Can DC’s alternate line of Superman books finally win me over?

As I said in my last review, I’ve been reading comics for a few years now – and books produced by DC take up a disproportionate amount of space on my shelf. With badass characters like Batman, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Wonder Woman, there have been a lot of really cool stories for me to sink my teeth into.

One hero has always evaded me however.

There’s just something about Superman that is so damn unlikeable. Between his ridiculous costume and almost complete absence of edge, Superman really is – for me – the Roman Reigns of the DC universe.

The ‘say your prayers and take your vitamins’ all-American, self-righteousness of Superman has always made him so deeply unappealing. Couple that with the fact that he’s basically indestructible and I can’t think of a less engaging character to build stories around.

That’s not say people haven’t tried to make him cool – and oh how they have tried. Man of Steel (2012) did a pretty admirable job (in the first act at least) to try and make us care about an invincible alien, and the scene with Kevin Costner on top of a mountain in Batman v Superman is pretty darn good too.

But despite all of that effort, Superman wasn’t even the star of his own sequel (BvS) – and his shoehorned inclusion in Justice League was a hammy afterthought, made even worse by terrible post production on the reshoots.

Can Superman be cool?

But we’re talking about comics here – and they’re a totally different beast.

Having said that, many of my criticisms of movie depictions of Superman seem to carry over into print. While I’m not currently following any Superman lines, his appearances in Batman or Super Sons (to name a couple of lines that I am following) seem to generally backup my view. He’s clean-cut, sanctimonious, and – despite the hideously bright colour scheme – really quite dull. His interactions with his son are quite interesting, sure, but would I follow a line based entirely on Superman? Probably not (though I am going to make an effort to check out the relaunched Superman #1 under Brian Michael Bendis).

All of the above is why I was so intrigued to discover Superman: Earth One, written by J. Michael Straczynski, first published in 2010.

The Earth One line of graphic novels are designed to tell alternative stories about DC’s leading heroes in a setting away from the main DC Universe cannon and separate from the constraints of a joint continuity. Along with this – and for me, the key pull factor – is the modernisation of those characters.

Superman: Earth One, Volume One was the first entrant in this line, and immediately the front cover grabbed me. A muted colour palette and a younger, hoodie-wearing, Superman with glowing red eyes giving the camera some sass was a version of Superman I could dig – so, on a whim, I decided to give the book a try.

Winning me over

Superman: Earth One tells the story of a young Superman (early 20s) leaving home to start his adult live in Metropolis. With his dad, Jonathan, already having passed away, Clark seeks fortune in the big city to help take care of his mum, Martha (aww). Clark quickly realises that his super-ness means he could have pretty much any job he wants – be it a professional football player or a top research scientist – but when you’re ultra talented at everything, how do you know which one is your true calling?

It’s an incredibly relevant conflict that Straczynski has picked up on here – going to university and obtaining a good degree has almost become standard procedure for kids today (god I sound old – stay of my lawn). But with so much opportunity (despite the debt), how exactly is a young person supposed to decide what to do with their lives? Choice is a prison, and while an older reader may want to shrug their shoulders and tweet #firstworldproblems at me, people my age know just how crushing that pressure can be.

If the aim of this book was to interest young adult readers in (what they perceive to be) a somewhat pompous character by lending him an incredibly relatable conflict, then Straczynski has absolutely achieved this, particularly in the first half of the story.

The sage counsel Jonathan provides his son in the form of flashbacks woven throughout the book are warm and nostalgic, but also provide a deal of comfort to a reader who’s asking themselves the same questions as Clark. What’s more important, passion or money? What am I even passionate about anyway? Am I fulfilling my potential? Am I contributing something meaningful to the world? A sepia-toned refuge is offered in those flashbacks, and as a reader we share those moments of calm with Superman.

On that note I must mention the artwork by Shane Davis, who gives this book the edge this character so desperately needs. The art is sharp and modern, and every character’s face is clear and expressive. The colours are muted and the palette is dirty, for want of a better word. This is a Superman book, unmistakably, but it feels like it was produced for me – a DC fan that would usually gravitate towards Batman et al.

The Superman evangelists shouldn’t fear though, there are still plenty of hallmarks you’d expect from a Superman story here – including those damn red underpants. I really don’t envy artists who are tasked with trying to make Superman’s costume look cool. I imagine they all get the exact same brief; “make it cool and modern, but incorporate the history” (and indeed there are words to that effect in the art drafts in the back of the book) – but I just don’t think it can be done. As such Superman’s costume still looks so lame in Earth One, but I think enough is done with a new, and incredibly cool, Clark Kent to make up for it.

Overall

If you’ve not connected with Superman in the past, then I would certainly recommend Superman: Earth One, Volume One. Superman may still have some flaws (in that he doesn’t have any), but Clark Kent is a younger, cooler, infinitely more relatable character with an engaging new look. The real achievement of his book is that it makes me care about Superman, and that’s no mean feat.

I already have Volume Two sat on my shelf – so I shall check that out to see if the coolness continues into the second book and report back with my findings.