Action Comics has revealed that Clark Kent has a mysterious informant who is aiding the young reporter in his crusade against Glen Glenmorgan. In Action Comics #3 we see "Icarus" reassuring Clark to stay in the game against Glenmorgan despite the industrialist turning the media's attention away from himself and onto Superman. So far, we haven't been clued in on Icarus' true identity. Yesterday, during an afternoon of idle thought, I mused on the question of the informant's true name. My first thought was that "Icarus" was a member of the Legion of Superheroes. This would fit his apparent knowledge of the future. Someone pointed out to me that the three beautiful people who visited Clark's apartment while he was away in Action Comics #1 were probably Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, and Saturn Girl (two men and a blonde woman). It's also been hinted that the Legion will make an actual appearance in Action Comics very soon. However, this is also the greatest argument against one of their members being "Icarus." It's the most obvious answer. Also, if Clark is already acquainted with the Legion (as evidenced by their visit to his apartment) then why would one of them need to hide their identity to be his informant? I decided to shelf the Legion answer for the moment and come up with some other possibilities.

I looked at the name "Icarus" and reviewed its mythological roots. In Greek myth, Icarus was a boy with wax wings who flew too close to the sun and it lead to danger. That's when a mad thought hit me. Who, in the history of Grant Morrison's work, flew too close to the sun leading him to danger?

Why, that's what happened to Big Blue in All-Star Superman. Some of you are going to point out that All-Star Superman was an out-of-continuity story and definitely was not set in the DCnU. However, let me remind you that Grant has sewn alternate continuities together before. Solaris was a villain in both the JLA from post-crisis DC continuity and in All-Star Superman. Superman Prime and Kal Kent both appear in JLA and All-Star Superman as well. The All-Star Superman has interacted with past versions of himself before (All-Star Superman #6) and with his descendants. He would have the knowledge of the future to steer a younger version of himself to the right path. So, what I'm suggesting, is that "Icarus" is either the All-Star Superman or some future version of Superman with a history that's close in proximity to the All-Star version of the character. I could be wrong. It may sound a bit far fetched, but I think the proof is in the name. Only time will tell.

I hope it's true! Unfortunately, I don't think DC will let Morrison to tell a story like this. It isn't new reader friendly and it can become confusing for most readers.

@DarkChris said:

I hope it's true! Unfortunately, I don't think DC will let Morrison to tell a story like this. It isn't new reader friendly and it can become confusing for most readers.

You could be right about that, but I think it depends on how it's done. If he just drops the fact that it's All-Star Superman without any further explanation then it would be confusing to new readers. However, if it's explained as a future version of Superman contacting the past while letting those of us in the know realize it's All-Star Superman then it would be a pretty standard alternate future story and would be no more confusing than that. Like I said, I could be wrong. But there's something about that name...

You have put some thought into this and clearly have made some convincing arguments. But here's to me hoping you're wrong. As much as I love AS Superman, i want it to be a stand-alone story. Yes there were parts of DC 1 Million in there, but I like to think them as that world's version of the future with no real connection to the post-crisis continuity. Same goes here. I really really don't want any more past allusions or connections with respect to the DCnU.

@ssejllenrad:

I hear you. All-Star Superman is an important piece of work to me and I wouldn't want to see anything interfering with that. However, I have a hard time seeing Morrison tarnishing his own work. I also believe in Hypertime so I'm not too worried about letting continuity get in the way. If you just think of it as a possible future which might or might not come true depending on how things go then I don't see what can go wrong. Nothing's set in stone and there's nothing to be hung up about.

...And I could be wrong...

@Jekylhyde14 said:

@ssejllenrad:

I hear you. All-Star Superman is an important piece of work to me and I wouldn't want to see anything interfering with that. However, I have a hard time seeing Morrison tarnishing his own work. I also believe in Hypertime so I'm not too worried about letting continuity get in the way. If you just think of it as a possible future which might or might not come true depending on how things go then I don't see what can go wrong. Nothing's set in stone and there's nothing to be hung up about.

...And I could be wrong...

Thing is... You're points are quite convincing and knowing Morrison, there's a high probability it's true.

@ssejllenrad said:

@Jekylhyde14 said:

@ssejllenrad:

I hear you. All-Star Superman is an important piece of work to me and I wouldn't want to see anything interfering with that. However, I have a hard time seeing Morrison tarnishing his own work. I also believe in Hypertime so I'm not too worried about letting continuity get in the way. If you just think of it as a possible future which might or might not come true depending on how things go then I don't see what can go wrong. Nothing's set in stone and there's nothing to be hung up about.

...And I could be wrong...

Thing is... You're points are quite convincing and knowing Morrison, there's a high probability it's true.

Yeah, knowing the man's work like I do, it makes a lot of sense to me in terms of Morrison's Superman. If this is true, ignoring all other continuities and stories, you could treat the new Action Comics as Superman's early years, Morrison's JLA as the middle of his career, All-Star Superman as the hero's peak, and DC One Million as the grand finale (with his marriage to the Golden Lois). The pieces do seem to fit, but my theory is far fetched in plenty of convincing ways. Also, there's Hypertime. With it, you can choose to accept the Morrison-Superman timeline or disregard it with any combination of stories you choose (which is why I love he concept so much).

This solicit convinces me even more that there is some semblance of truth to my theory. So, yeah, it's not the All-Star Superman per-se, but we're already seeing a future version of Superman helping himself out in the past. Honestly, I love seeing the connections throughout Morrison's work. It's like an extra reward for reading his body of work.