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THE MAN OF TOMORROW: suspiciouscoffee's take on Superman (Starting over soon-ish maybe!)

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 (Edited)

I was bored a while back and started work on my own Superman script. I’ve never really written before so hopefully this isn’t a total disaster.

DuracellEnergizer already has a script in progress for a Superman story, and there’s no way this will be as good as his. So if you absent-mindedly clicked on this thinking it was an update to his, I’m sorry to disappoint you.

Feedback is welcome.

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FADE IN

EXT. HALL OF THE COUNCIL - DAY

People are seen walking into this glistening tower to witness what will be, unbeknownst to them, the most important decision their leaders will ever make. It also will be their last.

INT.

The High Council of the planet Krypton is meeting to hear the startling theories of a young scientist named Jor-El. Jor-El wears a black, skin tight suit under a red cloak with a large silver band across the front, with a circle on each end. A thin silver headband runs between his brow and his hairline. The eight council members, dressed in green cloaks, ornamented in gold, sit in a row looming high above Jor-El and the other citizens that came to the public meeting. On the wall behind the Council is a massive, curved computer screen that has only a single image; three bright green circles connected by two moving wavy lines.

COUNCILMAN #1: Jor-El, we grow tired of your apocalyptic fantasies!

JOR-EL: They are not fantasies! Look at the data! I have given you the evidence you need, why do you still deny it?

COUNCILMAN #7: Have you submitted your data into Braniac?

Jor-El pauses for a moment. He sighs.

JOR-EL: Yes, I have, but you must–

COUNCILMAN #7: Then let us hear what Braniac says of it! Brainiac, is Jor-El’s theory true?

The wavy lines of what is considered Brainiac’s face begin to move faster as Brainiac speaks.

BRAINIAC: His findings are most intriguing, although his conclusion is incorrect.

The image on the screen shrinks and moves to the top right corner. Replacing it’s position in the center is an image of the planet Krypton.

BRAINIAC: As I have told the council before, the recent tremors are caused by a simple polar shift. It will pass in time, and life shall return to normal. You will, however, need to alter your compasses.

The image of the planet fades, and Brainiac’s face return to the center of the screen.

COUNCILMAN #2: Well then, Jor-El, it seems Brainiac has spoken. Your theory has been disproven.

JOR-EL: Brainiac is wrong!

COUNCILMAN #5: Impossible!

JOR-EL: Surely there is a mistake! A glitch, or–

COUNCILMAN #8: You simply have not given us enough evidence to base your outlandish theory upon, El.

COUNCILMAN #1: It is the council’s decision that your proposed mass evacuation of the planet will not occur. It is so ordered!

Jor-El looks down, defeated.

EXT. EL HOUSE - NIGHT

The a flat, round building that rests upon a ridge. Night is approaching, the sky is a rich shade of purple. Two moons are visible, one significantly nearer to the planet than the other.

JOR-EL: They are fools, Lara, all of them!

INT.

Lara Lor-Van sits on a couch, gazing out the large bow window as her husband paces around the room, yelling. Lara is a tall woman with long black hair and bright blue eyes. A small white dog rests in the corner.

JOR-EL: How can they so easily trust a… a heartless machine!

LARA: Can you really blame them, Jor? Brainiac has never been wrong before.

JOR-EL: Neither have I.

LARA: What if you are now? What if the whole planet was evacuated and nothing happened? What then, Jor?

JOR-EL: Then we have lost nothing. If I am right and we still do nothing, we have all lost everything!

The couple is quiet for a moment, as they watch the sun finally set through the window. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake. Jor-El rushes to the couch and holds Lara tightly until the tremor subsides.

JOR-EL: I’m going to Brainiac.

LARA: Now? You need to rest.

JOR-EL: I can have no rest until I know with absolute certainty that I have nothing to be worried about.

Jor-El kisses his wife and leaves the room.

EXT. CITY OF KANDOR – PAN WITH JOR-EL

Jor-El races through the city on a sleek grey vehicle. He stops at a tall, black tower bedecked with several green lights and purple lights.

INT. BRAINIAC HUB

Jor-El walks to a keyboard at the end of a long platform.

JOR-EL: Brainiac, this is Jor-El seeking information on the recent tremors.

The face of Brainiac appears on a great screen before Jor-El

BRAINIAC: Welcome, Jor-El. I’m afraid I cannot give you information on the tremors at this time.

JOR-EL: Why not? You exist to give information.

BRAINIAC: Your statement is true. However, I am currently restructuring my security protocols. If you return tomorrow, perhaps I–

Jor-El begins to type furiously on the keyboard. Suddenly the keyboard flashes red and disappears, leaving only a flat table at his fingertips.

JOR-EL: How did you do that?

BRAINIAC: I am afraid I cannot give you any information at this time.

JOR-EL: You’re a machine, you can’t be afraid of anything. Tell me now, what in Rao’s name are you doing?

BRAINIAC: Rao is the ancient mythological deity of–

JOR-EL: You’re stalling, what for?

BRAINIAC: Upload complete

JOR-EL: What upload? What have you done?

BRAINIAC: Krypton is soon to be destroyed, I have uploaded myself and all Kryptonian knowledge to a satillite to preserve for the education of other worlds

JOR-EL: I was right! Krypton is doomed! Why did you lie?

BRAINIAC: By the time you submitted your data, it would have been to late to begin evacuation. Krypton has but hours left.

A look of horror falls upon Jor-El’s face.

INT. EL HOUSE

Jor-El works frantically to prepare the escape rocket for his wife and child. Lara walks in from another room.

LARA: Jor, what are you doing?

JOR-EL: I was right. Brainiac lied because it was too late for mass evacuation. It ends tonight. I prepared this craft for the worst-case scenario. You and Kal should be able to escape in time.

Lara stands quietly. She does not know how to feel.

LARA: Where will we go? I could not adapt to the culture of another world, you must send Kal alone. He is a baby, he would grow up among them, become one of them.

Jor-El stops his frantic calculations and calibrations. He lets out a sob as he tries to speak again.

JOR-EL: Bring Kal here. It’s time.

Lara runs into the child’s bedroom and returns with him in her arms. She places him in the blue rocket and lays a hand on his forehead as he wakes up and begins to cry.

LARA: Kal-El, my son, be a light to your new world. Give them hope.

She wraps him in a blanket, her piercing blue eyes shed tears as she does.

JOR-EL: Do not be afraid, Kal. You will be safe on a world far from here. If they do not accept you, you will be strong enough to protect yourself.

LARA: I love you.

Jor-El closes the rocket. He and Lara back away from it. They embrace and the ship flies away. At the same time, the final tremor begins.

EXT. KRYPTON

The small blue craft flies away from the planet as it explodes.

TITLE (REVEALED AS ROCKET PASSES THROUGH SPACE): THE MAN OF TOMORROW

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I just remembered I started this. I’ll likely never finish it, I never could decide on what time to set it in or who the villain should be or anything else really. I had a lot of ideas floating around for a while that would only have made for a very long story that would get sidetracked far too often (like an appearance from the Legion of Super Heroes, the future Supermen from All-Star, and more that would’ve gone nowhere).

Anyway, this story is dead, if anyone cares.

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I know exactly how that feels. I’ve been developing my PT re-write since 2008, and it’s taken several false starts, dead ends, and re-re-writes to get where I am with it now.

I suggest you keep working on your story, even if only in your head for the time being.

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I’m going to give this another shot, I think. I’ll be skipping over the origin story and jumping into a later point in Superman’s life.

The set-up:
Superman has been working mostly under-the-radar for about 10-12 years now. He’s still been doing hero stuff, but he became rather elusive. He unfortunately abandoned his traditional blue and red attire for a black suit (don’t worry, he’ll go back soon). People have spent over a decade pondering what he’s doing, and some people have become paranoid that he’s turning evil or something (he’s not).

Clark and Lois Kent moved away from Metropolis to a farm in Kansas (maybe inherited from Clark’s parents, maybe a different farm in a different town, we’ll see). Lois works at a small local paper, while Clark runs the farm, with the help of his son Jonathan Kent. Clark notices that Jon is developing into his superpowers, and wonders if it would be a good idea to not only re-introduce himself to the public, but to introduce the new Superboy into the greater heroic world.

I’m taking most of my inspiration from the first few issues of Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason’s wonderful ongoing run on Superman and erased the shoddy New-52, with elements of Dan Jurgens’ mini-series Lois and Clark, and other bits and pieces from Super-history. Of course, I’m trying to avoid all of the multiverse stuff that was necessary to erase the New-52, and various other elements that are leftover from that dark age of DC.

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Countless different mental iterations of a Superman movie have come and gone, including the ideas above and many more, but I think I finally have one that could stick.

Superman for All Time

Here’s an outline of what could easily be several different movies, one long epic, or both.

1910 - Kryptonian rocket lands on Earth, and the child inside is adopted by the Kents.
1939 - War begins in Europe, Clark adopts the Superman persona and goes to try to stop it.
1946 - The war is over and Clark moves to Metropolis to get a job as a reporter. He considers retiring Superman, but crime in the city leads him to continue his battle for truth and justice.
1960 - The Justice League is formed in response to The Center (see The New Frontier) (also here: enter Starro!).
1971 - Superman and his pal Jimmy Olsen encounter The Fourth World
1992 - Magog drives Superman into retirement.
2000 - The return of Superman and Kingdom Come.

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