By Andrew A. Smith
Tribune Content Agency
Dec. 19, 2019 – It’s been a Super month! Not in a general sense, necessarily, but in a Kal-El from Krypton kind of way.
First we were treated to multiple Supermen on The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” Dec. 8-10. On Dec. 18 we learned from Dr. Manhattan (of Watchmen fame) that the multiverse more or less revolves around the Man of Steel. In between, on Dec. 11, came the big one: The Last Son of Krypton revealed his secret identity to the world.
All these developments merit a discussion. A Super-discussion!
Katie Yu/The CW
Brandon Routh, who played the Man of Steel in Superman Returns, reprised the role for The CW’s “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover, with a few hints of the Christopher Reeve version of the character.
Let’s begin with “Crisis,” whose first three episodes Dec. 8-10 left Super-fans with a happy grin. The five-episode crossover between The CW’s six superhero shows (the last two episodes air Jan. 14) gave us the regular Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) from Earth-38, where Supergirl used to take place. (Spoiler: It was kinda destroyed. Don’t worry, I suspect its demise isn’t permanent.) He was joined by Superman of Earth-96 (Brandon Routh), who appeared to be, kinda-sorta, the Man of Steel from the four movies starring Christopher Reeve, and also Superman Returns, but at a time when the whole Daily Planet staff has been killed by The Joker, which also happened to an entirely different Superman in a graphic novel called Kingdom Come. Naturally, being Supermen, 38 and 96 get along famously.
Unfortunately, they didn’t get to meet the Superman of Earth-75, who was dead when Superman-38 and his Lois Lane (Bitsie Tulloch) got there. The 38-ers only briefly met the Clark Kent of Earth-167 (Tom Welling), who we discover has given up his powers to have children with his Lois (Erica Durance) on a farm that is literally right out of Smallville.
That was four – four! – Supermen, and it made fans’ hearts fly up, up and away. My only complaint is that the Action Ace of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (Dean Cain) didn’t make it to the party. Well, there are still two episodes left …
Art by Gary Frank, copyright DC Comics
Doomsday Clock, a sequel to Watchmen, reveals that Superman is the most important character in the metaverse, as well as the multiverse. See preview below.
Meanwhile, the new comics that arrived Dec. 18 included Doomsday Clock #12, the last issue of a sequel to “Watchmen” that integrates the characters into the regular DC Universe. It took a lot of guts for writer Geoff Johns and artist Gary Frank to try to fill the boots of Watchmen’s Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, but it served its purpose – not only giving us the spectacle of Lex Luthor meeting Ozymandias, but returning the Legion of Super-Heroes and Justice Society of America to DC’s history. They had been erased by a previous revamp …
… which Doomsday Clock established as being the work of Dr. Manhattan! And that’s not all – Clock established that all the revamps that have taken place in DC Universe, going all the way back to the establishment of a second Flash in 1956, are not only part of the in-story universe’s history (Dr. Manhattan is aware of them all), but that they happened for a reason.
Which Dr. Manhattan helpfully explains in a monologue. He says that in addition to the multiverse, there’s a metaverse, with all that the word implies. And that this metaverse formed around Superman – which is only appropriate, since that character was the Big Bang in 1938 that led to all the superheroes that followed. The metaverse mirrors, or perhaps creates, all the revamps at DC Comics – and perhaps at other publishers as well.
Manhattan explains to us that multiple Earths are created every time there is a new Superman – and there is always a Superman at the start of every re-launch. “I understand why these Earths exist,” he says. “Every time there is a change in the metaverse, the multiverse grows. To preserve every era of Superman.”
So, yeah, the original comic book Crisis on Infinite Earths rebooted Superman … but the original Earth of 1985 the Crisis obliterated is still out there somewhere, Manhattan says, with that Superman doing just fine. And so are all the other Supermen whose stories were cut off by revamps, reboots and retroactive continuity implants over the years.
Further, Manhattan (who experiences all time at once) knows of future Supermen yet unborn, and future Crises yet unwritten. “Time Masters” will cause a Crisis in 2025, he says. “Earth-5G” will be born in 2026. The year 2030 will host the “Secret Crisis,” which will feature – it is implied – Thor and the Hulk, or whatever version Marvel’s lawyers will allow. And so on.
“No matter how many times Superman’s existence is attacked, he will survive,” Manhattan says. “Even if change is a constant. Because hope is the North Star of the metaverse. … I now understand Superman’s true purpose. He will show them the way. … He is the bridge stretching across generations that will lead everyone to peace.”
Well! That’s a lot to take in! But it’s comforting to know that no matter how many times DC editors decide to reboot their superhero universe, there will always be a Superman.
Art by Joe Prado, copyright DC Comics
Clark Kent no more? The secret is out in Superman #18. See preview below.
Finally, we come to Superman #18, which arrived Dec. 11. And yes, Supes revealed to the world that he has always been disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for the Daily Planet.
That’s not as shocking as it could be, because his identity has been revealed before. In the “New 52” version of the universe created in 2011, Lois Lane discovered the secret and revealed it to the world. (That was undone by the “Rebirth” revamp of 2016.) And prior to that, decades of “what if” stories played around with the concept.
Further, the secret identity as a concept seems to be another one of those long-standing superhero traditions, like the boy sidekick, that might have made a grudging sort of sense in the 1940s, but is slowly disappearing among today’s capes and cowls. For one thing, we have facial recognition software that won’t be fooled by a pair of glasses. We have infra-red satellites that will find the Fortress of Solitude in a heartbeat. The world has changed, and for the most part, secret identities are passé.
Of course, that’s the metaverse reason – Superman gives an entirely different explanation at his worldwide press conference on the steps of the Daily Planet building. It’s been a slow burn since the return of Kal’s father Jor-El (yes, he used to be dead), who’s been hiding some dirty secrets. And now Superman is thinking hard about his own secrets, and feeling pretty badly about them.
Why did he have the secret identity? “Well, originally it was so … I could be with people,” he tells Adam Strange. “Learn. Adapt. Be part of the conversation.” But keeping his life as Clark a secret, he says at the press conference, “today that feels false. Almost dishonest.”
And while I have mixed feelings about this development – not the least of which is knowing it won’t survive the next revamp – there’s no “almost” about it. As a journalist, the one part I couldn’t swallow with Clark keeping his Super-secret is that he was violating the ethics of my profession. You can’t tell your editor you just interviewed Superman when you are Superman. It’s a well-meaning lie, but it’s a lie all the same. And a conflict of interest. Plus, how can a guy profess to fight the never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way when he’s been dishonest to the people closest to him ever since he put on a pair of glasses he didn’t need?
Aside from honesty, there are some other pluses to this development. For one, maybe we’ve seen the last of the cliched, plot-driven story of Superman struggling to keep his civilian identity secret. For another he can smooch openly with Lois – who is married to Clark Kent publicly, and has a son by him – without anyone thinking she’s cheating.
I’m still not 100% a fan, though, because it’s hard to see how Clark Kent can continue as a character, and I’ll miss him. I’ll reserve judgment, though, to see how Superman and Action Comics writer Brian Michael Bendis handles it.
I have a lot of confidence, though, because it’s not his first rodeo. Bendis outed Daredevil too!
Find Captain Comics by email (capncomics@aol.com), on his website (captaincomics.ning.com), on Facebook (Andrew Alan Smith) or on Twitter (@CaptainComics).
DOOMSDAY CLOCK #12 PREVIEW
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SUPERMAN #18 PREVIEW
Replies
Whether or not Superman’s dual identity is public knowledge, I think the key aspect is that superman is who he is and Clark Kent is, once again, the fiction. One of the main aspects I liked about Byrne’s Man of Steel is that it firmly established that Superman was Clark Kent, not the other way around. It will be interesting to see what happens to “Clark Kent” in this version.
Doomsday Clock returned Ma and Pa Kent. How are they going to keep living a quiet life in Kansas now that the world knows who their son is?
Let them take over the assumed identities Clark and Lois had before the "New52" universe Superman died and was replaced by the pre-Flashpoint version...?
Captain Comics said:
This storyline might also be called "The Death of Clark Kent." .
I don't disagree that secret identities, like kid sidekicks, are staples of comics from the 1930s and '40s that make less and less sense today. But they had a great value as drivers of stories, showing how the hero interacts with people in his off-hours. I find it dull to see superheroes be "on the job" ALL the time.
And as someone who complained, more than once or twice, that Bruce Wayne has essentially been written out of the Batman titles, I can't be in favor of a development that takes Clark Kent out of the Superman books.
Since he only had contact with his real parents as an infant, I favor the idea that Clark Kent is the real person. His identity and morality were formed by the Kents. Superman is a costume that Clark Kent dons "for work."
Like the stories in which kings and popes secretly mingle with the general public, it is a way of understanding others. If everyone you meet is impressed by your powers you will not hear the things you need to hear.
I always felt Clark was the real guy, too, as far as morals and principals go. But the cowardice of the Golden Age and the clumsiness of the Silver Age were definitely acts. And a Clark would not remain unchanged by the facts of Superman's lifestyle, like who he'd be hanging with and the adulation and other reactions Superman would get.
I guess my ultimate take is that it's the same guy in either suit, one informed by his childhood but one who would necessarily adopt different behaviors and attitudes -- "masks," if you will -- in each identity.
I do think that of the two identities, Clark is the one he needs most. Not only to let out his inner Kansas farmboy, but to have normal relationships, down time and some privacy.