I Like the Jeans and T-Shirt Better
Finally, readers get a good look at today's Man of Tomorrow in the relaunch of Superman. It's a mixed issue that leaves me with mainly just one impression. Clark Kent has found his voice, but Superman has lost his.
The issue begins with the demolition of the old Daily Planet building and the rise of the new. I can understand some being annoyed by this move, but I really enjoy its not-so-subtle symbolism. It helps that the new building also doesn't look completely ridiculous. It's just a new building with a noticeably redesign globe at the top.
The main action of the issue features Superman fighting some kind of fire entity in Metropolis. It's during this action that George Perez does a pretty excellent job of introducing us to the notable members of Metropolis' population. He goes beyond just the Daily Planet cast, giving us also the mayor and some of the police force. This does feature an interesting change, though. Morgan Edge is now black.
I'm not sure what I think of this Morgan Edge thing. When Marvel did this kind of thing with the Ultimate Universe, I was all for it and found it pretty in line with what they were trying to accomplish with that franchise. But when Marvel did this, they really did it. So my reaction here is... just Morgan Edge? If you're doing to do this, do it. It comes off as rather half-hearted to do this kind of thing to only one character and for that one character to be a minor Superman one. Now, it does seem like Edge is being positioned to have a much more important role in the Superman franchise from here on, but I find it difficult to give DC much credit overall for this move when it is such a small effort.
If DC had balls, they would have turned Alfred into Geoffrey from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Between this and Action Comics, the new Clark Kent seems to be shaping up well. He actually has a distinct personality that is something other than faking some bumbling antics. He actually has his own opinions now, and the social awkwardness he exhibits comes off as more natural and believable. I can believe that this Clark is Superman. I can believe that this is a Kryptonian raised on Earth and trying to live life normally but not quite being able to. Finally, we have a Clark Kent who doesn't feel like a bad act.
Unfortunately, we now have a Superman that does. In trying to make Superman come off as more exciting and interesting, all we get here is a Superman who seems more generic. Superman now talks tough and banters with criminals a bit. You know, like virtually every other generic superhero does. Whether you found it boring or not, Superman used to at least have a voice of his own. Now, we have one who is awkwardly trying to sound like an action hero.
There are also the changes with Lois Lane. Now, the loss of their marriage doesn't really bother me too much. Yes, I continue to believe that comic creators in general have this irrational bias against marriages and that those writers who actively want to get rid of them do so because they lack the creativity or willingness to write anything other than single heroes. But I was never personally invested in the marriage of Lois and Clark. What bothers me is Lois' promotion to an executive producer. While it is carried off in an interesting way in this issue, I don't think it's a good move for the character. Lois' role as an executive producer is a less active and heroic role, by far, than an investigative journalist. She is now basically stuck in an office, and writers will have to go to great lengths to make her an active participant in many stories. It seems like she has been benched in order to give Clark all of the journalist opportunities, which is just unnecessary. It's just a really unfortunate development with the character, especially when just recently people were championing for her to get her own series. But who is going to really want to read Lois Lane: Executive Producer? Read in wonder as she schedules appearances and orchestrates camera angles.
That connection to Stormwatch is revealed, and really, it's just an awkward moment in the issue. It's like... really? That is it? I assume this is going to develop into something bigger, because it is pretty lame as is. We see an alien blow a horn that was referenced in Stormwatch. That is really it. This is just a random scene in this issue that shows that happen. I'm not sure it even has any relation to the fire being that Superman ends up fighting. Even if it does, that is a pretty weak connection.
The issue is narrated by an article that Clark has written about the events transpiring with Superman and the fire being. It is a narrative technique that has been used before in Superman comics, and it's one I like. Yet, I think Perez makes the narration a little too verbose and descriptive to be believable as a new article.
Superman is a good first issue that covers all of the basics and does an excellent job at familiarizing readers with the new state of Superman's corner of the DC Universe. However, some of the more major changes do leave much to be desired. DC probably needs to give more consideration toward Superman's new attitude and Lois' new job if they really want this to be an improvement on what readers had before. This issue's connection to Stormwatch is also an underwhelming joke. For a first issue, it's a solid start but will need to step up its game in future issues.
