|
POINT TWO: "The
Last Son of Earth" |
|
THE
CHARACTER OF SUPERMAN HAS HAD SEVERAL NICKNAMES OVER THE YEARS,
AS DO MOST POPULAR FICTIONAL CHARACTERS. MOST OF THESE ARE USED
WITHIN THE COMICS THEMSELVES, AS WELL AS IN REFERENCE TO THE
CHARACTER. "THE MAN OF STEEL" IS PROBABLY THE MOST
RECOGNIZABLE ONE, AND HAS BEEN USED IN THE TITLE OF AT LEAST
TWO SERIES PUBLISHED BY DC COMICS. (JOHN BYRNE'S SEMINAL MINI-SERIES
IN 1986, AND THE ONGOING SERIES WHICH BEGAN PUBLICATION IN JULY
1991.) OTHER NICKNAMES HAVE INCLUDED,"THE MAN OF TOMORROW,"
"THE METROPOLIS MARVEL," "ACTION ACE," AND
"THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON." IT IS THIS LAST DESIGNATION
THAT WAS MOST FAMOUSLY UTILIZED IN THE 1978 NOVEL BY ELLIOT S.
MAGGIN, "SUPERMAN, LAST SON OF KRYPTON", WHEREIN THE
AUTHOR DETAILED THE CHARACTER'S ORIGIN. |
|
|
IN
CRAFTING A TITLE FOR MY STORY THE IMMEDIATE CHOICE WAS A TWIST
ON HIS EXISTING MONIKER, WHICH WAS IN HINDSIGHT AN OBVIOUS
CHOICE. BUT LIKE THE BASIC STORY PREMISE ITSELF, IT HAD NEVER
BEEN UTILIZED BEFORE. AND IT IS DEBATABLE THAT THIS WAS THE ONLY
CHOICE FOR THE STORY'S TITLE, SEEING AS HOW DC HAS PUBLISHED
NUMEROUS ELSEWORLDS STORIES OVER THE YEARS, AND MOST OF THEM
DO NOT USE THEIR CHARACTERS' NICKNAMES IN THE TITLES. |
|
|
FOR
EXAMPLE: "SUPERMAN: SPEEDING BULLETS" (1993) TOOK THE
PREMISE OF THE KRYPTONIAN BEING SENT TO EARTH, AND COMBINED IT
WITH BATMAN'S ORIGIN BY ALLOWING KAL-EL TO BE FOUND AND RAISED
BY BRUCE WAYNE'S PARENTS. NEITHER OF THE CHARACTERS' NICKNAMES
APPEAR IN THE STORY TITLE. "SUPERMAN: KAL" (1995) MERELY
USED ONE OF THE CHARACTER'S ACTUAL NAMES WHILE POSITING HIM IN
MEDIEVAL TIMES. "SUPERMAN: AT EARTH'S END" (1995) AND
"SUPERMAN: DISTANT FIRES" (1998) BOTH SWUNG THE TIMELINE
IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND PLACED HIM IN POST-APOCALYPTIC
FUTURES. IN THESE, AS IN NUMEROUS OTHER ELSEWORLDS SERIES, THE
AUTHORS AND EDITORS FOUND PERFECTLY SUITABLE TITLES THAT BY THEMSELVES
HAD NO CONNECTION TO THE MAIN CHARACTERS. |
|
|
ONE
SUPERMAN STORY FROM 1994, "UNDER A YELLOW SUN" TOOK
PLACE IN ACTUAL MODERN AGE CONTINUITY. THE TITLE MAKES REFERENCE
TO THE FACT THAT IT IS UNDER EARTH'S YELLOW SUN THAT KAL-EL/CLARK
KENT/SUPERMAN RECEIVES HIS POWERS. WITH RESPECT TO THAT STORY,
IT OCCURS TO ME THAT ONE GREAT ALTERNATIVE TITLE FOR "LAST
SON OF EARTH" COULD HAVE BEEN "UNDER A RED SUN,"
SINCE THE PREMISE OF THIS STORY IS HOW THE CHARACTER BECOMES
SUPERMAN ON KRYPTON, WHICH ORBITS A RED SUN. MORE RECENTLY, THE
ELSEWORLDS MINI-SERIES "THE NAIL" (1998) SHOWED THE
RAMIFICATIONS OF A WORLD WITHOUT A SUPERMAN. THE TITLE HERE IS
IN REFERENCE TO A STRAY NAIL WHICH CAUSES JONATHAN KENT'S TRUCK
TO HAVE A FLAT TIRE, KEEPING HIM AND HIS WIFE MARTHA FROM ENCOUNTERING
THE SPACESHIP WHICH CARRIES KAL-EL TO EARTH. USING LIKE THINKING,
DC'S PUBLISHED "LAST SON OF EARTH" COULD HAVE BEEN
CALLED "SUPERMAN: THE ASTEROID" AND HAD JUST
AS MUCH TO TIE IT IN TO THE STORY PREMISE. LESS IMAGINATIVE MAYBE,
OR MORE EVOCATIVE, DEPENDING ON HOW ONE VIEWS IT. |
|
|
"THE
LAST SON OF EARTH" MAY HAVE BEEN THE BEST CHOICE
FOR THIS STORY'S TITLE, BUT IT WAS BY NO MEANS THE ONLY
CHOICE. |
|
|
|
|