DC Comics
J. Michael Straczynski, writer
Shane Davis, artist
A couple weeks ago, I talked about finally giving Batman: Earth One a try after finding the hardcover for a price I couldn't pass up. The Earth One original graphic novel concept is to re-tell origins of iconic DC characters as if the events were happening today, in the modern era, instead of 20, 30 or 75 years ago. If done well, it's not a terrible concept, and in my opinion, Batman: Earth One was done exceptionally well.
Enjoying that story prompted me to try the first such Earth One OGN re-imagining Superman for the modern era. The trade version of that book is available now, so I picked it up and gave it a whirl. I'm not sure what went wrong, but the experience was definitely not the same.
I didn't hate the story or the re-imagining that these two creators came up with. I really just had trouble getting into the story.
I have friends who will see a movie in the theater, and if they like it, I mean really like it, they will swear that to fully appreciate the film, one has to see it on the big screen. I never quite understand that caveat. For me, it truly doesn't matter if I'm in a large theater with a giant screen or simply sitting in my own living room watching something on our modest-sized TV. If I'm into what I'm watching, really enjoying it, I am immersed in the experience to the point that the size of the screen doesn't matter; my surroundings kind of vanish to the background, and I'm "in" the film or program.
It's the same with a really great read. I literally lost myself in the pages of Batman: Earth One while I was exploring that reality. But with Superman: Earth One, I was very aware of the fact that I was sitting in the breakroom on my dinner break at work reading this book. Several times I looked up noticing the time so I wouldn't be late getting back; the narrative just wasn't holding my interest as well. Several times some action by a character seemed just a bit off, taking me out of the story, puzzling over the perceived inconsistency. And a few times, my focus actually wandered a bit, forcing me to back up and re-read something I'd "missed."
The charge that a character's action seemed off might seem odd when applied to an Elseworlds-style story where the characters are not exactly the ones we know. I'll admit, seeing characters changed or altered is part of the draw of an Elseworlds story. But even in that type of setting, you expect certain things to be constants. Maybe it's just a matter of personal taste. For instance, this version of Jimmy Olsen is a take-charge daredevil willing to do whatever it takes to get the best photos possible. That's a little more devil-may-care than Jimmy is usually portrayed, but it works here. I like it. But Lois Lane's character is just the opposite. In every iteration of the character I have ever seen she is a gutsy, barge-right-in kind of reporter. In some ways, she still is that in this story. But she also tries several times early on in the story to pull Jimmy back from danger, not so much out of concern for his safety although I'm sure that was a factor, but because she seemed to be afraid for herself. And she wasn't obviously doing any reporting or observing, really, during the action of the story.
Another major problem here, for me at least, was the villain of the piece. I can buy into the history that pits this villain against the last surviving son of Krypton. But I never completely got the threat this guy posed or understood how he operated. There is an entire armada of ships, but we only ever see one guy. Is this just the leader or is this one person in control of all these ships? He refers to a collective "we" at times, while also seeming to challenge Superman one-on-one a lot. I have no problem with creating an entirely new villain, but it seems odd in a one-shot like this not to use an established character. This Tyrell's appearance is very similar, though, to Silver Banshee's in the regular Superman books. Is that coincidence, which seems odd, or is there a reason for that similarity because none is given? If you're going to use an original character, make it a completely original one.
Even Clark's action and motivations seem inconsistent. He comes to Metropolis not sure what he wants to do with his life and abilities or how best to use them to benefit mankind. He applies to a number of sports teams and companies, quickly impressing almost all of them with his prowess at whatever skills they need from him. First off, that seems like a huge secret identity risk as all of these firms have Clark Kent's name and address on resumes; it doesn't seem like it would take a genius to figure out when Superman shows up shortly after this wunderkind impresses the hell out of you and several other leaders of the community that they might be connected. They even look alike. Then, Clark's rationale for joining the Planet staff at the end seems a bit contrived, based on the actions of only three people at two of the many, many places to which Clark applied for work.
I admit, this is a minor quibble, but another point that bothered me about Superman: Earth One was the inclusion at the end of Clark Kent's and Lois Lane's Daily Planet articles concerning the debut of Superman. I'm a journalist. I work for a newspaper. That doesn't make me an infallible authority, by any means, but whenever a Superman story includes "actual" articles written by Daily Planet reporters, they always yank me out of the story because they are seldom ever written like real news stories turned in by actual reporters. Typically, these devices are used to convey additional story points, I know, but it bugs me nonetheless.
Bottom line, I was pretty underwhelmed by this tale.
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