Superman: Secret Origin #1

I’ve been looking forward to this day ever since they announced this book.  Was it last summer in San Diego?  I can’t remember.

Regardless, it was worth the wait.  I’ve never seen pictures of Christopher Reeve as a child, but I’m pretty sure it looked a hell of a lot like Clark Kent.  The art of Gary Frank is amazing and is perfectly placed to tell this story.

One of the main criticisms I’ve heard about this miniseries (before it even hit the stands) is that Superman’s origins have been told numerous times and that doing it again would only muddy the waters even more.  After the first issue, I don’t think that is the case.  Geoff Johns smartly decided to pass on the parts of the story that have never been changed.  We all know that the ship landed in the path of Jonathan and Martha Kent as tiny Kal-El arrived as the sole survivor of a doomed planet.  We get it; it doesn’t need to be rehashed once again. 

I must say that I had a little chuckle when the name “Chloe S” showed up on Pete’s cast.  And as much as Smallville is chalked up to being something of an alternate universe when it comes to Superman’s origins, the presence of Chloe Sullivan—however tangential—proves just how much the show has affected Clark Kent’s childhood.  The scene where a young Clark Kent saves Lana from a tornado, the appearance of his heat vision and the reason it first appears, and even the appearance of the Kent barn and house are all very reminiscent of a certain origin show now entering its ninth season.

The final page, with Clark vowing never to wear the Superboy suit again, is of course a perfect place to end the first issue and lead into his adventures with the Legion of Super-Heroes.  I don’t know about anyone else, but this title is going to be at the top of my pile for the next five months.

Smallville Season Nine Premiere: “Savior”

So many things excite me about Smallville right now that I don’t even know where to start.  First of all, don’t think it should be overlooked that Tom Welling is now a co-executive producer on the show.  It might seem like a minor detail, but I think that he probably is—more than any other actor to play the Last Son of Krypton—very in tune with the character.  His new role has brought him out of his media-shy shell a little.  He made his Comic-Con debut this summer to a room full of screaming and extremely enthusiastic fans, and also gave a very interesting and engaging interview for TV Guide about his new role and the upcoming season.  This guy knows the character and will make sure that the origin is done right.

After seeing the premiere tonight, I am confident that this has the chance to be one of, if not the best, seasons ever.  Clark has started his training, he’s wearing the “S” on his chest (and let’s not worry about the fact that he’s not wearing the red and blue right now because we all have moments of rebellion), and it looks like he’s finally going to be getting together with Lois. 

How far in the future did Lois go?  Not as far as I thought, that’s for sure.  In fact, I was sure that they (the writers and producers) wouldn’t give us a specific time frame but instead divulge information like “this happened right after …” as opposed to saying she went one year in the future.  It was a very smart move on their part now that I think about it, though.  If in fact this is the last year of the show, they have a very nice way to wrap things up and send them out in style.  I won’t go in to too much detail right now, but those flashes of Lois’s future at the end of the show alone are enough to make me very happy.

And this new Clark?  Oh, wow.  He’s so determined.  He’s so confidant.  And he’s so…smitten and obsessed with Lois, which brings up another point.  Clark isn’t the only one who was questioning why he isn’t flying yet.  I’m pretty sure millions of fans have thought the same thing over the last eight seasons.  But we finally have an explanation, and it’s one that I buy 100 percent.  Why can’t he fly?  Because he still sees himself as a human, and humans can’t fly.  I buy that.  I really do. 

Callum Blue IS Zod.  End of story.  I can’t wait to see how his story plays out this season.

We have so much to look forward to this season.  I am, in particular, looking forward to Speedy showing up in the sixth episode this season, “Crossfire.”  Let’s also not forget the Wonder Twins, Roulette, Toyman, and I’m sure many others along the way.  Life is good for Smallville fans.

Next week…

More Origins and Omens.  And I still need some of those covered, so be sure to e-mail me at gutterlife@gmail.com or post a comment on the forums if you’d like to give a helping hand.

More Origins and Omens!

Sorry about skipping a week, but school work waits for no one.  Anyway, here’s the next installment of “Revisiting Origins and Omens,” in conjunction with the six-month anniversary of the stories appearing in DC titles as well as the upcoming one-year anniversary of this column.  This week: Teen Titans and Mon-El.

Teen Titans

At the time, the Teen Titans were trying to figure out the whole business with the Dark Side Club and bring it down.  Many of the heroes they might have looked to in order to fill some roster spots had since been subjected to the Arena and were found within the pages of the Terror Titans miniseries.

Regular readers of Teen Titans also knew that a great number of changes were going on with its membership, as was recapped in the Origins and Omens story.  Ravager went bye-bye.  Miss Martian went on sabbatical (which was later revealed to be an undercover infiltration of the Dark Side Club), and Robin flew the coop to take care of business back in Gotham.  Oh, and Red Devil wasn’t Red Devil anymore.  He was just Eddie.  And let’s not forget about Wendy and Marvin, especially since we’re still seeing the effects of that particular storyline.

I specifically passed on revisiting the Teen Titans Origins and Omens story last time because issue #74 hadn’t been released yet and there is a specific image I had a feeling was going to be brought to light.  And has fate would have it, our dear Eddie Bloomberg saved the world despite having no powers, thus proving that powers doth not the hero make.  Anyway, we knew this was coming, thanks to Scar.

Let’s see, what else did Scar see happening?  Um, a Kid Flash uniform?  I think we can all safely assume that Bart is on his way back to the Teen Titans very shortly.  Ravager beating down Wonder Girl? It’s no surprise that they don’t like each other.  I have no doubt that this will happen many times before they ever become BFFs.

So here’s what is still bothering me.  First of all, there’s an image of Wonder Girl kissing a Beetle.  But here’s the thing: I don’t see any Blue in that Beetle, which leads me to believe that she somehow becomes involved with the Black Beetle (and aren’t we supposed to find out who that is pretty soon in Booster Gold?).  And we also have a silhouette of a pregnant woman.  Somehow, I just don’t see it being Bombshell.

Mon-El

The month of Origins and Omens brought to the Superman title a monumental change.  For once, Superman wasn’t going to be appearing in his own title.  Instead, the character Mon-El would be taking the lead, along with the Guardian.  So once he was mysteriously cured of his lead poisoning, this brief back-up was important because it set up who Mon-El would be on Earth and what direction his life would take for the time Superman was gone.  And wouldn’t you know it, he went back to Smallville and talked to Ma Kent for advice.

They set up a nice identity for Mon here, having him go by the name Jonathan Kent and being from London.  Really, Jonathan Kent sounds British.  I never thought so when it belonged to the original JK, but when it comes to Mon and his identity, the name just seems to fit.   

As for the Omens page, we once again have some images that have already come to fruition and others that have yet to play out completely.  We know that Jonathan joins the Science Police, and that the Guardian is a…uh, guardian of his real identity.  The smack down between Atlas and Mon-El just recently happened, though I’m sure it’s not over.  I wonder about the bald man in the upper right corner.  Is that supposed to be John Henry Irons?

So far Mon-El and Sodom Yat have yet to meet, though Mon has been given some crystals by the Green Lantern that filled in some of the blanks about Daxam.  But the image given here is that there is going to be more than a little bit of a misunderstanding of some kind, so much so that they fight.  Hmm…I wonder. 

And of course, the one that finally seems to be starting is what I imagine is a relationship between Jonathan and Jamie Harper, formerly of Gotham City and niece to the original Jim Harper.  Jonathan and Jamie recently became partners in a plain clothes Science Police unit in the Superman Annual and the sparks were there.  Yeah, they are sooo going to get together.  Too bad that lead poisoning is going to come back and either kill him or force some kind of recreation of the Phantom Zone.  Or, could he just decide to go home to Daxam?

Help, please?!?

Some of these Origins and Omens stories are from titles that I either aren’t currently reading or only recently started reading.  In these cases, I don’t feel completely comfortable dissecting these since I’m not entirely familiar with the storyline and the characters.  If you would like to help me make sure that this re-examination of Origins and Omens is complete, please e-mail me at gutterlife@gmail.com or leave a comment in the forums.

Here are the O & O stories I need help completing:

Booster Gold                                                  Justice Society of America

Green Lantern                                                 The Outsiders

Green Lantern Corps                                      Vigilante

Thanks again for reading.  Don’t forget to ask questions or add anything I might have missed on the forum.