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| Birthright | |
| Series: | Doctor Who - Virgin New Adventures |
| Release Number: | 17 |
| Doctor: | Seventh Doctor (mostly absent in this adventure) |
| Companions: | Ace, Benny |
| Enemy: | the Charrl, Jared Khan |
| Setting: | Earth, London, February, 1909 Antýkhon, 22,000 |
| Author: | Nigel Robinson |
| Publisher: | Virgin Books |
| Publication: | August 1993 |
| Format: | Paperback Book, 216 Pages |
| ISBN: | ISBN 0426203933 |
| Previous Story: | Shadowmind |
| Following Story: | Iceberg |
Contents |
'I feel like a pawn in a blasted chess game, Ace.' 'I know what you mean. Trouble is, they keep changing the chess-players.'
The TARDIS has died. Stranded in early twentieth-century London, Bernice can only stand and watch as it slowly disintegrates.
In the East End a series of grisly murders has been committed. Is this the work of the ghostly Springheel Jack or, as Bernice suspects something even more sinister?
In a tiny shop in Bloomsbury, the master of a grand order of sorcerers is nearing the end of a seven-hundred year quest for a fabled magic wand.
And on a barren world in the far-distant future the Queen of a dying race pleads for the help of an old hermit named Muldwych, while Ace leads a group of guerrillas in a desperate struggle against their alien oppressors.
These events are related. Perhaps the Doctor knows how. But the Doctor has gone away.
| Virgin New Adventures | |
| Previous Release: Shadowmind |
Next Release: Iceberg |
| EPISODE | |
| Birthright | |
| Attribution | |
| Series: | The Next Generation |
| Written by: | Part 1 - Brannon Braga Part 2 - René Echevarria |
| Directed by: | Part 1 - Winrich Kolbe Part 2 - Dan Curry |
| Production information | |
| Episode no.: | 6x16 and 6x17 |
| Production no.: | 242 and 243 |
| First aired: | Part 1 - 22 February 1993 Part 2 - 1 March 1993 |
| Chronology | |
| Date: | 2369 Stardate 46578.4 to 46579.2 |
Contents |
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous episode: Tapestry |
TNG episode produced | Next episode: Starship Mine |
| Previous episode: Tapestry |
TNG episode aired | Next episode: Starship Mine |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Seven of Nine (Prologue) |
Next Adventure: The Star Ghost |
|
Contents |
Superman: Birthright presented a modernized revamping of Superman's origin and early history. It was first presented in the twelve-issue Superman: Birthright limited series. Mark Waid's Superman: Birthright is now the accepted canonical origin story of Superman. Waid was assigned the task with the purpose being to streamline the comic origin making it similar to both the movies (with Superman Returns then on the horizon) as well as -- perhaps especially -- Smallville, which had proven very popular. The following summary is from the 12 series.
The cold, fairly dystopian re-imagining of Krypton created by John Byrne in the 1986 The Man of Steel limited series was jettisoned. Much like Jeph Loeb and others had done with their "Return to Krypton" arcs, Waid restored the idea of Krypton being more like it had been in the Silver Age--a place of great wonder and myth. In Jor-El's words, the "people grew tired of war, so they made peace; they feared the unknown, so they conquered it with science; and they yearned for heaven, so they created it beneath their very feet...". A substantial change was with the S-shield as well--no longer was it a symbol for his family's house, as it had been in the Silver Age, or merely an "S" standing for Superman, as it had been in Byrne's revamp, but now it was the Kryptonian symbol for hope. It was shown to be a popular symbol, used on flags, paintings, jewelry, and monuments all over Krypton. It was also on a red, blue, and yellow tapestry that was included in Kal-El's rocket ship. Jor-El was still the scientist whom no one would believe, but instead of Kal-El being an embryo when he was rocketed off, he was again said to be a young child.
The Kents were still farmers, as always, but they were even younger than they had been before. Whereas John Byrne had portrayed them as perhaps in their early to mid thirties when they found Kal-El (making them in their mid sixties or perhaps even seventies during Superman's adventures), Waid portrays them as being between 20 and 25 (again to make them closer to their Smallville counterparts). Their characters are also given an overhaul in their personalities to make them more "modern." Martha, for example, is far from the simple lovable, wise farmer's wife who loves to bake and knit. She is portrayed as being fascinated with aliens, U.F.O.s, etc., and even runs her own website dedicated to such stuff when Clark is in his twenties.
The entire dynamic between John and Clark regarding his Superman identity has also been reversed. In Byrne's era, Superman was committed to using his powers in secret, and once "outed" he retreated to Smallville, unsure of what to do. It was Jonathan's suggestion that he adopt a costume and dual identity, inspired by the JSA of the 1940s. Waid's story, however, has Clark coming up with the idea of the costume and identity, and shows Jon dismayed at the idea, feeling like Clark is trying to abandon his identity (and, by extension, his connection to his earth family).
Waid also brought about a new (or arguably, reintroduced an old) vision power, sometimes referred to as "soul vision." Essentially, Clark can see the "aura" surrounding a living being--an aura that disappears when they die. Waid introduced this as a way of explaining why Clark feels so compelled to defend life, as he can literally see it. Going along with this power, Waid also changed Clark into a vegetarian. These decisions have met with mixed reactions from fans.
Items: None known.
Vehicles: None known.
Weapons: None known.
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 The Origin of Superman is a popular concept fundamental to the Superman mythos that has received multiple treatments and iterations, usually involving significantly different versions of events. Superman: Birthright
Superman: Birthright #1 • Superman: Birthright #2 • Superman: Birthright #3 • Superman: Birthright #4 • Superman: Birthright #5 • Superman: Birthright #6 • Superman: Birthright #7 • Superman: Birthright #8 • Superman: Birthright #9 • Superman: Birthright #10 • Superman: Birthright #11 • Superman: Birthright #12
Superman: Secret Origin
Superman: Secret Origin #1 • Superman: Secret Origin #2 • Superman: Secret Origin #3 • Superman: Secret Origin #4 • Superman: Secret Origin #5 • Superman: Secret Origin #6
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 This event or storyline is specifically related to Superman, or to members of the Superman Family. This template will automatically categorize articles that include it into the Superman Storylines category. |
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