A love Letter To Superman
Writing a Batman story is easy. Just add a hidden cabal, evil geniuses or unhinged maniacs who had one bad day.
Writing a Flash story is easy. Just include speedsters, time-travel and parallel earths.
But writing Superman is NOT easy.
The narrative that ‘Superman is boring’ falls back on the fact that there is no challenge for the man who has everything; Super-strength, Super-speed, Super-senses, Super-you-name-it. Over the years, DC comics have tried tooth and nail to keep Superman stories engaging by going to severe lengths such as killing and resurrecting Superman. It is practically impossible to keep the reader invested in a never-ending saga of an invincible being who even defied death. This is where Kryptonian Epic comes in.
What is the Kryptonian Epic?
A story centered on Superman involving other DC comic characters being developed by Max Landis. The production states: ‘An ambitious, long-form story detailing a saga of greed, ambition, kindness, and power that consumes two planets over the course of 500 years, The Kryptonian Epic is meant as a kind of ultimate tribute piece for Superman.’
Who is Max Landis? Why Superman?
Max Landis is a Hollywood Screenwriter who has writing credits for the critically acclaimed movie Chronicle (2012) and TV series Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (2016-2017). Back in 2015, Max Landis created an elsewhere comic for DC comics called Superman: American Alien with his own spin on Superman mythos which was very well-received by critics and fans alike for its intimate and humanist approach towards portrayal of Superman.
In a nutshell, Kryptonian Epic is a Max Landis’ self-funded passion project. It is the expansion of American Alien in the form of multiple video-pitches. These videos will consist of live-action scenes, voice-overs, narrations supplemented by comic-book art that will form a whole saga on its own. It is internally composed of small canon of stories, mostly focusing on Clark Kent while some on other DC characters. It might perhaps be the only version of DC Universe with a beginning, middle and a conclusive ending.
How many stories will the Kryptonian Epic have?
The stories take place in the following chronological order:
Krypton: Zod’s Masterpiece
Aquaman: At The Depths of Madness
Superman: American Alien
Freeze: Test Run
Z! The Magical Girl
Blue Beetle: Local Hero
Superman: Agent of Batman
Blue Beetle Cracks Down Crime
The Queen Prince
Blue Beetle Saves The Streets
Superman: Do-It-Yourself
The Society: Toy-Man
Superman: For All Mankind
Batman: Deathwish
The Society: Endangered Species
Superman: The Starlight Emperor
Whatever happened To The Last Son Of Krypton?
That being said, the stories won’t be told in the chronological order as some stories take place simultaneously.
What other DC characters will feature in the Kryptonian Epic?
Superman’s famous love interest Lois Lane is her usual brash self with an uppity attitude while his buddy Jimmy Olsen is an African-American gay dude. Lex Luthor serves as one of the main villains BUT not the final boss of the epic. Zod is confirmed to be a part of the Kryptonian Epic but as of yet, no details surrounding the character have been released yet. Brainiac will be making an appearance but not like we are used to see him, especially not in his lovely spacecraft.
A lovecraftian Aquaman, a gladiator-like Wonder Woman, a super-speed armored Flash, a samurai-esque Green Arrow, a traumatized Zatanna and a totally reinvented Blue Beetle, all are part of the Kryptonian Epic. Fan favorite characters from the dark knight mythos like Batman, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Bane (sort of), Riddler, Mr Freeze (almost) and of course Joker play significant roles in the story.
Such a huge cast of characters from DC might seem a bit overwhelming but Max Landis assured that any person who hasn’t ever picked a comic book in his life will be able to dive into the story.
Early Predictions:
To summarise, Kryptonian Epic is Max Landis’ love letter to the Superman character with nods to several modern mythologies like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Lovecraftian mythos, Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter.
It seems like Max Landis is ‘up to his knees’ with his version of DC. He has been hiring actors, voice-actors, and artists from different fields. Keep in mind that this is his self-funded project, meaning he is spending his own money and won’t be paid for the Kryptonian Epic at all. Talk about love for his craft.
It is set to be released absolutely FREE on Max Landis’ personal YouTube channel: Uptomyknees. To stay updated on the Kryptonian Epic, follow Max Landis on Instagram: @uptomyknees1985
