Today, in honor of Superman: Earth One being released, I thought I would recommend some other origins of the Man of Steel, one set in continuity, and another set out of continuity. Those books are Birthright, and the other is Secret Identity, respectively.
Insert Double Rainbow jokes here. And ignore the fact everything I seem to recommend lately is Superman.
Superman: Birthright
Superman: Birthright, written by Mark Waid and with Leinil Francis Yu on the art duties, was intended as an out of continuity story that wasn’t even necessarily supposed to be canon. It was simply a way to update Clark’s early years to give him relevance in a 21st Century World.
The surprising thing about this book is how well it was received. Superman was a man who was a world traveler, rescuing folks in Africa while on assignment for the Daily Planet. What Mark Waid did here was make Clark as human as I’ve ever seen him. Mark Waid, the scribe responsible for the book, is the perfect person to handle such a large origin, with his encyclopedic knowledge of pretty much every DC character ever made. Seriously, the man is like a one man Wikipedia, without the user editing.
Using that Wikipedia in his head, he tweaked some of the characterizations of Superman, deciding that it was Clark the fans relate to, not Superman (he’s right in that regard). He also used the African locale to not only give a new place for Superman to flex his muscles, but to give him a way to interact with the world at large instead of just the United States, which he had been limited to at times. He also gave him a chance to spread his wings as a journalist, getting him out of the newsroom and doing some legitimate news reporting instead of just spending all day at his desk. Two birds with one stone, you know?
But none of that would have worked if it weren’t for Leinil Francis Yu’s artwork. If you’re used to the gritty style that Yu has been using the past couple of years, you’re in for a rude awakening. Here it’s clean and it just pops off the page. Assisted by the amazing colors of David McCaig, Yu’s art reaches new levels of outstanding with McCaig’s colors. The Man of Tomorrow has never been so gorgeous to look at, and when I was reading it, I would SWEAR it was Stuart Immonen.
In closing, this book, which was So well received, it was made canon in 2004, and was his origin until 2006, post Infinite Crisis. Not to speak ill of the recently completely Superman: Secret Origin, but it’s a great origin that updates an icon and makes him a relevant character in the new millennium.
Pick up Superman: Birthright here at Amazon or check your local Comic Shop for more info.
Superman: Secret Identity
Speaking of Stuart Immonen; Superman: Secret Identity was another book which gives another take on Kal-El. Set out of continuity and with a certain similarity to All-Star Superman; Secret Identity posits a life of Superman outside of the DC Universe (even in the “real world”), where he is inexplicably the only super hero. Without his usual origin of being from Krypton or being raised by a loving albeit barren couple; he’s free to live a life as he sees fit. Clark’s life starts out normal enough, until his powers manifest. After that his life turns toward all the Superman comics he had ignored throughout his childhood. Using these books as a template, he becomes a Superboy of sorts in his hometown.
That is; until the government shows up.
Those bastards, right? Well, instead of a Lex Luthor big bad, the government steps up to be an antagonist for Big Blue. Not villainous per se, as they want him to do “good” in the world, just good on their terms, not his. This is the set up running throughout the series: Superman vs. the Military.
But that’s not all. Instead of setting a status quo for a continuing series, it has a set ending. He meets his Lois (only here, she’s of Indian descent) and he falls in love with her, eventually starting a family and aging like a normal human, even if he has powers.
Much like Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek is another veteran writer who knows everything about the character, while putting a different spin on it. Tasked with a “real world” Superman story must be the most daunting thing in comics, as the two concepts seem mutually exclusive. But Kurt here did it with flying colors (if you pardon the pun). In this world, Superman, while his powers go unexplained, and their origins are merely alluded to, makes sense. There are no outlandish villains or super teams like the JLA or the JSA; it’s just one man who grows up to do the right thing, because it’s what he should do. What a beautifully told story.
And like I mentioned earlier, there’s Stuart Immonen. The interesting thing about these books is that while Yu had a style that was similar to Immonen’s current style, I couldn’t help but notice that the colors in this reminded me a bit of Yu’s current style. The two artists went on similar yet diverging path of evolution in their work.
Since it was a real world setting it makes sense for Immonen’s colors to be muted, if just a little. The bright colors we’re used to in New Avengers have been dimmed to something a little more dingy, a little less pop-art space age style. You might think it wouldn’t work for a Superman book, but the tone is matched perfectly with the art style. Both books are absolutely stunning work from some of today’s best minds on the world’s best hero.
Here is a link to browse for Superman Secret Identity on amazon. It’s currently out of print, but you can still find copies
