One of the most popular pictures in my photostream, by far, is a
mosaic that I created from 'S-Shields' from my collection of Superman
action figures.
The picture has garnered lots of comments and faves (especially from
the Middle East where the shield appears to be a powerful fashion
icon) and I was very taken with the kind words people left form me.
But it always bugged me that a couple of the images were repeated. So
I decided to recreate the pic and add in a few more toys that have
joined the collection since.
I've tried to add as many different versions of the shield as
possible, to represent not only the different versions of the
character throughout the years and continuities but also high-light
some folk who wore it who were not Superman himself.
I'd like to think that these aren't too obscure to the well-versed
super-fan, but a few casual observers might be intrigued to ask more,
please go ahead, I'll try to fill you in on the background of a
particular 'S'.
Why Superman, you might ask?
As I said before, he may not be the coolest, but he was the first and
I always loved what his character has stood for; decency, honour,
honesty and kindness.
We could all do with sharing a bit more of that around...
Created with fd's Flickr Toys.
Cat Juggling, The mofoJT, revlimit, and 153 other people added this photo to their favorites.
View 15 more comments
Jefron [deleted] 53 months ago | reply
This is great man. I always loved what he was all about. I never got into his stories, but the whole always do whats right no matter what thing was what I liked about him.
Jefron [deleted] 53 months ago | reply
Which is the bottom left?
fengschwing 53 months ago | reply
Thanks Jefron!
The bottom left symbol is from an Elseworlds story called Supeman: The Darkside. Elseworlds are 'what if?' stories, in this story, instead of coming to Earth, Superman's rocket lands on Apokolips, home of his enemy Darksied and he is raised by him instead.
Of course, things work out for the best in the end and Superman gets a suit of armour with a living computer called a Mother Box grafted to the shield.
EdavidC 53 months ago | reply
just on the "S" for a bit, the figure 8 in smallville could be a kryptonian symbol or hieroglyph for infinity or a mobius strip, I'm unsure, as I haven't seen a whole episode in a while. and I don't know if they explained the 8.
also, the speculator in me thinks a good explanation of the S is that on Krypton, a caste system of being born into what your forefathers excelled in would mean the house of El
[Jor, Kal, etc] would be 'thinkers' [priests/scientists/inventors/judges all wrapped up in a single concept]
and, after Jor El's ancestor/predecessor created the phantom zone "transporter rings"
[the silly hula hoops that terrance stamp stood in]
a stylized emblem of the rings was made into the El family crest, signifying their status as both thinkers and law keepers.
also, gen Zod doesn't have a "Z" on his chest, but the house of Zod emblem, signifying how once during a civil [or interplanetary] war,
the ancestor of Zod went into battle with some kind of weapon capable of "bringing lightning down upon the armies"
and that the military caste emblem of Zod is a stylised lightning strike.
PHEW!
I wanted to explain this theory / story concept for a while now!
fengschwing 53 months ago | reply
Edavid, thanks for that, it's a very nice explination!
Digital_Third_Eye 53 months ago | reply
Thank you for doing this. You were behind the inspiration for this one!
zero g 52 months ago | reply
Superman, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D?
Lovely composite work.
Denis Ryan 52 months ago | reply
Wow! Awesome photo. Very visually striking.
Denis Ryan 52 months ago | reply
Could you tag each image with which Superman it is? I've been going through them with a mate and we can name most, but not all.
fengschwing 52 months ago | reply
No probs Denis!
fengschwing 52 months ago | reply
I got halfway through and then got called away, thanks for filling in some blanks Denis!
Just_Justin 50 months ago | reply
I love it as I am a huge Superman fan.
fengschwing 50 months ago | reply
Thank you nyght.
fengschwing 46 months ago | reply
I recently re-read 52. In that Ralph Dibney explains that the shieild is Kryptonian for 'Hope' and when inverted, it means, 'Resurrection'.
Jimmy Tyler 40 months ago | reply
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Supergirl - Superheroine, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
1985migs 35 months ago | reply
cool pic with all the superman chests!
fengschwing 35 months ago | reply
Thank you!
benjancewicz 35 months ago | reply
This is so awesome!
Mike and Lyla Andrews Bashan 16 months ago | reply
Hi!
May I use your image on my site?
sites.google.com/site/andrewsbashan/living-documents/the-...
Thanks!
fengschwing 16 months ago | reply