“Do you think Superman and Shazam! tend to compliment one another?”
I think so – their power-sets are similar enough, and they are similarly bright and optimistic heroes, but with a sci-fi vs fantasy/magic and their optimism coming from either lived in experience or childlike wonder. In each story they were in, they had great chemistry together and were a lot of fun to read.
“What’s your favorite story to star The Man of Tomorrow and Earth’s Mightiest Mortal?”
Without a doubt, the best of the comics was First Thunder. The stuff with Sabacc and Eclipso kind of felt like filler, but the character moments between Superman and Captain Marvel, and especially the last issue where Billy deals with the loss of his friend and Superman absolutely laying into the Wizard more than made up for it.
“Which character do you feel [Jerry O’Connel] plays better?”
I feel that by virtue of playing the character so long, he has a stronger handle on Superman, but I feel like his Captain Marvel is more memorable.
“Famed comic book writer Judd Winick wrote this week’s second and third selections. Between 2005’s “Lightning Strikes Twice” arc from the Superman line, and the Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder mini-series, which of his takes on the Superman and Shazam! dynamic did you enjoy the most?”
Definitely First Thunder. Lightning Strikes Twice was okay, but outside of some decent action, it’s rather forgettable.
@Jay_Kay I agree on Superman and Shazam complimenting each other. Superman is an embodiment of good and virtue that we can all identify with, while Shazam is the same but is also a living power fantasy we can all identify with.
@Don-El No rush. The Superman Corner Cafe is open 24/7/365.
And on the jerkiness of Superman in Clash – it definitely felt out of sorts, but honestly, that’s kind of part of why I liked it. For all of how the world looks at him, Superman is as human as any one of us, and thus he’s fallible, capable of making mistakes. That’s what happens here – he lets his past with Luthor and his frustration about him playing a con on everyone around him get to him and it literally explodes into what happens in “Lexor City.” Thankfully the only things that were hurt in the fight were his pride and reputation. But by the end he admits he did wrong, and goes to atone for it.
Superman is a mythical figure, that everyone looks up to and aspires to fight for truth and justice, and no one tries harder to keep to that credo more than Clark Kent himself.
@JayKay I feel like my issues with Superman’s behavior would easier to deal with if Clash got a follow-up in JLU’s second season. It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity that we never got to see further interaction between Superman and Cap given that, yes, Superman was in fact right about Luthor still being evil and it would interesting to see how that revelation impacted Billy and his “give second chances” worldview. Maybe a proper team-up between the two, with Cap apologizing for being wrong about Luthor but Superman admitting that Cap’s faith in humanity is ultimately a good thing worth holding on to? Idk. Just feels weird that was never followed up on.
Dang it, didn’t realize the week was over already
Well, one last thought re: First Thunder. I loaned my copy of the trade to my girlfriend and described the storyline to a friend in college, and when it came to that final scene, they both asked “So does this mean Superman adopts Billy?”
Now, obviously that’s not what happened (nor would it work for numerous reasons), but I read the HECK out of a “Shazam: Son of Superman” Elseworld.
