How "Apokolips Now" Was Supposed To End...

[James Harvey]

Check out the newspage for a news post on how the crew oritinally wanted "Apokolips...Now!" to end. Very interesting! Killing Turpin was an awful thing that Darkseid did, but imagine if he got his original targets? That would have been...wow...heart breaking.

http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14341

[Kal-el]

Holy moly! That would have been a huge shocker! Killing Dan Turpin was difficult enough (emotionally), but if it were people so close to Supes?!?
That surely could have led to a much darker, angrier, distant, and brooding Superman.
That could have changed the whole Superman characterization for the rest of S:TAS and maybe even into JL.
The blackened "S" would have definitely been needed.

[Trent Lane]

Wow, that would have made S:TAS a LOT darker, kinda like the Superman in that alternate universe episode, black costume and red, very angular "S".... would make for a cool animated elseworlds, though....

[Failure]

Whoa, killing Turpin was heavy enough, but if they had killed Ma and Pa Kent? The show definitely would've took a turn for the dark there.

[Toddman]

Very interesting.

It's funny that Carlin made that remark about bringing the Kents back to life, because after Darkseid desintigrated Turpin I remember thinking to myself, "Oh, he's not really dead, Darkseid's eyebeams probably teleported him to Apokolips, or even if he did 'kill' Turpin, it's no big deal because in the comics his eyebeams can resurrect life as well. Of course none of the other characters on the show know Darkseid has that power, so they are all reacting as if Turpin is really dead."

It wasn't until a few minutes later when they showed us the somber and serious funeral and Supes' eulogy at the tombstone that I started to wonder. And then the tribute to Jack Kirby popped up on the screen, and it hit me that they weren't going to bring him back. Turpin looked as if he was modeled after Kirby's looks anyway, and I think that the tribute would have really lost its thoughtfulness if they had brought Turpin back after that.

Toddman

[James Harvey]

Turpin was indeed modeled after the late, great Jack Kirby. I remember, just after this episode aired, the crew on the show confirmed that "Turpin" was indeed dead. And they had to say that over and over becuase alot of fans were not believing them. I was glad they kept to their guns and left Turpin dead. To bring him back would be cheap. The cartoon did something the comics could never do...keep a charatcer dead.

[Calhoun07]

I can say that info didn't make me as upset as the proposed Catwoman DTV. That was a horrible idea. I mean really horrible. I agree totally with Mike Carlin.

Now, what if they did decide to kill them off and bring them back later...only WB didn't allow for a later? :eek: That would have been the worst cliffhanger ending that never got resolved since the Lone Gunmen!

[The Mad Hatter]

Wow. Their original idea may not have worked as well as what was put to pen (and ink and paint), but it's fascinating to see the process by how internal discussions and network standards lead to an even better choice!

[Cyclops]

I don't think killing Clark's parents would have worked for me. It just wouldn't be right.

[Failure]

I wonder if killing Superman's parents would have brought Clark's/Superman's identity into question.

[Joe Tully]

I think that things worked out for the best. I don't think that the story would've had the same impact even if Ma & Pa were killed and stayed dead. Plus, I don't think I like the idea of Darkseid finding out who Supes is and tracking down his parents. I liked it they way it played out.

And I agree, it was great that they were able to kill off a character and leave him dead. Although they've certainly brought back a few characters too, as we've mentioned in the past.

[Tim Drake]

That's really interesting. Probably too dark though. Sounds a little Batman don't you think??

[Batman 80]

I don't think I could have handled that ending. That would have been waaaaaaaaaay to dark for a Superman cartoon. Turpin was enough but if they used his parents instead, man that would have been depressing.

[optimal321]

Yeah, i'm really glad they killed Turpin instead. The ep was just so great in so many ways.

[James Harvey]

Originally posted by hot rod
I don't think I could have handled that ending. That would have been waaaaaaaaaay to dark for a Superman cartoon. Turpin was enough but if they used his parents instead, man that would have been depressing.

I wonder...if Darkseid did kill his parents - would that have made him more susceptable to the brainwashing in LEGACY. Sure - we don't get to see much of it, but could the brainwashing been more effective if Superman lost his parents?

[Toddman]

Originally posted by Dick Grayson


I wonder...if Darkseid did kill his parents - would that have made him more susceptable to the brainwashing in LEGACY. Sure - we don't get to see much of it, but could the brainwashing been more effective if Superman lost his parents?

If anything, I would think that the death of his parents by Darkseid's hand would have made Superman LESS susceptable to brainwashing. It's hard to imagine a character like Superman ever believing that he was the "son" of the one person who killed his real parents (the Kents not the Els).

Toddman

[Kal-el]

Originally posted by Dick Grayson
I wonder...if Darkseid did kill his parents - would that have made him more susceptable to the brainwashing in LEGACY. Sure - we don't get to see much of it, but could the brainwashing been more effective if Superman lost his parents?

I think it could have gone either way, depending on the path that Supes would have taken following their deaths.

[Abductor]

It was such a dark ending to the series. Dick could you ask some of the WB animation big shots if there will ever be a new Superman:TAS movie, like they did with Batman and "Sub-Zero"? I sure hope so.

[James Harvey]

Superman: TAS is essentially finished. WB cut the series short by 11 episodes so I doubt they'd make a new DTV - but I'll still ask.