Superman: Birthright #11 Review

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Reviewer: Iain Burnside
Story Title: N/A

Written by: Mark Waid
Penciled by: Leinil Francis Yu
Inked by: Gerry Alanguilan
Colored by: Dave McCaig
Lettered by: Comic Craft
Editor: Tom Palmer Jr. & Eddie Berganza
Publisher: DC Comics

So… Superman, huh? For such an iconic figure he is certainly conflicted. Just look at the schism in his books ever since April’s creative overhaul. Chuck Austen’s Action Comics and, to a lesser extent, Greg Rucka’s Adventures of Superman both chose to focus on the old school frivolity of Superman, with an awkward, bumbling Clark Kent that Christopher Reeve himself would have been proud of thrown in for good measure. Meanwhile, Brian Azzarello’s Superman and Jeph Loeb’s Superman/Batman have chosen to pretty much ignore Clark Kent and turn Superman into an Anakin-level whiner apparently on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The reason for this sudden shift in policy is… what, exactly? Batman never has to put up with this sh–. Nor do Wolverine or Spider-Man or Wonder Woman or any other superhero the general public could recognize. It all seems a bit daft really, having such drastically different takes on the same person. If we are to believe DC then Mark Waid’s Birthright series should provide the template for all future Superman writers to follow, as it is supposed to be the updated take on the early days of the character.

If that’s the case then Austen, Rucka, Azzarello and Loeb are all barking up the wrong tree as Waid’s character is different yet again. The early issues showcased a Clark Kent that was not so imbecilic and spineless that it would be inconceivable for his journalistic career to progress so far or for his romantic life to be so richly fulfilled by Lois Lane. Clark was still a humble and gentle person but not a weak one. He simply kept himself to himself and did not draw attention to himself by tripping up at least once an issue or umm-ing and ahh-ing his way through every single conversation. Clark felt more real and easier to relate to than he had done in years. The reason for this is that, for the first time in years, the writer recognized the fact that Clark Kent is a real person and not a disguise. Aside from not wearing the costume, changing his hair, shielding his eyes and not drawing attention to his physique, the Clark in Metropolis is exactly the same person that grew up in a loving family environment in Smallville. He is not a disguise; he is a human being and the real role model underneath the iconic “S” symbol. I don’t care what Bill says, this is the case and for once someone is recognizing that fact. So Austen and Rucka are barking up the wrong tree with that one.

In addition to this, those very same positive qualities of Clark’s should be amplified and made into massive dollops of heroism whenever Superman appears. This is where Azzarello and Loeb falter. Nobody wants to read Superman talking at a priest for two issues straight, in particular when the dialogue is so inane. Likewise, nobody should believe that Superman would be so narrow-minded with regards to this blond teenage girl supposedly being his Kryptonian cousin that he would deliberately endanger the life of one of the Amazons. It is doubly preposterous when you consider that Superman is so clearly not alone. He has dozens of comrades in the JLA, JSA, Outsiders and Teen Titans. He has closer ties to Batman, Superboy, Krypto and Power Girl. He has deeply personal connections to Martha, Jonathon, Lois, Jimmy and Perry. No, he wouldn’t do anything like that. He wouldn’t bitch about anything either, he would just do his best to resolve the situation, which is where Birthright left off last issue. Even though he was being poisoned by Kryptonite in the atmosphere, he refused to give up and let Luthor ruin his name by having a forged Kryptonian army attack Metropolis. No, he charged back into the battle with minimum fuss because that is the hero Superman is.

Mark Waid’s story involves the greatest version of Clark Kent/Superman that any non-Elseworlds book has seen in a long, long time. He fights through the physical pain of the Kryptonite, the assaults by the “Kryptonians” and the frantic dashing over the city to desperately – somehow, hopefully, please God let him get there in time, nobody else can do it – save as many lives as possible. He fights through the emotional pain of childhood friend Lex Luthor having gone to a place even he cannot save him from, the uncertainty of how much good his powers can do, and sharing a part of himself with the woman he loves even though it ultimately means nothing. All of this anguish and doubt is clearly shown throughout the book but it is done so subtly. It is not rammed down our throats in endless panels of rambling dialogue. It is evident in choice little phrases such as “You’re safe now, miss. You, on the other hand – you disgust me.” It can be seen in the glint of his brilliant blue eye as it spots a child about to be crushed by the giant symbol of Luthor’s fake army while he is busy flying two other civilians to safety.

That panel in particular leads to an integral piece of artwork on the next page. It is one of the few times a splash page is justifiable to the story. Superman grabs the symbol – a giant “S” identical to his own – and puts it right back into its rightful context. He cradles the child safely under his cape with one hand and uses the giant symbol as a shield to deflect an energy blast from the enemy. The symbol rightfully belongs on those who would use it to help the helpless and it certainly had me feeling it, let me tell you. Jimmy Olsen was feeling it to, taking a picture of the scene and uploading it to the Daily Planet’s news server. The picture was sent all over the world in seconds and changed the course of the battle. Now that people finally saw confirmation of what Superman represented, they fell behind him instantly and took up arms against the invaders. “Back off. He’s with us.” Oh, you are so right, Jimmy…

I would have liked to mark the book higher than I have done but, truth be told, as an individual comic it doesn’t stand up too well. As chapter 11 of 12 however, it is bloody brilliant. It is the chaotic battle before the plot threads can be tied up. Also, despite a couple of absolutely brilliant moments the art is not terribly coherent either. The backgrounds are nonexistent, which would be okay if the foregrounds were up to scratch. Sadly, despite his terrific work in earlier issues, Yu seems to have rushed things here. The book was delayed, so perhaps there was something going on there after all. As it is, the facial expressions are hard to see and the figures are awkward and simplistic. Not that it matters too much when a book can take such criticism and still leave me smiling. In fact, the biggest problem I have is that there is only one more book to go. Dare we hope for a sequel, Mr. Waid?