Comment

Mar 12, 2011ejwise72 rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Although I was hoping for something more epic in scale both in its narrative prose as well as visually, Superman: Earth One is decent retelling – or updating, rather – of the Superman origin mythos. Straczynski ditches some elements that have become canonic since John Byrne’s reworking of the Man of Steel’s mythos back in the mid-80s. For instance, he removes Jonathan Kent from the picture, leaving Clark with only a mother by the time he moves to Metropolis. Personally, I’ve always liked that version better – which may be prejudiced by my love of the first Superman film. Having his father still alive may have made for more parental influence, but leaving him with only a mother clearly adds more pathos to Clark’s personal life – adding to the weight of being the surviving son of Krypton, as opposed to off-setting it. As a potential new “universe” in the DC multi-verse, I’m not entirely sure how well one this will develop. If competitor Marvel’s Ultimate line is any indication – where many titles have been passed from writer to writer at the same rate that the narrative quality slowly suffered. Which make me naturally hesitant about this effort. If passed into other hands, I can imagine the premise of this reinterpretation going south in no time. Here’s hoping that Straczynski is given full creative rein and control to prove me wrong.