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The DC Comics’ legal battles have forced the mega-studio to rethink the entire Superman franchise, starting with new storylines without a Kryptonite origin. And so this Monday, DC Comics unveiled plans for a series of new SUPERMAN graphic novels, that do not include nor mention Superman’s Kryptonite origins. Penned SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE by J. Michael Straczynski and Shane Davis, the story is set on a “new earth with an all-new continuity”.
Last year, Warner Bros. and DC Comics lost the rights to Superman’s origin story when the court awarded the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster the entire copyright to “Action Comics #1” and the first two weeks of the daily Superman newspaper comics. These artifacts cover the first appearance of Superman, including his Kryptonian origins, parents Jor-El and Lara, the infant Kal-El, and how he arrives from Krypton to Earth.
So it seems DC Comics is revamping the Superman storyline with its new graphic novel Superman:Earth One. In it, writer J. Michael Straczynski spotlights Clark Kent’s first few years at Metroplis, before he takes up the cape as Superman. J.M.S calls this Clark Kent’s “moment of Gethsemane” when he must choose between success and fame or or service and self-sacrifice.
If [Clark Kent] keeps his background secret, as he’s done for the preceding 21 years, he can be the best athlete the world has ever known… [or] create patents that could earn billions. He can finally step out of the shadows and into the light.
By contrast, if he chooses to become Superman, then Clark must live forever in the shadows, dedicated to a life of service and self-sacrifice that could eventually get him killed. … So the story is about Clark’s Gethsemane moment, when he has to finally make that choice, why he makes it, and what follows after. (complete interview at Ain’t It Cool)
For certain, it will be an interesting how Straczynski weaves the Superman story without mentioning Clark’s alien origins. It’s also a fresh take to put Superman into a graphic novel on top of the monthy comics series. Oh, and we might also get a sequel of Superman and/or a “Justice League” by 2012 under the DC-Warner flagship, before Siegel/Schuster acquires the copyright by 2013.
So, it’s all good news for the fans to enjoy!
Uh, is this just a penny-pinching effort to screw the Siegel and Schuster families out of their rightful due? Because if so, then no comic writer or artist should come with a light year of this project (especially JMS). This comes across to me as being amazingly disrespectful and a slap on the face of the entire concept of creative ownership; something I thought the comic industry was becoming more accepting of. I for one will have no part of this insult to the legends who put this medium on the map in the first place.
What’s next? A Bruce Wayne story where his parents are alive and well; him fighting crime with his mighty stock portfolio and trust fund?