InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Let me guess. You're Pride."

khaosworks (khaosworks) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-11-05 13:59:00

Entry tags:

char: superman/clark kent, creator: aluir amancio, creator: mark millar, creator: terry austin, publisher: dc comics, theme: dcau, title: superman adventures

"...He's Superman!" (DCAU)

The following pages are from my favorite issue of Superman Adventures, namely #36, chronicling a very busy, but what must be typical, night for Kal-El. I'm not very fond of Mark Millar's writing overall, but when it comes to Supes, he's one of the few people who can get him right... especially the DCAU version.

This story encapsulates what I loved about Superman as a child, and now as an adult. That he does these things because he can, and that he can save us all - Jesus Christ and Santa Claus all in one. And it never made him boring for me. It was exciting and thrilling to see him do the super-feats, to wonder how he was going to get out of fixes more than when or if he was. Superman, written right, should always be an inspiration and a reminder of what a hero should be.

The issue starts with a shot of Clark changing into Superman in an alley, but elsewhere in the city, a boy is talking out loud, wondering if Superman can hear him...

"...Superman's got more important things to do with his time than look for little lost dogs."

Well, that's true for now, as Superman flies over the city, listening in on conversations with his super-hearing (not at all creepy, honest!) until he hears a cry for help. Turns out a bunch of crooks armed with freeze guns are robbing the bank. He makes short work of them but not before one of them causes an accident with an ambulance taking a woman in labor to the hospital.

When Superman gets the woman safely to her destination, a doctor calls Superman over. There's a transplant patient waiting on the operating table, but the donor heart has been delayed in Chicago because the plane it's on has been hijacked. So off he goes again...

"No one's going to die. I promise." ...and off to his next rescue of the kids in a flooding mineshaft.

Unfortunately, as fast as Kal is, he can't keep all his promises. He has to stop a gang fight and arrives at another scene to find the police cleaning up a jumper. He berates himself for not getting there sooner, but there's another wrinkle. Turns out, according to the suicide note, the jumper committed suicide because he murdered someone and pinned the blame on his brother - who is scheduled for execution in one minute.

Faster than a speeding bullet nothing.

Still, the night's not done, as there's a space station in trouble from a freak meteor storm, one of which is a size of a building. Not that it in any way deters Superman...

And as dawn comes and the morning news recaps Superman's feats of the previous night, we return to the boy at the start of the story, who wakes up to find a surprise in his bed.

But surely, it's a coincidence. Surely Superman had more important things to do than to find a lost dog. Surely he didn't have the time.

But the boy knows it's not. And so do we. Because he's Superman.

(Post a new comment)

	Because Superman doesn't get it enough... roguefankc 2009-11-05 06:38 am UTC (link)
	hugs Superman Thank you. Regardless how small things are relatively to other people, you point to us that they're important to somebody. And that's what matters. =) Thanks for posting this. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Because Superman doesn't get it enough... silverzeo 2009-11-05 04:00 pm UTC (link)
	Which I why I don't earth can really hate his symbol away int he latest story arc. Also, Bats has been known to do this kind of stuff too, only at night. Like giving a homeless a blanket. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Because Superman doesn't get it enough... jlbarnett 2009-11-06 12:38 am UTC (link)
	well, Mon-El's going to be wearing it and joining the Justice League and I haven't heard any anti-JLA backlash in the solicits. So I think while there's some distrust of New Krypton and all Lane and Edge are going to be sorely disappointed about how much damage they did to Supe's reputation. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	mcity 2009-11-05 06:41 am UTC (link)
	If I hadn't locked myself out of that website, I'd be adding this to TVTropes "Heartwarming Moment: Comics" page right now. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	khaosworks 2009-11-05 08:28 am UTC (link)
	Well, there's two hours of my life I won't get back! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zordboy 2009-11-05 01:44 pm UTC (link)
	Only two? Geez, you're lucky. I've spent days in that place. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	megami 2009-11-06 12:34 pm UTC (link)
	Leechblock? Hysterical. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ladymirth 2009-11-05 07:47 am UTC (link)
	Aww, that made me tear up. sniff I think I get what you say about Millar. I remember now why Supes used to be my favourite hero. Now I'm more into Bats, but that is surely because I have grown up and become jaded and foolish. (Reply to this)

	superfan1 2009-11-05 07:53 am UTC (link)
	Aw,the last scan was cute and sweet. (Reply to this)

	jelly_ace 2009-11-05 07:59 am UTC (link)
	Meanwhile, a muffled "Idiot!" and the clap of a palm against a forehead is echoing in the Batcave. Supes, you just tainted the poor man's evidence. Didn't you learn anything from Bats? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	interrobamf 2009-11-05 10:21 am UTC (link)
	I don't think you'd be able to find a judge that's willing to put Superman on trial. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jelly_ace 2009-11-05 10:27 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, well, for someone who supposedly loves the United States and all that it stands for, he is showing utter disregard for its justice system. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

psychop_rex
2009-11-05 10:36 am UTC (link)

I don't know about that - he's got a signed confession to a crime that an innocent man is about to be killed for. It's a pretty standard 'STOP THE EXECUTION!' moment - the only difference is that Superman can bust through walls. He's working within the legal system - he's just ignoring the legal niceties that, under the circumstances, would take up too much time and get an innocent man killed.
Anyway, the whole 'American Way' thing aside, I don't think he's ever shown any particular favoritism towards America. He LIVES in America, sure, but he regularly responds to emergencies worldwide. During the 'Death of Superman' storyline, people all over the globe were shown weeping at the news and reminiscing about how he'd saved them or their loved ones from harm.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jelly_ace 2009-11-05 01:28 pm UTC (link)
	I think those who ignore "legal niceties" end up being in a whole lot of trouble. Law is all about niceties, and that's why it can be easily used to one's advantage. But then, Superman only had one minute, so I guess it is permissible. But that doesn't diminish the wrongness of it all. He should've been reprimanded or something. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	zordboy 2009-11-05 01:47 pm UTC (link)
	"But that doesn't diminish the wrongness of it all. He should've been reprimanded or something." For saving the life of a man that said system was about to murder? Since he didn't actually do the crime he's being executed for? Yeah. Kal gets a free pass on this one. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jelly_ace 2009-11-05 02:18 pm UTC (link)
	A sense of wrongness, for me anyway. Because even if he did save a life, wouldn't his intervention have many ramifications for the way the legal system and superheroes interact, that may actually hinder their superheroing? Assuming, of course, that all lawmakers don't see the superheroes in a good light. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

janegray
2009-11-05 08:55 pm UTC (link)

No, because for this incident to become an issue, the lawmakers would have to admit that their incompetence was about to cost an innocent man his life, and that if the real criminal hadn't spontaneously decided to confess and jump he would have got away with murder scott free. And they'd have to take full responsibility for it.

That's just not going to happen. Especially because, if those lawmakers don't see superheroes in a good light to begin with, they won't want to give the people more reasons to favour superheroes over lawmakers (can't you just see Average Joe going all "so those stupid lawyers fucked up and Supes had to clean the mess? Go figure!").

(Reply to this) (Parent)

psychop_rex
2009-11-05 10:29 am UTC (link)

I wasn't aware that executioner's hoods were still worn by people who threw the switch on the electric chair. For that matter, I thought we stopped using the electric chair some time ago - I thought it was the gas chamber of lethal injection these days.
That aside, this is a pretty good example of what superheroes are supposed to be all about. The hell with battles against supervillains and each other - sure, those make for engaging reading, but the reason superheroes have meaning is because they do stuff like this. They do the jobs that no one else can do, BECAUSE no one else can do them - and the outcome of this is that regular people's lives get either saved or made that little bit easier. Mainstream comics should remember that sort of thing.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	brandiweed.livejournal.com 2009-11-05 10:49 am UTC (link)
	For that matter, I thought we stopped using the electric chair some time ago Still used in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Virginia, although prisoners can opt for lethal injection. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_chair (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-11-05 11:18 am UTC (link)
	OK, that's fine - I was under the impression that Metropolis was somewhere on the East Coast, though. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	wizardru 2009-11-05 12:53 pm UTC (link)
	In the main DC continuity, Metropolis is actually located in Delaware, iirc. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	psychop_rex 2009-11-05 10:05 pm UTC (link)
	That's pretty much on the East Coast then, yeah. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	kamino_neko 2009-11-05 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	Not officially, but that's the closest thing to an official location it's ever gotten. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jlbarnett 2009-11-05 01:07 pm UTC (link)
	this book was also published several years ago. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	kiplingkat 2009-11-05 02:49 pm UTC (link)
	I'm not normally into the Big Blue but...aww. Just... Awww! (Reply to this)

	galateus 2009-11-05 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	Hey, that's the gas chamber where they executed the guy who blew up Clark Kent. Did they switch to the electric chair? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	galateus 2009-11-05 03:45 pm UTC (link)
	I think Spider-Man rescued a cat for two kids after a long night of his own supervillainy problems, too. (But of course it was a cat, so he had to wrap it up in a big ball of webbing...) I think this is officially a theme for heroes now. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	parsimonia 2009-11-05 06:48 pm UTC (link)
	Hahahaha. That episode is so weird. I always forget the ending until I watch it, so it starts off being my favourite DCAU Superman episode, and then it's like "wait, what? he DIED?" (Reply to this) (Parent)

	starwolf_oakley 2009-11-05 06:07 pm UTC (link)
	The very first Superman story in ACTION COMICS #1 had Superman rescuing a man from the electric chair, didn't it? It was referenced/repeated ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #612 by Joe Kelly called "Champion of the Oppressed." (Reply to this) (Thread)

	galateus 2009-11-05 07:35 pm UTC (link)
	A woman, actually -- Evelyn Curry. (The real killer was also a woman. Superman somehow got a written confession from her offscreen, which was good enough for Golden Age justice.) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	janegray 2009-11-05 08:59 pm UTC (link)
	the jumper committed suicide because he murdered someone and pinned the blame on his brother - who is scheduled for execution in one minute. Since that guy was willing to die out of guilt for framing his brother, wouldn't it have made more sense to die by cleaning his brother? What an idiot. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	jlbarnett 2009-11-06 12:40 am UTC (link)
	that's a damn good point. If he was scared of the electric chair he could have taped a confession or something. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Superman: Defender of the American Way (of handling international diplomacy)

freeman333
2009-11-09 05:58 am UTC (link)

Bomber: You may be able to stop our violent act, but wouldn't your powers and influence be better used by learning about the social, political and cultural systems that provide the impetus for our violence, so that you might better address these systems and thereby disrupt the cycle of exploitation and rebellion that have cost so many lives---

Superman: What's that? I have super-strength, and you don't? Why, you're right!

*klonk*

Superman: Poor nutter. Hope whatever he was blathering about wasn't important...

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: Superman: Defender of the American Way (of handling international diplomacy) linkara 2009-11-12 10:25 am UTC (link)
	Yeeaaah, they lose any political credibility on their "message" when they start pointing guns and holding hostages. I'd ignore whatever they had to say, too. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Superman: Defender of the American Way (of handling international diplomacy)

freeman333
2009-11-12 07:44 pm UTC (link)

Most people would, yes. And then the people who wanted attention paid to their situation would need to do something extreme, to force people to not ignore them, and what's the easiest and most effective way to get attention paid to a cause? Pointing guns and taking hostages. And so on, and so forth...

(To be clear: I'm not supporting violence as a means of affecting political changes--but I can understand why people use it, and my feeling is that ignoring the people who use it makes the problem worse. One of the many reasons why superheroes, as much as I love them in the comics, wouldn't be very good at actual peacekeeping in the real world, in my opinion.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	(Anonymous) 2010-02-27 09:54 pm UTC (link)
	Manly tears. They are manly tears by god and nobody says a word otherwise. (Reply to this)