil supes, and was it nuclear man? from the movies🤣
I liked the injustice story, i don't care it's because of a game.
It's a realitic perspective, being just a man in the end he can turn from saviour to tyrant.
The devil was supposed to be far more powerful than human although might not have been the first.
The concept of an evil Superman wouldn't even be such a bad thing, if there was a big and successful normal Superman franchise with a good and wholesome and kind Superman to act as contrast to all the evil ones. Sadly, we don't even have one good example given how DC has mismanaged the character. From the failure of the DCEU and the firing of Henry Cavill, to the controversies currently ongoing in the comics. It seems like the idea of a good Superman, of a character who had omnipotent power not misusing it for selfish gain (see Homelander and Omniman) is less relevant and culturally important than it's ever been before.
I agree with you on why an evil Superman isn't bad if he is contrasted with an actual good Superman. Have you seen Superman and Lois, Man of Tomorrow, or My Adventures with Superman? Those both have really kind and wholesome Superman characters. Some comic stories stand out as well such as Up in the Sky, Mark Waid's World's Finest, and the Warworld Saga. All of those stories especially the two ongoing shows make me think things have changed course
@@johnperry3093
The boys and Invincible get millions of viewers and rave reviews with each new episode, with people complimenting how cool Homelander and Omniman are and how 'fresh' and 'interesting' and 'creative' each show is.
Meanwhile My Adventures With Superman is a show barely anyone watches forced to slum it up with Rick & Morty and Robot Chicken. Superman and Lois was cancelled after three seasons, and Man Of Tomorrow is a direct to DVD movie with limited reach meant for a niche audience.
Well shit I had no idea
Can you do who was the first evil batman please
I wanna hear you pronounce sūpĕrmān like ōmnĭmăn.
"Omnimen"
Nope. The first was Captain Nazi.
Black Adam 1945!