Comics / Progressive Panels

Superman “Grounded No More!”

By Andy Frisk
Aug 3, 2011 - 13:35

The end of “Grounded,” and Superman as we know him, has arrived. At least what will most likely go down in history as the greatest incarnation of the Man of Steel, who was born in 1986 and died in 2011 at the tender young age of 25, received a worthy sendoff artistically. The incomparable Jamal Igle, who along with writer Sterling Gates created the greatest ever characterization of and stories about Supergirl, handles the artistic chores on the last issue of Superman, which has run uninterrupted since June of 1938 (albeit under the title Adventures of Superman for a while). This incarnation of Supergirl is also meeting an untimely fate after less than ten years back on the scene properly. Both are victims of sales panic at DC Comics and, to some, the impeding loss of the Superman copyright.

For anyone left reading “Grounded,” which started brilliantly but suffered somewhat when Straczynski was pulled from it, all loose ends are tied up, and Clark and Lois literally kiss and make up. Straczynski and Roberson also manage to bring a bit of closure to this “dead at 25” incarnation of Superman, stating, again literally, that they “lived happily ever after” and that “together, they fought the never ending battle for Truth, Justice, and The American Way.”



The 1986 thru 2011 versions of Lois and Clark might live “happily ever after,” but many current readers of the Superman Family of comic books will not be living happily ever after with Superman, the character and comic book. While Superman #714 might be subtitled “Grounded No More” Superman is about to, very ironically, be grounded in several ways. The Superman of the new Action Comics #1 won’t even be able to fly, and seriously looks to be a semi carbon copy of the Superman of the 1930s. Superman will be dark, snarky, and battle bad guys at the local level. Thematically, this Superman was great and was what was needed for the Great Depression days, but nowadays we need a more progressive, open-minded, and tolerant Superman. We need a Superman who is willing to stand up and fight the big battles, lead by example, and be a Boy Scout. The Superman of 1986 thru 2011 embodied much of what modern day America embodied. The courage to make the hard choices, fight the tough battles, sacrifice himself for the good of his loved ones, and seek out compromised solutions to difficult problems. This Superman died and came back to fight the never ending battle. DC Comics might have it right though as concerns Superman thematically when it’s all said and done. America isn’t willing to come to compromises anymore on difficult issues. America is growing more and more intolerant with each passing day. The average American is becoming more and more cynical and is nowhere near as hopeful as he or she once was. The average American, on both the right and the left, are angrier now more than they’ve ever been. Maybe the time is right for a Superman to come along who reflects these qualities.



The problem is that art, and yes Superman comic books are art, should inspire one to be more than what they are. The Superman of 1986 thru 2011 did this in spades. The characters around Superman might have been a little more filled with angst, anger, violence, and a varying sense of self, but how they interacted with Superman and how Superman inspired them to overcome their problems and challenges is what made the stories of this now ended era so great. Stories like the brilliant New Krypton, and even Grounded, showed us that this Superman too could go through some difficult times and suffer loss, but he always returned to relying on what he strove to represent, and believed in, at heart: “Truth, Justice, and The American Way." An "American Way" that relies on the promise of equal opportunity. The opportunity to better oneself, to fall in love, to have a family, to live in peace, and to learn to accept and understand what is often considered The Other, but is actually part of the great melting pot that is America.  Not the opportunity to rip off your fellow men, stalemate the processes that made our country great and free, or seek to destroy and drive out what is different from you. Hopefully, one day Superman will get back to these values or, better yet, not waver from them as dramatically as he appears he might be in the coming years.  

Last Updated: May 16, 2012 - 6:56
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Comments

Beautiful, heartfelt piece, and the tone is really quite fitting as an era appears to come to an end. I'm willing to wait and see what comes with the new Superman, but it's sure going to be weird to read about a Superman that can't fly.

While I think the social contract might be suffering right now, I have a better sense of people than you do. And it is going to be important for Superman to continue to reflect what is good in people.

I think the one thing you forgot about the American Way is that we do the right thing. And all the nauseating behavior in Washington aside, all the assaults that corporations have launched on our well-being and our democracy, should not blind us to that: we do the right thing. It's the same everywhere in the world.

It's one reason why Superman has been so relevant. He's going to have to stay on course, or it will be the end of a great character, a great body of stories, a great dream, and a great reflection of who we believe we are.

Personally, if they want to get more real, I think they should give us a proletarian hero. Like the way, way back Superman who threw a corrupt mayor out a window. Superman used to wage class warfare on behalf of the little guy. I'd love to see more of that!

Sure, like Time Warner gives a you-know-what about the little guy!

#1 - Beth Davies-Stofka - 08/03/2011 - 20:55

Thanks

Thanks Beth! Going back to having a Superman who throws corrupt mayors out of windows and wages class warfare is not a bad thing in and of itself except that it's been done. Those aspects of Superman can be very easily incorporated into the character as he is now (and for only a few weeks longer) incarnated. Just because Superman has fought intergalactic battles doesn't mean he can't still stand up for the little guy (like he did a great deal in "Grounded") without getting a devestating reboot that takes away some of the aspects that has made this incarnation of Superman so great, i.e. his marriage to Lois.

#2 - Andy Frisk - 08/04/2011 - 17:13