DC Alterverses: Universe-1 Superman
is a nine-chapter story, written by Luiz Prata Oliveira, a.k.a. silverbolt1, publsihed at FanFiction.Net as part of his DC Alterverse Project. It’s based on Superman: Earth One storyline, by J. Michael Straczynski, but with some differences, like changing love interests, Alexandra Luthor having a Heel–Face Turn and Zod not being the responsible for Krypton’s destruction. Some DC characters who hasn’t appeared in the Earth One storyline appear here.
DC Alterverses: Universe-1 Superman provides examples of the following tropes:
- Adaptational Heroism:
- Alexandra Luthor starts as abrasive as her Earth One counterpart, sporting the same Fantastic Racism towards Superman. Here, however, she has a Heel Face Turn that’s absent from the source material.
- Although Sam Lane is far from being perfect, especially given his homophobia towards Lois and Lisa, he isn’t the General Ripper he’s been portrayed in the comics since the New Krypton arc, being on good terms with Superman. And he ends up having a Character Development that leads him to ditch his homophobia and reconcile with Lois. As such, he’s closer to this more positive portrayal in Superman & Lois.
- Adaptational Sexuality:
- Lois Lane and Lisa Lasalle are both straight in the comics, but they’re a couple here.
- Cat Grant, also straight in the comics and adaptations to other media, is dating the canonically lesbian Maggie Sawyer.
- Babies Ever After:
- Alexandra and Superman have a baby after the finale’s Time Skip.
- At Lois and Lisa’s wedding shower, Lucy reveals she’s pregnant. Her baby is born some months before the one mentioned above.
- Big Sister Instinct: Lucy Lane defends Lois from their father’s homophobia, telling him that, if he disowns one daughter, he’ll end up losing both.
- The Cameo:
- Several people from the Daily Planet’s staff, in different official continuities, attend Lois and Lisa’s wedding shower and the wedding ceremony.
- Richard Grayson and Mari MCCabe appear as a model fellows of Lisa Lasalle.
- Kyle Rayner is the Daily Planet’s resident artist. He attends to Lois and Lisa’s wedding shower along his girlfriend Alexandra DeWitt.
- The second epilogue shows Michael Holt and Beatriz da Costa on a virtual chat with Alexandra.
- Composite Character:
- Milton Fine is an ordinary human like his original version in the comics, but he’s also a college professor, like his Smallville version (who isn’t an ordinary human).
- Major Sandra Lee gets the middle name Hope and is black here, as she’s a composite character of Major Lee and Hope Taya, Luthor’s Amazonian bodyguard in DC’s mainstream comics.
- Alexandra takes Batman’s role as the one to whom Superman trusts to keep some kryptonite to take him down if necessary.
- Eating the Eye Candy: As Alexandra takes Superman’s clothes off to clean his wounds after she removed the kryptonite shards from his skin, she admires his chest and abs, while refraining herself from doing the same to his naughty bits.
- Evil Doppelgänger: Inverted with Rhonda Pineda. Her counterpart in the comics is an Evil Counterpart of Ryan Choi, not having an exact correspondent outside of Earth-3. This story presents a good doppelgänger of Rhonda, taking the opposite path of the rest of the Crime Syndicate, who are evil versions of pre-existing good characters.
- Heel–Face Turn: Alexandra, Hope and Mercy drop their Fantastic Racism to Superman, coming to respect him.
- I Gave My Word: Despite hating Superman by then, Alexandra Luthor helped Alexander to build yellow solar weapons to help Superman if he needs because she promised this to him in exchange for having his help to create the red solar lamp. Alexander died before the items were built, but Alexandra goes ahead with the project to honor him.
- Incompatible Orientation: Impressed by Hope’s fighting prowess against some Brainiac drones, Ryan Choi asks for her phone number, to which she replies she’s into ladies.
- Mythology Gag
- Brainiac: Milton Fine is an academic teacher, like his Smallville version. Brainiac miniaturizing Metropolis is a reference to Superman Unbound.
- Alexandra Luthor is trusted by Superman with some kryptonite to be used in case he brainwashed or mind-controlled. Alexandra wishes not having to use it, then brings up a hypothetical scenario in which she could use it in a non-lethal way, just incapacitating Superman long enough to neutralize the brainwashing or mind-control. This hypothetical scenario is similar to a short story from Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, in which Batman uses a kryptonite dart to incapacitate Supes, then removes a mind-controlling device from him.
- Alexandra giving birth to a Superman’s child named Conner in the epilogue is a refrence to Geoff Johns retcon on Superboy/ Conner Kent's origin, which turned him into a clone with DNA material from Superman and Lex Luthor.
- One-Steve Limit: There are two Alexandras: Ms. Luthor and Ms. DeWitt.
- Parting-Words Regret: Sam Lane regrets his harsh attitude towards his daughters Lois and Lucy when Brainiac threatens to destroy the world and miniaturize Metropolis. Thankfully, once the villain is defeated, he reconciles with his daughters.
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Portmanteau Couple Name: Lisa suggests some to Clark regarding his relationship with Alexandra. The one that sticks is Clandra. - Promoted to Love Interest:
- Lisa Lasalle, who’s Superman’s love interest in the source material, is paired with Lois Lane here.
- Superman, on his turn, hooks up with Alexandra Luthor, of all people.
- Sequel Hook: Sandra Hope Lee and Mercy Graves are approached by Artemis, who reveals they are Amazons and awakens their repressed memories.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Kyle Rayner’s girlfriend Alexandra DeWitt is alive and well here.
- Take That!: Speaking of Ms. DeWitt: In a conversation with Lisa, Kyle says he turned down an offer to draw a comic book in which the hero’s girlfriend is Stuffed into the Fridge (a fate that happened to Ms.DeWitt herself in the comics). She calls it a stupid cliché. Lisa says it’s awful.
- Time Skip: It happens in both epilogues: the first takes place three months after the events of the story. The second epilogue is set one year later.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: True to Superman fashion in official media, he delivers this speech to Alexandra. In her Heel Realization, she loathes herself as a terrible person and blames herself for the threat Brainiac poses to the world. Superman then says that a truly bad person wouldn’t admit their flaws or show remorse. As Alexandra did both, Superman says there’s good in her. He also reassures her that, as a level 12 intellect, she can find a way to deal with Brainiac. She does.
