A story arc (also narrative arc ) is the chronological construction of a plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television , comic books , comic strips , board games , video games , and films with each episode following a dramatic arc . On a television program , for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story arc is common in sitcoms , and even more so in soap operas . In a traditional Hollywood film, the story arc usually follows a three-act structure . Webcomics are more likely to use story arcs than newspaper comics , as most webcomics have readable archives online that a newcomer to the strip can read in order to understand what is going on. Although story arcs have existed for decades, one of the first appearances of the term was in 1973 by Time Magazine for a synopsis of the movie The Friends of Eddie Coyle : "He accomplishes this with no sacrifice to the pacing of his action sequences or the suspenseful development of his story's arc."
33-437: " New Krypton " is a 2008–09 comic book story arc featuring character Superman , published by American company DC Comics ; it was written by Geoff Johns , James Robinson and Sterling Gates , with art by Gary Frank , Alex Ross , Renato Guedes, Jamal Igle and Pete Woods . The arc is an inter-title crossover , published in Action Comics , Superman and Supergirl . The story features Superman coming to terms with
66-660: A Superman or Supergirl book every week. Following the events of the "Brainiac" story arc , the entire city of Kandor now resides near the Fortress of Solitude in the North Pole, populated by 100,000 Kryptonians . Although distracted by the recent death of Jonathan Kent , Superman attempts to aid the Kryptonians in their assimilation with the rest of the Earth, something very few Kryptonians seem interested in, including
99-439: A continuing series. Short story arcs are easier to package as trade paperbacks for resale, and more accessible to the casual reader than the never-ending continuity that once characterized US comics. A corollary to the absence of continuity, however, is that, as exemplified in 1950s DC Superman comics, no permanent change to characters or situations occurs, meaning no growth can take place. Thus, storylines repeat over time in
132-461: A distant solar system, much of the kryptonite that came to Earth was transported by the same "space warp" that baby Kal-El's rocket traversed. Kryptonite was incorporated into the comic mythos with Superman #61 (November 1949). Editor Dorothy Woolfolk stated in an interview with Florida Today in August 1993 that she felt Superman's invulnerability was "boring". Long said to be an element in
165-426: A loop. The purpose of a story arc is to move a character or a situation from one state to another, in other words, to effect change . This change or transformation often takes the form of either a tragic fall from grace or a reversal of that pattern. One common form in which this reversal is found is a character going from a situation of weakness to one of strength. For example, a poor woman goes on adventures and in
198-539: A particular show follow and discuss different story arcs independently from particular episodes. Story arcs are sometimes split into subarcs, if deemed significant by fans, making it easy to refer to certain episodes if their production order titles are unknown. Episodes not relevant to story arcs, such as " villain of the week " episodes) are sometimes dismissed as filler by fans, but might be referred to as self-contained or stand-alone episodes by producers. Manga and anime are usually good examples of arc-based stories, to
231-610: A planet underneath the city of Kandor, which resides under one of Brainiac's force-fields. The planet itself greatly resembles the Krypton of Superman the Movie in that it is a planet entirely covered in ice, with one lone city atop its North Pole. Its position, within the Solar System but opposite Earth , hidden by the sun, comes from the 1940s Superman radio show where the planet Krypton existed before its destruction. It
264-544: A prototype of kryptonite. It is a mineral from the planet Krypton that drains Superman of his strength and gives superhuman powers to humans. This story was rejected because Superman reveals his identity to Lois Lane . The mineral kryptonite, not to be confused with the real element krypton , was first officially introduced in the radio serial The Adventures of Superman , in the story "The Meteor from Krypton", broadcast in June 1943. An apocryphal story claims that kryptonite
297-456: A regular basis and also allowing the narratives to be tied together similar to a bi-weekly series. According to Johns, the plan was to make readers want to get the Super -titles because they would not feel that "you HAVE to read, but that you WANT to read". Robinson also added that even though neither he nor Johns would be writing Supergirl , they made it clear that they were still the advisors to
330-440: A special lead suit to protect himself from the radiation. There are other varieties of kryptonite, such as red and gold kryptonite, which have different but still generally negative effects. Batman , Lex Luthor , Metallo , and Titano are four notable characters often presented as using kryptonite — the first carrying the substance as a last-ditch method to stop his ally (often at Superman's urging to take such precautions) if he
363-478: A story arc to create characters, stories, and even curricula. Several have published their use of the story arc to create memorable tomes in record time. Story arcs on television and radio have existed for decades. They are common in many countries where multi-episode story lines are the norm (for example the UK's Doctor Who ), as well as most anime series. One notable example, from the so-called "Golden Age of Radio",
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#1732782446035396-446: Is also inspired by the pre-Crisis Rokyn, which was likewise settled by the restored Kandorians. Unlike New Krypton, Rokyn orbited a red sun, so its inhabitants did not have superpowers. The story, New Krypton , was featured as a crossover between the monthly Superman , Action Comics , and Supergirl titles. Each issue was branded with a green pentagon badge indicating what part of the story it was. The numbering continued after
429-554: Is subject to mind control or otherwise compromised, the next two using the mineral to ward off Superman or incorporating it into weapons, and the fourth being able to project rays of kryptonite radiation from his eyes after being altered by simultaneous exposure to kryptonite and uranium . Due to Superman's popularity, kryptonite has become a byword for an extraordinary exploitable weakness, synonymous with " Achilles' heel ". An unpublished 1940 story titled " The K-Metal from Krypton ", written by Superman creator Jerry Siegel , featured
462-428: Is the 1946 NBC Radio Summer-run docudrama serial The Fifth Horseman , which featured a four-episode arc regarding a hypothetical chain of events (spanning nearly two full "future" decades) surrounding a fictitious nuclear holocaust . Many arc-based series in past decades, such as V , were often short-lived and found it difficult to attract new viewers; they also rarely appear in traditional syndication . However,
495-705: The Dragon Ball manga, each with its own ultimate antagonist, along with original story arcs created for the TV series. Kryptonite Kryptonite is a fictional material that appears primarily in Superman stories published by DC Comics . In its best-known form, it is a green, crystalline material originating from Superman's home world of Krypton that emits a unique, poisonous radiation that can weaken and even kill Kryptonians . Kryptonite radiation can be transmitted through any element except lead . Thus, Superman has
528-579: The Justice League and Justice Society arrive in Kandor, led by the Guardian demanding the city turn over those who murdered the police officers, and a large-scale battle erupts, with Superman in the middle. It only ends when Kryptonian scientists manage to use Brainiac's technology to lift Kandor off the Earth and grow an entirely new planet underneath it, called "New Krypton", on the other side of
561-705: The Parasite , they are killed by the task force, enraging Superman. At the same time, Lex Luthor , who has been recruited by General Sam Lane to halt the Kryptonian "invasion", gains control of Brainiac and unleashes his robot army from within the depths of the alien's spaceship, currently being held in Kandor. During the fight, Metallo and Reactron , who are working for Luthor and General Lane, are brought into Kandor as Trojan horses containing kryptonite . Reactron manages to kill Supergirl's father, Zor-El. Alura's anger causes her to denounce humanity. Members of
594-464: The Phantom Zone projector in order to prevent anyone loyal to General Zod from freeing the despot. Both Nightwing and Flamebird exhibit powers that are not inherent to normal Kryptonians: Flamebird shoots fireballs from her hand while Nightwing uses tactile telekinesis . Unlike previous portrayals, Flamebird is female and is older than the teenage, male Nightwing. Starting with issue #875, they are
627-472: The Supermen 0 - War of the Supermen #0 (FCBD) 1 - War of the Supermen #1 2 - War of the Supermen #2 3 - War of the Supermen #3 4 - War of the Supermen #4 5 - Superman #700 (aftermath) The storyline will be collected into a number of volumes: A twelve-part maxi-series entitled Superman: World of New Krypton was produced from March 2009 to March 2010. The 12 issues run through
660-565: The book's next ongoing writer, Sterling Gates . Gates, coming onto the Supergirl title with issue #34, has stated his intention of working with Johns and Robinson: What we hope to achieve is to make these three comics the most kick-ass books that DC puts out. The Superman legacy and the Superman books are so important, and the three of us are interested in pulling people into the Superman universe so hard that people look forward to picking up
693-631: The city's leaders, Zor-El and Alura , Supergirl's parents. After the first televised meeting between the President of the United States and a delegation from Kandor is interrupted by a rampaging Doomsday , Zor-El and Alura form a task force determined to preemptively end any future threat to Kandor by capturing Superman's worst villains and trapping them in the Phantom Zone . However, when several human police officers refuse to hand over
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#1732782446035726-483: The death of his adoptive father while also dealing with 100,000 Kryptonians now living on Earth as a result of the Brainiac story arc. This story begins a planned "link" on Action Comics , Superman , and Supergirl as part of their collective plans for Superman and his cast of characters through 2008 and beyond. The events of this story lead directly into the 12-part series Superman: World of New Krypton . In
759-560: The end makes a fortune for herself, or a lonely man falls in love and marries. Another form of storytelling that offers a change or transformation of character is that of the "hero's journey", as laid out in Joseph Campbell 's theory of the monomyth in his work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces . Christopher Vogler 's The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers details the same theory specifically for western storytelling. Many renowned novelists and writers claim to use
792-581: The end of the New Krypton arc, Superwoman murders Agent Liberty , after catching him spying on General Sam Lane and Lex Luthor, calling out "Intruder Alert" as she does so. She is later revealed to be working for General Lane. Superwoman is the focus of the "Who is Superwoman?" arc in Supergirl . She is revealed to be Lucy Lane , Lois Lane's younger sister. The new Planet Krypton is created by Kryptonian scientists reportedly using Brainiac's technology along with Kryptonian crystal-growth technology to grow
825-404: The months before Johns started his Brainiac arc, and James Robinson took over writing duties on Superman , both Johns and Robinson had made clear their plans for the Superman -related titles following those arcs for the rest of 2008 onto the end of 2010. The plan was to link the three Super -books ( Action Comics , Superman , and Supergirl ), allowing them to cross over more fluidly on
858-489: The other hand, Hayde might have mistaken 1945's "The Meteor of Kryptonite" for 1943's "The Meteor from Krypton", as Superman was exposed in the former but not in the latter. In the radio serial, Krypton is located in the same solar system as Earth, in the same orbit, but on the opposite side of the Sun . This provided an easy explanation for how kryptonite found its way to Earth. In the comics' Silver Age , which places Krypton in
891-667: The point that most series shorter than twenty-six chapters are a single arc spanning all the chapters. This makes syndication difficult, as episodes watched in isolation often confuse viewers unless watched in conjunction with the series as a whole. Series of thirty chapters or longer usually have multiple arcs. Neon Genesis Evangelion , for example, is a single story arc spanning twenty-six episodes. Other longer anime have multiple story arcs, such as Bleach , Gin Tama , One Piece , Naruto , Yu-Gi-Oh! and Fairy Tail . The anime Dragon Ball Z adapts four different story arcs from
924-498: The rise of DVD box sets of complete seasons, as well as streaming, has worked in arc-based productions' favor as the standard season collection format allows the viewer to have easy access to the relevant episodes. One area of television where story arcs have always thrived, however, is in the realm of the soap opera, and often episodic series have been derisively referred to as "soap operas" when they have adopted story arcs. Arc-based series draw and reward dedicated viewers and fans of
957-2945: The series conclusion, until reaching number 35 with Superman issue number 690. The numbering was restarted, and the badge was made red, for the Codename: Patriot and Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton storylines. Rebadged with green badges: 0 – Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special #1 (set after Superman #680 but before Superman: New Krypton Special #1) 1 – New Krypton #1 (also included in Superman: Brainiac TPB) 2 – Superman #681 3 – Guardian Special #1 4 – Action Comics #871 5 – Supergirl #35 6 – Superman #682 7 – Action Comics #872 8 – Supergirl #36 9 – Superman #683 10 – Action Comics #873 11 – Supergirl #37 (no shield number on cover) 12 – Superman #684 13 – Action Comics #874 14 – Supergirl #38 15 – Superman #685 (no shield number on cover) 16 – World of New Krypton #1 17 – Action Comics #875 18 – Supergirl #39 19 – Superman #686 20 – World of New Krypton #2 21 – Action Comics #876 22 – Supergirl #40 23 – Superman #687 24 – World of New Krypton #3 25 – Action Comics #877 26 – Supergirl #41 27 – Superman #688 28 – World of New Krypton #4 29 – Action Comics #878 30 – Supergirl #42 31 – Superman #689 32 – World of New Krypton #5 33 - Action Comics Annual #12 (no shield number on cover) 34 – Action Comics #879 35 – Supergirl #43 36 - Supergirl Annual #1 (no shield number on cover) 37 – Superman #690 Rebadged with red badges: 1 — Superman Secret Files and Origins 2009 2 – World of New Krypton #6 3 – Action Comics #880 4 – Supergirl #44 5 – Superman #691 6 - Superman Annual #14 7 – Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen Special #2 8 – World of New Krypton #7 9 – Action Comics #881 10 – Supergirl #45 11 – Superman #692 12 – World of New Krypton #8 13 – Action Comics #882 14 – Supergirl #46 15 – Superman #693 16 – World of New Krypton #9 17 – Action Comics #883 18 – Supergirl #47 19 – Superman #694 20 – World of New Krypton #10 21 – Action Comics #884 22 – Supergirl #48 23 – Superman #695 24 – World of New Krypton #11 25 – Action Comics #885 26 – Supergirl #49 27 – Superman #696 28 – World of New Krypton #12 29 – Action Comics #886 30 – Supergirl #50 31 – Superman #697 32 – Adventure Comics #8 33 – Last Stand of New Krypton #1 34 – Action Comics #887 35 – Supergirl #51 36 – Superman #698 37 – Adventure Comics #9 38 – Last Stand of New Krypton #2 39 – Action Comics #888 40 – Adventure Comics #10 41 – Supergirl #52 42 – Superman #699 43 – Last Stand of New Krypton #3 44 – Action Comics #889 45 – Adventure Comics #11 War of
990-601: The solar system, directly opposite the Earth, and therefore hidden by the sun. Alura tells Superman that he is not welcome on New Krypton, although Supergirl takes up residence there with her mother. In the end, Alura frees General Zod from the Phantom Zone to help her lead their people. New Krypton introduced several new super-powered characters to the Superman universe. These characters are modern versions of older and, up until recently, mostly unused heroes. Nightwing and Flamebird A new Nightwing and Flamebird first appeared in Superman's Fortress of Solitude guarding
1023-549: The starring characters of Action Comics . The origin of Nightwing and Flamebird was revealed in Action Comics Annual #12. Superwoman The mysterious, masked Superwoman demonstrates apparent Kryptonian abilities. She makes an effort to comfort Supergirl following her father's death. Although her true identity is initially unknown, her costume is similar to the Kristin Wells version of Superwoman. At
Superman: New Krypton - Misplaced Pages Continue
1056-489: The storylines of New Krypton and Codename: Patriot . That was in turn followed by Superman: Last Stand of New Krypton from March to April 2010 and finally concluded in the five-issue (#0 issue and #1-4) epic Superman: War of the Supermen in May 2010. All other title books were not distributed during the culmination event. Story arc Many American comic book series are now written in four- or six-issue arcs, within
1089-446: Was introduced to give Superman's voice actor Bud Collyer time off. This tale was recounted by Julius Schwartz in his memoir. However, the historian Michael J. Hayde disputes this: in "The Meteor From Krypton", Superman is never exposed to kryptonite. If kryptonite allowed Collyer to take vacations, that was a fringe benefit discovered later. More likely, kryptonite was introduced as a plot device for Superman to discover his origin. On
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