Friday, April 29, 2011

Action Comics 900

Superman's return to Action Comics in #900 has been getting a lot of press for the one little back up story where he renounces his citizenship. Personally, I don't see why that is so controversial. He's Superman. He's not even human. Much more interesting is another short story that appears in the issue by Damon Lindelof and Ryan Sook, titled Life Support.

All Star Superman
Superman: Birthright





















In just about every version of Superman's origin, Jor El was alone in trying to save Krypton and building the ship to send off Kal El, his only son, was a last ditch effort to preserve Kryptonian culture. The obvious question here is how much of what he did was really to preserve the culture and how much was just a father trying to save his son. In the Action Comics piece, Lindelof gives us a different take on it that raises new questions and casts a different tone on what the rest of Krypton may have felt towards the end.
Action Comics 900
Jor El has to outsource the creation of the life support module for the ship. He brings in a man to do the job and has to explain to him why it is needed. The story is a little ambiguous about how much the man knows going in to this job interview. It seems like the rumors of the end of the world are out at this point, and there is a certain gloom hanging over the planet. Jor El is the only one that knows for sure, and he clarifies it to the man that the world is ending. Asking him to help save his son, in order to preserve everything they are is a big thing to ask. Why Jor El's son and not someone else's is not an issue that is brought up in this short piece, but it is something that I would love to see in an expanded version of this story. One assumes Jor El, who in this appears to be the head of a corporation of some sort, would have to contract several people for different aspects of the ship and the technology that carries the vast amount of information.Would he have to convince them all that Kal El is the right one to send? What if they refuse?

Action Comics 900
The most compelling aspect of this story is the man he contracts and his reaction. It's not that original to portray people at the end of the world or just being resigned to some horrible fate. But in this case, it's that, plus the concept that he has now agreed to save someone else's child. That in order to do this, he won't be able to spend their last few days of life with his daughter.The last few panels of the story were very moving in this context. I say, again, I would love to see an expanded version of this story. I think it hits a very human place.
 
Action Comics 900

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