Super Lad?

http://blog.newsarama.com/2011/06/23/introducing-the-unknown-sensational-character-find-of-the-31st-century/

Introducing The Unknown Sensational Character Find of The 31st Century!

Over on his blog, Jim Shooter introduces the Cousin of Kal-El that we never got to meet: Super Lad. Created, according to Shooter, as a potential Legion of Super-Heroes character during Shooter’s recent return to the franchise as a back-up in case DC lost the rights to Superboy, the character would have been the noble teen hero the current Superboy never quite managed to be, if the initial pitch was to be believed:

What DC allows numbskull lightweights to do to THE hero icon, Superman and other Supers is somebody else’s call. However, if we are permitted–in fact, we were asked–to add a Super, Super Lad, to the pantheon–then I propose that we make him the noble-spirited young man he ought to be.

I see him as a genuine good guy. Someone who does the right thing, who has tremendous willpower and courage, who is smart and reasonable. Smart about using his powers, as he learns how. The nicest, best guy you ever met. NOBLE, in the best senses of the word. Not that he can’t make mistakes, not that he doesn’t have humanity–but he’s the best of humankind, one of the few survivors of his particular kind, determined, therefore, to give a good account of himself.

Shooter claims that the character was “taken away” from him when his relations with DC started to falter again, but I think we all know the truth: In one script, Super Lad saved a 31st century kitten from a tree and, well, we all know how these things work out…

The two bold parts say it all.

The first says the Heirs lawsuit really is affecting the comic books, as well as DC's decision-making.

The second speaks for all true fans of the character.

People shit talk Jim Shooter left, right and center. And the guy may have been an asshole when he was the EIC at Marvel but you know what? The trains ran on time and there was, for once, real quality control on the books. You ever wonder why the majority of Marvel books in the 70's were a bad acid trip? Because there was little to no editorial oversight on many of the books. It was the motherfucking Wild West out there. So you had these really fucked up stories that, at best, some assistant editor could only put a Band-Aid on because the comics weren't submitted for approval until just before they were 99% finished and ready to be sent to the printers.

Shooter changed all that. Once he took over, he instituted a LOT of changes and, in so doing, ruffled a lot of egos. He's got some pretty big name enemies but the guy did his job well and enforced real discipline upon the company that Marvel benefits from to this very day.

As it goes for Superman (forgive me the diatribe up there but I'm kind of a Shooter apologist, if that wasn't obvious) the guy clearly always had an understanding of who Superman is and what makes him tick. The fact that he had the Super Lad concept ready to go is another reminder to us that it is possible to have a creative overseer who pays attention to the signs and has a creative way to handle continuity problems.

To be fair, Mark Waid attempted a similar stunt in replacing Superboy with Mon-El (or "Valor" or "Lar Gand" or whatever you want to call him) in the Legion's history after Zero Hour (in 1994? Too lazy to check) so that they could regain some lost ground. We can argue how well it worked but it at least shows me that DC has some amount of willingness and ability to replace Superman (in terms of DCU mythos).

Folks? If you think that's not on the table right now, you're not paying attention.

Another interesting find there.

This has been stewing for a while. The more I think about it, the more I think there's juice to the idea of using the Super Lad concept in the Legion of Superheroes. I dig the idea of the Legion having, as Shooter would have it, a Super on the team. Gives 'em big guns for any battle they go into but it also gives the team a moral clarity and solid ethical foundation. Plus, call me old fashioned, I happen to think Superman's influence ought to reach into every nook and cranny of the DCU.

Anywho. As to his outfit, why not make it of a piece with the other Legionnaires? As far The Suit goes, you're never going to improve upon perfection. So why bother? The legacy is his moral outlook and the . All this to say, come up with a new suit. A cape may be mandatory at this point, who knows? But I'm a big fan of those two tone suits the Legion had post-Zero Hour.



So for Super Lad, I'd want that kind of two tone outfit. Something that looks kinda sorta like the below. But less shitty and amateurish.



EDIT- And no, I wouldn't want a cape quite that color. I just needed the cape to have contrast against the bright red of the body suit. Okay? I'm not a fucking Singerman admirer.

You know, your design there is very similar to the Eradicator from the 'Death & Return of Superman' storyline:



And I was actually a fan of that costume. Not as a replacement for Superman's costume, but as one for a character in his "Universe".

So I wouldn't complain if they did do something like that. Wouldn't spend money on it, but wouldn't complain either...

Ya know what? It certainly ain't identical but there are elements of that Eradicator suit that remind me of the one that Henry Cavill is wearing (so far) for THE MAN OF STEEL. Namely the lack of the red trunks & the over-sized 'S'. Also the long billowing cape is another thing. Now the rest of the suit? No, not really. But with this suit, as well as Ultraman, plus where DC is headed now, well, you get the picture. Anyway, when I looked at those pics, that's what jumped to mind immediately.

Apologist Puncher wrote:You know, your design there is very similar to the Eradicator from the 'Death & Return of Superman' storyline:

That didn't really hit me until after I'd spent a half hour in Photoshop putting that thing together. I thought the differences were important enough though to justify making that version rather than asking someone to envision a bunch of changes to the Eradicator costume. You are right though.

And I was actually a fan of that costume. Not as a replacement for Superman's costume, but as one for a character in his "Universe".

Ditto. Actually, when I was 12, I wouldn't have minded that becoming his permanent costume. It'd be a few more years before I became the traditionalist that I am now. I look back on the 12 year old me and just shake my head sometimes. Kids are stupid, what do you want to hear?