Review: "Superman: Secret Origin"

Geoff Johns. The DCU Master Storyteller who has resurrected numerous characters without expolding most of the landmines involved with retroactive continuity.

Gary Franks. One of the best artists in comics today, and one of my favorites since "Midnight Nation" almost 10 years ago.

They knocked Action Comics out of the park over the last couple of years. What could go wrong with this re-telling of the humble beginnings of the Man of Steel?

Sadly, quite a bit.

Nevermind that when I personally think of the "true" origin of Superman I go back to the John Byrne relaunch following Crisis on Infinite Earths. Nevermind the fact that Mark Waid's "Birthright" series was only 5-6 years ago. I went into the first issue of "Secret Origin" with an open mind, excited to see what these creators could do, and I finished the issue saddened.

Writing: Not only was the story unoriginal, but because of the fact that Johns is writing for the show, and all of the properties are under the same corporate umbrella, I think that DC Comics is trying to make "Smallville" canon. So much so, I honestly expected a Chloe Sullivan cameo to happen before the book ended. Guess what...it did.

Clark breaks Pete Ross' arm. Clark discovers that his heat vision is triggered by sexual arousal. Lana Lang is a whiny, self-centered twit. All "Smallville" staples.

Lex Luthor is once again somehow a resident of Smallville. After being written out of the city's history in Byrne's Man of Steel, and then being re-injected as a Clark Kent peer by Waid, Geoff Johns introduces us to a Lex Luthor who is older than Clark, a basement scientist and conspiracy theorist, and who finds a chunk of Kryptonite out in the field after running away from his drunk father. Also, Lex has a sister?

By the time the issue is over, Lex hates Clark for the dumbest reason ever, flight has been established, and Lil' Clark is suited up. We're told to expect the Legion in the next issue.

I guess settling the lawsuit over "Superboy" has opened the floodgates for these storylines to come back.

Art: I was really happy when Franks took over Action Comics and began to draw Clark Kent/Superman to resemble Christopher Reeve (pictured left). I thought that was an inspired and iconic touch and I applauded it. That trend is maintained in "Secret Origin" except that Franks seems to have caught whatever bug plagues John Byrne, and is drawing everyone that way. Also, Teenage Clark looks 35.


Overall: I give it 2 "Mehs" and a "Whatever." Why fix things that aren't broken?

Room With A View

Who wouldn't love to look out and see Batman standing guard over Gotham City?

Well, probably not criminals.

But I'm sure the regular law-abiding citizens wouldn't have a problem with him keeping an eye on them and keeping things safe for everyone.

You know... if he were real.

But you can almost have the next best thing by plastering a wall in one of your rooms with an image of the Dark Knight keeping vigil 24/7.

A company called Room Mates is selling quite a few wall murals with comic-related themes for uber-geeks to choose from.

You could have Superman flying over Metropolis. Spider-man webswinging.

Maybe you can't decide on any particular hero and would want to decorate your wall with a myriad of classic comic book covers. Well now you can do that too.

Or maybe, just maybe you want to go all out and proclaim your geektitude to the world (or whoever happens to visit your home).

You could decorate the walls with the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise:

But don't stop there.

You'll want an official replica of Capt. Kirk's chair to go with it.

And while you're at it, pick up a wall mural of the Carina Nebula to really set the mood and make the "experience" complete.

If all that is a little too much for your wallet, you could just change a few switchplates in your house for a more "subtle" nerd effect.

Happy decorating!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

...Fly, Fly Again?


Bryan Singer, Brandon Routh, and Co. are all out of a job. Warner Bros. is going to scrap the franchise and re-boot from scratch. I'm assuming this will mean that the continuity set forth by the Christopher Reeve films, and followed in Superman Returns will be left alone.

Thoughts? Reactions? I know that DC and WB are wanting to really compete with Marvel in the multiplex, and only the Batman films have been able to do that. With Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and various other DC/Vertigo properties in the works, is this a step in the right direction, or is this box office kryptonite?

He's a Brainiac, Brainiac on the floor...

Action Comics is rocking these days.

Preview for this week's Issue #868 up at Newsarama.