Confessed Casual Reader Asks: Wait, what? The whole world knows Superman is Clark Kent?!?!?

Dear Forum,

I will start with a confession. I am not big into comic books. I know! I know! Don't hate me! Many here may proudly call themselves Comic Book Geeks. I probably don't come anywhere near having the necessary knowledge and understanding to don such a title. And I sincerely and humbly hope that this community will forgive me for that.

That being said, my whole life I have always had a real soft spot for Superman. It likely started with watching him lead the Justice League in Saturday morning cartoons, but really blossomed growing up watching the wonderful Christopher Reeve (R.I.P.) brilliantly portray the dual role of the powerful Kal-el from planet Krypton and his humble, meek counterpart Clark Kent the newspaper reporter. I could go on further about my obsession with Superman, but that could take a while. Hell, I'm typing this in my Superman pajamas for crying out loud. That's really all you need to know. I confess, however, that I have always only been a casual reader of the comics and hadn't picked up any issue of the New 52 since a few months into its launch.

Recently, my girlfriend surprised me by buying me a subscription to Action Comics Superman. She remembered me telling her that that title was (originally) the original Superman storyline. The first issue arrived yesterday. Action Comics #41 of the New 52. i just finished reading it and well...I'm in total shock. Apparently the whole world knows that reporter Clark Kent (now unemployed???) is Superman!?! How can this be? Why would they do this?

In my mind, this completely undermines a key (not to mention iconic) element of the character. It almost seems like a cop-out on the part of the writers, as if it's just easier to assume what people have been saying for years; that it's just impossible for this guy to disguise himself with glasses and not be recognized, etc. so just forget it. Kill the idea. It worked for 75 years, but meh. Whatevs. I'm having trouble accepting that.

I need help understanding this and I'm hoping you, as the comic book reading community, can help me.

Thanks.

-WheresMySuperman?

[QUOTE=WheresMySuperman;1272041]Dear Forum,

I will start with a confession. I am not big into comic books. I know! I know! Don't hate me! Many here may proudly call themselves Comic Book Geeks. I probably don't come anywhere near having the necessary knowledge and understanding to don such a title. And I sincerely and humbly hope that this community will forgive me for that.

That being said, my whole life I have always had a real soft spot for Superman. It likely started with watching him lead the Justice League in Saturday morning cartoons, but really blossomed growing up watching the wonderful Christopher Reeve (R.I.P.) brilliantly portray the dual role of the powerful Kal-el from planet Krypton and his humble, meek counterpart Clark Kent the newspaper reporter. I could go on further about my obsession with Superman, but that could take a while. Hell, I'm typing this in my Superman pajamas for crying out loud. That's really all you need to know. I confess, however, that I have always only been a casual reader of the comics and hadn't picked up any issue of the New 52 since a few months into its launch.

Recently, my girlfriend surprised me by buying me a subscription to Action Comics Superman. She remembered me telling her that that title was (originally) the original Superman storyline. The first issue arrived yesterday. Action Comics #41 of the New 52. i just finished reading it and well...I'm in total shock. Apparently the whole world knows that reporter Clark Kent (now unemployed???) is Superman!?! How can this be? Why would they do this?

In my mind, this completely undermines a key (not to mention iconic) element of the character. It almost seems like a cop-out on the part of the writers, as if it's just easier to assume what people have been saying for years; that it's just impossible for this guy to disguise himself with glasses and not be recognized, etc. so just forget it. Kill the idea. It worked for 75 years, but meh. Whatevs. I'm having trouble accepting that.

I need help understanding this and I'm hoping you, as the comic book reading community, can help me.

Thanks.

-WheresMySuperman?[/QUOTE]

Here is what happen so far:
Superman loses most of his powers due to some unknown reason and is now about what he was during he 40's. Lois finds out Clark is Superman and tells the world for reasons unknown. She claims it was to help.

To me it sounds like they are trying to deconstruct Superman and kill Lois's character.

Kill Lois? She's the second most important character in Superman's story. WTF?

[QUOTE=WheresMySuperman;1272060]Kill Lois? She's the second most important character in Superman's story. WTF?[/QUOTE]

DC are presently bigging up Wonder Woman as his love interest. Lois is'nt the only long-term love interest in DC to be thrown under the bus. Even Carol Ferris and Mera are being subjected to questionable character choices by the writers. About the only one safe seems to be Catwoman, and that's probably because she has her own book.

Don't sweat it.
If you're not a big comic book fan , you may not know this, but this is basically what we call an "event", where a big change in a character's status quo is done for some time before they go back to the usual formular. Famous examples include Dick Grayson replacing Bruce Wayne as Batman after the latter's "death", or Doctor Octopus mindswiping his brain in Peter Parker's body and taking over as Spider-Man. All of these examples have been "undone", not because of backlash, but because they were always meant to be temporary changes.
So it's probably better to think of it not as killing the idea, but as putting it in hiatus for some time, and to keep in mind that somehow, reporter Clark will come back at some point.
But yeah, if you were going in hoping for the classic Superman formula, you (well, your girlfriend) kinda picked the wrong time.
As for how it happened, well.....the details are still unknown, but what we do know is that Lois Lane discovered his secret identity and, for reasons yet unspecified but that are implied to be bigger than just "doing her job", exposed him to the world.

[QUOTE]DC are presently bigging up Wonder Woman as his love interest. Lois is'nt the only long-term love interest in DC to be thrown under the bus[/QUOTE]

Unacceptable.

[QUOTE=WheresMySuperman;1272082]Unacceptable.[/QUOTE]

If it makes you happier, DC just got done with a multiverse story where the Superman of the [I]previous[/I] long-term continuity had a child with Lois and they saved all of reality off-panel and lived happily ever after.

[QUOTE]So it's probably better to think of it not as killing the idea, but as putting it in hiatus for some time, and to keep in mind that somehow, reporter Clark will come back at some point[/QUOTE]

Auguste,

How can you be sure?

[QUOTE]If it makes you happier, DC just got done with a multiverse story where the Superman of the previous long-term continuity had a child with Lois and they saved all of reality off-panel and lived happily ever after.[/QUOTE]

Oh, brother.

[QUOTE=WheresMySuperman;1272087]Auguste,

How can you be sure?[/QUOTE]

We're more certain about reset buttons than we are certain of life in general

[QUOTE=Auguste Dupin;1272079]Don't sweat it.
if you were going in hoping for the classic Superman formula, you kinda picked the wrong time.[/QUOTE]

Is it too late to change my Username?

[QUOTE=WheresMySuperman;1272060]Kill Lois? She's the second most important character in Superman's story. WTF?[/QUOTE]

Hey...calm down a bit...Lois is not being killed. yes she was the one to unveil his identity , but we don't know exactly why yet, but in the new Superman/Batman issue the dialogue indicates that the reason she did it may have been to protect Clark from something else. The answer will start unfolding over the next three issues of the SUPERMAN title, starting with issue #41.

As for the rest, don't worry. This current storyline is just one in a long line of "status quo altering" story lines that eventually reverts back to the status quo. Over the 25 years i've been reading Superman comics, hes died and returned ( with a mullet!) , had his powers taken and returned numerous times, seem Metropolis raized to the ground by Lex Luthor only to see it rebuilt via magic, and even had his powers and costume completely altered for a year. In comic books nothing remains static. I would just enjoy the ride. Who knows...you may end up enjoying Yourself! :)

Oh and welcome to the forums!

[QUOTE=Loose Threads;1272097]We're more certain about reset buttons than we are certain of life in general[/QUOTE]

Ha. Good one.

[QUOTE=manofsteel1979;1272106]Hey...calm down a bit...Lois is not being killed. yes she was the one to unveil his identity , but we don't know exactly why yet, but in the new Superman/Batman issue the dialogue indicates that the reason she did it may have been to protect Clark from something else. The answer will start unfolding over the next three issues of the SUPERMAN title, starting with issue #41.

As for the rest, don't worry. This current storyline is jist one in a long line of "status quo altering" story lines that eventually reverts back to the status quo. Over the 25 years i've been reading Superman comics, hes died and returned ( with a mullet!) , had his powers taken and returned numerous times, seem Metropolis raized to the ground by Lex Luthor only to see it rebuilt via magic, and even had his powers and costume completely altered for a year. In comic books nothing remains static. I would just enjoy the ride. Who knows...you may end up enjoying Yourself! :)

Oh and welcome to the forums![/QUOTE]


Hey, thanks for the welcome.

Another thing that confuses the casual reader: The storyline/title/universe crossovers. Part of me wishes all the characters had separate storylines where only they exist, a la Dark Knight movie trilogy. I mean sure, put them all together for Justice League, Avengers, Batman/Superman, but sometimes you want to enjoy the idea of them all being the lone superhero.

As for the dying and returning with a mullet: Yeah, I remember it all too well. I couldn't even look at a Superman cover for years after that. At one point i remember seeing the mullet/T-shirt and jeans action figure in a store and nearly broke down.

Mullet Superman lasted 'till 1996, what I remember best from that was Clark having a fruity little ponytail as a result as part of the disguise.