Plot by J. Michael Straczynski
Written by Chris Roberson
Illustrated by Alan GoldmanIn a small town near Des Moines, Iowa, Superman discovers that everyone is terrified of something, but they won’t say what — they just want The Man of Steel to leave as fast as possible. Find out what horrible secret awaits.
Man oh man do people NOT like this story. Across the board, no single storyline from the last year of comics was more universally despised than Grounded. It seems people just did not take to the JMS helmed tale of a distraught, spiritually rudderless Man of Steel exploring the country to find out if “truth, justice and the american way” still meant what it did the first time he pulled on those tights and that mankini. “BLASPHEMY!” they said! “POORLY WRITTEN!” “CONTRIVED!” “OUT OF CHARACTER!” were heard from far and wide (and also from Alaska.) Well, JMS is now gone and with Chris Roberson stepping in to fill his shoes and continue the story to its conclusion and beyond, how does this newest chapter fare? Click below to find out!
I’ll admit, I wrote off most criticism of this book as a byproduct of the combination mass fear of change/mass fear of introspection that most people in this country (not just within the comic world…by a long shot) experience on a day to day basis. Admittedly, I am not immune from self doubt either, but whereas I engage in personal and communal introspection on a multiple times per day basis, this comic was more than just a breath of fresh air. After all, using the comic world’s biggest emblem of America’s core values to cast a sometimes critical but always respectful eye on the issues plaguing this country could give a lot of fandom a swift kick in the ass, if not a preachy one. However, I do realize that many read comics in order to escape, and having Superman fight domestic abuse, immigration issues, suicide and lack of journalistic integrity isn’t that much of an escape and could be seen as a bit of a betrayal.
Which brings us to Chris Roberson, taking up the reigns and bringing the story somewhere slightly unexpected. It seems that in telling a quite polarizing tale about a polluting factory, climaxing in him refusing to allow his own wife to run a story on it in order to save the community it supports, he implies (and, indeed, the somewhat Morrison-esque ending lays bare) that the distraught, introspective, vulnerable and generally LOST attitude portrayed by Supes (in this title and no other he appears in, mind you) actually DOES imply something wrong with him.
Now, anyone who expected him to come out of the second destruction of Krypton AND the death of the only father he’s ever known and go right back to smashing bank robbers and bitch-slapping Brainiac clearly do not demand emotional realism from their comics. I think the fact that the super-hero to end all super-heroes was shown to be weak, damaged and hurting as a result of something other than a fictional type of rock was incredibly ballsy and I absolutely do not think the idea that his actions in this story being a result of that wrongness in any way diminishes them. If this story was meant to convey anything, its that Superman was BROKEN, and this was was his attempt to fix himself. If this issue was any indication, it appears as if he was very wrong, as he is now even more emotionally scarred and confused than when he started and his actions this issue prove that. If “yes there is something wrong with him, its part of the story, keep reading” doesn’t satisfy the haters, I dunno what will.
As far as fill-in artists go, Allan Goldman is not the worst option nor is he the best…he kinda just exists. Nothing about his art really stands out other than the fact that he made Lois look like a big ol’ whore, which was actually pretty jarring to the point that I didn’t know it was her at first and then didn’t believe it when the story indicated that it was. That said, the coloring and inks managed to keep it relatively consistent, visually, with what came before, so I guess theres some value in that.
Overall, is this story as bad as people say? No, it really isn’t. Do people fear a little bit of change in their comics? (and their lives?) Oh hell yes they do. I think where the story is going should be interesting (and at the very least entertaining) and I trust Roberson behind the wheel of this one since, frankly, he has done no wrong yet…unlike certain other writers that have just left the book…
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy
