Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow | Book Club Livestream

[@emsleywyatt3400]

The Legion scene is especially poignant as when Brainiac 5 is explaining that Superman also knows their futures, you see the original Invisible Kid in the scene. He was killed while Superboy was still a member.

[@jsimpers]

I loved that Superman took the name Jordan Elliott, as an homage to Jor-El

[@karenl6908]

Imagine: a teeny, miniature garden in a little planter, next to the window. A little wooden, expertly-crafted house. A perfect moss lawn, and grape hyacinths bordering it like lilac bushes. Doll Man and Doll Woman casually chatting, as they pour themselves a cup of tiny tea, made from one tea-leaf.

[@sandywest4977]

I like the story but I LOVE the wig 😄

[@TroyPacelli]

I've never gotten over the death of Krypto. "Good boy!" 😭

[@browngreen933]

They killed off Krypto? What creeps!

[@TroyPacelli]

@@browngreen933 It was the last Pre-Crisis "Imaginary Story" - the precursor to Elseworlds. Almost everyone gets killed off in this story.

[@blootography2867]

I don't know why but the part where the heroes try to get in brainiac's force field cracks me up due to batman and robin using sticks to get in

[@gdp3rd]

The end-scene gives me some of the same feels as the Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter scene in Avengers: Endgame

[@MrAlanpdunning]

The saddest thing to me was how much they de-powered him....I loved that he was far and away the most powerful being yet he always had the moral compass to do the right thing.

[@mecahhannah]

I really couldn't agree more

[@Elricsedric]

Exactly

[@TheACcam]

The key to understanding this two part treasure of a story is that it's a product of it's time. Most of the time when people use that phrase, it's seemingly a negative. Maybe it's to excuse stances that are no longer politically acceptable. Maybe it's used to explain the characters' naivete as by todays standards they should know better. But within the year or so that Whatever Happened came out we had Gruenwald's Squadron Supreme, Crisis on Infinite Earths, The Dark Knight, and Watchmen. All of these had that new, realistic, dark edge. And so does Whatever Happened. It blends that dark feeling that nothing will ever be the same, that every moment counts, but blends it with the goofy lore that came before that endeared us to the characters to begin with. It's the creators dealing with their own changing job environment, saying goodbye to the fictional characters that they've taken care of for years. A loving send off to an end of an era, both in the real world as well as the characters. All done with a wink and a nod.

[@emsleywyatt3400]

I love the scene where Lana dispatches Lex. No code against killing there. Also, given that they went to High School together, there's layers to that.

[@stevenkivel1665]

I have mine from when I bought it many years ago. I told everyone this was MY Superman's last 2 comics.

[@LaptopLarry330]

This two-part story truly marked the end of an era, the last story featuring "Classic Superman" artists and writers. Comics would never be like this ever again.

[@nonameguy7857]

The storylines were trying to stay innovative; they basically made comics more for adolescents and adults with the changes; i just wished real life didn’t turn so negative at the same time

[@TroyPacelli]

I never got any reprints. I got this when it originally came out. I loved the post-Crisis reboot, but ... this hurt my heart as I completed my Silver Age collection.

[@oneangryhermit]

What is heartening is to see your joy and genuine love for comics as you talk about this story. P.s. the black and blue hair looks good on you.

[@bombseel]

Do you ever read a story digitally and go "this is so good I need a physical copy"? Yeah

[@DogWalkerBill]

I've been studying Seven Samurai. Akira Kurosawa spent several years plotting it and even painting cartoons & story boards to depict it. There is a plotting technique called "Plant & Reveal." You plant something in one scene and it leads to an important reveal later in the story. Playwrite, Anton Chekhov described it as: one of your characters lays a pistol on the kitchen table in Act I. Someone in Act II picks it up, looks at it and says, "It's loaded." Then lays it back on the table! This is suspense! Your audience is worried, "What's going to happen with that pistol?" In Act III you must have somebody pick up that pistol and shoot another character, or at least threaten to do so! Akira Kurosawa does that so much in Seven Samurai! Next time you watch the movie, take note of how many things are planted in one scene and become important a few scenes later. Kyumon's Granny is totally planted in one scene and becomes a significant dramatic event later! Then she disappears from the movie!

[@kcollier2192]

This was a great story and a fine send off to Silver Age Superman. Managed to read it myself years ago and still hate what happened to Krypto- the only things missing where Comet and Streaky.

[@michaelj.huckless3792]

I LOVE this issue ! I sold or gave away all my comics about 40 years ago, but this is the ONLY ONE I kept all these years !

[@jaycobb8564]

This story broke my heart as a teen.

[@DonaldThomas]

There was also another Alan Moore Superman story around the time featuring Superman's father's invention of the phantom zone, the escape of all those trapped in the phantom zone, Aethyr, and Mister Mxyzptlk. It is a very different story but well worth reading.

[@rodneylindsey849]

I like that in the backup story…FOR THE MAN WHO HAS EVERYTHING, the Robin that some/ A Lot of people did not like Jason Todd at the very least saved the Lives of the Trinity, & probably quite a few more before Mongo would have been Defeated

[@rbourne35]

Mongul, but thank you so much for that image. Mongo did punch out a horse, so Robin stopping him is no joke.

[@rodneylindsey849]

LMAO , Thanks for the correction

[@screamingblue7]

For the Man Who Has Everything is one of the best single issue stories that I go back to repeatedly! I squeed in glee at the DCAU version.

[@AJeziorski1967]

I'm old enough that I read that story about a year after publication. I loved it, and still do. Bronze Age Superman was the Superman of my childhood (together with Donner Superman - to me, they overlap). As I got older, I loved John Byrne's post-'Crisis', somewhat de-powered, uncluttered take on the character, but with 'Whatever Happened ...', Alan Moore wrote a fitting, bittersweet epitaph for my childhood, embracing the Silver Age silliness while bringing in some pretty dark themes. Great video, Sasha.

[@starri]

I mentioned this in the chat, but there's something about epigraph that hits me like a gutpunch (not that the story itself doesn't have plenty of those). The image of people looking up with hope and only seeing a bird or a plane is just... I don't understand what sorcery it involves to take so many different elements of Superman's past, which is DEEPLY silly in parts, and put them together in a way that's so powerful. But this is it. And it does do something that most comics don't get. It finishes the story that two kids from Cleveland started in the 1930s. Or, to steal from my absolute favorite comic: It always ends. That's what gives it its value.

[@OyarsuofMars]

Please please please read and/or do a review of Alan Moore’s “Supreme” run. Its a huge homage to the silver age Superman & DC comics.

[@cypressiles4386]

I'm new here but a long time comic fan, honestly I hold Casually Comics opinion very high. Top tier content, very well spoken and most importantly shes genuine. Glad I found this channel, highlight of the year!

[@mummyjones9761]

My tears definitely did fall in this story. I remember in the 1980s when Superman was hard rebooted and John Byrne was doing some exciting stuff but that didn't mean there weren't people who missed the "old" Superman. I love this story.

[@JKevinCarrier]

Another comic that has a similar sort of vibe to "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow" is the 4-issue PHANTOM ZONE mini-series by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan. It's also kind of a darker Superman story, and it similarly treats all the established trivia about Krypton and the Phantom Zone with reverence and gravitas. I think it's a great, under-rated gem of a story.

[@justinstewart8954]

I think the last of issue of DC Comics Presents was basically a sequel to Phantom Zone.

[@samusfan117]

I'm glad you went over this! I read this when I was 11, and it was too heavy for me at that age. I really appreciate it now, especially as a fan of Moore and a huge fan of 60's Superman, but I'm glad to see I'm not the only person this affected.

[@cookieDaXapper]

Sasha Wood!!!Thank you for another AWESOME video dear Sister. A TRUE aficionado of the sequential art medium of comics. ....the BIG key just seems to make more sense to me but it is the generation i grew up in. PEACE, and God bless.

[@BartholomewHenryAllen]

Who do you think are the most similar hero BFFs in DC comics that are actually pretty different? I believe it's Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. • They're both the second generation versions of there OG counterparts with drastic dresswear changes. • They both have a yellow nemesis with similar powers that is directly related with their orgins and unfairly holds a drastic bias spasticity towards them. • Their powers are related to the fabric reality itself [Barry's powers is in relation with time while Hel's powersare in relation with space]. • Their powers eminate from there bodies. • They both have a Super Sayen mode. • They both use rings to store there suits which also manage their powers which can also give others the hero's powers. • They both have successors who are BFFs much like their original counterparts. • They both snap their nemesis's neck every once and a while. • They are both living batteries for every one else with the same powers. • They've both used their nemesis's powers. • They are both unhesitant and headstrong in there goals. • They've both become hosts of Perolax. • They both have grand children in the Leagon Of Heroes [#16 comic (Jordana Gardner)] • They both had lantern girlfriends. • Writers complain that they don't know what to do with them. • They are both socially popular [Barry's the legend of earth and Hal is a legend in every other planet]. • They both become villains for equally stupid reasons. • They've both become compatible to gods on several occasions when they weren't actually gods. • While batman views them in drastically different ways, they both think pretty similarly of Batman. • They've both proven themselves to exceed Superman's capabilities. [Superman does often have to adhere to time and space logistic 🤪]

[@royeverson7015]

Classic story in '86 and today and well worth the time for your revisit. 35 years later the question is: Why was this an Imaginary Story? Since it was the run-up to the Byrne era, why not just end it that way for real rather than behind the lead-lined cloak of another Binder creation, the Imaginary Story?

[@danielhochberg7482]

I'm sure this isnt the most important thing to you, but your blue-black hair looks amazing on you!

[@justinstewart8954]

She looks great. I was thinking about Morticia Addams and then she mentioned her.

[@DogWalkerBill]

@@justinstewart8954 Carolyn Jones was the greatest Morticia Addams!

[@DogWalkerBill]

Kurosawa originally intended the movie to be about six serious samurai. But he found that six serious samurai were boring! He inserted the goofy character of Kikuchiyo and had Toshiro Mifune play him. Kurosawa usually had everything carefully scripted and planned. But he gave Mifune free reign to improvise in his scenes. Also note: stunt doubles were almost unheard of in Japan at that time. So, we have Japans most expensive actor, at that time, Toshiro Mifune, playing scenes of combat melee, in the mud, with charging horses and weapons! If you can get a copy of the video with commentary by Michael Jeck, I recommend it!

[@justinstewart8954]

Really nerdy observation: Both Watchmen and this story have plots that climax in the Arctic. I read an Alan Moore interview that makes me think he finished Man of Tomorrow before he finished Watchmen.

[@1locust1]

So you can imagine how much more impactful The Man of Tomorrow was for someone who grew up in that era reading the silver age stories as well as bronze age reprints. And of course, John Byrne was waiting around the corner. There was also an earlier death of Superman imaginary tale in 1961.

[@leerobinson3786]

Love your hair. I miss the siler age Superman. He did meet his greatest enemy, it was himself and the unrealistic standards he set for himself.

[@locomadman]

“Gravitas”. That’s the word you were looking for; high seriousness (as in a person's bearing or in the treatment of a subject).

[@tedadamgreen]

Great Review! Read the book off the shelf and knew it would be a classic for the ages and it is great to see it is still appreciated! And book club of The Nail and Another Nail … Thanks!

[@RabbiJoeInJerusalem]

I'm so old, I had a subscription to Action Comics that ended abruptly with #583... and I thought: Wait, is that it? Is there no more Superman?

[@mitcharcher7528]

Bittersweet is the only way to describe it. It made a huge impression on six-year-old me; purely happy endings are never satisfying.

[@theonlymatthew.l]

I'm too lazy to IMDB it but I believe Brainiac was voiced by Corey Burton in the animated shows.

[@Madbandit77]

You're right. Corey also worked on Transformers: G1.

[@christopherulichney]

I've seen a lot of comments on your hair. It's obvious to me that it is an homage to the blue highlights colored in Superman's hair since forever. Nice touch.

[@vincentricci8759]

I read this story when it was published. Had Superman been written like this the Byrne reboot would not have been needed. Bronze Age was when I was a fan. The LSH was destroyed after Crisis.

[@saavedra77]

"... aren't they all."

[@bobsanders9809]

Please add the link to the version you are reading from so I can pick it up from Amazon!

[@aurahoneydew9607]

Funny thing is even if they cut Mr Myxlpdlx the the theme of the book would hold up where the events basically being going "Your Silver Age nonsense wraps up shan't be save you this time Superman!"

[@xtremely04]

"I've made a huge mistake..." -Gob

[@brambennink6769]

Yooo. I almost spit out my drink seeing that lore Olympus book 😍

[@owenservant4630]

If you are ever looking for book club ideas, a full treatment of Batman / Huntress: Cry For Blood would be great, since you teased us with it once…

[@RP-ve7bl]

My suggestion for a review - either Miracleman or Herbie Popnecker

[@pensado3000]

more moore....as in allan...please do more of his stories!!!!

[@kevinlambert2756]

Speaking of Shazam..It would be great to do a feature on the Marvel family from the 1940s and 50s to the revival in the early 70s..🌩️

[@expleatifdelited982]

Thank you for caring about Superman! Do Supreme next!

[@markhill3858]

its not just "your counterpart is in another time" re supergirl .. supes LITERALLY says .. "youre in the past". Hes actually saying shes dead! but ofc she doesnt get it, nor did he intend her to :) shakespeare quality from Moore here

[@pauloverly2868]

At first glance, I thought killing Jimmy and Lana was gratuitous piling on. Then it occurred to me: they were out of their depth all those years putting on costumes and being play-superheroes, and Moore shattered those silly fantasies by showing what happens when really mean MFing super-powered beings get fired up and face pretenders. Don't try this at home, kids!

[@freddykruger8275]

Could you do a review on cyberfrog blood honey. Please

[@emsleywyatt3400]

You're getting a lot of comments on the black and blue hair. But how many of you realized that that was Superman's hair, black with blue mixed into it?

[@mecahhannah]

This was great I wish I could have been part of the live discussion Superman is my favorite character and always will be Lois and Clark will always be my OTP

[@keithmason9342]

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow and Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader is similar to Young Frankenstein and Old Dracula. One is not quite like the other.

[@DogWalkerBill]

I HATE stories where the fog dies! Poor Krypto!

[@rodneylindsey849]

My First Book Club 😃 Great Choice 👍🏾Great Job 👏🏾 maybe you could use MXY ( MIXIE) when you say Mr. MXYZPTLK, like his Girlfriend in Superman the animated series…My suggestions for book club THE JOKER : DEVIL’S ADVOCATE, or JLA YEAR ONE…keep up the Great Work Sasha

[@MeanJohnDean]

I being old I am a Superman fan who clutches to this version of Superman. Thank to you for reviewing it. I remember this story. I must have read it in it's original comic which means I still have it. By the way I love your tribute Superman hair black with blue highlights.

[@jayzonely]

Yes I really liked Supergirl too and I thought they really mishandled her story both before and during the time of the Byrne Superman reboot. I'll never be comfortable with the way they killed off her and Barry Allen during the first big mega-Crisis and it left a bad taste in my mouth for all the future mega-crises which has never really gone away. I'm glad they eventually brought them both back, but it took them way too long to do it, and don't even get me started on the Matrix-Supergirl clone hah. Melissa Benoist made a great live action Supergirl in the beginning, I thought. That all draws to an end this week with the 2 hour series finale, wow. Looking forward to what will come next. Cheers.

[@bombseel]

Speaking of stories that do not age well,: I'm reading all of blue Beetle, and the second to last arc of Blue Beetle is soooooooooooooooooooooo bad. Not just politically, but it also butchers Jaime's character. Also Traci 13 is so boring after her first few appearances in Blue Beetle. She deserved her own book instead of being his sometimes girlfriend

[@chrislister570]

Why does Superman have an entire room just for Gold Kryptonite? Wouldn't that be like one of us having carbon monoxide room?

[@rmsgrey]

What else would he do with it? Put it in a room with other things he might actually want to use? Try hiding it somewhere less secure and hope he hears about it getting stolen before it gets used on him?

[@emsleywyatt3400]

In case he runs into an evil Kryptonian.

[@mummyjones9761]

"For The Man Who Has Everything" is a fantastic comic story. The adaptation was pretty good but I don't like it as well. It may be a case of "It's Not As Good As The Book"-itis but Robin and the gloves both added to the story and their loss took away from the cartoon.

[@Elricsedric]

Do u think u would have liked to see the co creator write it. Or does Moore do it so well that it doesn't make u even question it.

[@k9feline2]

Well, you did ask in the description if this tale gets us or if we find it overrated... I don't hate this story, but I don't love it either. It's never really touched me the way it does seemingly everybody else. Essentially, I have three big problems with it, and by "problems" I mean "characters", three characters I feel Alan Moore misused and handled rather poorly, that was completely inappropriate for who they were. First and least, Luthor. Luthor is absolutely nothing in this story except Brainiac's completely helpless, utterly pathetic pawn. While technically, that might make some sense (Brainiac was individually more powerful) aesthetically I don't find that satisfying at all. Luthor has always been Superman's # 1 archenemy while Brainiac was always a distant second. To have Brainiac dominate Luthor so completely just doesn't feel right. IMHO, if you're going to write a "last" Superman story, and you're going to have Luthor in it, you damn well better give him more to do than he got in this thing. As for the other two characters...call me nostalgic, sentimental, old-fashioned, or just plain squeamish, but I completely fail to see why it was really all that necessary for Jimmy Olsen and Lana Lang to die in this story. Furthermore, I thought the manner of their deaths was horribly, woefully...anti-climatic. They just get zapped to death and that's it. Jimmy accomplishes nothing before he dies. Lana sort of does, she kills Luthor which eventually finishes off Brainiac, but the precise chain of events- Lana kills Lex, then Lightning Lord kills Lana, then Brainiac kills Jimmy, then Krypto and Krypton Man kill each other, and only after that does Brainiac finally die- robs that accomplishment of any feeling of triumph. And then there's the person who kills her. Lightning Lord? Lightning Lord?!? *Since when the HELL did Lana ever have ANYTHING to do with Lightning Lord?!?* He's not even a Superman villain! He's a Legion of Super-Heroes villain! It's about as dumb as having her getting killed by Despero. A villain who's kinda, sorta an enemy of Superman's be being an enemy of the team Superman (used to be) a member of, but not really because he was always more an enemy of the overall team instead of Superman personally. And then what happens? *HE ESCAPES!* This @$$hole *MURDERS* Lana Lang, Clark's first love, his childhood sweetheart, a character who'd already been around for *DECADES* prior to this in a helluva lot more comics than Lightning Loser had ever been in, *AND THEN HE ESCAPES!!!* Now Superman does zap him a little with his heat vision, and LL does complain of it hurting, *BUT HE STILL F&%**#ING** ESCAPES!!!!!* Now if you think I sound p*ssed off by all this, imagine how I'd sound if this really was the last Superman story, if this really was going to be the last we'd ever see of Jimmy Olsen and Lana Lang. Which is why I don't hate this story. Because this wasn't the last Superman story and never meant to be. Anyone feeling bummed out at the time by what happened to Jimmy and Lana in this just had to wait a couple of weeks, and there's Lana back, alive and well, in Man of Steel # 1, wait a couple more weeks and there's Jimmy back, alive and well, in Man of Steel # 2 along with the first shadowy appearance of post-Crisis Luthor (aka, the best Luthor ever). Perhaps that's why Moore, knowing Krypto wouldn't be coming back, worked harder at making his death more meaningful and heroic, while feeling he could just half@$$ it at offing Jimmy and Lana. But that doesn't improve the quality of this individual story. Was this a good "final" story for Superman? Eh, maybe. Was this a good "final" story for Lois, Perry, Krypto, Brainiac, and Mxyzptlk? Sure, I guess. Was this a good "final" story for Luthor, Lana, and Jimmy? Oh, Hell no, absolutely not, it completely sucked for them.

[@DogWalkerBill]

Happy Birthday This Month!

[@locomadman]

I dare you to review Garth Ennis’ The Pro. Failing that obvious troll suggestion, your channel needs more Gaiman; review Death: The High Cost of Living.

[@1912papa]

I want more Krypto !

I am sorry, I can hwlp but stare at you hair, it's gorgeous!

[@johnjordan3374]

So most random comment ever here. I want to see your husband! Let’s meet the man who supports your addiction… err habit! The Perry to your Lois. Also if you love Kurt Schaffenberger you should review The New Adventures of Superboy from the 80’s. Btw love your channel!

[@antoniothomas6670]

I don’t want it on Facebook ppp opponents of it

[@Jsin969]

What is your hair...

[@browngreen933]

Glad I stopped reading comic books before the Silver Age ended and didn't have to endure the agony of reboot Superman.

Reboot Superman isn't bad, there's a lot of good stories in it (All-star Superman being the best one) that had become part of his mythos, but they were made on a different time so if you're more attached to the tone and themes of the stories you probably aren't going to get the same from them.

[@browngreen933]

@ I would actually like to read the reboot era just to see. Thanks.

[@waytodank735]

Thanks Sasha for uplifting my spirit but I'm not in the right state of mind i need to take a break(@thistimeoftherecording)i mean (texting) from technology keep up your classy casual talks of/about comics and just generally superheroes and villains bye for now 💂💯👍🤦