Source: All-Star Superman 1-12 (2006-2008)
Type: Off-canon series
Back when I was first reading the series (in trade, I must admit), I was one to say DC could do worse than to make THIS the one true portrayal of the Man of Steel. Now that Grant Morrison is set to reinvent Superman in an all-new Action Comics #1, I'm going to go back on my words and say I hope he doesn't. Not that the All-Star Superman doesn't have a lot going for it:
-A crazy Silver Age sensibility dressed in today's "weird but epic" comics (à la JLA)
-All the iconic people and things that should surround Superman (Lois and the Daily Planet, the Fortress of Solitude, Lex Luthor as a proper villain, Smallville, Krypto)
-The sense that Jimmy Olsen could carry his own crazy series
-The sense that Superman is a legacy hero of the highest order, inspiring Supermen of all sorts until the end of time
-A willingness to take chances (restoring Kandor for good, for example)
-Oh yeah, and beautiful artwork by Frank Quitely
However, there are reasons why the series' approach wouldn't be the best for a relaunched franchise in the DCU proper:
-All-Star Superman is supremely, almost inhumanly, serene. There's a strange lack of emotion there that would keep him at a distance from the reader. He is a god among men (even creating his own universes), and though benevolent, he lacks a quality that makes us empathize with him.
-It's a shared universe and I don't think other writers would do him justice.
-Morrison was able to reinvent Batman a number of times (compare Arkham Asylum, Gothic, JLA, Batman RIP and Batman Inc.) and there's no reason why he can't do the same with Superman. In fact, it's something he SHOULD do, having explored the All-Star dimension of the character already.
-The 12-issue series is perfect as it is, and stands as a single, strong work. Revisiting it can only diminish that.
The way Morrison's new title is described, he'll be writing a much younger Superman, probably one without the full gamut of powers, friends and tools. And there's the idea of the People's Hero in there, which does hark back to the end of All-Star, with Superman as proletariat symbol working to fix the sun.
So who knows what elements of All-Star will creep into this new Superman mythos? What, if anything, would YOU like to see from All-Star adopted in the New DC?
Obviously, there are many iterations of Superman in All-Star in addition to the protagonist, so I think I'm going to do a few All-Star-related Reign posts through the end of the month. Hope you'll join me.
Type: Off-canon series
Back when I was first reading the series (in trade, I must admit), I was one to say DC could do worse than to make THIS the one true portrayal of the Man of Steel. Now that Grant Morrison is set to reinvent Superman in an all-new Action Comics #1, I'm going to go back on my words and say I hope he doesn't. Not that the All-Star Superman doesn't have a lot going for it:-A crazy Silver Age sensibility dressed in today's "weird but epic" comics (à la JLA)
-All the iconic people and things that should surround Superman (Lois and the Daily Planet, the Fortress of Solitude, Lex Luthor as a proper villain, Smallville, Krypto)
-The sense that Jimmy Olsen could carry his own crazy series
-The sense that Superman is a legacy hero of the highest order, inspiring Supermen of all sorts until the end of time
-A willingness to take chances (restoring Kandor for good, for example)
-Oh yeah, and beautiful artwork by Frank Quitely
However, there are reasons why the series' approach wouldn't be the best for a relaunched franchise in the DCU proper:
-All-Star Superman is supremely, almost inhumanly, serene. There's a strange lack of emotion there that would keep him at a distance from the reader. He is a god among men (even creating his own universes), and though benevolent, he lacks a quality that makes us empathize with him.
-It's a shared universe and I don't think other writers would do him justice.
-Morrison was able to reinvent Batman a number of times (compare Arkham Asylum, Gothic, JLA, Batman RIP and Batman Inc.) and there's no reason why he can't do the same with Superman. In fact, it's something he SHOULD do, having explored the All-Star dimension of the character already.
-The 12-issue series is perfect as it is, and stands as a single, strong work. Revisiting it can only diminish that.
The way Morrison's new title is described, he'll be writing a much younger Superman, probably one without the full gamut of powers, friends and tools. And there's the idea of the People's Hero in there, which does hark back to the end of All-Star, with Superman as proletariat symbol working to fix the sun.
So who knows what elements of All-Star will creep into this new Superman mythos? What, if anything, would YOU like to see from All-Star adopted in the New DC?Obviously, there are many iterations of Superman in All-Star in addition to the protagonist, so I think I'm going to do a few All-Star-related Reign posts through the end of the month. Hope you'll join me.
Comments
In a modern Grant Morrison comic?? How shocking...
"...he lacks a quality that makes us empathize with him."
That sort of describes most of what he's written over the past 5 years...
The one thing that sits ill with me is how Superman put so much faith in a scientist who creates artificial sentient life that he considers pretty much disposable. He even tweaked their free will a bit by removing their ability to feel fear. There may be an off-panel explanation for this that redeems Quintum somewhat, but I still don't see how he'd convince Superman that he's the very best candidate to use Kryptonian DNA responsibly (i.e., sparingly, with any resulting children raised with love and moral guidance).
We'll really have 3 Supermen post-Flushpoint. Morrison's early years, Johns' early JLA and Perez' contemporary Superman. Three different takes?
- Mike Loughlin
I still think it's less relatable to than other depictions even if it may ultimately be more psychologically appropriate for a character like Superman.
For me, the thing that would stop this being the regular Superman is that the world is just a bit too different from ours. The story begins with a manned mission to the Sun about a ship populated by artificial life forms that have been genetically modified to promote and remove certain traits. That's not our world. That's not even our world tomorrow. That's our world years down the line.
This is the ongoing problem with comics (why doesn't Reed Richards cure cancer, why could Arsenal get a bionic arm but Barbara Gorden could never get artificial legs etc), but although you have to have some sort of suspension of disbelief, I think it's important for the mainstream Marvel and DC universes not to step too far from our own, and I think that ASS does.
Did you know we have a manned base on Mars in the DCU? Well we do. Or note the Science Police in 2010 Metropolis, what's THAT about? They're even more high-tech than the ones in the 30th century, flying around as they do. All-Star Metropolis is actually a little bit LOWER tech than the DCU's current standard.