It’s an unfortunate truth that a lot of the time, DC comics doesn’t quite know what to do with Superman as a property. With every universal reboot, they completely retool the character in the hopes that it will allow new and fresh stories to be told. They seem to think that in order for more people to like Superman, they need to pick apart who he is every couple of years and bring him ever closer to the “ideal” of Batman, arguably one of DC’s most successful properties in recent years. However, that often leads to something fundamental about the character being left behind. With the New 52 reboot, which might be the most extensive reboot the character has gone through since John Byrne got his hands on him, I would say that what was left behind was the sense of joyous fun that came inherent with the character for so many years.
It’s fortunate, then, that DC recently launched “Adventures Of Superman”, which has brought back all the classic characteristics of the character that were lost with the reboot, including the most important one: a sense of fun.
“Adventures Of Superman” is a digital first series that DC launched with the intention of it telling stories about Superman outside of the New 52 continuity from a number of different creators. Six chapters into the series, I can already safely say this is the best Superman series DC has published since September 2011 and that’s because of the simple reason that it gets Superman right.
Superman is a character that has changed over the course of his 70 year life more than almost any other comic book character. This is largely due to the fact that he is so tied to the values of society at any given time that as society shifts, so does he. But the one thing that remained true about him over the course of those seven decades is that he is a champion of the people. Superman is a defender of the common person against everything the world would throw at us. He is the ever-present safety net that will be there when we fall to say, “Take my hand. We can get through this together.”
It was so heartbreaking, then, at the start of the New 52 when I saw this cover. I didn’t understand, that wasn’t Superman. That was an imagine that should be used in front of an Elseworlds story about an evil Superman destroying the world, not the cover to the first issue of a brand new Superman series that should bring in new readers. I only read one New 52 Superman series in it’s entirety and that was Grant Morrison’s “Action Comics” run and even then it was because of my blind loyalty to the man who wrote my all-time favourite Superman story and changed my life forever.
In reading what little I did of the New 52 Superman, I finally found my problem with the character: he didn’t know what he was fighting for. One of the first things DC did with Superman was dissolve the marriage with Lois Lane, which is fair enough (the comics industry’s complete aversion to marriage is a topic for another time, alas), but the problem comes with Lois’ subsequent disappearance from most of Clark’s life. She showed up here and there, but the friendship between Clark and Lois, the camaraderie between those two reporters, had been lost. In fact, a large part of the supporting cast had simply disappeared from Clark’s life. Both Kents died early in Clark’s life, taking away his connection to Smallville; the Fortress Of Solitude, once Superman’s main connection to Krypton, became just a satellite that he barely even used; even the Daily Planet staff, Clark’s friends, were barely seen.
Clark had no family, he had no friends and he had no place in the world. In order to heighten Clark’s sense of alienation on Earth, DC effectively removed all of the characters that served to connect with Clark’s humanity. Without them, who was Superman fighting for? Was he fighting for the people? Not really because the majority of his stories became a “punch X villain in the face” issue. Was he fighting for his family? No because his family were all dead. Was he fighting for his friends? No because everyone he was close to was now distanced from him.
Continued belowThey took away the heart of Superman, his humanity. And without his humanity, Superman has no reason care about us or to fight for us.
Then came “Adventures Of Superman”.
DC surprised me by showing off the first image of the series with Superman back in the classic red underwear costume, complete with the old school yellow ‘S’ on the back of the cape. That was my first sign of hope for this title. The next was when I saw the creative team line-up they released (Orson Scott Card excluded, but I doubt we need to worry about him). Jeff Parker, Justin Jordan, Jeff Lemire, Chris Samnee, Riley Rossmo, Joëlle Jones. All names that inspired hope in me for great Superman stories. And they did not disappoint.
From the showcasing Superman’s compassion for those in trouble to re-capturing the magic of Clark and Lois’ friendship, “Adventures Of Superman” is, by far and away, the best Superman series DC comics has published since September 2011. It’s fun, it’s action packed, but it doesn’t sacrifice a compelling story for the action, it’s inspiring, it’s… everything I’ve ever wanted from a Superman series.
Today’s chapter, from Michael Avon Oeming and Bryan J. L. Glass, explored just how important Superman’s history was to him. Without his past, without the Kents, Superman would have turned out much different. It’s one of the most common points in all of Superman’s origin stories, that it was the Kents that made him Superman just by instilling in him the values that he continues to hold dear. Values that seem absent from the New 52 interpretation.
Jeff Lemire’s chapter especially showed just how important the simple things are when it comes to Superman. He showed Superman listening as two boys played pretend as Superman and Brainiac and he really brought a sense of wonder and humanity back to a character that has been so elusive for so long now. It shows why he fights for us, why he cares for us, because he sees how important it is for someone to be there to inspire us to be better greater than ourselves.
As the line, heard in so many trailers for Man Of Steel, goes: “In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.” That’s who Superman is, someone who is able to see the best in humanity and fights to protect it and someone who is able to have fun and have adventures because of the powers he has and because of the friends he has. If DC really wanted to reinvigorate Superman for the 21st century, they should have made “Adventures Of Superman” the New 52 standard.
