Was Superman better when he had his parents alive?

Was Superman better when he had his parents alive?

Obviously. Earth 2 Superman had his parents, both of them. He had a marriage with Lois, a good relationship with her father, General Lane, a good relationship with Batman (who was also married on Earth 2) and a good relationship with his cousin, Supergirl.

All of those were not present with the New 52 prime earth Superbro.

I think the Kents are valuable members Superman's supporting cast.

Generally, I'm not in favor of killing off longstanding supporting cast members. It ends up leaving the hero weirdly isolated.

i might be biased because birthright is my favorite version of Supes and the kents really were a great part of his cast

I thought so.
I really liked seeing Superman go see his parents.

Yes.

Every hero has the "MY PARENTAL FIGURES ARE DEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAD" trope going for them, especially in more recent and more cynical times. It was refreshing to have a hero who interacted with parental figures who were both alive and well and it was always the most humanising element of a character whose major appeal has always been his humanity.

Him and Kara got along okay. He searched the globe for her when he was dying and gave her the fortress of solitude.

I'm a bit conflicted because I think Pa dying to show Clark he can't save everyone is a pretty important part of his origin. But apart from that he's absolutely better off when they're alive.

What are good Ma and Pa kent stories anyway?

Birthright may be the best

She didn't get along with him all through H'El. She helped out a bit in Doomed and by Return to Krypton but they were never in a good place, really.

Sure, but Pa's death is pretty impactful to his characters as well desu.

They were on good terms by the time he died though. And he obviously cared for her, but Kara was doing her angsty teenager stuff.

it's not uncle ben or parents in the alley though is it?
Maybe it's because i grew up with TAS but I always liked the fact that when the universe was too big for superman he'd run home to a sleepy town in kansas and talk to mum and dad.

I like supes having his parents to talk to. But got to admit I always loved these moments where Pa dies and supes flies from where ever the fuck he is catching fire.

It looked like they were starting to work on their beef before she got abducted and taken to Hogwarts Space School for Aliens and Fags

And then she got canceled and he died. Life is hard in the House of El.

same.

well I think i'd be fine if Pa died sometime later after Clark becomes Superman.

still i like the idea of Superman having a place like Smallville to come back to every now and then.

Johns pls go.

"and in those three minutes, Jonathan Kent suffered a fatal heart attack."

All star Superman was the superman we should have gotten in a movie

This is, to me, one of the most powerful moments in comics. I used to prefer both Ma and Pa Kent being alive, but now I just like Pa's death too much, it's too emotional, feels like what thrusts Clark into becoming a man.

Always.

Personally I always felt they forced his humanity on him and with thier deaths he had to find it on his own and grow as a character.

His parents are a crutch. Almost as bad as Aunt May, but not nearly as needy.

No matter how they do it, I will always hate Pa Kent's death. Why SHOULDN'T Superman be able to save everyone? It's funny, in the 1978 Superman movie, Pa Kent's death is supposed to teach Superman that he can't save everyone but he basically says "you know what? Maybe I can!" and goes back in time. That's one of the reasons I liked the movie. Superman should save everyone.