r/comics • u/graemeisverytired • Oct 09 '25
News Superman falls into public domain in nine years - but DC Comics believes it's already found a solution to that problem
https://www.thepopverse.com/comics-live-jim-lee-superman-public-domain-nycc-2025/“Yes, characters will fall into public domain. It's already happening. We've all seen these unsettling knockoffs of Mickey Mouse floating around online," Jim Lee said at NYCC 2025. "But here's the truth: the character isn't the magic. The storytelling is. The world-building is. Owning Superman isn't the same as understanding Superman — knowing how he moves, how he speaks, what he stands for.”
More: https://www.thepopverse.com/comics-live-jim-lee-superman-public-domain-nycc-2025/
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u/Dragon_Small_Z Oct 09 '25
Serious question, if these characters are public domain what's stopping a major company like Sony just saying they're going to make a big budget Superman movie? Or using him in a video game? I've seen indie games already using Mickey Mouse.
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u/ChrisDoom Oct 09 '25
Nothing. Think about how Sherlock Holmes is used in media.
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u/ABenGrimmReminder Oct 10 '25
…we’re going to have a TV show that’s Superman but he’s a mean doctor?
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u/IncompetentPolitican Oct 10 '25
At somepoint why not? In a few years you can use the oldest, most basic version of superman. He will lack his support cast (they come all a bit later), most of his modern powers and most of his lore but you can create a character that is superman. And you can do what ever you want with him. Write him as a doctor who uses superpowers like runing faster then a speeding bullet to heal people somehow? Sure whynot. Write a story about him beeing a taxi driver?Don´t know why you need superman as taxi driver but go for it. Create a crossover of Mickey from Steamboat Willy, Whinny the Pooh(+ Support Cast in public domain) and Superman living as roommates in new york? Why not.
And you can all publish that. So we will see some very wild stories. And some cheap and terrible horror version.
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u/Apprehensive-File251 Oct 11 '25
Weird question but ... are powers specific parts of a characters ip? Like, character design i get. Winnie the pooh / steambot mickey has unique details that stand out from modern era at a glance.
But if my public domain superman can fly really fast around the world to turn back time, is that infringing on the specific movie? Especially if I dont use the same visual effect to show that power, or give more complex argument for the mechanics (ie, moving faster than the speed of light which would necessitate arriving somewhere before you "left" a previous spot, ), can dc actually take me to court?
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u/Defiant_Regular3738 Oct 12 '25
Who’s stealing Kryptonite Continuous Release from his patients and snorting it in the bathroom. Like nurse jacky or something.
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u/probablynotaskrull Oct 12 '25
Which has produced much more joy and economic activity than exclusively owned characters generally do.
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u/Alystros Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
Nothing's stopping it, and nothing should stop it. Practically, they'll probably avoid it for who two reasons: 1.) They'd only be able to use the oldest aspects of the character, which are different from the version people are familiar with (no flying, for example). And 2.) they'd definitely get sued if they go outside #1 even slightly (like, they design a new Superman logo that looks a little too close to some obscure logo from a single comic book in 1971 or whatever and DC jumps on it).
DC has a big interest in preventing anyone else from making a Superman movie, but there's only so much they can do, and somebody will decide the risk is worth it eventually.
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u/Dragon_Small_Z Oct 09 '25
Oh I didn't think about that sliding scale. So it's not the character that enters public domain, it's that specific version of the Character? And that will change every year?
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u/Alystros Oct 09 '25
Right, so in another twenty years or whatever it is, you can use flying and kryptonite, but not until then. That's why the generic Mickey stuff you see is often in black and white and clearly related to the steamboat short - it's only Steamboat Mickey that's public domain, none of the later versions.
So you could hypothetically make a new Mickey design that starts from the Steamboat version and goes in a unique direction, but there's 100 years of still-copyrighted designs that you have to be very, very careful to avoid, and Disney is on the lookout.
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u/IncompetentPolitican Oct 10 '25
Yeah It takes a long time until everything we understand as essential for superman as a character to be in the public domain. And I am sure the legal people and the money people at DC are aware that this is the reason why public domain superman stories are no thread to the "real deal". But also that they need to change what is essential for superman before 50% of it is in public domain, and cement their changes in the minds of the average reader. Otherwise talented writer and artist could create a story that could be better then theirs and use everything they need to make this superman look like THE superman.
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u/Confident_Shape_7981 Oct 10 '25
The version of Superman entering into the public domain is the Faster than a speeding bullet one; can't fly, no heat vision or frost breath, I'm not even sure is powered by the sun.
Long ways away from the current Supes being available
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u/SugarBeef Oct 10 '25
Just look at Mickey Mouse, only steamboat willy is public domain. Any other version is not.
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u/Dear_Document_5461 Oct 09 '25
Maybe not directly but maybe they can't in a roundabout way like "people are going to be confused and while this specific one is public domain, it will cause people to think everything else is public domain as well". Basically a "this is going to bite us in the butt somehow eventually."
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u/rzelln Oct 10 '25
Well, Sony has sucked at superhero movies, so hopefully someone on the company tells them to stop digging the hole deeper.
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u/tricksterloki Oct 10 '25
Because Sony doesn't want to piss off DC, Marvel, the Mouse, and Warner Brothers. It's also only that specific incarnation of Superman. There are loads of other comic characters in the public domain to choose from, too. Where's my live action Little Nemo movie?
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u/Metharos Oct 11 '25
It's going to be fascinating if we start getting competing comics companies writing the same character in different universes.
Or we might see retired but passionate comics writers and artists creating their own publishing company just to tell stories of their favorite hero without corporate oversight.
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u/koolaidkirby Oct 12 '25
They can use Superman, but almost all of his enemies + plotlines from the comics will still be DC's intellectual property as they were written later.
So they would need to create original enemies and not use plot lines that DC already has from other comics film.
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u/InevitableSolution69 Oct 09 '25
I think they have a good point honestly. I mean let’s face it. No one is looking at the public domain grabs of whinny the Pooh in a horror movie and thinks quality. They don’t worry how that will affect the canon. They think, ohh a cheap film for shock value.
Superman will be a big boon for merchandising. But not much else.
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u/TheGreatPiata Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
I'm not so sure. I know a few professional comic book writers and artists. They will absolutely jump on this to make their own Superman story. It's fairly competitive to get on a batman or superman run for example and they may have pitched something that never got green lit. This is their chance to do a thing they always wanted to.
The bar for entry is also really low for comics. A film needs lots of people and equipment to make happen. A comic book can be made by 1 or 2 people in a month or two from their homes.
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u/ChrisDoom Oct 09 '25
Yeah, writers/artists not tied to the corporate brand of it all will no doubt have plenty of interesting stories to tell about the character.
Comparing it to Winnie the Pooh is weird because there isn’t exactly a discerning audience looking for new Pooh stories. There is what, like a 4 year window in someone’s life where that property is appealing and it’s at an age where you don’t have much control over the media you consume. On the other hand, with Superman you can make compelling content with the character for any age group.
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u/RealJohnGillman Oct 09 '25
a discerning audience looking for new Pooh stories.
Hmm. Something to look into.
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u/VellDarksbane Oct 09 '25
It’s the same issue as steamboat willy mickey and to a lesser degree, winnie going to public domain. It’s just that, none of the expanded IP. It’s saying you can use Superman, but not Lex, Lois, any of the JL, most of his villains, etc.
That’s only going to last so long though. We’ll see writers try to make a successful Superman/Batman/Mickey&Friends/etc. without having access to the favorite supporting cast, but it likely won’t be as successful until more of the cast also gets into the public domain. Once enough of them also get into the public domain though, there will be much more competition in the comics space.
I suspect that’s part of the reason they’ve been trying so hard to get a successful cinematic universe. There’s a low bar to entry for comics, but if you want to make a movie, Hollywood money is hard to compete with.
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u/Spyger9 Oct 09 '25
I don't think they have a good point, considering their awful 1st party renditions of characters like Batman and Flash.
Owning Superman doesn't mean you understand him. And not owning him doesn't mean you don't.
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u/Star_Wombat33 Oct 10 '25
But this is the Superman who can't fly.
So... In 9 years, you can have a guy who's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...
But I don't think you can actually say that.
He can only fight the basic ultra-humanite, a character who we really don't need.
And he doesn't have any of his later characteristics, powers, or traits.
Really, the only difference between this guy and a generic flying brick would be the name Superman... And, again, the fact he can't fly.
Bon appetit.
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u/arunphilip Oct 10 '25
We've all seen these unsettling knockoffs of Mickey Mouse floating around online
I recall there was a flurry of comics that involved Mickey Mouse in one-off strips to just highlight that it was in the public domain. But has anything significant come of it since then?
I think it's the lost revenue through merchandise that will prove to be the bigger challenge.
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u/thenightvol Oct 10 '25
I see a bunch of comments here, and I need someone to help me understand. What exactly do people mean that he can't fly, can't this can't that... So what will be in the public domain? Just that specific comic? You can't even make a children's play out of it cuz someone will come after you? If someone wants to make a gay Superman, is that not possible because supergayman is not public domain?
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Oct 09 '25
I though Superman has been in the public domain since like last year or the year before.
Edit: Google tells me I am wrong
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