Questions

[ClarkKent_DC]

As a reader who doesn't buy everything (unfortunately, neither money nor comics grow on trees), I'm not current with all of the major and minor developments in the Marvel and DC Universe, and am often startled by an offhand remark (What?  Loki became male "again"?  Green Lantern quits the Justice League, and Green Arrow -- who is newly wed to Black Canary -- joins him, choosing his best friend over his wife?  The Parasite impersonated Lois Lane and Superman couldn't tell?  Nightcrawler is dead?  Colossus is dead?  The Wasp is dead? Mockingbird is alive? 

The question has even been raised, why do I care?  I care because I do, and that's good enough for me.

Anyway, here are some questions about other developments that have passed me by:

* Through excursions into the discount bins, I've picked up many (but not all) of the past two years' worth of the Superman titles, featuring the New Krypton saga. Although the reviews here are mixed, I've liked them and certainly feel like I got my money's worth (although I did pay only 50 cents each for most of them).

Anyway, the storyline called for Superman to live on New Krypton for a year -- so how was Clark Kent's absence explained? 

* A similar question for the Batman titles. Batman is believed dead, seemingly killed during some interminable crossover I had no interest in reading. We readers know now that he was lost in time. But how was Bruce Wayne's absence from Gotham, his business and his jet-set life explained? 

* Every now and then, I see something on the newsstand with the title "Son of Hulk." I know, you're thinking I'd say, "What?  The Hulk has a son? " No. my question is, "What?  The Hulk has an ADULT son?  How can THAT be?  I know there was something about the Hulk getting shot off into space and becoming a warlord on some planet or somesuch, but that was just within the past couple of years -- in Marvel Universe time, about six weeks ago. So how can the Hulk's kid be more than a toddler? 

I appreciate any and all answers, especially if they are kept simple; I don't want to divert any headache medicine from Louisiana if I can help it.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Nice work, Dag!

[Jeff of Earth-J]

I spent quite a bit of time last night researching the answer to the question regarding Clark Kent's alibi and didn't find a satisfactory answer (the key word being "satisfactory"). I checked the a dozen issues in bother directions from the start of "New Krypton" story, and although there is an excellent "split scene" in which he informs Lois and Ma separately, the question of Clark's whereabouts is never directly addressed.

In the wake of Pa's death Lois did make the excuse Alan guessed and James Robinson confirmed about Clark staying in Smallvile on three separate occasions, but on the third she said, "He should be back tomorrow." That was months (real time) before Superman left for New Krypton, but now that I'm thinking of it, I can't recall if Clark Kent showed his face in Metropolis during that time or not. If not, I guess it's as good of an excuse as any. Perhaps they'll revisit it when clark returns to the Planet.

[Philip Portelli]

Makes you miss the days of robot doubles, doesn't it?

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

In this era of reporting from anywhere with your laptop or phone...why would Clark ever, really, need to show his face in the newsroom?

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Philip Portelli said:

Makes you miss the days of robot doubles, doesn't it?

Robot doubles! Genius! :P

Doc Beechler said:

In this era of reporting from anywhere with your laptop or phone...why would Clark ever, really, need to show his face in the newsroom?

He wouldn’t, necessarily, but in this case a doubt a phone or laptop would have worked from another planet. :P

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

I'm sure Batman could easily supply a trans-solar system phone for Clark.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Doc Beechler said:

In this era of reporting from anywhere with your laptop or phone...why would Clark ever, really, need to show his face in the newsroom?

Why? For the same reason that anybody else shows up at the office. Just because the technical capability exists to move any given job from a fixed site to a portable operation does not mean that any given company will do so, or even that it should.

[Doc Beechler (mod-MD)]

I would think, though, that Clark would want a more mobile style of reporting...it would be so much easier given his other job.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I would think he would want it; whether the company would let him do it is another question entirely.

The Daily Planet is a magical, wonderful place that probably would say yes. The kinds of places the Captain Comics and I work in -- ? It's not a given, and that's what informs my response.

[Philip Portelli]

Oddly enough, it goes back to accountability. Companies want the people working for them in an enviroment in which they can be monitored and supervised. That way, if something goes wrong, they can find out exactly the who, when, where, why and how of it.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Philip Portelli said:

Oddly enough, it goes back to accountability. Companies want the people working for them in an enviroment in which they can be monitored and supervised. That way, if something goes wrong, they can find out exactly the who, when, where, why and how of it.

What he said. Thanks, Philip.