#kal-el

[chernobog13]

All right, I've made up my mind: I don't care if the rest of the film is complete rubbish, it's still worth going to see for this scene alone.

SUPERMAN (2025) dir. James Gunn

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Superman (2025)

[great-kung-lao]

Clois nation is definitely winning with this movie.

[kryptonbabe]

"I'm still an alien to them"

This man might be almost physically indestructible, but emotionally he is just as vulnerable as anyone

From The Adventures of Superman #448 (1988) by Jerry Ordway

[wwprice1]

Parallels.

[frownyalfred]

The command structure / ranking of the Justice League is actually super hard to understand from the outside, if you think about it. How many times have alien diplomatic missions arrived to meet with them, only to struggle to pick out who they should direct their communications toward? Sure, you’ve got the Kryptonian, he’s big and flashy and recognizable across sectors. But there’s an Amazonian princess standing next to him who looks dangerous and speaks like a royal. You’ve got an Atlantean king behind her, also royal, also dangerous. You’ve got a Green Lantern of the Sector with trace ion signatures from all the recent battles in nearby galaxies, and then — then — you have a man in black, shadowy armor who doesn’t introduce himself, who doesn’t speak or negotiate unless the others falter, yet ever single one of them looks to him as the conversation proceeds — checking, assuring, looking for guidance etc. is he the leader, then?

[costracan]

yeah

original by sweepswoop_ on twitter! redraw is by me :-)

[strdstwanderer]

People always fixate on Batman saying his name's Batman, but we need to talk about Clark.

He said both his names. If we're taking this as "Bruce Wayne is the mask." Then we can take this as "Clark and Kal are the same person. He sees no difference between his human self and his alien self."

Remember, Clark Kent is the person. Superman is the customer service persona.

[axstoria]

Got this idea from another post that I CANNOT for the life of me find.

AU where Clark comes to Earth as an adult, and has to blend into normal human society.

He knows his name is Kal-El, but he also knows that humans don't have names like that. He sees a couple of celebrities and mashes their names together, hoping that it would make him a bit more likable in the eyes of humans.

He hides sharp-tipped ears behind black curls and ball caps, wears glasses so people won't notice his abnormally deep blue eyes, and is constantly in sweaters despite the weather to conceal muscles that shouldn't exist on a "normal human".

When he gets his job at the Daily Planet and has to interview Bruce Wayne, he's scared. This is his first time being near a real human celebrity, and he's mortified that he'll blow his cover.

He sits and stares at the billionaire for several minutes. This human is gorgeous in all the ways a being can be. His eyes are blue like Earth's oceans, his hair falls in perfect wisps against his forehead, and his outfit is perfectly crisp against his body, perfectly tailored to every small curve.

"Uhm... Mr. Kent?" Bruce bats his eyelashes at him, smiling expectantly.

Clark snaps out of it, his pupils dilating ever so slightly. "You're beautiful. Can I court you? What's your favorite planet?— I'll bring you rocks!"

The man is stunned, watching the reporter for some time before replying, "I... suppose Venus is nice."

Bruce is fully convinced that this reporter is autistic. Makes his life easier. They could connect in that way.

Clark flushes, realizing what he's done. He's very happy the interview wasn't recorded in any way.

Bruce shows up to work the next day and there is a box with his name on it in sloppy handwriting sitting on his desk.

He opens it, and to his amusement—and shock— , there is a piece of rock inside with a note that says one word: Venus.

That night, Bruce takes the rock home to the Batcave and analyzes it for its composition. When it is a match for Venus, he immediately connects the dots that Clark Kent is the new meta being that had been parading around Metropolis and surrounding cities as of late. After all, not even the greatest scientists have yet to reach Venus, so how else would this reporter get a rock from the planet unless he could survive the expanse of space and fly there?

He is dumbfounded. And maybe a little in love.

[bobbinalong]

contemplating kryptonian fashion once again so clark and his parents doodle

[satoshy12]

Kryptonian Fentons

Because Superman calls himself the Last Son of Krypton. Other living Kryptonian families in the galaxy don't talk to him or look for him. He wants to feel special, so make him feel special.

So Danny learns from his Mom and dad when he learns he is an alien. Best day ever!! Jazz said she was sure Superman didn't mean it that way, but she hadn't thought of looking for him either.

Maybe he really does feel that way, but it's not healthy to do so after others have been found. Like his cousin Supergirl.

The Fentons don't even mean it the mean way or thinking badly about it. But when they found out about him, and he said he was the last of his kind. Well, if he wants to be the last, let him be the last. They are busy with their work and being parents, teaching Jazz not to fly in the air.

[headcanonthings]

Clark: *Laying face down on the floor* Lois: So Bruce said he liked you? Clark, muffled: Yeah Diana: ...and you asked him to marry you? Clark: Yeah Lois: Oh shit. How did he react? Clark: Dunno, I ran before I could scare him even more *Meanwhile* Bruce, kicking in the door to the Manor: Kids, Alfred! Holy shit I'm gonna get married!

[f4nd0mlife]

[catpriciousmarjara]

DP X DC: Dani Does Things and Leaves, Explains Nothing

Heavily inspired by this dp x dc prompt and the comments and reblogs under it:

Please go check it out and @stealingyourbones entire page. They have some great dp x dc content and meta.

Local Ghost Princess Decides to Help Out Fellow Clone, Leaves Chaos Behind, Heroes Left Concerned and Very Confused, More at 10.

Now Dani knew that this world had superheroes. She knew they had an organization of sorts that had a hate-hate relationship with various government entities and a love-hate relationship with the public, depending on who you asked. However she had no intention of being involved with them. She was on vacation after all. Besides this world was just a stopover anyway. Why bother when she wasn't here on official business? But it seemed that while she didn't want anything to do with the heroes, they, however inadvertently, wanted something to do with her. How else will you explain one of the worst cloning results she had ever seen crash into a tree right in front of her while she was enjoying a nice cup of litchi boba tea in the park?

The botched clone job slid down the branches and hit the ground with a thud. She raised an eyebrow at the the rampant malevolent magical lines running through the body exacerbating the overall instability of the clone's anatomy. Clearly this individual had run into an irate mage who cast some sort of destabilizing curse and shot them right out of the sky. Dani was thankful this was an isolated section of the park and that she had put a rudimentary avoidance ward over the area. Otherwise, a superhero crashing into a tree would've caused quite the ruckus and interrupted her boba time.

She took a sip of her boba and crouched down to examine the conked out hero. This one was the one they called Superboy wasn't he? She grimaced at the state of his engineering. Whoever did his cloning did not know what they were dealing with. Her own cloning went better and she was ectoplasmic goop half the time. And Vlad was dealing with halfa DNA! Probably the most complicated genetic material in existence. Superboy over here was constructed from actual tangible genetic sources and yet...ugh.

Honestly speaking beings of this plane probably wouldn't have noticed anything wrong. A level down in power scale compared to the individual who acted as genetic donor, most likely that Superman guy, and random instances of destabilization would most likely be the extend of their knowledge regarding their faulty cloning. And when those instances of instability gradually ironed themselves out they probably patted themselves on the back and thought all was well. She should cut them some slack.

Dani hummed as she chewed on her boba pearls. Unfortunately she wasn't known to be the most merciful when it came to ensuring the well-being of clones.

Suckers probably didn't pick up the fact they unleashed a possible catastrophe upon their world. Superboy was obviously fashioned from Kryptonian DNA. A species known for becoming near godlike upon absorbing solar energy from a yellow sun. That means that their bodies have mechanisms at play beyond simple biology. Specifically energy pathways and an energy processing core. Superboy wasn't a level down in power from Superman because of some biological imperfection, he was weaker because of flawed energy absorption and storage. And that meant that his energy core was unbalanced, and once it reached a particular threshold...well its gonna be a spectacular light show this side of the galaxy that's for sure. Of course it was just a possibility. There was no guarantee he would reach that threshold in his lifetime. Unless he ran into a white mage who was vicious enough to cast a juiced up imbalance curse that is. And what do you know! Turns out you can organically be that unlucky!

She put down her cup and ran a simple diagnostics. Sure enough the magic had intensified the issue. This man needed help, the kind of help that wasn't usually available in this part of the omniverse. But she just so happened to pass by and just so happened to have expertise in this field so today was somehow simultaneously Superboy's lucky and unlucky day. He really was going through it.

As to why she would interfere that's easy. She was the Guardian of Cloned Beings after all. She can't have a fellow clone suffer could she? And plus, what were the chances that he would end up like this right in front of one of the only beings that would know how to fix the issue? Dani grinned in glee. Truly the laws of causality worked in intriguing ways.

She stood up and let her talons manifest, plucking the strings of SuperboyConnerKon-el's make and striking them one by one in the tune of an old Krytonian melody. Shame what happened to them really, but all things had their fate. It truly was great to see some of them survive and make a home elsewhere. Dani wished them the best.

As she worked, untangling knots, and straightening out blockages, the hero finally began to stir. His eyes opened and they were understandably unfocused. Disoriented and confused, he looked kinda like a bamboozled Cujo and Dani felt her lips twitch up in a toothy smile. For some reason that seemed to startle him. She mentally frowned. Did he expect her not to smile at him? That would've been rude of her. Dani might be a gremlin but she was never impolite.

"I'm just about done with the curse", she told him. "Leaching out the corrosive magic was easy but I need to repair your energy coils and that's tricky. Don't worry though. Everything's on the house. Always did have a soft spot for the House of El ever since my aunt married into it for a short while."

Dani pulled a particularly stubborn power node open. "I would like your permission before doing that through. Body autonomy, informed decisions and and all! So yes or no? You'd detonate like a bomb if I didn't though."

The young hero's eyes widened. He still didn't seem to know what was going on so she hit him with a short term clarity spell. And a small information spell to cover her bases. That got him to gather his wits enough and she watched as he processed the influx of information. His complexion was ashen when he got through the bundle and he finally managed a shaky nod. Good enough.

Dani smiled at the Kryptonian. "Great! Now this would take like twenty minutes give or take five. You can sleep now." She promptly knocked him out cold and cancelled the spells so as to not overload his brain.

And just as she predicted, twenty minutes later, she plucked the last string with a flick of her wrist and surveyed her handiwork. Exemplary if she said so herself. One of her best work! Cheerfully she shot an awakening spell at Kon-el and crouched down again, patting his head.

"You might need to be careful for a few days while your body adjusts to its new energy capacity and conductivity. Your overall system has been optimized as well so be careful", she told the groggy young man.

She paused. "And don't worry. I didn't access your mind. This was all strictly physical repair aimed at preventing you from exploding like a supernova and taking the planet with you."

And once again that part made his eyes widen. Good. He truly understood the urgency. Or that could just be him being loopy after solar energy overload. It was a bright, sunny day after all.

She stood up, creating a portal to the next world on her itinerary. She looked back at the most likely high as a kite Kryptonian. "You kinda owe me for all that extra work hero! I might just come to collect one of these days!", she joked as the portal swallowed her body and she was lost to the spaces between spaces.

She'd already told him it was all on the house so Dani didn't think that anyone would take that last part seriously. However she forgot the fact that one Conner Kent was in her own words 'high as a kite' and hence might miss some crucial details.

She also forgot to leave behind an explanation packet.

And thus she was utterly unaware of the chaos she left in her wake, happily traveling through the multiverse.

..............................................................................................................................

"So you're telling me that not only did someone find me when I was out cold and get rid of the spell, but they also rearranged my guts and gave me an upgrade?"

"...Yeah."

"What the fuck?"

..............................................................................................................................

"Conner, do you remember anything? Anything at all? Whatever they did required some serious magical power. We don't know why they did it or how. For all we know they could've done something dangerous that we can't detect yet."

"Litchi boba tea".

"Kon what the hell?"

..............................................................................................................................

"...Its in bits and pieces...but I'm pretty sure there was a woman?...white hair, green eyes...something something on the house...something about an aunt and the House of El?...and there was this strange white symbol on her chest and this really soft music was playing that went something like this...(confused humming noises)...and something about me owing her?"

"Kara? Why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong?"

..............................................................................................................................

"Let me get this straight, Superboy was healed by the Kryptonian primordial goddess of portals, messengers, travelers and other such domains, and not only did she save him but also gave him a tune up? And explicitly said that he owes her now? And this powerful divine being, who is also supposed to be the daughter of Krypton's Death God according to legends mind you, is most likely still on earth with motives unknown? Plus your entire House is descended from her family?"

"...Yeah that about sums it up."

"..."

..............................................................................................................................

"Oh man why did this happen just when I was going to go on vacation? Why couldn't the Death God or whatever reschedule?"

"Death gods notoriously don't reschedule, they're death gods. Also she's the daughter of a death god, not one herself. Most death gods are also famously fair. If not fair by our standards, fair by theirs".

"...That's good to know?"

"I confess I don't know about the fairness of children of death gods however".

"...great. Thanks anyway J'onn".

"You're welcome".

..............................................................................................................................

"You okay there man? Someone just rifled through your body and did who knows what...that's gotta be terrifying. You want to talk? We're all here for you, you know that right?"

" Thanks guys. And yeah it was freaky. But apparently I would've exploded and blown up the planet with me if she didn't do that so I guess I'm more grateful than scared."

"...Explode and blown up the what now?"

..............................................................................................................................

"Is there anything more we should know about Clark?"

"Legends say she has a brother and he's associated with great calamities?"

"...."

"Bruce? You alright?"

..............................................................................................................................

DPXDC refuses to be done with me. Leave me be accursed crossover! Leave me be!

(Btw Kon didn't make the connection because he was really out of it, and not because Clark and Kara didn't introduce him to Kryptonian culture.)

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

[kryptonbabe]

Ahhh Alright I will admit it! I haven't read any Superman comics yet.

I'm taking this as a cry for help, I see you friend and I'm giving you my hand, it's always time to start reading Supes. I'm not good giving recommendations because everyone enjoys different things, but there are a few comics that come to my mind when talking about good Superman starting points. I'll try to be super brief.

Golden Age

To answer your other question, you don't have to start from the very beginning, but you totally can start from there if you so desire. Golden age Superman got me into pre-code comics, they are, in my biased opinion, one of the best golden age comic series, the stories hold up incredibly well for their age. This Superman is still developing, a lot will change yet, but the core traits of what makes him special are already there: the compassion, the defense of the oppressed, the double identity, the importance of his journalism career and Lois Lane. The main villains of these early stories are structural oppression, the government and mobsters - so yeah, I'm a big fan. He is wild and sometime scary, but always kind.

Now for something completely different (modern compilations)

American Alien: all issues are written by the same guy with beautiful art by different and talented artists, this book compiles loosely interconnected stories centered around different periods of Clark's early life, one of my favorite Superman books, this one presents several aspects of his lore in a light but engaging way, everyone is here, Lobo is here, Batman, young Dick Grayson, Lex Luthor, Abin Sur (!)

Red and Blue: every story here has a different writer and artist, the collection highlights the idealistic and emotionally moving traits that are essential to Superman, short stories representing why this character is so dear to us

Miniseries

For all seasons: a moving character study focusing on Clark as a person, it's a beautiful book if you like Tim Sale's style, with gorgeous coloring by a team of people. The story is simple and grounded, narrated by different important characters of Clark's life, warm and melancholic, less action focused and more reflective. This has the feel of an old-school Superman, but still soft and emotional

Birthright: a retelling of Superman's origin story, this time while the emotional core of the character is there in the importance of Clark's family and friends there's a more thrilling plot. Character dynamics are the best thing here and when this is combined with the respect Waid has for this character and his ability to write fun moments the result is a really nice lively read

Recent runs

Patrick Gleason / Peter J. Tomasi (2016-2018): post-New 52 Superman, family man Clark, married with Lois and with a kid Jon to take care of, I love this era for how action packed, but still warm it is. It showcases a different Superman dynamic, a more intimate and accessible take on the character while he lives lots of different adventures with his family, you don't need to have read the New 52 stuff, just jump on this and you're good to go

Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Warwolrd Saga): another stellar and very recent run that you can jump in knowing that now Clark and Lois son is grown up and Clark is travelling to Warworld, planet of Mongul, to rescue the enslaved people he keeps there. This is a long arc and Superman is depowered for most of it, while there's not a lot of specific Superman lore regarding his origins, recurring characters and everyday life, this is a completely independent adventure that recontextualizes the core ideas of what makes Superman Superman. It's such a different scenario that you can read it without worrying about being familiarized with the characters and settings, it's all new, just enjoy the jouney, the fantastic art and the beefcake of gladiator shirtless Kal-el

This is all for now, I have lots of other Superman comics I'd like to put here, but they can be hard to navigate (like most of the arcs on the triangle era and post-John Byrne Superman, or bronze age stories that haven't been collected), or they have very specific tones that might be an acquired taste (like silver age comics, and more bronze age stuff). This is also a very personal selection, there are other good Superman comics out there, but these are my choices. I really hope you enjoy it if you decide to read any of them. Message me if you have any other question about this!

[wwprice1]

Stunning Dan Mora and Alejandro Sanchez art from Absolute Power 1!