Superman: Earth-One


KnightWing

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I was so turned off by the various previews (and his run on the Superman series), that I've already posted the hardcover on eBay. Best of all, it has bids, too! So the second it arrives from DCBS, I'm gonna turn around and ship it back out.

Nice. You can open the box, look at, and put it in another box to send it away in one fluid motion.

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If the book sells really well, they'll need to continue the series. I wonder if they'll pull JMS off the book? Give it to someone else?

Probably not, as its a book for him. If they do, it'll be a few volumes in, they wouldn't be so short sighted to just have one story in the bag, and not wait to see how it fairs for about a year.

I think the book will sell, just not very well. Most comic fans seem to have been put off by the "Its like Edward from Twilight..." bull, and how badly JMS's Superman run has went.

Also, Secret Origin just wrapped, and this is another technical origin story (All be it, different. An origin is still an origin) so most people will have their fill of Superman origins for a while.

Well, that's what I think.

Earth-1 Batman doesn't even have a new release date yet, which is a little worrying.

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Also, Secret Origin just wrapped, and this is another technical origin story (All be it, different. An origin is still an origin) so most people will have their fill of Superman origins for a while.

I'm still waiting for a good Superman origin story. So far, the best ones (in comic form) have been Man of Steel and Birthright.

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<Spoilers Below>

I just read it. Hmmm....

Okay, here's the deal:

It's a decent story. It really is. It's just not a Superman story.

Someone said in a review that this is a Marvel Comics Superman story. That's about as accurate a statement as I've heard about the book. All the things that make the DC universe special are swapped out for Marvel's darker, more "real-world" sensibilities.

In this story, Krypton did not self-implode; it was purposely destroyed by another race of beings from a sister planet, hired by an as-yet unknown third party. Toward the end of the book, Clark is able to access the database on board his ship, and he asks it a simple question: who am I, and what am I supposed to do? The ship responds, "Your task is to survive. To use your powers well and wisely. And to avenge the murder of your home world."

...WHAT?

Yes. Superman's purpose in life is to avenge the murder of Krypton.

Clark of Earth-One barely talks. He mostly walks and/or flies around, unsure of exactly what to do. The first half of the book is just him "finding himself." Even after he decides to put on the suit and fight the invading alien force, he barely talks. Superman never speaks a word to Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, or anyone else except the evil alien overlord. Hell, Clark Kent has only one conversation with Lois and Jimmy. There is ZERO development of any relationship between Lois and Clark, save for an offhand reference in a Watchmen-style in-universe newspaper article at the end. That article saves a lot of the book, as it's the only time we really see (or rather read) Superman in the entire book. We finally get Superman laying out the "this is who I am, and this is what I'm here to do" speech. Fortunately, he doesn't mention vengeance or anything stupid like that once.

But those two pages at the end are the ONLY time we really get good, straightforward development on Superman himself. Everything else is just "Clark spends time alone to think," "Clark uses his heat vision on person/object A," or "Clark flies at super-speed into object/person B."

Clark's characrer honestly feels like a near-exact copy of Hyperion from the Supreme Power. I wonder why that would be... He's moody, he's quiet, and he spends a lot of time staring out into space thinking about his place in the world. He's there for the world when all hell breaks loose, but that's the only time he's there.

Now, like, I said, this isn't actually a bad book, per ce. I have no problem with a version of Superman who didn't know what he wanted to do with his life at the age of 21, and needed some time to sort through things before finally donning the tights. The problem, however, is that this story focuses entirely on that, rather than on the truly important aspects of the Superman mythos: the Lois/Clark dynamic, Superman's morality, the underlying message of hope, etc.

Hell, even SMALLVILLE has that down!

So, essentially, Superman: Earth-One is a decent story that is in no way a Superman story. As a "modern reboot" of the Superman mythos, it fails. TERRIBLY.

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I completely disagree with KnightWing. I loved Clark Kent's portrayal. He is very young in this story. Basically Superboy if you think about it. He's afraid of being different and unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. Which describes most 20 year olds so why sure he be different? And the way the characterization on that worked was pitch perfect.

Also loved his parents. Loved that they understood how special he was. The scene after Ma Kent has figured out how to make the suit out of the stuff in the rocket and she is talking with Clark in the kitchen is brilliant. Telling Clark the only way they won't fear his power is if they can see his face. That Clark Kent would have to wear a mask because Superman can't. And how crestfallen Clark is by that notion. Just brilliant I thought.

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I loved Clark Kent's portrayal. He is very young in this story. Basically Superboy if you think about it. He's afraid of being different and unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. Which describes most 20 year olds so why sure he be different? And the way the characterization on that worked was pitch perfect.

I have no problem with a version of Superman who didn't know what he wanted to do with his life at the age of 21, and needed some time to sort through things before finally donning the tights. The problem, however, is that this story focuses entirely on that, rather than on the truly important aspects of the Superman mythos: the Lois/Clark dynamic, Superman's morality, the underlying message of hope, etc.

Hell, even SMALLVILLE has that down!

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