Posted on: July 14th, 2010 Comically Challenged: Superman #701
Oh how things have changed for Clark Kent. Well, actually, not really. There was that whole giant battle with New Krypton to worry about. He opted to go save planets and universes because, you know, that’s the kind of guy he is. He went out and saved life and some woman was pissed because he wasn’t on Earth to save her husband from cancer. Yeah. It would seem ridiculous if it wasn’t how petty most people can be. “Don’t worry about the lives of thousands, why weren’t you here to help me?” That was Superman #700 and people HATED it.
I’ve said it before, J. Michael Straczynski likes to preach. He’s a writer that puts a lot of time into the message of a story. Not so much content as the moral lesson to be learned. He doesn’t do it subtly; he just has the characters deliver long, drawn-out monologues. It’s an acquired taste. It bothered me at first. I liked his work on Thor but when I read his works on Brave and the Bold, it didn’t quite fit. That was when I realized, that’s just what you’re going to get when you read JMS-a whole lot of insight. That’s okay, I’m an insightful kind of gal.
I didn’t hate Superman #700, nor did I hate #701. I actually enjoyed both. Superman has always gotten flack for being the good-est (I’m allowed to make up words, it’s the Internet) of the do-gooders. He just wants to help. Well, all this book is doing is saying it may be easy to lose perspective. Do I think some crazy woman had the right to blame Superman for her husband’s death? No-after all, he never listened to Oliver Queen when he’d go off on the Justice League for focusing on intergalactic problems but not those in the cities. However, it was a meaningful plot device. That’s the moment that sets him back on our level. He was upset about his Pa dying because he wasn’t there to save him. Now it’s all coming back to him. So what does he do? He pulls a Forrest Gump and he walks across the country. Just to walk and see what he can see.
Issue #701 has Superman doing truck maintenance, cleaning up a store room, destroying the stashes of drug dealers, letting a guy know he’s about to have a heart attack, and talking down a suicidal girl. None of that is exactly “super” but, in another way, it is. Is giving a minute to help a citizen really any less super than taking down an international threat? Maybe, but I seriously doubt the guy that almost died of a heart attack would care if he died through natural causes or as a casualty of war. Fact of the matter is he didn’t die. Moving on to the most important part of this issue: the suicidal girl. She’s about to jump off a building…but, wait…that sounds familiar…
Absolute All Star Superman
That’s because the SAME thing happened in Grant Morrison’s All Star Superman, folks. Oh no, that book is lauded as the greatest Superman story ever told! Why should we feel different about this one? Because Bizarro wasn’t in it? Because Jimmy Olsen wasn’t a douche? Because this chick wasn’t an emo chick? Are we mad because they are the same? I do feel differently about this scene versus All Star. I liked JMS’s better. (GASP!)
Same basic scenario: Life has gotten to be a bit too much for a woman and she’s about ready to end it all by jumping off a building. Morrison had Supes fly up there, tell her that her therapist didn’t quit caring and that she’s so much stronger than she believes herself to be. Nice. She doesn’t die. Pretty sure they hug. JMS has our boy fly up there, entering into a completely hostile situation, promising not to save her life if she chooses to jump, and just listening to the woman. Best of all, he gives her the choice of being saved. That was my favorite part. He didn’t just fly up there, grab her, and fly her back down. He let her save herself.
That’s great writing, team. That’s a Superman that I want to read. I know a lot of you are mad that Superman isn’t living up to his potential under JMS. First of all, It’s just 1 1/2 issues into his run-try and give it a chance. Second, I would think having a small interaction with Superman would be much more meaningful to a person than if you knew he was constantly protecting the Earth from harm. Does that mean that the world shouldn’t be saved? That you shouldn’t stop an invasion if there’s a cluttered store room in Philly? No, don’t be dumb. It’s just about touching people’s lives on a more intimate level. There’s more than one way to save the world. I’m sure your big blue boyscout will be back in space in no time. Don’t worry.