DCAU #205: Clark Kent, You're a Nobody!

IN THIS ONE... Clark Kent is suddenly human and not Superman.

CREDITS: Written by Mark Millar; art by Aluir Amancio and Terry Austin.

REVIEW: I believe this is the first DCAU Superman story penned by Mark Millar, and for some reason, it doesn't end with Clark Kent getting splattered all over the street below. And there's a tornado scene with Pa Kent RIGHT THERE and Pa doesn't die while Clark does nothing. Huh. Millar actually wrote quite a few very fun stories for Superman Adventures, often throwbacks to delightful Silver Age madness, quite unlike anything he's known for today. Which makes me believe these were ghost-written by Grant Morrison, like his Swamp Thing run, but I can't prove it or anything. Whatever the case may be, Millar's name on one of these is usually the mark of a good issue. Go figure.

In this one, Clark Kent goes to save a plane hit by another, jumps out a window and... can't fly. Don't worry, Superman saves him. His life as Superman has been erased, and the reasons why make perfect sense without being telegraphed. When Clark figures it out, it's through a clue that should make you do so too, so it's not immediately spelled out. And in the meantime, we get a good helping on Superman action (from the split/fake Superman), a darker moment (Clark getting mugged), and a nice inspirational shot (courtesy of the art) when normality is restored. Lovely!

REREADABILITY: Medium-High - The kind of story we tended to get during the late Bronze Age lame duck era when they'd run out of ideas, but it feels like this is the style those stories should have been in.