Superman Now!
By Adam Murdough
Another recurring theme with close ties to the aforementioned Silver Age renaissance is a tendency for recent stories to emphasize and/or revolve around Superman’s status as an extraterrestrial being. The villains of "Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes" are a cadre of fascist demagogue "heroes" who have turned 31st-century Earth’s populace against the Legion (most of whom are from other planets) and seized power for themselves by fomenting anti-alien bigotry. As part of their scheme, they have twisted the legend of Superman to suggest that he was actually an Earthling, not an alien; when Superman himself arrives in the future to set the record straight, they attempt to eliminate him. In "Back in Action," a three-part story running in Action Comics immediately after "Up, Up, and Away," a powerful alien poacher and goods-trafficker called "The Auctioneer" arrives on Earth and harvests dozens of its superbeings to sell off-planet as "collectibles." He is delighted to find a rare commodity: no fewer than three Kryptonians (one more than Superman had been aware of). "The Enemies Among Us," a storyline in Superman/Batman, has all the extraterrestrials on Earth, including Superman, falling under the influence of a sinister force (also of extraterrestrial origin) and turning on their human neighbors.
In particular, quite a few Superman stories lately have involved people and artifacts from Superman’s native Krypton. In "Up, Up, and Away," Lex Luthor attacks Superman with a powerful Kryptonian weapon called the Sunstone, which Superman later converts into his new Fortress of Solitude. In the landmark "Last Son" story arc, co-written by Geoff Johns and Superman: The Movie director Richard Donner, Superman faces off against Kryptonian convict General Zod and his accomplices from the Phantom Zone. In Superman #666, Superman is possessed by a demon from Krypton’s version of Hell. After his encounter with the Auctioneer, Superman goes in search of, and locates, the "Third Kryptonian" on Earth; and foreshadowing hints have been dropped, in that story and in Action Comics #850, that in the near future Superman will also locate the original Bottle City of Kandor and free its Kryptonian inhabitants, creating a colony known as "New Krypton."
All this attention paid to Superman’s "alienness" in general, and his Kryptonian lineage in particular, is in sharp contrast to the policies that have governed Superman for the past twenty years. At one time, writers were encouraged to treat Superman as a citizen of Earth first and a Kryptonian a distant second. Another important mandate was that the post-Crisis Superman was, and must remain, truly the "Last Son of Krypton," as the numerous Kryptonian survivors that appeared throughout the Silver Age supposedly diminished the monolithic uniqueness of the character, thus making him less "special." This is certainly not to say that stories about Krypton and Kryptonians have been completely forbidden since 1986, but such stories have been few and far between, and until the reintroduction of Kara Zor-El, the only "real, live" Kryptonian involved has been Superman himself. Now, apparently, the Earth/Krypton cultural embargo has been lifted, and Superman is once again overrun with visitors from "the old country."
The preoccupation with alien-centric Superman story ideas may be a reaction to post-9/11 xenophobia and paranoia, tapping into American society’s simultaneous distrust of, fascination with, and dependency on "foreign" influences, and helping readers to process and accept the time-honored truth that an "alien" can still be a great American hero. Or, it may simply be an attempt to restore some science-fiction intrigue and exoticism to Superman, to appeal to fans who may feel that the Earth-bound Byrne-era interpretation of Superman has run its course; or more simply still, it may be yet another expression of Silver Age nostalgia. Whatever the reason, it is inarguably appropriate for America’s favorite "super-immigrant" to be firmly in touch with his ethnic heritage while celebrating a seventy-year milestone.
As for the multiple Kryptonians, it may be significant to note that they (along with multiple varieties of kryptonite, multiple Bizarros, etc.) have been reintroduced to the DC Universe at the same time as multiple parallel Earths. Such duplication is once again seen as strengthening or complementing, rather than detracting from, the central character concept--finally, DC has remembered that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This rampant variation on a theme in Superman’s world can be thought of as an example of "proliferation branding"--the creation of numerous clones, spin-offs, and variants of a successful product or franchise--a common marketing strategy when a market is uncertain or unstable, which has certainly been true of superhero comics in recent years.
Other Super-Signs of the Times
Speaking of branding, it is worth noting in passing the influence that outside media have been having on Superman comics. Astute readers will have noticed the similarity between the Sunstone employed by Luthor in "Up, Up, and Away" and the Kryptonian crystal-mass employed by Luthor in Superman Returns, which was in theaters while "Up, Up, and Away" was being published. Similarly, at about the same time Superman discovered he had an illegitimate son in Superman Returns, he acquired an adopted one in the comics. Also, the versions of Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and the Phantom Zone criminals most recently seen in the comics are based on those found in the original Richard Donner-directed Superman films. And while the Smallville TV show has not had as strong an impact on the Superman comics lately as it had around the time of the Birthright series, its pull can still be felt, as witnessed by the oft-mentioned plans to introduce the Chloe Sullivan character from Smallville to the DC Universe proper.
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