Switch on Superman 712 surprising, disappointing, possibly cowardly, but it gives us a full issue about Krypto!

Jill Pantozzi reports that the solicited story for Superman #712 will be replaced with a Kurt Busiek-penned story we'd all heard about a few years ago, but which never saw print as something got upturned in the middle of his run.

The story was very Krypto-centric, and I was eager to read it back then.  I'm just as eager today,  I find.  I loves me some Krypto The Super Dog.

Well, the story that is being pulled from Superman #712 was supposedly about Superman meeting up with a young superhero named "Sharif" (I am guessing an all-purpose Muslim fellow) who was born outside the US but uses his powers to defend Truth, Justice and the American Way.

You can read Pantozzi's article here.

Truthfully, this sounds much more like something vsetigial from the JMS outline and not the direction Roberson took the story once it was his. JMS was writing a story about Superman confronting the ills of America on the ground, Roberson is telling a story about Superman reconnecting with who he is, step by step.

If the chapter could be pulled out and it was distracting from the storyline that Roberson was telling, I'm cool with this. I don't find the idea of Superman working with a young Muslim controversial, but lord knows that there are plenty who will likely go completely xenophobic crazy over the idea (cough.... Fox News) now that Superman supposedly also renounced his citizenship.

As DC cruises to the new #1's, I am disappointed at what I suspect are the reasons here for the change (cowardice), but not all that surprised.  They do not want to rock the boat with so much at stake with the relaunch. 

I'm speculating a bit here, and I don't really know.  But I am absolutely positive it was not because Roberson didn't hand in an aces script.