After years of DC celebrating an annual “Batman Day” in September, last year they FINALLY expanded their promotional offerings to do a day in celebration of their first hero, Superman. And it only took a reboot of their entire cinematic universe to do it. Superman Day 2025 was held on April 18th, the anniversary of the release of Action Comics #1, and it looks like they’re planning to stick with that April 18th date this year for their next go-round. But that’s not all. Superman Day 2026 is going to have a special guest star, the hero of her own movie hitting this summer – Supergirl.
These specials have really been exciting for me. Anything that pushes out DC’s characters to a new audience (the Superman family in particular) is fine in my book, and after last year I finally feel like DC is starting to give Superman his due. Some people may be upset to see him having to share his special day with Kara on just the second year of the promotion, but you know what? Superman himself would be perfectly okay with it.
As on the assorted Batman Days, Superman Day is going to have a series of special edition comics and new releases to commemorate the occasion. Among the things that have been announced are special “Superman Day” editions of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1, the series that the upcoming movie is based on, as well as special editions of the first issues of both the current volumes of Supergirl and Superman, which is great, because those books have been some of DC’s best since their respective launches. There will also be a new hardcover edition of Woman of Tomorrow, although the release from DC Comics that I read doesn’t say if this new edition will have any new content (such as behind-the-scenes sketches, commentary from the creators, etc.) or just a new cover. They also helpfully remind you that you can get the traditional trade paperback edition or their dandy “Compact Comics” edition, which is the one I recommend if you’re just trying to dip your toes into the DC Universe without breaking the bank. It’s the entire eight-issue series in a smaller format for only $9.99. I’m actually a huge fan of the Compact Comics format as a whole, honestly, and I wouldn’t really mind if it became the standard format for DC’s paperback editions moving forward.
But that’s not all! There will also be a preview comic with a story from the upcoming anthology Supergirl: The World. DC’s The World series, which has previously released volumes starring Batman, the Joker, and – yes – Superman – collects brand-new short stories of their respective characters with writing and art by creators from all corners of the globe, making for a very interesting mix of content and a wide array of different story types and tastes between two covers.
Still not enough? Well, younger readers can grab a Superman Day preview edition of Rob Justus’s young readers graphic novel Superman’s Good Guy Gang. Readers who want a taste of what I consider the Golden Age of Superman (the late 80s and early 90s) can get DC Finest Presents Superman: Time and Time Again #1, a preview book for a new collected edition of comics from that era with the same title. Finally, collectors can get special facsimile editions of the first appearances of Superman and Supergirl from Action Comics #1 and Action Comics #252, respectively.
Usually, on “Batman Day” and “Superman Day,” some of the books have been freebies. If the pattern stays true, I would expect the new versions of Superman #1, Supergirl #1, Woman of Tomorrow #1, and the preview editions of Superman: Time and Time Again,Supergirl: The World and Superman’s Good Guy Gang to be the giveaway books. The press release mentions that the two facsimile editions will each have a $3.99 price tag, but no prices are mentioned for the other books.
Finally, there will be special “Superman Day” hardcover editions (again, this most likely means new cover art) of the classic graphic novel All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, and Superman Vol.1: Supercorp by Joshua Williamson and Jamal Campbell, the series that the aforementioned Superman #1 reprint kicked off.
I’m glad to see that DC is pushing Supergirl the way that they are. With the recent Puppy Bowl tie-in and the fantastic teaser trailers that they’ve dropped, they’re fairly well on pace for the same promotional push they gave her cousin last year. Considering how long they’ve been doing Batman Day, I feel fairly certain that they’ll keep the momentum going into next year for the release of Man of Tomorrow. Then 2028, of course, will be Superman’s 90th anniversary, and they’d be insane not to capitalize on THAT. So I feel optimistic that Big Blue is going to have his special day for some time to come.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
It’s time for another roundup of recent Superman comics. This week I’ll be reviewing the Superman and Superman-related releases that were released on Jan 28 and Feb. 6. Let’s get into it!
Superman Vol. 6 #34
Title: I, Superman (A DC KO Tie-In)
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Art: Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira
Main Cover: Dan Mora
In the arctic, the unusual trio of Lois, Superboy-Prime, and a Superman Robot are fleeing the Fortress of Solitude and the battle with members of Darkseid’s Legion. Meanwhile, the Final Four from the main tournament get a chance to look in on what’s happening back on Earth. It’s a pretty sparse recap, I admit, but the pages are PACKED here with character stuff.
The surprising redemption of Superboy-Prime continues this issue, as he finds himself confronting a Superman Robot that has many of the memories and personality of the original. The contrast between the two is marked and the way that Prime has to reckon with the way the REAL Superman apparently thinks of him…which isn’t what he expected, but is probably exactly what the reader would anticipate. I like Prime’s reactions quite a bit – he’s got an awful lot to cope with here, and for the most part, Williamson is handling it well. He may be going slightly too hard on the fourth wall-breaking dialogue, though. Prime is carrying around knowledge of the fact that he’s in a comic book universe, which is fine, but we don’t want it to go so far as to turn him into Deadpool.
We also spend time with the members of Darkseid’s Legion, who up until this point have come across largely as mindless stormtroopers wearing the faces of our friends. We get a different look here, a reminder that although they’re from a universe corrupted by Darkseid’s Omega Energy, they’re still fundamentally the same people, and perhaps the notion of redemption that Williamson is playing with here isn’t restricted to Prime himself.
I’m all about Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira’s artwork – bold, strong, and proud. They’re also pretty good about drawing a Prime that looks like an actual Superboy. Even at his most villainous, it’s important to remember that he’s still a version of Clark Kent, and there have been artists who occasionally forget that.
DC KO: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Art: Travis Mercer
Main Cover: Bruno Redondo
The Justice League is strained at the moment, with many of their members caught up in the tournament for the Heart of Apokalips, and most of the others fighting to help evacuate Earth or deal with the dozens of other disasters cropping up all over the place. Jon Kent is given one of the most important duties of all: staying on the Watchtower and keeping an eye on some of the younger heroes, including the Boom, Fairplay, Quiz Kid, and Cheshire Cat. Of course, it would be a pretty short special if the kids just sat around and did what they were told, wouldn’t it? Naturally, they get loose, run into trouble against some of Darkseid’s minions, and Jonathan is forced to call on Cassandra Cain for help.
Jon has been in the last several issues of Titans, working with them as they spearhead the evacuation effort. In March, the book is scheduled to be retitled New Titans with issue #32, and the cover (with several characters in silhouette only) implies heavily that Jon will be a member of the new team. If that’s the case, I’m really quite satisfied with it. The character has been rattling around aimless, for entirely too long, and if making him a member of the Titans actually gives him something to do that makes sense, that’s the best we can hope for. What’s more, I like the group of kids that we see in this issue, the ones that Jon is protecting. I’ve wanted to see more of Boom since she first appeared in the Stargirl: The Lost Children miniseries a few years ago. Fairplay, too, is an interesting character, a very different take on Mr. Terrific that has a lot of promising storytelling avenues. Best of all, there’s a surprise guest-star in this issue that filled me with joy, and no doubt will have the same effect on a lot of other readers. It’s someone we haven’t seen in quite some time, but that DC has been teasing very heavily lately. I’m hoping that this character will stick around in New Titans as well.
Of course, none of that is set in stone. Jon is the only character in this issue whose silhouette appears on that New Titans cover. But covers – especially early solicits – can be deceiving. I don’t expect the heroes we see in this issue to be the new Titans team in its entirety, but I hope that Jon isn’t the only young hero that got a tryout in this issue, because I think there’s a lot to work with here.
DC’s Supergirl Next Door #1
Note: This is DC’s Valentine’s Day anthology for 2026. There are eight different stories in the book, but I’m only reviewing the Supergirl story.
Title: A Dream of Different Stars
Writer: CRC Payne
Art: Paulina Ganucheau
Main Cover: Amy Reeder
Allen is a new kid in Midvale, struggling to make friends and struggling to fit in. That is, until he meets another new kid in town, Linda Danvers. The two of them form a bond and she opens up to him, revealing just how deeply she misses her old home, and Allen decides to do something to help her.
Short and sweet, but that’s what this story is. It’s a lovely little tale of a couple of foundlings who find solace in one another. CRC Payne is a name I mostly know from her work on DC’s digital comics, such as Batman Family Adventures and Harley Quinn in Paradise. She’s brought the same kind, quiet, reflective tenor she uses in Batman Family Adventures to this story as well, crafting a tale that makes it easy to relate to the characters despite its brevity. Ganucheau’s art has a loose quality to it as well, befitting the more animated style we see in Payne’s other work and fitting very well for this tidy little love story. There’s real charm here that I appreciate.
DC KO: Boss Battle #1
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Art: Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Kieran McKeown, Pablo M. Collar
Main Cover: Jamal Campbell
Seconds after the end of DC KO #3, the Final Four in the tournament for the Heart of Apokalips are poised for the battle of their lives, but World Forger manages to “pause” the game. They’re not ready, the need more Omega Energy, so he finds a way to generate some by briefly spending the heroes into neighboring realities to have additional battles and charge up, leading to fights against the wildest opponents yet: Sub-Zero and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat, Samantha Strong from Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Vampirella, Red Sonja, the murderous doll Annabelle, and – in the title fight that people have been wanting to see for YEARS, Superman versus Homelander from Garth Ennis and Darrick Robinson’s The Boys.
During the Year of Superman, I included Homelander in the week I wrote about “Superman gone wrong” – characters who are intended to be dark or even evil versions of the Man of Steel. To me, Homelander is one of the most insidious of those. He is what people who never understand Superman THINK Superman should be like. And knowing that Superman is one of the few superheroes that Ennis actually has respect for, from the minute this book was announced, I was looking forward to seeing our boy Clark finally giving Homelander the beatdown he so richly deserves.
The result is…okay.
Look, the concept of this book is fantastic. It’s utterly insane, and the matchups are crazy. (Joker versus Annabelle, anybody? COME ON!) But it’s just too short. It seems like nearly half the book is taken up just with giving each of the champions borrowed from other universes a page of introduction each, then the fights themselves are over and done with far too quickly. I have never said this before, but this is a crossover spinoff one-shot that probably SHOULD have been a crossover spinoff miniseries.
What’s more, it’s kind of inconsequential. It picks up just as DC KO #3 ends, and the final page promises that the story leaps from this book straight into DC KO #4, and it’s structured in such a way that people who are only reading that main book will feel like they haven’t missed anything. I get why they structured it that way, and I don’t begrudge that, but considering that this book is ultimately just a fun little sidestory rather than required reading (like so many of the books from “All Fight Month” were) just kind of makes me lament the fact that there wasn’t time for a little more fun.
Superman: Chains of Love Special #1
Title: Creepers
Writer: Leah Williams
Art: Ig Guarra
Main Cover: Yasmine Putri
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we get this one-shot. Livewire is being paroled from prison, but her years away have left her without her audience…until she stumbles into the Creeper, who finds a way to help her climb back to prominence. And then, with love in the air, the sparks fly.
It’s a cute enough story – questions of continuity aside (Livewire says early that she’s “from the 90s,” which feels a little meta), the two characters have an interesting chemistry that actually plays out in an entertaining way. Superman’s presence in the story is minimal however, mostly there for structure in the new environment that Leslie Willis finds herself in. But I guess DC (correctly) assumed that branding this as a Superman special rather than a Creeper/Livewire special would get more readers.
Title: Bill Zarro’s World
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Rosi Kampe
Dan Slott and Rosi Kampe also come through with a back-up story in this issue. Bill Zarro is a lowly peon working at the Daily Planet. His boss is a jerk, his wife resents him, his kids disdain him…until one day he wakes up on Bizarro World, and everything changes. This is a short story that’s essentially an extended gag piece that builds up to an unusual and amusing punchline. The ending is funny enough to make the story worth recommending.
Absolute Superman #16
Title: The Never-Ending Begins Part Two: This Universe Will Break Your Heart, Kid
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Juan Ferreyra
Main Cover: Rafa Sandoval
This issue brings us the full introduction of a new Absolute Universe hero as Superman is approached by the mysterious Hawkman. This version of Carter Hall has been around for a long time, and initially doesn’t know what to make of this newcomer with all of the powers. We also see Lois as she tries to find a new direction in the wake of her departure from the espionage game, a new version of another classic character, and the recruitment of Lex Luthor continuing unabated.
Here’s something that I haven’t really said before about many of the Absolute comics: this issue is surprisingly funny. The first couple of pages in which Superman and Hawkman meet in midair are punctuated by Kal-El getting distracted by disasters both minor and major and then zipping off to deal with them and leaving Hawkman flapping his wings. The introduction to this new Hawkman works really well. It can be easy to forget that this “young” universe is still a universe, with a history all of its own, and Hawkman feels like a great opportunity to explore that a little bit more.
The Lois story has some humor as well. For a while it didn’t seem as though this book was going to brush much on the traditional Superman status quo at all, but here we’ve got Lois and Jimmy looking into being reporters, the introduction of the Daily Planet, and the debut of one Perry White. Even there, though, we see the influence of Darkseid on this world. The Planet ain’t the grand old dame she is in the main DC Universe, and although Perry has the same sort of grit you’d want from the character, it comes with more grime than one would usually expect. The way this is structured he may be a one-off character, but I really hope that’s not the case. I feel like there’s a lot of potential here, especially in having him interact with Lois.
Even the Lex Luthor scene is darkly comedic. The Absolute Luthor – with a proud shock of red hair and a burly beard, is a man utterly happy and content in his simple like. The difference between him and “our” Lex Luthor is perhaps more striking than any other Absolute character we’ve met yet, which is amusing, but at the same time, seems poised to bring him to a bitter, heartbreaking end.
Or not. Aaron has been surprising me a lot with this book.
Juan Ferreyra handles both the line art and colors for this book, and I really like his work. The flashback scenes, showing some of Carter’s adventures in the 40s, have a nice sort of archaic look to them. In the modern scenes, where he and Kal-El meet, he does this really interesting blur effect to show Superman zipping into action. It’s not wholly unique – I’ve seen similar effects from other artists – but his execution is great. I’m also a big fan of the monster designs from later in the issue, and his battle scenes look stunning.
We’re on the second issue of this new story arc, and it’s honestly shaping up to be my favorite from the series so far. It’s brighter somehow, and while that may be a deviation from the whole ethos of the Absolute Universe, I feel like that’s kind of the point. A Superman – a REAL Superman – should always be the bright spot in his world, no matter how dark the world itself may be.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
With the “Big Game” coming up this weekend, I thought a sports-themed story would be fun, so this week’s Superman Stuff is going to take us back to 1999 and the Elseworlds one-shot Superman, Inc. by Steve Vance and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. I was pretty happy a couple of years ago when DC announced the return of their Elseworlds imprint, and for the most part, I’ve enjoyed how they’ve used it. Rather than a home for one-off stories and prestige format miniseries as we’ve had in the past, DC has been using it to actually build “worlds:” longer stories – six issues, twelve issues – and stories that serve as sequels to or spinoffs of other stories that fall under the Elseworlds aegis. When Elseworlds started, DC was still under the edict that the Multiverse didn’t exist anymore. Now that the Multiverse is back in full force, they’re using the Elseworlds imprint to populate it.
All that said, there was a charm to these one-off stories that modern Elseworlds – for all their positives – sometimes lack. Also, as is always the case, DC needs to scale back on the Batman stuff and give some other characters a chance.
So let’s see what Vance and Garcia-Lopez gave us 27 years ago.
Like many Elseworlds, there’s a single divergence point that the story starts from. Kal-El’s rocket lands in Kansas, but the baby crawls out on his own before he can be found by a kindly farming couple. He is found (run over, actually) by a drunk driver who takes him to a police station, and he’s eventually adopted by a young couple who gives him the name Dale Suderman. (It may be a trifle cutesy, but that’s how they did things in these stories.) The cutesy ends there, though – little Dale’s father dies when he’s only five years old, and a few years later when the boy discovers his ability to fly, his mother is so shocked that she falls down the stairs and is killed as well. The trauma gives Dale amnesia, blocking not only the memory of his mother’s death but also full access to his powers, and he begins bouncing from one foster home to another, finally ending up in a juvenile facility. His isolation continues until he discovers his natural talents make him a superstar on the basketball court, and he runs away from the juvenile home to find his own path.
Dale grows up and becomes an all-star not only in basketball, but every sport. Super Bowl MVP, a record-breaking home-run hitter, an Olympic Gold medalist in multiple disciplines – Dale Suderman is the world-famous Superman, sitting atop a global empire built on marketing, smiling for his fans in public and disdaining them in private. Lex Luthor, owner of the Metropolis Monarchs, tries to lure Dale to sign with his basketball team, seeing an opportunity to position the world’s most famous athlete as the crowning jewel in the new extravagant sports complex he’s building. Dale sweeps the rug out from under Lex, though, by announcing his own sports complex and a new expansion team, the Metropolis Spartans.
Dale’s empire grows with a new Saturday morning cartoon starring Superman as an all-powerful “super hero,” and the merchandise bonanza that comes with it makes him even richer. Lex, meanwhile, tries to lure Lois Lane to begin digging into Suderman to find anything less than heroic he can use against him. Reluctantly, she agrees to investigate. She is unable to dig up any dirt except for the fact that the team doctors have, for some reason, never been able to take a blood sample. Following the trail of data, Luthor uncovers a spacecraft in a Kansas field and releases the news – via the Daily Planet – that Dale Suderman is an alien. Dale goes after Luthor and the ensuing battle with Luthor’s guards winds up unlocking the true extent of his power and revealing it to the world.
Dale goes on TV to explain his side of the story, but a gunman shoots him with a bullet made of a glowing green substance. As he recovers in the hospital, Lois and detective John Jones visit him, and together decide that Luthor was behind the shooting. As Lois leaves, refusing to return to Luthor, Jones reveals himself to be an alien as well, and uses his powers to unlock the mental blocks in Dale’s mind. Dale leaves in solitude, but a lightning bolt in Kansas takes him down. He finds himself in the care of a farming couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent, who don’t follow sports and have no idea who he is. After weeks of learning from them, he leaves and releases a video to the press, vowing to leave Earth to search for his birth planet. In his absence, his “Superman Foundation” will use his fortune to benefit mankind. On the last panel, though, newly-minted journalism professor Lois Lane meets her newest student, a bespectacled behemoth calling himself Clark Kent.
There’s good and bad in this book. The bad – and really, “bad” is too strong a word, it’s more of an adherence to the tropes of the time – is the way that things all dovetail in the end to bring this world more in line with the main DC Universe. That’s how so many of these Elseworlds (and, in fact, Marvel’s What If comics) often went: if the world wasn’t all but destroyed, then circumstances were contrived to make things turn out the way they did originally. It doesn’t usually bother me that much, but this is a story where Dale Suderman was literally the most famous person ON THE PLANET. The notion that the Kents had never heard of him is ridiculous – even if they don’t own a TV, they’re seen reading the newspaper with a story about Luthor being indicted for the Superman shooting. And while I’m the first one to tell people not to worry about the glasses as a disguise, that disguise is kind of incumbent upon the idea that nobody is looking for Superman’s secret identity in the first place. Again, Dale is globally famous, and has a prior relationship with Lois Lane. It would be like Tom Brady putting on a pair of glasses and trying not to be recognized by Anderson Cooper.
What I like about this, though, are the parts of the story that diverge SIGNIFICANTLY from the standard Elseworlds of the time. The villain is still Lex Luthor, but we never get a hint of supervillainy. There’s no alien invasion, no hints about Brainiac or Mr. Mxyzptlk. Heck, there aren’t even any fight scenes in the book. It’s a story of somebody who has great potential working his way up towards unlocking that potential. It’s as though the entire issue is the first act of a standard origin story. As such, it’s very much unlike most other Elseworlds, and I enjoy that about it.
I also love the artwork. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is one of those truly iconic creators, having spent decades as the lead designer for DC’s merchandising department. For a large portion of the public, his depiction of the DC heroes is THE standard, and for a reason. He’s bold, he’s an excellent storyteller, and he’s CONSISTENT. You could pull out a Superman Valentine’s Day card from 1987 and put it next to this book and see the same Superman. The face, the smile, everything but the haircut is a perfect fit. There are far too few artists who can actually do that.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read this one, but I’m glad I revisited it this week. I’d forgotten what a joy it is, and I wouldn’t mind a return to this world to see what became of the former Mr. Dale Suderman.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
I don’t want every “Superman Stuff” post to be comic book recaps, hence last week’s post where I talked about the upcoming Spider-Man/Superman and Bizarro: Year None announcements. That said, one of the reasons I wanted to keep this going was so that I could keep talking about the NEW Superman comics as they come out. With that in mind, this week I’m going to give my feelings on some of the Superman-related comics that have been published so far in 2026.
Superman Unlimited#9 Title: Die Laughing Part One Writer: Dan Slott Artist: Mike Norton Main Cover: Dave Johnson
A series of strange deaths strikes Metropolis, and although they could be accidental, there’s something that makes it feel like they’re linked to an old foe of Superman’s. (I realize I’m playing coy with who the villain is, and they name drop him on the cover, so I guess that’s a little pointless.) Meanwhile, Metropolis’s new Mayor Perry White finds himself a target, and at Steelworks, Jon Kent gets an important warning from a very unexpected source.
There is a LOT of stuff going on in this issue. The main plot regarding Perry White is the through-line, but the story of Jon at Steelworks feels like there’s more going on than is readily apparent, and the ongoing story of the massive Kryptonite meteor that’s fallen to Earth is woven in through what happens in the other plots. What’s more, we also get to see a classic foe and a new collaborator show up here in ways that feel like there’s a lot of story to tell. The way this book is packed is honestly reminiscent of the way stories were structured during the much-missed Triangle Era, and as I read this I felt those pangs of regret that I’m going to have to wait a month for this storyline to continue rather than just one week.
Slott does some of the little character bits he’s so good at here. For instance, we see Clark Kent at a press conference by Mayor Perry White where he acts just like he’s asking questions to any random elected official, and Perry humorously reminds him that he doesn’t exactly have to introduce himself. It’s funny, but it also brings up the idea that it’s kind of unethical to send a reporter to cover a press conference when the guy at the podium happens to be godfather of the reporter’s son. Then again, Clark has been reporting on himself for almost 90 years now, so…
Mike Norton steps up for the artwork this issue, and it makes me wish we saw him drawing Superman more often. His lines are clean and bold, very reminiscent of the style we saw from the likes of Dan Jurgens or Jerry Orway back in the day. Having him on this book feels very, very right. I hope we get to see more of his work on Superman in the future.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #47 Title: The Merger Part Three: Truth and Consequences Writer: Mark Waid Pencils: Adrian Gutierrez Inks: Vicente Cifuentes Main Cover: Dan Mora
Fusion – the merged form of Superman and Batman – is in battle with Merger, the Lex Luthor/Joker mashup. And if that wasn’t bad enough, Merger has used Hawkman’s Absorbascon to learn the identities of our heroes and transmit that information all over the planet. Fortunately, Fusion has a whole Justice League to back them up.
I’ve loved this book since day one, because Mark Waid is clearly having a lot of fun playing around with all these classic pieces of the DC Universe. World’s Finest is set several years in the past, so when the secret is revealed we get to see some things that wouldn’t happen if this story were set today: a more villainous Poison Ivy going after Alfred, or a Lois Lane who is heartbroken to realize that Superman has been hiding under her nose all this time. Waid writes these moments very well, with compelling character work, especially in the Lois Lane scene.
That said, he’s walking a tightrope here, playing with what they sometimes call “Schmuck Bait.” It’s when a story (particularly in an ongoing franchise) teases a development that you know will not or cannot stick. In this case, we know with 100 percent certainty before the issue even begins that the secrets of Superman and Batman’s respective identities will go back in the box, so that lowers the stakes dramatically. The trick is to use this to milk good character beats that will retain their significance even once the actual plot is reversed. He manages to do that here, and even ends the issue with a new little wrinkle that could be brought back later, either in the pages of this book, or in other DC titles set in the current continuity. Either way, there’s potential there.
Supergirl Vol. 8 #9 Title: Resolutions Writer: Sophie Campbell Art: Joe Quinones Main Cover: Sophie Campbell
Continuing the holiday kick this book has been on (the last three issues have been Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas stories, respectively), it’s New Year’s Eve in Midvale, and Supergirl’s squad has been invited to a booze-free party to ring the year in. Lesla, unfamiliar with the effects of alcohol in the first place, is a bit disappointed to learn that it wouldn’t have any effect on her Kryptonian physiology. Lena has an idea for how to fix that little problem. Chaos ensues.
I have to admit, I didn’t see this issue coming. The first half comes across as Campbell trying to do an 80s style “very special episode” about the consequences of drinking, which would actually fit very well in what we’ve gotten from this series so far. The second half, however, takes a rather wild left turn when those consequences actually begin to stack. Stuff happens in this issue that drives a severe wedge in the family of friends Supergirl has built up around her, and I frankly didn’t see it coming. What’s more, Kara herself comes across as kind of cold in this issue – outwardly, at least. The reader gets to see her agonizing over the choices she makes and the way that she’s forced to push away her friends, but to those friends themselves she puts on a face of stoicism that’s really unexpected. Particularly in the case of Lesla, who is arguably a victim here, Kara doesn’t show the usual compassion that we get from her. I’ve been a big supporter of this book, but this is the first issue that feels like a misstep.
I’ve got no such complaints about the artwork, however. Campbell’s work on this title is great, but whenever she steps aside, they can bring in Joe Quinones to pinch-hit. I love his take on Kara and the rest of the cast, and I especially would like to see more of his version of Kandor.
Action Comics#1094 Title: Our Superboy at War Writer: Mark Waid Art: Patricio Delpeche Main Cover: Ryan Sook
This is an interesting one. The main story here is Superboy – in conjunction with his arrangement with General Sam Lane – being summoned to help with a military operation. Although that’s the A-plot, it’s also the least interesting part of the issue to me. That’s not to say that it’s not handled well – Mark Waid taps into the psyche of Clark Kent and has him go through this storyline in a way that feels very accurate for the character. The issue is that it’s very by-the-book. The beats are predictable, as are Clark’s reactions. I suppose that’s the thing about understanding a character really well – sometimes it can make certain stories feel very rote.
The b-plots in this issue are much more interesting to me. In the early part of the book, Clark has a study date (of sorts) with Lana Lang, and we’re teased with a strange animosity her father has for Clark. In the latter part, he goes on a camping trip with Pete Ross and laments the fact that there’s nobody he can share his secrets with. Both of these segments, to me, were far more satisfying than the A-plot. In each case, Waid is using established elements of the two characters to build them out a bit. For instance, Lana’s father being an archaeologist is a long-standing and well-known piece of the lore, but Waid seems to be using it here in a way that feels somewhat menacing, as though that status has a dark secret that’s going to cause trouble down the line. Pete, on the other hand, is famous for being the character who (in the Silver Age) knows that Clark is Superboy, but doesn’t tell anybody – not even Superboy himself. It definitely seems like we’re trending in that direction, but I trust Waid to do more with the concept than previous writers did. In the meantime, it’s really sad to see Clark upset about his big secret and the fact that there’s nobody else that could possibly understand what it’s like to have his kind of power.
Dang, if only he had some friends. If only he had a Legion of them or something.
Adventures of Superman: House of El#5 Title: I Am the Lantern in the Dark Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art: Scott Godlewski Main Cover: Scott Godlewski
A Sun-Eater has been unleashed on Lanternholm, the world that serves as the haven for the Lightborn. Superman and Ronan Kent join the fight alongside Ronan’s sister, Rowan. The Lanternholm stuff has actually been the most interesting part of this series yet to me, and I’m glad to see it take center stage in this issue. The DC Universe, let’s face it, has a LOT of potential futures. Some of them are easily compatible with one another, others require a bit more shoehorning to fit in, and this future in particular is at best going to be relegated to an alternate timeline in which Superman never comes home because – come on, let’s be honest here – we know that Superman is going to come home. It’s another example of that Schmuck Bait I mentioned earlier.
But that’s something that could theoretically be used to the story’s advantage. It is impossible for this future to be the “real” future of the DC Universe, so why not take some wilder, braver swings with it? I’d like to know more about what happened to the Lanterns in this future. I’d like to know more about what happens afterwards, with Rowan’s new status at the end of this issue. I’d read a miniseries about that, I’d read a miniseries about her. I’d be excited for it.
Absolute Superman #15 Title: The Never-Ending Begins Part One: In Blue Writer: Jason Aaron Art: Juan Ferreyra Main Cover: Rafa Sandoval
A new storyline kicks off this issue, although it kicks off in a very low-key way. After the huge win at the end of last issue, Kal-El is trying to settle in, taking over the Kents’ farm and running it the way they would have wanted while, at the same time, operating as Superman around the world. Of course, as the beginning of a new story, new threats are coming in as well, and we see the seeds for a few things planted here.
It’s nice to have something of a breather this issue, as we see Kal-El spending time with a lot of people, exploring his relationships with both Lois Lane AND Lana Lang, and interestingly enough, even Ra’s Al Ghul. There’s shoe leather to be expended here, building on who each of these people is to our new Superman. What I really like, though, is the direction this series is trending. Clark has traded in his Kryptonian suit for a uniform made for him by Martha, a uniform that speaks to a brighter future for the character. The Absolute Universe is one where Darkseid’s ethos reigns supreme and hope is the underdog…but despite that, Superman still acts as a symbol of that hope, and this issue continues to demonstrate that.
We also get the first appearance of the Absolute version of one of Superman’s oldest foes, and he’s taken in a very different direction. The Toyman has gone through several incarnations over the years. This one is different from any of them, but it suits the universe we’re living in and still fits the concept of the character fairly well. We also get a cameo by next issue’s big guest star, Hawkman, and recent comments by Scott Snyder that we’ll see a gathering of heroes in this universe sooner or later feel like they’re inching closer to fruition.
DC KO #3 Title: No Mercy Writers: Scott Snyder & Joshua Williamson Art: Javi Fernandez & Xermancio Main Cover: Javi Fernandez
Following December’s “All Fight Month” event, the combatants in the KO tournament have been narrowed down to an “Elite Eight.” The remaining fighters are each given an opportunity to choose a partner to fight alongside in the next battle. However, the one fighter who generated the MOST Omega Energy gets a special prize – their partner may come from ANY level of reality…and that winner is the Joker.
Much as the “All Fight” issues were at their best when used as an examination of character, even the selection of the heroes’ partners serves that same purpose. Some of them are obvious, some of them are understandable, and some of them are baffling. All of them demonstrate something about the character who makes the choice, and it’s writing like that which has elevated DC KO from being just a mindless slugfest into one of the most compelling events the DC Universe has had in ages.
There’s a running commentary from the Heart of Apokalips throughout the story that focuses heavily on Superman as well – what’s going on in his head, how he’s dealing with the battle, how he handles the fact that he’s got to fight, kill, perhaps even use his friends. What’s more, from the beginning the idea has been that it was okay for the heroes to die or to kill in pursuit of winning the tournament, because whoever wins and gets the Omega Energy at the end will have the ability to reset the universe and fix everything. This issue Snyder really starts to explore what that would actually MEAN. Would anyone – even Superman – have the wherewithal to only turn the clock back to before the tournament, or would that temptation to make the world unto what he thinks would be paradise be too tantalizing?
Also, there are a couple of moments in this issue that are gonna make for great action figures.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Last week brought us a pair of announcements about upcoming Superman books, both of which I’m happy about, although I’m slightly reserved about one of them.
First of all, Marvel Comics announced the creative teams for their half of the upcoming Spider-Man/Superman crossover. DC announced at the end of last year that Mark Waid and Jorge Jimenez will be doing the main story for their half, which comes out in March. Marvel’s side of the crossover will come out in April, and last week we learned that the main story will be by Brad Meltzer and Pepe Larraz, pitting the wallcrawler and the Man of Steel against Lex Luthor and Norman Osborn. I’ve been a fan of Meltzer for quite some time – I love his novels, I’ve shared his childrens’ books with my son, and I’ve always liked his comics. I was surprised, though, to discover that he’s done almost no work for Marvel in the past – save for a single page in 2019’s Marvel Comics #1000 special, I believe this will be his first Marvel work.
They also revealed the creators and characters that will appear in the back-up features. Dan Slott and Marcos Martin will team up the Golden Age Superman with Spider-Man Noir, Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman will pit Wonder Woman and the Jane Foster Thor against an army of symbiotes, Louise Simonson and Todd Nauck will turn John Henry Irons against the Hobgoblin, Joe Kelly and Humberto Ramos will chronicle a “campus crossover” between Gwen Stacy and Lana Lang, and Brian Michael Bendis will re-team with Sara Pichelli, with whom he co-created the Miles Morales Spider-Man, in a story where Miles meets Superman. The thing about that last one, though, is that I’m not actually sure WHICH Superman Miles is going to meet, Clark or Jon. The solicitation doesn’t make it clear, and there are variant covers featuring Miles with each of them. This is one of the many, many things that drives me crazy about aging Jon up, but I’m not going to belabor that point here. I’m excited about most of these stories, particularly to have Louise Simonson writing Steel again.
The second announcement that hit this week is for another project launching in April, a four-issue Bizarro: Year None miniseries, purporting to tell the “definitive, indefinitive” origin of Superman’s imperfect doppelganger. This one is going to be co-written by Kevin Smith and Eric Carrasco, with art by Nick Pitarra. I couldn’t think of a better team to do a Bizarro comic, and at the same time, I cannot help but be a bit trepidatious about this one. And anyone who’s familiar with Kevin Smith’s history in comics will know exactly why.
Look – I am a fan of Kevin Smith. I have been since 1999, when my buddy Jason introduced me to what was then still the “Jersey Trilogy” just in time for us to catch Dogma. And I’ve been into most of his comic book work too…when it actually gets finished. Once his film career was established, Smith broke into comics first with stories featuring his own characters, then on acclaimed relaunches of Daredevil and Green Arrow. In 2002, he came back to Marvel for a miniseries, Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil That Men Do, which released three of six issues before it vanished. Smith got sidetracked on other projects, and it took three years before he came back and did the back half of that miniseries. But that’s nothing compared to Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target, a miniseries that also launched that year and never made it beyond a first issue. We’re sitting here 24 years later, and that story was never finished.
This became a bit of a theme for Smith. In 2009 he and artist Walter Flanagan (yes, that Walt Flanagan, if you’re a fan of Smith’s movies) produced the first six issues of what was supposed to be a 12-issue saga: Batman: The Widening Gyre. At the time, Smith promised that the second half of the story would be told after a brief hiatus. The hiatus is at 16 years and counting.
To Smith’s credit, he’s totally aware of the problems he had, and in more recent years he’s gotten a lot better about it. Whether it’s because of working with co-writers or just making certain that he has the scripts for an entire project finished before it’s even announced, his work in the past decade has not suffered from the George R.R. Martin-esque disappearances that plagued his comics back in the day. But as someone who’s still curious as to how, exactly, that gyre was supposed to finish widening, it’s hard to hear his name attached to a project without at least THINKING “here’s hoping he’s got all the scripts finished already.”
I think he has. All the same, the Bizarro miniseries is scheduled to run for four issues, starting in April. So here’s hoping we’ll have all four of them by the end of July.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Arthur Hardy is retiring. For the majority of you reading this, that probably doesn’t mean anything, but if you’re from the New Orleans area that name has resonance and the knowledge that his era is coming to an end probably makes you a little bit sad. Hardy is a local historian who, for nearly 50 years, has also been the publisher of an annual Mardi Gras guide that has become a significant part of local culture. This annual magazine contains not only the routes and schedules for virtually every Mardi Gras parade in Southern Louisiana (and for those of you who’ve never done Mardi Gras, I’m telling you now, there’s probably a lot more of them than you think), but also detailed, entertaining, and informative writing about the history and traditions of carnival and the various Krewes, significant figures, and all the collected effluvia that comes with the season. Much like every kid in America used to sit around waiting for the annual Sears Christmas Catalog every year, here in New Orleans it just wasn’t carnival season until Hardy’s Mardi Gras guide showed up on the magazine racks in local gas stations and drugstores.
Farmers have their almanac. We have this.
I bring up Arthur Hardy because in his final season as the unofficial king of carnival, the local PBS station has produced a documentary about his life and career, Arthur Hardy: Our Mardi Gras Guide. If you’re in New Orleans and want to watch it, it’s going to air on Jan. 22 at 7:30 pm on WYES, with additional airings to follow, and it will also stream on the app. I’m excited to learn about this, not only because Hardy is a figure of great cultural importance to the most quintessentially New Orleans tradition there is, but also because I’m a sucker for a good documentary.
I love movies in general, of course, it would be impossible to read more than a couple of pages on this blog without that becoming abundantly clear, but there’s something about a great documentary that can be really compelling. To tell a true story and tell it accurately is an art form that even the greatest narrative filmmaker can struggle to pull off. Finding those bits and pieces of a person’s life and assembling them into a story isn’t easy, especially if the subject of said documentary is someone that the audience will likely already be familiar with. What can you say about this person that hasn’t already been said? What can you show that the fans don’t already know? And can you take the stuff they do know and present it in a way that’s both compelling and entertaining?
In the case of these biographical documentaries, I particularly find myself drawn to those that focus on somebody I’m already a fan of. Films like Jim Henson: Idea Man , Music By John Williams, or To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story all scratch that itch for me, giving me a deeper dive into the life of someone whose work I adore. That said, it’s not a requirement that I’m already intimately familiar with the subject of a documentary for me to enjoy it. For example, I’ve never been a wrestling fan and I knew virtually nothing about the life of Andre the Giant outside of his participation in The Princess Bride, but the Jason Hehir-directed Andre the Giant documentary moved me to tears. I’m just more LIKELY to watch a documentary if it’s a subject I’m already familiar with.
So in anticipation of the Arthur Hardy documentary, today in Geek Punditry I’m going to talk about five of my favorite “biodocs” from the last decade or so, five films that delve into the life of an artist or actor whose work is meaningful to me and why the documentaries land so well.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
This is one of those moments where nobody who is even remotely familiar with my taste will find anything surprising. I am, of course, the biggest Superman fan that most people who meet me will ever meet, and I even made one of my (sadly) all-too-rare movie theater visits these days to catch this documentary during its limited Fathom Events screening when it premiered. I was born near the end of the 70s, reared in the 80s, and in my heart of hearts, Christopher Reeve is and always will be MY Superman.
The movie tells two stories in parallel: the story of Christopher Reeve from the beginning of his life through the growth of his career and his life as Superman, intercut with the story of the horseback riding accident that put him in a wheelchair and the unexpected direction his life took after that. The directors (Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui) go back and forth between these two periods, telling their individual stories more or less chronologically but bouncing between the two every few minutes. The result is the surreal experience of watching this young man – strong, talented, and determined – juxtaposed by the person he would become at his lowest point and how he managed to crawl back from that point to become something more. The story of him portraying Superman is presented side-by-side with the story of him actually proving what a real-world Superman can be.
The movie is, as is to be expected, heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. It’s a beautiful tale that everybody knows from the beginning will have a tragic ending. The filmmakers don’t try to portray Reeve as perfect either – they spend time (especially in his early years) putting on display his faults and some of the questionable choices of a young man who is propelled to stardom. The movie also spends a surprising amount of its runtime focusing on Reeve’s relationship with Robin Williams. It’s common knowledge that the two of them were good friends, but until watching this documentary I don’t think I ever realized just how deep that friendship was. If you aren’t crying at that point already, get ready for the moment where Glenn Close (one of many actors interviewed for the film) speculates that if Reeve hadn’t died, Robin Williams would still be with us today as well.
Hell, you might be crying right now and you haven’t even watched the movie yet.
The film is currently streaming on HBO Max, which means if you want to watch it you should probably hit “play” in the next 15 minutes before they do something else stupid and remove more content from the service that absolutely should still be there.
The Scrooge Mystery (2018)
Don Rosa is one of the most globally popular comic book creators of all time, but far too many American fans have never heard his name. That’s because the bulk of his career was spent chronicling the adventures of Scrooge McDuck, his nephews, and the assorted characters that have sprung up around him in the world of Duckberg. Rosa spent decades writing and drawing stories of Scrooge and Donald Duck, and while they have been published and enjoyed here in America, they have achieved rock star status in Europe, where Disney comics are among the biggest pop culture outlets there are.
Rosa’s life and career is the focus of this documentary by filmmaker Morgann Gicquel, and through its two hours you’ll see the story of a young comic book fan who fell out of the artform and found his way back by carrying on the mantle of the great Carl Barks, Scrooge’s creator. Rosa talks candidly about his career, including his interactions with various publishers around the world, which ones treated him better than others, and his relationship with the company that actually owns the characters that he has made even more famous through works like his masterpiece The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.
The movie is entertaining, filling in blanks in Rosa’s life that even comic book fans (like myself) probably wouldn’t know, since the lives of cartoonists are not nearly as heavily covered by the media as those of actors and directors. As Rosa gives the filmmaker a tour of his home – including a gargantuan comic book collection that will make anyone who loves reading deeply envious – he comes across as a little awkward and eccentric, but endearing in the process. You’ll also get to see Rosa at work and feel your heart crumble a bit as he describes his deteriorating vision and how it is one of the things that caused him to retire. To look at some of the amazing, meticulously detailed artwork he’s created over the decades and know that the man whose pencils made those lines now has to practically press his face against the page in order to keep drawing is truly saddening.
I was one of the original Kickstarter backers for this movie back when it was in production, so I got a Blu-Ray copy of the film upon its release, which I was lucky enough to have Rosa to autograph last year when he came to Fan Expo New Orleans. Those of you who don’t already own the film may expect to see it on Disney+, but the odds of that happening are pretty slim. (Spoiler warning: although Rosa had good relationships with many of the publishers he worked with over the years, he makes it abundantly clear in this film that his feelings about the modern House of Mouse itself are far from kind.) Fortunately, it is currently available on several free streaming platforms, including Pluto TV, Hoopla, and Tubi. If you’re interested in Disney, comic books in general, or the marriage of the two, this is a great film.
For the Love of Spock (2016)
So far this list has turned out to be a chronicle of my own personal fandoms, hasn’t it? First Superman, then Scrooge McDuck, and now Star Trek. There have been a great many documentaries made about Trek over the years (one of the best movie theater experiences I ever had was watching Trekkies in a room full of like-minded nerds), but as far as films focusing on the life of a single person, I think this one is the best.
For the Love of Spock looks at the life of Leonard Nimoy and his sometimes tumultuous relationship with the character he brought to life. The film discusses those years when he tried to distance himself from the role and how he ultimately came around to embrace it. These are things that Trek fans, of course, are already intimately aware of. What makes this movie special is its director: Leonard Nimoy’s son, Adam. This is a very specific subcategory of documentary – films made by the family of the subject – that I always find intriguing. Adam Nimoy, as one would expect, has a very personal and unique perspective on the life of his father and what exactly Star Trek means – not only to Leonard Nimoy himself, but to the world at large. There are a lot of people who could tell the story of Leonard Nimoy, but it is doubtful that anybody else would tell it the same way as Adam Nimoy.
Nimoy passed away in 2015, while this movie was in production, so in a way it also serves as kind of a “last word” on him and the character. At least, as much as there will ever be a “last word.” Star Trek isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and Spock is one of the signature characters of the franchise, so this movie is never going to not be relevant. But it will always be, to quote Nimoy’s signature character, “fascinating.”
Like The Scrooge Mystery, this one is currently streaming on Pluto TV, Hoopla, and Tubi, as well as the Roku Channel.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor (2018)
Morgan Neville directed this film about the life and career of Fred “Mister” Rogers, a man who probably helped raise most of the people who are reading this column right now. For over three decades, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood came into the homes of the children of America and showed us things about creativity, imagination, kindness, and life. The question someone on the outside would likely ask, then, is how much of that was an actor playing a character and how much of that was the man himself.
This film puts forth the thesis that, when it came to Mr. Rogers, ol’ brother Fred was doing very little acting. The sweet, tender, and understanding soul that entertained us in the mornings of our formative years was the same soul Fred Rogers carried with him in his day-to-day life. The movie uses interviews with actors and crew from the TV show, Rogers’ wife Joanne, and others that were touched by him over the years to paint a portrait of an intrinsically good and humble man who never wanted anything other than to show children kindness.
That said, the movie isn’t totally saccharine either. It delves into the struggles of the creating the show, those periods where the real world was too harsh and how Rogers struggled how to deal with it, and the sort of existential crises that truly good people sometimes go through. Rogers was human, and not without his doubts. Towards the end, after his retirement, there’s a segment about how he struggled when asked to come back and make a short video speaking to children after 9/11, and the pain as he tries to figure out what to say is palpable. On the other hand, whereas many movies of this nature spend time looking at the failures or vices of its subject, this movie struggles to FIND any vices to put on the screen. It is particularly telling when Joanne reports that, as Rogers’ life was coming to an end, he was worried that he hadn’t done enough good for the world he was leaving behind.
Good grief. If Mr. Rogers wasn’t good enough, what chance do ANY of us have?
But the takeaway here should be that the doubt was only in his mind, that it is only the truly good among us that would ever worry about such a thing. And I am using the adjective “good” here rather than “great” very deliberately – if you don’t understand the distinction, you need to watch more Mr. Rogers.
This one is streaming right now on Amazon Prime Video
John Candy: I Like Me (2025)
The newest film in my top five came out just a few months ago. Directed by Colin Hanks, John Candy: I Like Me is a sweet dissection of the life and career of one of the funniest men of the 1980s, and to a degree, about how the world failed him. Hanks interviews Candy’s friends, co-stars, and family to give us an image of someone who was deeply kind and generous, but at the same time, wasn’t without his own demons. Hanks does his due diligence by showing those things, but it’s all through the perspective of interviews with people who obviously adore Candy and are in the business of preserving his memory.
This is a case where I don’t think there’s anything in the movie that’s particularly revelatory, but in which we dig more deeply into things we already knew. For example, Macaulay Culkin (who co-starred with him at the advanced age of eight) mentions how Candy was one of the first people who seemed to notice the toxic and abusive nature of Culkin’s father, and how he went out of his way to check in on and shield the boy on the set of their film Uncle Buck. Conan O’Brien’s remembrances of Candy came not as the host of a popular talk show, but from when he met the already-famous Candy when he was a college student, and how his interactions with the man shaped his career.
The movie is awash with interviews with the likes of Bill Murray, Catherine O’Hara, Mel Brooks, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, and many other people who seem to be lining up to tell the world that John Candy was a beautiful, kind, and talented man. If you’ve ever been a fan of his, I don’t think there’s anything in this movie that you’ll find shocking. But by the end of it, as you wipe the tears from your eyes, you’re definitely going to find yourself wishing that we had been lucky enough to have more of him before the ride was over.
This one is a Prime Video original, so go stream it there.
As always with these “Five Favorites” columns, my choices are inherently subjective and may change at any moment. There are a dozen other documentaries I can think of that would have fit into this list, and on any given day, may have bumped one of the ones that made the cut. But I’m always interested in more. If you know of a great biodoc, particularly one about a creative type like the five I’ve listed here, drop your own suggestions in the comments. I’d love to watch another one.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. You can subscribe to his newsletter by clicking right here. He’s also started putting his LitReel videos on TikTok. He cannot fathom why his Kickstarter for a documentary about American Idol alumni William Hung keeps getting flagged and taken down.
Last weekend was Fan Expo New Orleans. If you recall, during the full Year of Superman last year, I wrote about the Superman-related stuff I found at Fan Expo 2025. And right now, let’s all be grateful that was last year and not this year, because this year’s Fan Expo – I’m sorry to report – was kind of a bust. The big cons have been shedding comic and science fiction participation for years, that’s nothing new. The shows are becoming more and more focused on anime and photo ops. And look – it’s not like I think that everything has to cater to me personally. I know, I’m an old man and people need to chase the money young people are bringing to the table. But there are full-on anime cons out there. The convention culture was built around comic book and sci-fi geeks, such as myself, and it feels very much like we’re the ones getting left out in the cold. All of this is to say, after a Saturday afternoon of prowling the vendor floor, I probably spent less money at this year’s Expo than I ever have before.
Seeing as how this is “Superman Stuff,” I’m only going to run through the few related finds I got. I knew even before I got there that I was going to hit up one of the booths that sells custom LEGO-style minifigures, because I’ve got a display of Superman-related figures in my classroom and I wanted to add to it. There was a movie version of Superman and Krypto that I added to my display, but sadly, those were the only two Superman characters they had that I didn’t have already. (I did, however, pick up the movie Fantastic Four, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the core Heeler family from Bluey, so I came away satisfied.)
The comics were an even bigger bust. I like to hit the bargain bins – the dollar comics, the weird stuff. But I found only two such bins in the whole show. and I’m pretty sure there were only four or five comic book vendors TOTAL. I walked away with a handful of old Archie comics and some 80s Marvel goodness, but the only Superman comic that fell into my hands was a battered reading copy of Action Comics #342 from 1966, which I’m digging into today.
In “The Super-Human Bomb,” Brainiac is prowling space, trying to think of some way to defeat Superman, when he finds himself under attack by another alien named Grax, whose 20th level intelligence is obviously way above Brainiac’s mere 12th level. Grax has a beef with Superman as well, and has come up with a scheme to destroy him, but he needs a force field and somehow Mr. 20th Level can’t figure out how to make one, so he steals Brainiac’s. Grax tricks Superman with a missile that attaches a bomb to the man of steel, a bomb he claims is powerful enough to annihilate Earth, and it’s rigged to go off if Superman tries to remove it. Oh yeah, and just in case he gets any smart ideas about flying into space, Grax put Brainiac’s force field around Earth, trapping him here, with a 24-hour timer on the bomb.
I have to admit, inability to invent a force field notwithstanding, so far Grax is making a solid case for being eight levels smarter than Brainiac. He never got this far.
Superman spends the next 24 hours trying desperately to stop the bomb, but everything fails. He even offers to let Grax kill him if he will spare Earth, but Grax refuses. Minutes before the explosion, Brainiac messages Superman and tells him how to defeat Grax: build an enormous magnet (shaped like a horseshoe, because theming) and use it to draw Grax’s ship against the force field, trapping him in the blast radius of the bomb. Superman gets into Grax’s ship and hits the switch for the bomb, just as – in the most dramatic moment in comic book history – I realize that this $1 reading copy I purchased is missing pages out of the middle, so I can’t see how the story ends.
Incredible!
The back-up story, fortunately, is complete: Supergirl stars in “The Day Supergirl Became an Amazon.” College student Linda Danvers is on a trip to the South Pacific to gather specimens for the school aquarium, when their ship is struck by a heavy storm. Supergirl secretly guides the ship to an island, where the students casually decide to begin collecting their specimens rather than wondering about, y’know, getting rescued. But the island turns out to be occupied by an Amazon tribe that would later be sued by Themiscyra for trademark infringement.
The Amazons put Linda and her classmates in slave girl costumes because fun, and that night Linda puts her Supergirl costume on a bird so people will see it flying around and assume Supergirl is on a mission, and that may be one of the most confusing sentences I’ve ever written. The Amazons feed the girls a “nectar of strength” which doesn’t appear to impact Linda’s classmates, but she pretends that the nectar has given her super powers and starts wiping the floor with the Amazons in trial after trial. Eventually, Linda does such a good job of building a pyramid with the stones from the Amazon’s homes that the queen gets fed up with her and lets the girls go. The story is an absolute masterpiece, assuming that you don’t stop to wonder why Supergirl dropped their ship on the island instead of taking them to a safe place in the first place, why she felt it necessary to put her costume on a bird, or what Linda’s major was and what kind of college sends three random students to the South Pacific in a hovercraft.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
At the end of 2025, I made the decision to keep up my blogging about Superman. Unlike 2025, though, I’m not going to require myself to read or watch something literally every single day. That was a fun challenge, but the truth is, I know it’s not sustainable. I’ve got other writing to do, after all. But I’m going to aim to have some “Superman Stuff” for you roughly once a week. This might be a review of a comic book, a TV episode, or a movie. It might be a discussion of recent news or announcements. It might be talking about a new piece of merch or discussion of merch that I just WISH existed. I’m leaving the doors for this very open for me, because I want that freedom to take this in any direction that strikes me.
I call it…
To start this new, open-ended journey, I’m going to read a couple of the many books that were left over in my massive “Year of Superman” reading list, the first two issues of the 2016 DC Rebirth reboot, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year somehow. Following the divisive New 52 era, this version of Superman (by Peter J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason) felt very much like a return to form – it was the post-Crisis Superman again, married to Lois Lane, raising their son Jonathan together. And oddly enough, it began with Superman – the classic Superman – mourning the death of his “brother,” the New 52 Superman, which had happened just months before.
The Kents are still living on a farm here, under the assumed identities that they were using to avoid the revamped universe’s Clark and Lois. The relative seclusion is also helpful for Jonathan, still learning his powers. At the beginning of this issue he gets a horrific reminder of just what he can do – when a bird snatches his cat, Goldie, Jonathan’s heat vision fires instinctively, annihilating both the bird AND the cat. To make matters worse, a neighbor girl witnesses his trauma. Jonathan snaps at his parents later, upset about having to hide who he really is and what he can do, and is sent to his room. As he sits in his room, his father gets a visit by Wonder Woman and Batman, both concerned about this “new” Superman and his family – particularly the ten-year-old boy with Kryptonian power.
In issue #2, Superman takes Jonathan out with him to watch as he helps a ship trapped in ice, only to find an enormous tentacled creature beneath the waves. As Superman battles the creature, he instructs Jon into how to use his heat vision to neutralize the monster and send it below the waves. To his surprise, Jon realizes it’s…kind of fun. That fun is shattered later when Jon is hanging out with Kathy – the neighbor girl who saw him use his heat vision – and takes a tumble from a tree. He’s unconscious, hurt far more than he should be, and Clark decides a trip to the Fortress of Solitude is in order, not knowing that a visitor is waiting there.
This was such a great era for Superman. The classic version is back, the family is back, and best of all, we get stories like this. Clark is teaching his son to use his powers, helping him slowly discover them and having sincere discussions about what it means to be a hero. The episode with the monster in the ice, for example, is entirely orchestrated by Clark. He knew that Jon used his heat vision on the cat (he could smell the traces of ozone left behind by a heat vision blast) and decided to pull the ol’ “get back on the bicycle before you’re scared of it” routine to put him in a position where he has to use his powers to HELP people.
Jonathan killing the cat, as awful as it is for him, is a great story beat. Superman’s “no killing” code is a fundamental part of the character, but it’s also a lesson that he had to learn. Jonathan gets to learn that lesson early, through an accident that is no less traumatic. It’s kind of emblematic of what being a parent is – you want your child to be better than you and learn from your mistakes, knowing full well that they’re going to wind up making mistakes of their own. Goldie’s death was a total accident, and Clark knew that Jonathan would take it to heart, so rather than punishing him or lecturing him, he turned it into a unique teachable moment. It was peak parenting.
This was the first time we were going to see Superman as a dad for an extended period, and Tomasi’s approach is great. In the first issue, shown mostly through Jonathan’s perspective, Clark is a little intimidating, the way kids can see their fathers. In issue two, that barrier is broken and we realize that the kind, caring nature of Superman extends to his nature as a parent. The scenes with Clark and Jon in this issue are note-perfect, and would be a hallmark of Tomasi’s run.
To be blunt, this is yet another reason I’ll never quite forgive DC for aging Jonathan up a few years later. There are hundreds of stories about teenage superheroes out there, and for the most part, they haven’t known what the hell to do with Jonathan since then. But stories of the greatest hero in the world fathering, tutoring, mentoring, TEACHING a super-powered child? Those are in very short supply, and they had only scratched the surface of the potential here before it was swept away.
At some point, I may try to find a reading order of all the Superman comics between Rebirth and Action Comics #1000, because that whole too-short two-year era calls to me as something well worth revisiting again and again. It was a great time for Superman. I just wish DC had realized it.
Blake M. Petitis a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive!Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Yesterday, January 1st, was the first day since 2024 that I didn’t read, watch, or listen to anything related to Superman.
And I missed doing it.
Unless you’ve been living under a Kryptonite rock, you know that at the end of 2024, enthused for the then-upcoming James Gunn movie, I declared that 2025 would be my Year of Superman, and for the next 365 days I adhered to that. Every day for a solid year I read comics, watched movies and TV shows, listened to podcasts, and otherwise spent time with stories featuring my favorite superhero and his extended family. 52 blog posts later (all of which are archived right here, by the way) it’s time for me to look back and think about what it all means to me.
Nailed it.
To begin with, I don’t do this very often, but I’ve got to congratulate myself for actually accomplishing the goal. In that original column when I announced the project, I said that I would give myself grace, fully expecting that at some point in the year I would slip up and miss a day. And let me tell you, there were days in 2025 in which I didn’t want to read or watch anything. Bad days came and I didn’t want to do much more than retreat to my own Fortress of Solitude. But I didn’t. I made it without missing a single day. Let’s talk about what that means by the numbers. Over the course of 2025, the media I consumed included:
1 TV special (the Superman 50th Anniversary special)
And finally – are you ready for this? 1206 individual comic book issues that featured at least one story in which a member of the Superman family appeared.
That’s – and keep in mind that I’m referring to myself here – batshit insane. I don’t know if David Corenswet spent as much time in 2025 thinking about Superman as I did. So after all that…what does it mean? What have I learned about him?
The truth is, I find that the things I already believed were mostly affirmed. Superman has been around for nearly 90 years now, and in that time there have been many stories told about him and many different interpretations of the character. And that’s all fine. But let me tell you about MY Superman, what I get from the character, why he matters so damned much to ME.
In Man of Steel, Henry Cavill popularized to the mainstream something that had been part of the comics for a few years at that point, that the S-shield Superman wears, the emblem of the House of El (at least going back to the 1978 Christopher Reeve movie) was a Kryptonian symbol for hope. But what exactly does that mean? Is it just because Superman is so powerful? Is it because when you see that symbol, you know that the danger you’re in is only temporary, that somebody will be there to save you? Is that “S” just for “Superman,” or does it also mean “Savior?”
Yeah. That guy. Any of him.
Superman’s story has a lot of allusions to Christianity, with Marlon Brando’s Jor-El even referring to Kal-El as “my only son,” but Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were Jewish and the story perhaps fits the concept of Moses even better. If you’ll forgive a brief moment of spirituality, Jesus was sent as the Savior of the human race in a direct way, and we get that whenever Superman saves someone falling from a burning building, leaps in front of a speeding bullet, or stops a locomotive to save the kid stuck on the tracks. Moses, on the other hand, was a less direct kind of savior, a leader, someone who GUIDES his people to a better world. And it is in this capacity that the parallels to Superman are stronger. Sure, Superman will save you from a flood, but more importantly, he’s there to show you that there’s a better way.
Let’s say it one more time: It’s not subtle.
It’s almost a cliche to say it at this point, but Superman’s greatest power is not his strength, his speed, his ability to fly or see through walls. His greatest power is his compassion, his unflinching belief in the goodness of people, and his ability to help others see things that way as well. Superman is the man who will never give up on you: no matter who you are or what you’ve done, he will always have faith in your ability to be better.
If you’re going to wear that shield, Kenan, you need to remember this.
In the climax of the new movie, David Corenswet tells Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor that his greatest strength is his humanity, and that he hopes for the good of the world that some day Luthor will realize the same thing about himself. From anybody else, that line would sound trite, pat, and cloying. From Superman, you believe it. The tragedy of Lex Luthor is not that he’s a criminal or a killer or anything else. That makes him a villain. What makes him a tragic figure, what Superman laments every time he faces him, is that he has a mind that could make the world a better place, but chooses to use it selfishly. And every time he faces Luthor, Superman hopes that this will be the time that Luthor sees the light. It’s even happened in the comics a few times, where Lex has turned good. It’s always been temporary, of course, except for in self-contained continuities like All-Star Superman, but we’ve seen time and again that even Lex Luthor has within him a seed of redemption. We’ve seen time and again that Superman is right. And if he’s right – if even LEX LUTHOR has the potential to be a better person tomorrow than he is today – then what does that mean for the rest of us?
Superman believes the best of you. And he inspires you to believe the best in others. In the final episode of Superman and Lois we see him in flight with his extended family of heroes, and we learn that he and Lois manage to change their world for the better. In Final Night, we are reminded that half the superheroes in the world look to him as inspiration (the other half, naturally, look to Batman). The whole point of The Iron Giant is that the Giant himself – an alien weapon – looks to the example of Superman and sees that he can make himself better.
The Giant gets it better than anybody on BlueSky.
We cannot bend steel in our bare hands. We cannot leap tall buildings in a single bound. We cannot change the course of mighty rivers, or freeze those rivers with our breath. We cannot fly through space unaided, travel through time, or crush a lump of coal into a diamond. Those things are beyond us.
But we can believe in the best of each other. And maybe, if we do enough of that, those others will actually begin to earn that trust. And maybe, if we do enough of that, we can learn to believe in the best of ourselves.
We should believe the best of ourselves.
Because Superman would.
Remind yourself, in those times where you’re dangling off the edge of that cliff and you think you’ll never make it, that Superman would believe in you.
And who are you to tell Superman that he’s wrong?
And don’t you forget it.
So now what?
Some people, after spending an entire year dwelling on a single character, would get tired of it. I…I’m not. I want more Superman. And there’s so much more to come. There’s the Supergirl movie coming out later this year, of course. And a new season of My Adventures of Superman is also scheduled to drop some time in 2026. Next year we’ll get Man of Tomorrow. DC Comics has announced some really interesting things for the ongoing Superman comics after the current DC KO event wraps up that I’m certainly going to want to talk about. They’ve also teased the return of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and come on, if Superman’s not involved with that in some way, what are we even doing? And let’s not forget that in March, after decades apart, Superman is finally going to meet Marvel’s friendly neighborhood webslinger again in a new Superman/Spider-Man crossover.
We’re back, baby!
Then there’s all the stuff on my list that I just didn’t get around to this year: John Ostrander’s amazing miniseries The Kents, Grant Morrison’s DC One Million event (which – let’s be honest – is a Superman story at its core), or the “world without Superman” Elseworlds series Justice League: The Nail. There are still several animated films I didn’t get to watch. I had hoped to do an entire week on fanfilms, but ran out of time. And I had stories picked out for weeks focusing on Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor, Kong Kenan, and other characters that didn’t get scratched off the list.
The truth is, I don’t want to stop reading, watching, or writing about Superman. I just don’t want to HAVE to do it EVERY DAY.
So consider this my official announcement. Starting in 2026 and going on…well, as long as I wanna do it, I’ll be bringing you SUPERMAN STUFF right here on the blog. Sometimes it’ll be new comics, new movies, new TV shows. Sometimes it’ll be classic stuff that I haven’t talked about before. I’ll still endeavor to have at least one blog post a week, but they won’t be as long as they were in 2025 (you’re welcome) and they may not necessarily always be on a Wednesday.
The world of Superman is vast, and despite the mountain of stuff that I mentioned in the list above, there’s plenty more to dig into. The regular Geek Punditry blog here on Fridays won’t change. But I’m going to continue to devote real estate here to talking about the characters and stories that I love.
Because there’s something to be learned here. And it’s a lesson we can all use.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. You can subscribe to his newsletter by clicking right here. He’s also started putting his LitReel videos on TikTok. To all the people who sent him messages urging him to make 2026 “The Year of Captain Underpants,” he considered it. A little.
I’m writing this on Christmas morning, sitting amongst piles of wrapping paper and the mountain of Hot Wheels that Santa Claus brought Eddie, The Muppet Christmas Carol on TV because it’s not time for football yet. But it’s also the first day of the final chapter. After 51 weeks in which I have watched, read, or listened to at least one piece of Superman-related media every single day, no matter what life had in store for me, I’ve only got seven days left to reach the finish line.
I’m going to think of this week as “the best of the rest.” I’m going to try to read and watch some of my favorite or some of the most significant stories remaining on the gargantuan list I started the year with. And make no mistake, that list is still pretty big. I haven’t gotten close to scratching off all of it. So perhaps, just perhaps, when I reach New Year’s Day, my journey with Superman won’t be ending, but merely evolving.
Comics:Superman Smashes the Klan #1-3, DC Go! Holiday Special #32
Notes:A few weeks ago I listened to the radio serial “Superman Versus the Clan of the Fiery Cross.” In 2019, writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Gurihiru loosely adapted that storyline into a three-issue miniseries, Superman Smashes the Klan, that kept the skeleton of the original story, but added some new elements that really made for one of those evergreen graphic novels that will be read for a very long time.
Set in the days after World War II, the story kicks off with a Golden Age-style Superman polishing off a leftover Nazi calling himself Atom Man. The fight is tougher than it should be, as Atom Man is powered by a glowing green crystal that Superman has encountered before, that makes him weak and sick. We soon discover that this is a very young Superman who does not yet know the truth of his alien origins. Something is nagging at him, and he sees an odd vision of himself in the mirror looking like a creature from outer space. Meanwhile the Lee family – Dr. Lee, his wife, and their children Tommy and Roberta – is moving from the Chinatown section of Metropolis to the city proper because Dr. Lee is starting a new job as Chief Bacteriologist of the Metropolis Health Department. Their new neighbor, Jimmy Olsen, stops by to introduce himself and invite them to the Unity House Community Center baseball practice.
The story follows the plot of the radio show fairly well, but it adds in elements that weren’t present on the air. Superman learns in the course of this story that he’s an alien himself, giving an added dimension to the story of the Lees and their struggle to find acceptance in Metropolis. We’ve also got an original character, Tommy’s sister Roberta, who wasn’t in the original story but takes on a large part of the narrative. As the daughter of a Bacteriologist, Roberta is a bit of a germophobe, which only serves to enhance her existing awkward nature, making it much more difficult for her to acclimate to her new home. I like this angle a lot. Having Tommy fit in as a typical all-American boy worked well for the radio show. You didn’t even know that he WAS Chinese for the first few episodes, making the angle of the Klan come across as a surprise to the listener. But in a comic book, there’s no way to make that kind of thing a surprise. While Tommy is still that kid who everyone loves and blends in with the Unity House baseball team easily, Roberta gives us a character to depict the alienation that someone – especially a kid – can feel in this sort of situation. The idea in the original was just to point out how foolish the likes of the Klan were, and that’s all to the good, but Gene Luen Yang (himself a creator of Asian descent) brings a whole new dimension to the story by emphasizing the struggle of an immigrant family through Roberta’s perspective. Not to make it sound like she’s some damsel in distress, mind you. Roberta is Superman’s deuteragonist in this story. She overcomes her anxiety to help her brother, realizing very quickly that Chuck Riggs is involved with the Klan and using her knowledge to race to Tommy’s rescue. She also inspires Chuck’s change of heart much earlier than happens in the radio serial.
Tommy, on the other hand, perhaps tries a little TOO hard to fit in, leaning on his ethnicity in ways he didn’t in the original radio story. Once he becomes part of the Unity House baseball team he keeps dropping jokes about being Chinese (“Confucius says” references, for example), using what makes him different to enhance his popularity. Although he’s a good-natured kid, his insistence on drawing attention to being Chinese bothers his sister almost as much as the people who insult them.
Superman himself has yet another perspective on the immigrant experience. He knows he was adopted, and we see flashbacks of Jonathan showing him a strange device that was in the ship that brought him to Smallville, but it spoke a language they were never able to translate. He’s even gone so far as to mentally suppress some of his more fanciful powers, making for a nice explanation for why he goes from “leaping tall buildings” to outright flight.
Another addition to the story is the Atom Man subplot. After Superman captures Atom Man in the beginning, we see periodically that he’s not in police custody, but being studied by the Metropolis Health Department, a study that Dr. Lee clearly has misgivings about. Lois Lane – who had almost no presence in the original radio story – takes the lead on this one, cracking open the story about the “Health Department” which turns out to be a private enterprise conducting dubious research. Naturally, this turns out to dovetail with the story of the Klan in a rather unexpected way. This is one point I’m a little unsure about. Making the Klan a more high-tech organization, with “loftier” ideals than the simple bigotry of the original works for this version of the story, to be certain, but I’m not sure if it undermines the original point at all. Perhaps smarter people than I can answer that one.
The is a fantastic story – a bold, proud tale that does far more than simply adapt the original radio drama. Indeed, it ties the story of Tommy and Roberta Lee in with the core concept of Superman, making who they are as integral to the series as who he is. I can’t recommend this one highly enough.
Fri., Dec. 26
TV Episodes:Superman and Lois Season 4, Episodes 6-10
Notes: With my wife working and my son having a mountain of toys to play with and college football to watch, I decided that the day after Christmas was the time to finally finish the last season of Superman and Lois. I’m not going to to a play-by-play on these last five episodes, so let’s assume that you’ve watched these episodes that I’m watching for the first time, and I’m going to discuss my feelings about them as I watch.
In episode 6, we see Lex trying to tighten his grip on Smallville by buying up property and bribing the citizens, but they hold firm and resist – mostly because Clark wants them to do so. It’s a wonderful series of scenes in which Clark realizes something that viewers figured out several episodes ago: after seeing Lois and the boys run to Superman’s side after he was killed by Doomsday, the entire town of Smallville now knows that he’s really Superman. And best of all, every single one of them is willing to keep the secret and cover his back. It’s a great story beat, and actually one I’ve thought about several times over the years. Considering everything that he did for the town of Smallville, especially in those continuities where he had a career as Superboy, it would be utterly absurd if there weren’t a lot of people who deduced the truth. The fact that they keep the secret speaks to an inherent goodness in them, a loyalty to the hero who has saved them time and again. Plus, when we see him trying desperately to put the cat back in the bag, convincing people that he’s NOT Superman, it’s hilarious.
Of course, there’s gotta be some drama, and the fact of his identity leaking out predictably causes some problems – kids who are resentful of Jonathan and Jordan, an antagonist from an earlier season that comes back and causes trouble. The scene where someone takes a shot at him in a diner, forcing him to reveal himself, is just glorious, and it leads to the secret being revealed to the world. When that happened in the comics I hated it, because I knew this was a genie that had to go back in the bottle and we’d seen it before. But here, when it happens on a TV series that only has three episodes left, it’s an opportunity to tell a story that hasn’t been told with Superman before, and the creators nailed it.
Beyond that, of course, another big arc in this season is the fact that Clark now has Sam Lane’s heart, and it’s reducing his powers, causing him to age. At the same time, Luthor is planning his final revenge with the combination of a new super-suit (stolen from John Henry and beefed up with Kryptonite) and the return of his Doomsday monster. It all collides in the final episode, “It Went By So Fast,” a title which I can only assume was a meta way for the writers to indicate the fact that they didn’t really want the show to end. I get it, too – this last half-season, lower on the soap opera dramatics and higher on the Superman stuff, was really fantastic, and it’s leaving me wanting more.
They’ve done the Doomsday battle before in live action – in Smallville, in Batman V. Superman, and even before in this series…This is probably the best one I’ve ever seen. With Clark on the ropes, seeing Jonathan and Jordan step up to fight hits me in that parenting place that seems to dominate how I interpret stories these days. John Henry and Lana joining the fight as well shows how big Superman has become, how this world is rising up to meet him. He may have lost a step thanks to his heart transplant, but he’s also inspired another generation of heroes, meaning he doesn’t have to do it alone.
And that’s just act ONE of the finale.
While Clark is chucking Doomsday into the sun, back on Earth Lex attacks the twins and Lois goes after him directly. As she shouts at him to stop attacking everyone around her when she’s the one he really wants, she yells the most Lois Lane line I’ve ever heard: “I am not afraid of you, but you’ve always been TERRIFIED of me,” then nails his warsuit with a mine. It’s not enough to stop him, but it slows him down enough for Clark to make it back to Earth and really start the final battle. It’s an epic, airborne spectacle that ends, inevitably, with Luthor taken down.
And now we’re only HALFWAY through the episode.
Next we get a time skip to about year later with Lana’s wedding to John Henry Irons (an event that would happen a few months later in the comics as well). Kyle and Chrissy are expecting a second child, and Kyle and Lana have reconciled into what appears to be a sincere friendship. Jordan and Sarah, similarly, seem to have finally buried the hatchet, and John Henry spends a tender moment with Natalie as Lois gets an important text about Lex’s future behind bars.
In the final act, we get a voiceover from Clark about how Sam’s heart allowed him to live another 32 years, and how he wanted to leave behind a legacy, making the world a better place. Clark, along with the twins, John Henry, Natasha, even Bruno Mannheim, begin to make real change. Using the influence of Superman and Lois Lane, they start a foundation that accomplishes good throughout the world. The twins each marry and have kids of their own, and we get a nice scene of Grandma and Grandpa Lois and Clark (in admittedly dubious aging makeup). But eventually, Lois’s cancer returns, and Clark is left alone. He lasts for several more years before Sam Lane’s heart that had beat in his chest for so long finally gives out, passing away quietly with his sons next to him.
Clark sits up, young again, seeing his own body behind him. He embraces his sons – young again – and sees his grandchildren. He finds Luthor, of all people, sitting at his kitchen table, and offers him forgiveness…says goodbye to his friends one at a time, and in the end he sees a vision of Lois, waiting, to take him into the light.
Here’s the thing: the story of Superman doesn’t end. It just – it doesn’t. Five years from now, ten years, a hundred years from now, there will and should be new stories of Superman being told.
But if Superman DID end…this is the right way to do it. An ending that is happy in the life he and Lois get to lead, despite the fact that this life – like all those of mortals – must end. And the fact that a Superman left behind a better world than he arrived on in that spacecraft from Krypton. In the comic books, they can’t really do a story in which Superman changes the entire world this way, because they still need something to tell stories about next month and next year. But here, with a television series coming to an end and, with it, closing off the stories of that universe, they have the freedom to show what Superman is REALLY capable of. This season has been a buildup, showing how Superman inspires those around him – not only his own children or friends, but the people of Smallville who were willing to stand up for him, and the people of a world that grows to do the same. The ending of this episode is a tearjerker, but it’s left with a beautiful message of hope that is entirely appropriate for Superman.
But it’s not only hope. Superman is about hope, yes. But the thesis of this series is true as well: “[Love is] the thing that makes life worth living.” It’s what makes the story of Lois and Clark so powerful, in all its many iterations. A man from another world, a woman who represents the best of ours, and how they come together…this is a story worth telling.
Comics:DC Go! Holiday Special #41
Sat. Dec. 27
Comics:DC Go! Holiday Special #43 (Cameo), Detective Comics #1103, Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #5, Superman Unlimited #8, Action Comics #1093, Superman Vol. 6 #33, Absolute Superman #14, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #46, Supergirl Vol. 8 #8, Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #14, Justice League Red #4 (Power Girl), Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. Kong 2 #5
Notes: For the final time (this year), I’m going to do a roundup of recent Superman-related comics, starting – oddly enough – with Detective Comics #1103. One of the first comics I read this year, back in the first week of January, was an issue of Tom Taylor’s Detective that showed Superman helping Bruce through an existential crisis. This actually serves as a nice bookend, with Bruce teaming up with Lois to help with an investigation. Superman appears briefly, but most of the issue is concerned with Lois showing off how dang capable she is, and how much respect Bruce has for her. It’s the middle of an ongoing storyline, so it’s probably not something most people would read on its own, but it’s worth mentioning because it’s a great Lois guest appearance.
The final issue of Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum wraps up W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo’s celebration of the Man of Steel in dynamite fashion. Lex Luthor has engineered a new Kryptonite Man, powered by the entire spectrum of the remnants of Superman’s home, and the battle between the two of them sends Superman on a spiral that leaves him questioning the very nature of the universe itself. Prince’s story leans heavily on metafiction, concentrating on Superman as a story and weaponizing that part of the character’s nature. The finale is entirely unexpected, but in its own way, as sincere a love letter to Superman as the likes of All Star Superman was – in fact, Prince and Morazzo lean heavily on Morrison and Quitely’s story here, and they do so in a way that’s both loving and triumphant. This is hands-down the miniseries of the year.
Superman Unlimited #8 gives us another of the one-off stories that this series has been doing so well. The influx of Kryptonite on Earth has changed a lot of things, including energy sources, and an experimental space flight is planning to make faster-than-light travel a commercial enterprise on Earth. With Lois Lane as a passenger on the maiden voyage, the Justice League assigns Guy Gardner to escort the flight in case something should happen. And wouldn’t you know it? Something happens. I have no doubt that Guy’s appearance in this issue is at least partially due to his guest-starring role in this summer’s big movie, but at the same time, it’s done exceptionally well. Guy is such a fun character – a rude, insufferable boor that is in every way diametrically the opposite of Superman…except for the fact that they’re both true heroes at heart. Seeing them together, both clashing and cooperating, pretty much always makes for a good time, and this issue is no exception.
Action Comics #1093 is another one-off story, this time Mark Waid telling a Superboy tale that shows an event that’s fundamental to Superman’s moral core. Dozens of farmers throughout Smallville are given notices of foreclosure on their farms at the same time. The new owner of the bank assures them that if there’s an “error” they’ll figure it out, but the time it would take to do so would ruin every farm in Smallville. When Superboy contemplates using his power to “find” the money to save the town, it becomes a battle of wills between Clark and his parents, who think that using his powers for personal gain – even to save the town – isn’t the way to go. I’m sure that everyone who’s ever read a Superman comic has fantasized about having the power to hunt down undiscovered gold or some other get rich quick scheme, and Waid does a good job with the Kents of painting a picture of why such a thing should be above a Superman. I still have to confess that I’d probably go dig up the gold if I had Superboy’s powers, but in my defense, nobody has ever called me Earth’s greatest hero.
DC KO’s “All Fight Month” continues with Superman #33, with the unlikely battle between Lex Luthor and Etrigan the Demon. Throughout the month I’ve been impressed at just how well these battles have transcended being mere slugfests. Oh, there’s fightin’ a-plenty, but each of them has gone beyond that to telling a story that digs into the heart of the characters involved. We see who they are, why they do what they do, and what makes them worthy of the Omega Heart, even if it’s only in their own mind. Joshua Williamson taps into the blackness in Lex’s heart and simultaneously shines a light on him. By the end of the issue, you almost (aaaaalmost) want to root for him in his fight with the Demon, because damned if he doesn’t convince you that he’s earned the win. We also continue the storyline with Superboy-Prime and Lois, whose Superwoman powers have returned, in the Fortress of Solitude. Recent announcements about the state of the Superman titles after KO ends have made these pages a bit more relevant than we’d realized, and although I hate the fact that they keep spoiling things in the solicits, I’m very curious to see what’s coming next to this title.
Absolute Superman #14 ends the current storyline with an epic battle between Kal-El and Ra’s Al Ghul for the heart of Smallville. As the two of them go at it, we see Lois facing off against the Peacemakers and Sol’s internal battle with Brainiac, all of which come to an amazing crescendo in this issue. Without going into a blow-by-blow, the ending of this one is probably the most hopeful thing I’ve seen yet in the Absolute Universe as a whole, although as suits this world tainted by Darkseid’s energy, the victory is bittersweet and not without a price. In many ways, it clears the table for this series, and it will be very interesting to see where the story goes from here.
World’s Finest #46 continues the story of Lex Luthor and the Joker, fused into a single being and armed with the power of a device that gives them the sum total of all knowledge in the human race. Superman and Batman, naturally, have to step up and stop them, this time getting a little extra help from Green Lantern to juice them up in a way he’s done once before. The issue ends on a cliffhanger, and it’s a pretty good one, except for the fact that it suffers a bit from Prequelitis. Admittedly, even in the present day what happens at the end would likely be wiped out by the next issue, but when you’re dealing with a series set in the past, there’s really zero tension with the “shocking” ending. It’s still a great, fun story, though.
I’m going to end my tour of new comics with Supergirl #8. It’s Christmas in Midvale, but Supergirl isn’t feeling merry. The holidays, with their emphasis on family, always make her remember everything she lost in the destruction of Argo City. Still, the Danvers and Lesla-Lar do their best to cheer her up, even as they get a strange visitor from the past that Supergirl has neglected for far too long. Sophie Campbell’s Supergirl is probably my favorite new comic book title of the year, but this issue is a little atypical. While the series is usually very bright and uplifting, this issue is somewhat darker and more bittersweet, particularly for a Christmas story. That said, it works really well. Sophie takes Kara’s pain and shapes it into a valuable lesson for Lesla-Lar, whose journey to becoming a superhero is an important component of this title. The story is told well and propels the characters forward, while still giving us a little Christmas cheer in the process.
This is most likely the last I’ll talk about newly-released comics in the Year of Superman, and it’s bittersweet for me too. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t looking forward to taking a break on January 1st, but at the same time, I’ve enjoyed pontificating about these new issues as they come out. It’s one of the main reasons I’m thinking about how to continue this blog into the new year.
Yeah, I’m teasing that again. Sue me.
Sun. Dec. 28
Comics:Superman: Space Age #1-3
Notes: Continuing the theme of “Endings,” today I’ve decided to revisit the three-issue Space Age miniseries by Mark Russell and Michael Allred from 2022. Published as a Black Label series, like many of them, it really feels more like an Elseworlds. It’s set in a universe where Superman rises to prominence in the 1960s, with a Clark Kent that’s spurred to go out and find ways to save the world following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Before he puts on his costume for the first time, though, he encounters a strange man called the Pariah, who warns him that the world will end in approximately twenty years. Pariah claims to have accidentally unleashed a great evil called the Anti-Monitor, an ancient being whose goal is to bring order to the Multiverse by destroying every positive-matter universe until only his own Antimatter universe remains. He tries to dismiss the Pariah as one of the “kranks” he’s assigned to cover as a Daily Planet cub reporter, but something about him sticks with Clark and he’s unable to shake it. On the other hand, he’s sometimes skeptical that the world will even last 20 years, as the arms race is intensifying and made worse by a false flag attack on Coast City orchestrated by Lex Luthor. The cataclysm turns out to bring heroes out of the woodwork: Batman captures Luthor, Abin Sur passes his ring on to Hal Jordan, Themiscyra sends Diana to the UN as an ambassador, and Superman makes his true debut disposing of American missiles before they can annihilate the Soviet Union. Book one ends with these four coming together at a new Hall of Justice.
In book two, we jump ahead to the 70s, where Superman is well-established, and the world is at peace following a nuclear disarmament treaty. But an interview with Lois leaves him questioning whether he’s doing all he can, and a similar disagreement drives a wedge in the Justice League. It’s a bad time for it too, as Green Lantern warns of the impending approach of a cosmic threat called Brainiac and, at the same time, a Superman from an alternate universe where all human life has been rendered extinct. It’s not all bad news, though – Clark is promoted to an editor’s desk at the Planet, Lois breaks Watergate, the two of them fall in love and she confesses that she knows he’s Superman just before he tells her. They even have time to get married and have a son before Brainiac arrives on Earth. But he’s not there to destroy the world, only to take its greatest resource before the Anti-Monitor can destroy it himself, hoping to use that resource in his battle against the Multiversal destroyer. That resource, as it turns out, is Kal-El of Krypton. The League drives Brainiac off the planet, but at the cost of Green Lantern’s life.
The final book in the trilogy takes us into the 80s where Clark finds Pariah again, who is impressed by his years of heroism, but still sees the end as inevitable. With less than two years before the Anti-Monitor arrives, the Brainiacs again ask Superman to join their fight, and this time, he considers it – but when a heart attack fells Johnathan Kent, he changes path, dedicating himself to saving the human race by eradicating disease by scanning their DNA. It turns out to be a ploy to record their genetic code. When the Anti-Monitor destroys the world, Superman makes for the Brainiacs’ portal, but instead of going into it he pushes through a crystal encoded with the DNA of every human he could collect, sending them to the empty world populated by the other Superman. He returns to his family just before the end, where on the other world the other Superman restores the human race on a new home.
In terms of “ending stories,” I kind of have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand, it’s excellently done. The writing and storytelling are top-notch and the characters, even in the Elseworlds setting, still feel mostly true to the heroes we know and love. And I’ll pretty much always be on-board for artwork by Mike Allred, whose unique style is one of my favorites of all time. On the other hand, there’s an impending sense of doom that spreads across the entire thing. There are other dark “final” Superman stories, like Kingdom Come or Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?, but in both those cases we journey through the darkness with Superman and ultimately end in a place of hope. This one has a sense of nihilism that doesn’t quite befit the character. Even the ending, where the other Superman brings back humanity (starting, naturally, with Lois Lane), leaves us with the feeling that it’s only buying time. After all, the Anti-Monitor is still out there, the final battle has yet to be fought, let alone won.
The series raises some interesting questions as the different Leaguers look on things with different perspectives. Green Arrow views the world through the perspective of the “Trolley Problem,” whereas Batman’s point of view is that he just saves whoever he can, knowing he can’t save everyone. Superman, as fits the character, refuses to accept that, and is determined to find a way to save everyone even if doing so seems impossible. It’s a noble point of view that works in the regular DCU, but Russell shines a light on how unrealistic that perspective actually is. If I was looking for something realistic, though, I don’t think I’d be reading Superman in the first place. Superman is an ideal, and ideals don’t have to be realistic. They’re something to strive for, even if you know they can never really fall into your grasp, and that’s how Superman works best.
So is Space Age a good story? Yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt.
I don’t think it will ever be one of my favorites, though.
Mon., Dec. 29
Comics:DC Go! Holiday Special #47 (Supergirl), Doomsday Clock #1-12
Notes: This is a controversial book, DC’s sequel to Watchmen which brings those characters into conflict with the heroes of the DC Universe, but I’m including it here for an important reason. In the end, this is very much a story about Superman. The first issue shows us the state of the world – since Ozymandias’s scheme was revealed by Rorschach’s journal, he has become the most wanted fugitive on the planet and the world has crept closer and closer to the very nuclear annihilation he was hoping to avoid. A new Rorschach has arisen, this time working with Ozymandias, who has a tumor growing in his skull. The two of them hope to find the only person in their universe with the power to change anything – Dr. Manhattan. Meanwhile, in another universe, Clark Kent wakes up from a nightmare, a horrible vision of the car crash that killed Jonathan and Martha Kent when he was only a teenager. It’s the first nightmare he’s ever had.
Ozymandias and Rorschach ally themselves with a pair of criminals – Marionette and Mime – who are seeking their missing son. They trace Dr. Manhattan to the DC Universe, where people are in upheaval following the popularization of the “Supermen Theory,” which posits the idea that the reason so many of Earth’s metahumans are American is because they have been deliberately created by the government since Superman’s first appearance. Faith in superheroes is eroding, with the only one who still has the public trust being Superman himself.
Over the course of these twelve issues Geoff Johns and Gary Frank delve into the nature of the DC Universe itself, starting with the notion (from DC Rebirth) that it was Dr. Manhattan who was responsible for the New 52 reboot in the first place. Turns out, it’s more complicated than that. Manhattan did toy with the fabric of the universe, but the reason it was possible for him to do so is because the “Prime” DC Universe – the one that’s called Earth-0 these days – isn’t actually part of the multiverse as we know it. Manhattan calls it the “Metaverse” (take that, Mark Zuckerberg) because it’s a core reality that the others are all reflective of. In the Metaverse, Superman made his first appearance in 1938 and inspired the heroes of the Justice Society. Then reality snapped, moving Superman’s appearance to 1956. The JSA still existed, but now Clark Kent had an early career as Superboy, inspired BY the JSA, and it was that Superboy that in turn inspired the Legion of Super-Heroes 1000 years in the future. Another snap popped Superman’s first appearance to 1986, and–
–are you seeing the pattern here?
The idea is this: Superman is the center of the Metaverse. As time goes forward, his existence is the constant, and as such, the universe is in a constant state of change. But every time the universe shifts, the previous iteration is preserved in a different world in the Multiverse. The original Golden Age Superman’s world is Earth-2. Another was preserved as Earth-1985. The version Manhattan created is Earth-52, and so forth. Eventually, Superman’s timeline will catch up with the Legion a millennium in the future, and when that happens, the ideals of Superman will become universal, and create a lasting peace.
Man, that’s a nice thought, isn’t it?
This book – much like the original Watchmen – suffered from a lot of delays before it could be finished, and many of the larger concepts have been ignored since then. I don’t think the concept of the Metaverse has been explored since this book, for instance, and by its very nature it makes sense that they wouldn’t bring it up all that often. On the other hand, this book also established that Martin Stein was part of a government conspiracy to create superheroes, and Firestorm was the result of that, something that I’m almost positive has not come up again. But that’s the beauty of this book – it provides a framework that can be used to explain away virtually any discrepancy or change in continuity. That thing you remember that the heroes didn’t? It happened in a previous iteration of the Metaverse, and it’s still canon out there in the Multiverse…somewhere.
If you’re the kind of person who considers Watchmen sacrosanct, I can understand why you wouldn’t like this book. It does, in a way, undermine the conclusion of that story by answering the intentionally vague question of what would become of Rorschach’s journals, and (perhaps even more blasphemous) it allows for that world to have a happy ending. But as good as Watchmen is, I have no objection to the notion of returning to that universe. The HBO miniseries did it in excellent fashion. I like this one too, if for no other reason than because it confirms something very important: Superman is the most important hero in the entire universe.
Shoot, guys. I could have told you that.
Tues. Dec. 30
Graphic Novel: It’s a Bird
Notes: As with Doomsday Clock yesterday, I want to spend these last few days of the year with stories about Superman and about what he means. That quest led me back to It’s a Bird, the unique 2004 Vertigo graphic novel by Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen. It’s perhaps the most unusual Superman story of them all in that Superman isn’t actually in it.
The story, which is semi-autobiographical, starts with five-year-old Steve waiting in a hospital as his grandmother languishes. To placate him and his brother, their father brings them a Superman comic…after which, Steve swiftly rejects comics, as they remind him too much of the hospital, making it all the more ironic that he would grow up to write them. When an adult Steve is offered the job of writing Superman by his editor, he rejects it, unable to find the character relatable.
The story is mostly about Steve trying to find his way into the Superman, and along the way he takes some interesting detours. His father goes missing, and fears of the disease that took his grandmother come back. Meanwhile, everyone he talks to about getting offered Superman is ecstatic for him and dumbfounded that he doesn’t want the job. These two threads are intercut with pages of Steve’s own musings on Superman, on who the character is and what he means – or at least, what he’s supposed to mean – as he tries to find something about the character that he can make believable in the real world.
The interlacing storylines, of course, come together in the end, because such things always happen in fiction even if they almost never do in real life. His father’s disappearance turns out to be related to the death of Steve’s grandmother all those years ago, and in confronting his father and the disease that haunts his family, Steve starts to find a way in to Superman.
It’s a good story, a powerful one, but it’s one whose inherent premise is one I somewhat disagree with. Steve’s quest is to find a way to make Superman “real.” I don’t think that’s necessary. Superman isn’t part of our real world any more than Mickey Mouse or Bugs Bunny or the food replicators on Star Trek. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t important, though, or that there’s nothing to be learned from them. In a lot of ways, I think the very fact of Superman’s fanciful nature is perhaps the most important thing about him.
Just as the story is very atypical for a Superman comic (such as it is), so is Teddy Kristiansen’s artwork. Kristiansen’s style is an odd halfway point between sketches and realism, in some ways making me think of Art Spiegleman…which is appropriate enough, as this book echoes Maus in various ways. Both stories are autobiographical, and with a frame narrative about the author struggling to relate to their fathers. In Maus, of course, the ghost that hangs between Art and his father is the spectre of the holocaust, while in this graphic novel it’s the shadow of the Huntington’s Disease that follows Steve’s family.
The book, of course, is specifically described as “semi-autobiographical.” Not really knowing much about Seagle himself, I wouldn’t presume to declare which parts are true and which ones aren’t, but regardless of any plot elements I tend to believe that all of the emotion in this book is genuine. The concerns, the fears, the anxieties that “Steve” expresses are almost certainly part of Seagle’s own psyche. Writers tend to do that, after all.
This is the Superman book for people who don’t understand Superman. I don’t know if, in the end, it will actually help them figure the character out – at least, not the way that I understand him – but it will at the very least help them find a path through someone else asking the same questions, and that’s a journey very much worth reading.
Comics:Harley Quinn X Elvira #3 (Power Girl guest appearance), Justice League Red #5 (Team Member Power Girl), Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. Kong 2 #6 (Team Member)
Wed. Dec. 31
Comics: Superman #247, Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #29
Notes: Well glory be, here it is. 365 days later, and the journey I started back on January 1 with Action Comics #1 is about to end…or at least, to evolve. I’ll talk more about that (say it with me) later, but for now, it’s time for the final Superman reads of the year. I thought hard about what to read today. In the early part of the year I’d planned to end it with a classic “last” Superman story, like Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? or Kingdom Come, but I decided to add those when I did the week of comics that influenced James Gunn’s Superman. So how else to end it? I ultimately decided to go with two comic books about what Superman is, because that’s where this entire journey has led me anyway.
First is Superman #247, the Elliot S! Maggin/Curt Swan classic “Must There Be a Superman?” Like many of the stories I’ve read this year, I encountered this one for the first time when it was published in DC’s classic Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told collection. Let’s talk about why it qualifies.
The story begins with Superman taking on a special task for the Guardians of the Universe – a pod full of deadly spores on a path to Earth, and as the spores are yellow the Green Lanterns are helpless to stop it. Superman creates an artificial planet to draw the spores away safely, but is injured in the process, rescued by Green Lantern Katma Tui and brought back to Oa to heal. As Superman is healing, the Guardians take advantage of his unconscious state to plant a notion in his mind that his influence on Earth may be impeding human progress. (If this had been the “Year of Green Lantern,” you would have found me discussing a LOT of stories that drive home an important point: the Guardians are pompous assholes.) When Superman wakes up, the Guardians give him a tour of Oa, continually dropping comments about him contributing to a “Cultural Lag” on Earth, and sending him home with the notion that if he steps back, Earth will be better off.
As he returns to Earth, he stumbles on a child migrant worker being abused by his employer. Rescuing him, the child – Manuel – brings Superman back to his community where the residents begin begging him to help solve all their problems, such as fixing their crumbling houses. Superman refuses, saying that they need to know how to care for themselves, but an earthquake strikes just seconds later, destroying their homes. Superman blunts the quake and rebuilds their houses, but tries to convince them that they need to know how to care for themselves because no one – even Superman – can do anything. He returns to Metropolis only to get word of a cruise ship endangered by a waterspout, which he rushes off to save, even as the Guardians watch from afar.
Looking back at this story now, I feel like this was Maggin’s way of responding to people who asked why Superman didn’t just sweep in and fix all the problems in the world. After all, with his power, why couldn’t he just solve hunger, homelessness, war, famine, disease, and so forth? From a narrative standpoint, of course, the answer is obvious: if Superman were to do all these things, what stories would be left to tell? It would literally be the end of Superman, as a going storytelling concern. But what about in-universe? How do you explain it to a kid like Manuel, who’s getting beaten up by a man who basically controls his entire life? The answer is something that people who know Superman could have told you from the beginning: even with the best of intentions, having someone (like Superman) doing everything for them would hold them back, leave them unable to act or take care of themselves. It kind of reminds me of all those stupid ads begging me to use Google AI to write an email or a Facebook post as if I haven’t been perfectly capable of doing that for my entire life.
Superman is there to take care of the things that we can’t. As far as the things we CAN take care of…we shouldn’t expect him to do it all for us. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take inspiration from him.
“Inspiration” is the theme of the final comic I’m going to read in this year of Superman, Jack Kirby’s Kamandi: The Last Boy on Earth #29. Kamandi, for the uninitiated, was a series about a post-apocalyptic world in which the human race is all but extinct, and the world is populated by anthropomorphized animals. In this issue Kamandi, one of the few remaining humans, finds the “Tablet of Revelation,” an ancient carving that prophesies the “return of the Mighty One,” a great warrior of the past. When the apes see Kamandi’s friend Ben Boxer, they believe him to be the returned “Mighty One.” One of the apes, Zuma, tries to engage him in combat, but the elder says that the Mighty One can only be revealed by demonstrating his powers against overwhelming odds. A catapult hurls claimants through the sky to prove that they can fly higher than the tallest building, an enormous boulder called the “Daily Planet” awaits the man who can move it, and so forth. Ben’s mutant powers convince some of the apes he’s the Mighty One, but a battle breaks out when they pledge to take him to his suit. In the fight, they come across a very familiar blue costume with a cape and a brilliant scarlet S-shield. Zuma tries to claim the costume, but perishes in battle as Kamandi defends the suit, saying “I know who owns it! I know that somewhere he’s still alive!” The suit is left, waiting until the true Mighty One returns.
This comic was released in 1975, some 30 years before the idea of the S-symbol standing for “hope” was put in place, but it’s hard not to think of it as you read this story. Kamandi’s faith that Superman is still out there is the sort of thing you’d expect, it feels like an appropriate place for the legend. The future of the DC Universe has been rewritten dozens of times, of course, with many of the various possibilities showing an immortal Superman, a legacy of heroes that lasts a millennia, or both. This feels like part of that, like the hero himself has left something behind with the promise that more is to come.
And that “promise of more to come” feels an appropriate place for me to stop.
Almost.
Movie: Superman (2025)
Notes: The first movie I watched this year was the original Christopher Reeve Superman from 1978. I’m going to end the year by revisiting the movie that inspired me to start this journey in the first place, James Gunn’s Superman. I’m not going to write it up again – Heavens knows you can find that on my original review. But I’m going to watch and enjoy.
One year later, and I have succeeded. I have watched, read, or listened to at least one thing starring or about Superman or a member of his family for an entire year. I’m actually quite stunned that I made it.
And I’ve still got so much to say.
But not yet. Come back Friday, friends, for my final thoughts on this year-long Odyssey, and my explanation of where I’m going from here.
Happy New Year.
Blake M. Petitis a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon.
Blake M. Petit 