A Man & His Hammer: STEEL (Simonson/Bogdanove, Priest, Etc.)

[daBronzeBomma]

I won't deny that to a casual observer there are some similarities between these characters, but they're exceptionally superficial, and anyone with the ability to appreciate any nuance should understand that. The story opportunities that they each present - in fact, the story directions that they each demand - are quite different.

I think you and I may have vastly differing opinions on how valued "nuance" is for the comic-book-buying public.

Cyborg is about the merging of man and machine, the isolation we each of us feel as our connectivity grows but our CONNECTIONS become fewer and ever more shallow. Blue tooth and wireless and smart phones and iPads and laptops, and we're so absorbed in this digital landscape that we neglect the human interactions that ground us, that define us. That's a perfect friction for a guy who is actually replacing his body parts with technology; his humanity withering, perhaps dead, as he becomes more machine than man? And ultimately I think technology has the potential to connect us even MORE, if it is used correctly, and I think that is a conclusion that he (Cyborg) has to come to; that's his journey. That technology can make you MORE human, if you apply it correctly.

Wow. I would totally buy this book.

But Steel is already at the end of that journey. There is no friction, in regards to him and technology. Technology, for Steel, has ALWAYS been a means to an end. A way to help others, to lift them up, to transform society into something better. He doesn't care about the science, and any book focusing on Steel wouldn't focus on the technology itself, or his passion for building technology, for discovering new marvels. That's the purview of guys like the Atom, or Reed Richards, or Will Magnus.The focus of a Steel story should be on what Steel DOES with that technology, how he USES it, to what greater purpose he applies it.

Hmmm. Isn't that what Iron Man already does to a much more successful degree?

In that sense, then, the Cyborg book is more grounded in ‘today’, the issues that face us today. And Cyborg, as a younger character, is a perfect vehicle to explore the kind of angst we should all feel about how disconnected we’ve become; studies are showing that people are having more interactions than ever, but are less satisfied than ever, because it’s all one word texts. Information is being exchanged, but not MEANING. It’s the youth that is most impacted by this phenomenon, and a younger character lends himself to this kind of angst more than an older character (like, say, John Henry).

You write this. I buy it. Deal?

The superficiality of the Val Zod/Steel overlap shouldn't need to be commented on; they're both black with some connection to Superman? That's pretty thin. Val Zod, from what little we have seen, is mostly going to be concerned with overcoming his agoraphobia, adjusting to the massive influx of power he's dealing with, adjusting to earth-society, and just generally learning how to be the hero that people need.

Also, an actual Black Kryptonian Superman. To a person of color (like myself), this is not at all a small detail.

From the perspective of a writer (and hopefully, editors), this should all be obvious and clear.

Hah! I can almost promise you, none of this is either obvious or clear to most writers or editors. We don't live in a "post-racial" society.