I can see the inherent symbolism there in the Gnostic stuff, but maybe the appeal that would cool everyone's jets is by making everything a lot more ambiguous.
Superman's a hero for 10 year olds. Okay. We don't need mid-life crises. We don't need marital troubles. We don't need socio-political commentary from the background of the West Wing. We don't need overemphasis on science fiction, or direct analogies to gods and godlike power. We don't need gut-spilling tragedies, we don't need anything that would put Superman in a "corner" of the DC Universe.
We DO need stories that are relevant. Kids today deal with postmodernism, overgrowth of the technopoly, global markets, global culture, transitionary authority, and wars that don't end or have winners. They're taught to respond to a few hundred years of hisotry as if it's their own memory, and to use the Internet as an extension of their introspection.
Let's have a Superman who acts like Tom Strong, has the lifespan of memories of Jenny Sparks, and be practical, not ridiculusly intelligent.
Let's have a Superman who doens't know much about Krypton. Let's get rid of Kryptonite. He doesn't need weaknesses. He does whatever he can, and in this world, it's sometimes not enough. But instead of holing up and weeping when he can't save a train full of people, this Superman helps others to grieve and holds the young ones while THEY cry.
Let's get rid of all the other Supershit. Superboy(Connor/clone) is ok. -Hypertime him.
Let's have a Superman who's not married, who's not dating anyone, but is attracted to his animas. That means Lois gets to be shrewd and calculating and we get plenty of visits from the Themysciran Ambassador. NO OTHER Heroes visit.
Let's have a Superman in Metropolis. Let's have a Metropolis that's more like Springfield is for the Simpsons. Metropolis is noWHERE, its not future-fied, it's not "like" NYC or Gotham City... It's just fucking METROPOLIS and that's the reason Superman's there. Get rid of the rest of the Earth. No Antarctic Fortress. If Superman does stuff globablly, it's HEARD about, not shown. Action is for the reader is contained in Metropolis's skyline because that IS the world.
Let's have Luthor be Luthor. Everyone read Red Son and see what the guy could do. He should be mysterious in his ways, and be misunderstood. He should be constantly operating wheels within wheels within wheels. He should be a diabolically motivated Bruce Wayne, who doesn't like Superman because he's outside-the-system. They shouldn't know each other from the past. But the reader SHOULD see that the two of them, Superman and Lex Luthor, could accomplish a great more if they worked together. Superman should be confused and disapponted by Luthor, not driven to HATRED.
I can't really sum this up excpet to say again that we know too much. Let's not know so much and start to feel new again. Byrne's reimagining was a Good Thing that should be done periodically.
Now, if we want something for us 34 y/o... I say we use Nietche's "Zarasthrusta" stories about the "Superman", and make Clark Kent a superhuman fugitive altruist who constantly fucks up everything BECAUSE he's "perfection" from outside the system and breaks everything he tries to improve. But that's a miniseries ending in suicide. |
