You’d think my face would be used to egg by now.
So it occurred to me a few days ago, in regards to all my griping about the order in which this “Truth” storyline in the Superman books is playing out, that what we’re getting in the forthcoming Superman #41 (the issue readers were referred to in Action #41, the actual first part of “Truth” to hit the stands) is backstory intentionally deferred until after the in media res chapters we’ve already seen. And now that I’ve seen the issue, that’s more or less what happened, though, well…here’s what the original solicitation says for Superman #41:
“The epic new storyline ‘TRUTH’ continues with the debut of the amazing new creative team of new writer Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese) and continuing artists John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson! What will happen when the big secret is revealed?”
Okay, the storyline continues, so I was wrong about this issue being delayed and thus “the first chapter” of this storyline being skipped with following chapters being released. The egg is in my face, as the saying goes. “The big secret is revealed” in a way, though not how we expected, in that someone knows, but it’s not the big “here’s how the world found out!” reveal everyone was assuming would happen in this issue. And you know what they say about assuming…it makes an “ass” out of “you,” and, um, somebody else, I think…slips my mind at the moment.
The editorial aside to Superman’s reference in Action #41 to having a couple of “crazy weeks,” asking readers to see the then-forthcoming Superman #41 for details, certainly gave me the impression that this would be the issue where the secret I.D. hits the fan, but I was wrong again. Instead, it looks like this will be the book where it catches us up on what happened, while the other Super-books give us the “current” adventures. Don’t know if my previous assumptions were from misdirection or outright being misled, but I’ve been enjoying this particular direction of the franchise so far, so I guess I’ll just have to deal with it.
I am curious, plotwise, how they’re going to get this particular genie back in the bottle without “magic” or “Brainiac wipes everyone’s memory” or some other similarly cheaty fashion. I know the general meandering direction of the genre has been kinda/sorta away from the secret identity concept, but it still holds firm in some parts. I doubt Superman, the archetypal example of this particular trope, will be left without his Clark Kent for long, but it’s interesting in the meantime.
“Hey, J’onn, it’s Clark. Look, sorry to wake you, but I have a favor to ask. You’re still a shapeshifter, right?”
I seem to recall an issue drawn by Jim Aparo where Bruce Wayne needed Clark to wear the bat suit for him flit just such a situation. Of course, Aparo’s Clark & Bruce were virtually identical, except for the spit curl in Clark’s hair.
If choose, in the Batman tv show, Bruce just had Alfred wear the bat suit.
No one noticed a thing.
Does Clark have any close, similarly-looking friends or perhaps a man-servant these days?
Dammit, I hate my phone’s propensity to change word spelling AFTER I’ve written them correctly.
>> I know the general meandering direction of the genre has been kinda/sorta away from the secret identity concept …
Which is my least favorite development in the genre, where just a couple seasons into these superhero shows essentially everyone knows the secret identity (and in the Marvel movies, basically no one has a secret identity). I maintain that the core pathos of the superhero is that they can do all these amazing things but they always have to run off and desert their friends and family and so everyone thinks they’re a flake or a jerk even though they’re a hero. When it’s like, “Oh, hey, gonna go be the Arrow now? Cool,” then I think a lot of the inherent drama goes away.
But moreover, note that a key aspect of the New 52 was the return of the secret identity, typified most specifically by Lois Lane no longer knowing Clark Kent is Superman. Perhaps the most meta-textual way to say “The New 52 is over! As you were now” is to have Lois (and indeed the world) know Clark’s identity again.
Grant Morrison played that up in FINAL CRISIS when Superman flies off and says “If I don’t get back to the Daily Planet, my cover will be blown”, or something to that effect, and Batman mutters “Oh, Superman.”
In the context of the DC universe, I wonder what the public is more concerned about, Superman being outed or Batman supposedly being dead?
>>>I am curious, plotwise, how they’re going to get this particular genie back in the bottle without “magic” or “Brainiac wipes everyone’s memory” or some other similarly cheaty fashion. I know the general meandering direction of the genre has been kinda/sorta away from the secret identity concept, but it still holds firm in some parts. I doubt Superman, the archetypal example of this particular trope, will be left without his Clark Kent for long, but it’s interesting in the meantime.
When in doubt, Matt Murdock suggests…
http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/2015/03/im-not-daredevil-128977.jpg
I’m still not entirely convinced this isn’t a lot of “it doesn’t matter, the REAL DCU reboot will commence in 6 months, but thanks for still buying comics while DC reshuffles itself yet again”. Between Batman, WW, Superman and the supposed abandoning of continuity, it sure feels like a lot of “look over here! Not over there! Eyes on the shiny things! Not on our corporate restructuring!”
DC’s got their whole multiverse back now, they can easily just shunt off the New 52 into Earth Blibby-Blob and have the main titles feature the “real” Superman from Earth Blobby-Blib, whose secret identity is intact and wears his underwear over his pants or whatever.