ANDY DIGGLE To Sync 'Bright & Optimistic' ACTION with DCU

[LoneNecromancer]

Thumbs up for something bright and optimistic. Sure makes a difference from all the blood and death in the DCU.

Cos there's been so much of that in Morrison's Action and Lobdell's Superman.

[misslane38]

Having an occasional urge to tell Lois his secret, but ultimately deciding it was more practical not to, is a part of the Superman ongoing narrative that I miss. There's value in having her in on it, but there's also value in having her out of the loop. I've enjoyed both, but since having her know his secret was the more recent main-canon story line, and that was the case for about 20 years, in this reboot enough time needs to be spent on having her in the dark.

Since the New 52 is all about innovation, it seems like it might be worthwhile to attempt a dynamic in which Superman's side of the secret issue remains the same but in reality Lois has actually figured it out. We can watch him struggle with telling her for a few years or so; only to find that once he does reveal all, she has known all along. The struggle to take risks for what you want -- to at least give a more significant relationship a chance -- should be a part of the Superman story. That struggle can continue for many years as long as ultimately the struggle is overcome. It's not an issue that should remain unresolved and unexplored indefinitely. A confession towards the final chapters of this New 52 Superman's literary life should be welcomed.

[misslane38]

oh dear god. how does telling a civilian/human his secret and creating a loving bond with one of them equates to him being courageous, loving an accepting of humans? That is the lamest theory I have ever heard.

Because it takes courage to go after what you want. Clearly Clark wants to bond with humans, especially Lois, but holds himself back. He said in one of Perez's issues that he wished things could be different after Lois called him to say he didn't have to be alone and to offer him a sympathetic ear. He told Diana before their kiss in JL12 that he feels alone despite the friendships he has because of the secrets he keeps. On a figurative and literal level, the Kents' acceptance of the alien Kal-El into their lives out of love and hope is the kind of courage I have yet to see from Clark.

Anyways I'll bite, his parents knows about him for one.

His parents are dead and the whole point of adult relationships is to create your own family by forging new equally intimate bonds with people other than your parents.

He has been said to have Lana know his secret for two, even if its not shown yet, Lana has historically known his secret way before Lois knows it. Even in MOS the movie, it was said that Lana will come to know of his secret.

It has not been established that Lana knows the secret, but considering she and Clark aren't a couple it hardly matters because the point is to ultimately create a new family or fit in and find a home with another human being and obviously Clark and Lana aren't on that path.

Lastly and most importantly, He admitted to Mrs Nxyly even if she did found out about it first and at that point of time, the only thing he knew about her is that she is a human. That by no means signify that he can ONLY be courageous, loving and accepting of humans ONLY if he tells a human his secret identity.

Admitting to something that someone already knows is not the same as revealing something to someone who's been in the dark.

Thus, that is no way the truth and its just a sick and warped theory that you conjure up to back your statements that he has to tell a human his secret identity and create a loving bond with one of them.

You can keep throwing around insults, it won't make your argument more convincing.

As far as I'm concerned, the minute he values every single human life as his own, the minute he put on that suit and cape to save lives, the minute he knew that he has the power to protect innocent human beings whom lives he value equally or more than himself, he is already courageous and loving and accepted human race. He grew up with his parents and he loved his parents so dearly even though they did not gave birth to him, they are everything to him.
How dare you accuse Kal for your own agenda.

I never said that Clark's decision not to tell Lois his secret, and thus his self-imposed distance from her, indicates he doesn't value human life. He has accepted the human race as his inspiration and as those he's charged to protect. He's even acquired friends and a job, but he's already admitted his friendships aren't as intimate as he'd like. He still feels estranged from humanity, we're told. Telling me about the Kents' love for their son only makes my point further. As I've said before, even though they didn't give birth to Clark--he was a different species with different abilities--they bravely accepted him and loved him. These humble humans who didn't have powers and who weren't outsiders "gave everything to him," as you say. It's because of what they instilled in him that he is the hero he is today, according to JL13. Thus, loving Lois and ultimately finding a new home with her is an expression of his already existing ability to appreciate that humans can fully love and understand him despite their differences. Don't you see? This is precisely what has made the new Man of Steel trailer so powerful. It opens with Clark and Jonathan worried about how the rest of humanity will react to him because they believe "people are afraid of what they don't understand" and that "people would reject [him] out of fear." The trailer ends with Superman asking, "what do you think?" It's a question that the trailer has Lois Lane answer when she, in front of a show of military force, allies herself with Superman by extending her hand in faith and affection for this alien being.

One of the core themes in Superman is about hope in the face fear. Most incarnations ultimately demonstrate that it is cowardice and a cop out for him to not open up to Lois (see here). I'm not saying that he has to start getting that close to Lois ASAP. However, I am saying that in the myth of Superman, his capacity to finally make strides toward sharing his life with the human he loves--the one who had faith in him as Superman without ever knowing the man underneath first--is a poetic statement that not only brings his narrative full circle back to his human parents, it's a wonderful message to readers about transcending differences in our own lives by taking risks to be open to that which is different.

[nightrider]

So I guess for the past 60 years before he told lois lane his secret, he is not

courageous, loving and accepting of humans

with that, im done.

[Auguste Dupin]

Cos there's been so much of that in Morrison's Action and Lobdell's Superman.

Are you trying to argue about logic and opinions based on evidences on the subject of the DCNU being darker and edgier? Good luck.

[misslane38]

So I guess for the past 60 years before he told lois lane his secret, he is not


with that, im done.

Kind of. I mean, Alan Moore definitely thought he was a coward for not telling Lois who he was and how he felt in his Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow (check it out). But not telling her doesn't make him un-accepting of humans. To prove one's love takes guts, because loving something is hard and it's a risk. There's a reason why many Superman writers say the way you make the physically invulnerable Superman have sympathetic vulnerability is to show that his heart is vulnerable. When he chooses to put a fortress around his heart, which is attracted to and yearns to have the kind of attachment with humans he once had with his parents, because he's afraid, he is denying a part of himself--the part that already loves and accepts humans. So he has those qualities, yet he is not fully expressing them. Consequently, he is still separate from humanity by his own choice.

[666MasterOfPuppets]

Frankly, I don't know for sure but... Daniel says the ISSUE is being pushed back. Probably #18 will be a filler.

Interesting. I wonder when will DC announce what the filler issue will be about.

No, there was. It was Tomar-Re. He was working to save the planet, and would have, but fate intervened. Elliot S! Maggin wrote the story, and it was later picked up in GL proper by Wein and Gibbons, when Hal uses the technique Re was using to actually save a planet which was to explode like Krypton.

Really? Interesting. Can you elaborate a bit? that is, why couldn't Tomar-Re save Krypton? Also, Tomar-Re? That makes Krypton too close to Earth, no? I guess that Krypton's location in the Nu52 universe makes sense, if taking that into account.

Morrison's Lex wasn't really a business man. He consulted, but it was as a strategic and technical genius. It was very much an homage/echo of Alan Moore's Lex Luthor from Swamp Thing.

The Lex Luthor of the Post-Crisis era was, by in large, not a genius at all. He was savvy, but it was implementing and applying the work of others. Again, for the most part -- towards the end they started playing up his brilliance again (Robinson and Johns).

I heard about Moore's Luthor. I heard he charged some guys a million dollars or something for a strategy that he devised in 5 minutes. Pretty damn cool, if you ask me.

[Superlad93]

Lana knows his secret and has known since they were teens. I also bet he loves her like a sister.

Read Action comics back ups.

[Superlad93]

Also question: why are we always so focused on the romantic aspects of Superman? Isn't there more to him than just that? He's not some love novel character.


Every thread with this nonsense.....

[the Sun God]

Also question: why are we always so focused on the romantic aspects of Superman? Isn't there more to him than just that? He's not some love novel character.

I think it's all fault of Smallville and Lois & Clark - The New Advetures of Superman. These series have presented Superman to the general public as a "love novel character".

[misslane38]

Lana knows his secret and has known since they were teens. I also bet he loves her like a sister.

Read Action comics back ups.

I have read them and it is not specifically confirmed that she knows. Why don't you share with me the quote or panel that has led you to draw such a conclusion? I'd appreciate it. That said, if Lana does know then Clark's inability to open up to other humans looks even more ridiculous. Lana knows, according to you, and he's not rescuing her all the time or worried that she'll be a target. Plus, if he has her to confide in when he's feeling lonely, why doesn't he? I honestly don't think she knows.

[the Sun God]

I have read them and it is not specifically confirmed that she knows. Why don't you share with me the quote or panel that has led you to draw such a conclusion? I'd appreciate it. That said, if Lana does know then Clark's inability to open up to other humans looks even more ridiculous. Lana knows, according to you, and he's not rescuing her all the time or worried that she'll be a target. Plus, if he has her to confide in when he's feeling lonely, why doesn't he? I honestly don't think she knows.

Superlad probably refers to Action Comics #6:

[WilliamMcGuire]

I'm not getting involved in the big debate, but I thought it was obvious from that back up that she's privvy to Clark's secret.

[Darkspellmaster]

I don't see him as a love novel character, Superman and Clark has always been more then that. The problem is that romance goes hand in hand with comics. Which again was why I keep thinking that any romantic interests should be sidelined until at least four years of stories have been told to allow the characters to foster personalities and friendships. Seems like Lana is privvy, as for the whole courage issues, I woudn't say he was a coward for not telling Lois I would say that he was more worried about the after affects of it. No one wants to be rejected, so yes and no there's a courage issue, but there's also an issue of "If I tell Lois then someone might read her mind and find out." so there's also a trust thing.

[Auguste Dupin]

Superlad probably refers to Action Comics #6:

Attachment 107003

That's how I took the scene. I mean, I find it doubtful that by "so much to offer to offer to the world", she meant his incredible ability to put words in the correct order.