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.
Skitch Commentary: Ma and Pa Kent are dead? I know that was true in the old comics too, but I started reading Superman in the 80’s, so I like Ma and Pa Kent a lot.
I do like this his powers are just starting to develop. The lack of flight is particularly interesting. It also explains why in the article I commented on earlier it refers to Supers as “a street-level defender of the ordinary man and woman”
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.
Skitch Commentary: I never saw a reason to have Lois and Clark married, it was never used all that well in the comics, so I don’t see this as a major issues.
I am definitely concerned when Superman is described as brooding, though if it’s done well (and with Morrison and Perez, I suspect it will be), it definitely could have a lot of potential.
And I do love the fact that the two Superman stories are set at different points in his career. It actually gives a reason to have Superman titles.
One thing I am really curious about is why Superman seems to have gotten so many drastic changes while Batman seems to have just about none of his history changed.
