The jeans, the t-shirt... it all seemed fairly symbolic of (and this will drive some of our readership crazy, but...) the "worker" Superman, the champion of the oppressed that populist-thinking kids in the 1930's saw able to right wrongs that couldn't be dealt with by a mortal man. Superman was an avatar of justice in a world where most people were powerless against the machinations of class, money, politics and the unstoppable threat some bad men could become simply by wielding a gun.
Bear in mind, the Depression was not some golden age for America. Superman was imagined during the reign of the likes of Dillinger, of rampant kidnappings, of crime born both from desperation and weird folk-hero glory. Jerry Siegel's own father passed from a heart attack following the robbery of his store. Mix that in with issues of the day such as the growing concerns in Europe, labor strife, crippling unemployment, uncertain politics, etc...
But what if bullets couldn't harm a man? If he had no need for wealth or weaponry to wield power? That his identity would remain secret and he could strike at will with no real fear of reprisal? What if this person was physically immune to the harms thrown his way? And this person still chose to work on the side of the angels? Now that was something.
That was the world that spawned Superman, and I think that's what Morrison is considering in his reboot.
That said: Superman arrived in 1938 with the circus acrobat's costume and the flowing red cape. Which: yeah, that's kind of weird when you think about it, isn't it? I mean, if I were to gain Superman's super powers tomorrow, my first thought would not be to put on spandex and sew an insignia on my chest, and I have 70 years of Superman history I'm aware and a "Superman problem".
When you start with a uniform or outfit, you go with what you've got until necessity forces you in new directions. And if Superman is the first Superhero in the DCU - then its not all bad that DC not return to the somewhat insane story of Superman's outfit as described in the Silver Age (its basically his childhood playsuit, if you follow the logic. I wish I were kidding.).
This week we saw the release of solicitations for Superman and Action Comics #2 of the New 52 launch from DC. And it seems that outfit isn't so much symbolic:
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| They are totally going for it in this "Superman: Year One" approach |
What's been a bit more baffling is watching fandom struggle with the notion that there is a new status quo in the current title of Superman (written by George Perez) and in the state of Superman's family (they did this after Infinite Crisis, too, so its not that much of a surprise). Anticipating some confusion, DC has released a simple guide to help the press and fans through the changes.
From DC's own website:
He has been called the Man of Steel, the Last Son of Krypton and a strange visitor from a distant planet.
He is Superman, the Man of Tomorrow. As part of DC COMICS – THE NEW 52, this September will usher in a new Superman for the new century.
In the pages of ACTION COMICS, writer Grant Morrison and artist Rags Morales will present humanity’s first encounters with Superman, before he became one of the World’s Greatest Super Heroes. Set a few years in the past, it’s a bold new take on a classic hero.
* This Superman is very much an alien, one struggling to adjust to his adopted home. In the series, he must come to terms with both the loss of his home world, as well as the loss of both of his adopted parents. He is more Kal-El from the planet Krypton than Clark Kent from Kansas. He’s a loner trying to find his place in the world.
* The series’ first storyline will explore the origins of Superman’s costume, as it evolves from a look that includes jeans and work boots to a new look: a suit of battle armor that pays tribute to his Kryptonian past.
* His great powers have limits. When the series begins, Superman can leap tall buildings, but his ability to fly is in its infancy.
And in the SUPERMAN ongoing comic book series, by writer George Perez and artist Jesus Merino, will be set in present day continuity and will unleash a series of new challenges for Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent.
* Clark Kent is single and living on his own. He has never been married.
* Lois Lane is dating a colleague at the DAILY PLANET (and his name isn’t Clark Kent) and she has a new position with the paper.
Timeless and modern, classic and contemporary, but younger, brasher and more brooding, this is Superman. The New Man of Tomorrow.Okay, firstly: THIS IS A NEW CONTINUITY. How some folks online haven't gotten this point yet, I do not know. But... ohmigod. Stop asking questions that suggest you might be illiterate.
Comics fandom raised on the Byrne-era version of Superman are thumping their chests in agony. How could they give Superman a divorce! (they didn't.) How could they kill Ma Kent? (they didn't. and I bet the way the Kents pass is a whole lot less goofy in this comic than in the Silver Age. Viruses in pirate chests found on vacation. I do not kid.)
Its kind of sad that the copy editors are so ham-fisted, but its clear they're assuring the reader that Superman is still basically the guy we've always known. The ranting about "How can he be TIMELESS and MODERN? These writers are STUPID," is just... mindboggling.
Yes, surely there was a better way to discuss the fact that Superman won't be portrayed as a "hand on hips, smiling into the sun" version of the character (that he rarely, if ever, was), by invoking "brooding". Already the usually clever Heidi MacDonald has leaped on the poor word choice and made the dubious connection to "Twilight". Disappointing, Heidi.*
There's an odd disconnect with what it would mean for Superman to just be starting out versus his current status quo. Just because Lois is dating someone else doesn't mean she's now irrelevant, for example, but that's certainly how folks are stating they believe on Twitter and other social media outlets.
But this is more or less what I expect whenever DC tries to move Superman in any direction. The endless complaints of irrelevance are met with change, and that change is met with derision and pledges to steer clear of the book (which we can assume people were doing anyway, given Superman's sales figures). Only...
They said the same sort of stuff about Superman when DC announced All Star Superman. Then, Grant Morrison told the perfect, final Silver-Age/ completely modern story for Superman in All Star Superman. The same pledges of horror that this wasn't the Byrne-continuity, etc... But then Morrison and Quitely handed in the finest piece of work from DC in the past decade, and suddenly everyone had always been on board and asked "why isn't Superman always like this?" (thus proving that 95% of people complaining about Superman have apparently never bothered to READ any Superman.)
And this book isn't just getting a lot of press both on comics sites and in the mainstream press,** it seems like it actually has people talking about Action Comics for the first time in a long time (I'll not bring up the trainwreck of Goyer's Action 900 short story here and now). That's great news.
There's a lot we have to wait and see. Morrison has a way of talking about these undercurrents in his books as if its the main theme. He may say "Oh, yes, I see Superman as more Kal-El than Clark Kent", but by that he may mean "The goofy Clark is a put on". And at some point, one of the most interesting bits about Superman is the balance of Kal-El the alien, Superman the superhero, Clark Kent the bumbling big city reporter and whoever Clark Kent/ Kal-El thinks of himself when he's in his own mind. And its hard to have all of those in the scenario where he's got Lois to confide to as has been status quo for about two decades.
I'm excited. But I'm a little frustrated with how DC is rolling out the information on the title. Major news outlets always treat these stories with the same respect they treat water-skiing squirrels and anyone with a PhD - adorable but confusing and bit useless.
As a final addendum, the new Supergirl series looks really, really iffy.
*I am planning a post on the now liberal use of "Twilight-y" as the new knee-jerk reaction
**In the article we are all given permission to settle the hell down over Action 900:
The series reached it's 900th issue earlier this year,which included a controversial story where Superman announced he intended to renounce his American citizenship to better serve the entire world.
That storyline is effectively nullified by the relaunch.
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