Superman: American Alien #6 (spoilers!) Discussion

[Superlad93]

Man, whenever I go to talk this book I feel like a broken record. Honestly I almost wanted to keep my opinions to myself on this one. But after I read the actual book I feel like I've gotta bring to light some of the very important and effective techniques that Landis puts to work here, in my summation. Disclaimer: I don't wanna spoil too much right off the bat, so forgive me for speaking abstractly in this first post. But we can all get into it farther down.

In Superman: American Alien #6, for the first time in earnest, we've got an honest to goodness return and contemporization of most popular time in Superman's publication history, the "Sliver age". "But Landis' Clark can't juggle planets, breath in space, or ever time travail, Superlad!!" you may scream at your computer screen right about now. Well you're not wrong. Landis' Clark isn't a god when compared to someone like "Silver age" Kal-El. BUT I'll counter that extraordinary power wasn't even the point of "Silver age" Superman. I think the point was very idiosyncratic stories about this guy and how this he felt, and how people felt about him. For the first time in a pretty long time a writer has come around and done the most obvious thing in the world: taken Superman's most popular era and vigorously updated it to basically make his own thing. Like not even Grant "my personal hero" Morrison has done such a thing. He basically would just directly lift from that era and update it just via context of a modern lens. Actually that's what nearly all writers do (but less well than Morrison).

This book gives you Clark Kent, the man of steel with the heart of glass. This particular issue is about Clark Kent showing his friends from back home around the city. We get to see a side of Clark that almost no writer would dare invoke for fear of shaming some imaginary "Super commandment", but in this issue Clark is a bit of showoff, and low key braggart. You can see it instantly when Pete and Kenny meet up with him, Clark yells "welcome to Metropolis" right in front of a post of his giant head as The Superman lol. He struts out in front of friends and reassures the bewildered Kenny that he knows his way around the city on foot, BUT he knows it even better from the sky so he sometimes gets lost on foot because of it lol so "humble" Clark.

It's that idea of showing off a little for your childhood friends from back home after you've carved out you little slice of the city. It's incessantly douchey in that way we can all be (you know it's true!) You get this feeling that Clark's finally found his legs in the city. He's created an ecosystem and routine that has made him comfortable.....maybe TOO comfortable as we see later in the issue.

I'll finish off this starting post by saying the world and character building is fantastic and economized beautifully in this issue. The world is a VERY different place than we saw in the past issues. I feel like I KNOW this Kenny and Pete so well already. I absolutely love this Jimmy! Being a really big Jimmy fan I was pretty worried on what I'd think of him when I finally saw him in action. The characters depth and world building converge to create a major plot point and the main conflict of the book. It's really fun and interesting stuff.

What did everyone else think?

[Prime]

Jimmy is gay and black, Lois is Asian and Pete is a dick.

[Superlad93]

Jimmy is gay and black, Lois is Asian

What's wrong with either of these things? Why group these characteristics in the same sentence you're calling someone a dick?

and Pete is a dick.

No he's not. He's just really scared for his friend. He's not only scared for his friends physical life, but also his level of complacency and direction in life, because he really cares for his friend.

To sort of parallel this with the real world: imagine you're 24 years old. You've moved away from home. Graduated college. Have your own place, and you're making your own money. You've finally gotten your bearings, and this strange new place is starting to feel very familiar and comfortable. The money you make is decent enough, but your just in this "I'm really out here doing it" sort of mode that you feel richer than anyone. Now you're friends come by, and the one who knows you best is scared that you're sort of just going through the motions and not really grasping that this is your life and not a TV show.

But more than anything Pete's scared that he can't be there to shoulder this weight with Clark. He's scared that it wont be like in issue #2 where he saves Clark's life with a timely intervention. The world and the their situation has changed a lot, and it's only the beginning.

Pete's just scared.

[Drz]

Another excellent issue that was as mentioned, driven by dialogue. Really liked the surprise guest appearence of a certain character and Superman using his S-shield reasoning was a clever take that fits with the previous issues of American Alien, especially #2. It's just a shame that everything ends next issue. :'( Sequel when?

Yeah Jimmy here was done right, he was a squeekish nerd, not some alpha male like he is in Supergirl. -__-

[Superlad93]

I think another really cool idea in the issue was (you've been warned about spoilers!) the idea that Clark is a guy from Kansas who makes "first contact" and comes away with only hazy memories of the situation. It's even more funny since he's an alien himself so he's like "dude, you're an alien, I'm an alien, who cares" lol. Even cooler when it's Green Lantern Abin Sur!

Another pretty funny thought is that Hal Jordan can totally "pull rank" on Clark. In the eyes of galactic law Clark is actually just an illegal refugee who puts people under "citizens arrest". Hal is the law for Earth as far as the greater galaxy goes. Clark's probably allowed to chill on Earth because he's an endangered species, and hasn't shown any signs of malicious intent towards the people of Earth.

Sorta funny and interesting when you just break it all down like that, and remove the context of Clark as this god in relation to humans.

Also funny that Clark is basically "pulled over" by an intergalactic cop lol

[Dolores - The Worst Poster Ever]

Jimmy is gay and black, Lois is Asian

Those are the kind of things we should have gotten with the New 52.

[Myskin]

I am not into American Alien as I used to be - but it is exclusively because of my personal tastes: I prefer a Superman-related story without any other major DC player - no Batman, no GA, no Robin. But I understand Landis' vision and why he wrote the story as he did.

Apart from that, Landis' characterization is top-notch. Not even Morrison IMHO was that successful in creating such a believable Clark Kent. My main fear is that he put so many things in motion (including Doomsday) that he won't be able to close all of the plot threads with just one more issue. There are so many unexplored details in the Landisverse that he should have a whole regular series - even if, in all probability, he wouldn't be interested in creating one.

[Superlad93]

Landis' characterization is top-notch. Not even Morrison IMHO was that successful in creating such a believable Clark Kent.

Agreed.

My main fear is that he put so many things in motion (including Doomsday) that he won't be able to close all of the plot threads with just one more issue.

I have no way of knowing this, but I'm pretty sure that things like Doomsday, Mxy, and other things of that nature are more to show us that the world is much bigger than just the story we're getting to read. It's sort of like how we hear about Flash, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, but I seriously doubt Landis will use them in issue 7. In fact I think it's set up for his possible squeal Superman: Agent of Batman. In there it's all about Superman and Batman systematically interacting with each League member to be (in the case of WW, Clark collapses her lungs in a fight).

If you remember, Landis does have an idea for what his Death of Superman would be like so Doomsday might be set up for/a nod to that? I'm thinking it's just gonna be about Lobo, maybe some GLs, and Clark's alien heritage being explored more. But, again, I have no way to be sure of this.

[Myskin]

I have no way of knowing this, but I'm pretty sure that things like Doomsday, Mxy, and other things of that nature are more to show us that the world is much bigger than just the story we're getting to read. It's sort of like how we hear about Flash, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, but I seriously doubt Landis will use them in issue 7. In fact I think it's set up for his possible squeal Superman: Agent of Batman. In there it's all about Superman and Batman systematically interacting with each League member to be (in the case of WW, Clark collapses her lungs in a fight).

If you remember, Landis does have an idea for what his Death of Superman would be like so Doomsday might be set up for/a nod to that? I'm thinking it's just gonna be about Lobo, maybe some GLs, and Clark's alien heritage being explored more. But, again, I have no way to be sure of this.

Yeah, I know, and quite frankly I am pretty sure that Doomsday won't be around in issue 7 (at the beginning, I thought that he was supposed to be the big bad alien in the final issue, but Landis' original outline for the story must have changed at a certain point - it was supposed to end with Clark's final battle against Doomsday at age 44). I understand the reason, but Doomsday's epilogue in issue 2 (I think) really seems a bit wasted.

Anyway, I REALLY think that there's space for more stories and I would be very happy to read the Death of Supes in Landis' style. Superman: Agent of Batman is something I am not really interested in. For all the reasons I explained in my previous post.

[SuperCrab]

I liked this issue a lot, and I like the book in general. Landis has an interesting take on Superman in this. Clark seems like a real everyman, in a contemporary way, without losing what makes him Superman. I could go for another miniseries like this from Landis, if he has the time.

The moon thing was pretty cool, and I liked the artistic style in the issue, albeit not really the cover.

I read today's Action Comics and Hyperion early in the day, and didn't get to this until later. It might have been the best of the three.

[Superlad93]

but Landis' original outline for the story must have changed at a certain point - it was supposed to end with Clark's final battle against Doomsday at age 44

That would've been really interesting, but I think it's for the better that he took it out. It's a little "too epic" for the mission statement of this book, I feel. Plus I'd like to see Landis tell it long form.

I understand the reason, but Doomsday's epilogue in issue 2 (I think) really seems a bit wasted.

Well depends on how you look at it. I think it's a great when put in the context of what actually happened in the main story of issue #2. Clark has just been through the most violet experience of his life. He's faced his first "villain". Acted as a hero for the first time. And he could've died. At the end he says "I'll never do anything like that again". Then BAM, Doomsday represents all of that turned to 100, and one day this guy will have to face him down.

It's the signification of the "end" while we've just seen the beginning, and this is a book about beginnings.

Anyway, I REALLY think that there's space for more stories

Oh yeah, without a doubt. It's one of the best received Superman books in years, and it's well deserved in my opinion.

Superman: Agent of Batman is something I am not really interested in. For all the reasons I explained in my previous post.

Understandable. I'm personally crossing my fingers HARD that this follow up gets made (along with the Jimmy book Landis wants to maybe do).

[Myskin]

Anyway, AA really makes me think that the stereotypical vision of Superman as the "biggest, greatest, strongest hero EVAH and blah blah blah" has really become his kryptonite. Such an image is so deeply rooted in the mind of both the readers and the writers that it influences every single story focused on the character. That's why we got lines such as the "I'm dying but I'm worried because I won't be able to help people anymore and I am a HERO" parts in Tomasi's current storyline. Even Morrison, to a degree, has become a prisoner of his own vision of the character as a godly being who cannot but do good.

What Landis is doing is basically writing a story about real people, and one of them happens to have superpowers. He is not obsessed by the desire of making Superman appear charitable beyond any believable measure. He is writing about a guy who is well-intentioned, smart and sometimes cocky, too. His version should really be a blueprint for any possible Superman story from now on - it mixes indie vibe with recognizable situations and characters.

Of course it won't happen, and one of the reasons is that a lot of readers who like AA would reject it if it became regular continuity. And this is beyond my personal understanding.

[Superlad93]

And this is beyond my personal understanding.

Institutionalized. For better or worse most, even the ones that love AA, can't see it being the standard because they've spent the majority of their time with a guy who's basically a saintly robot. You're right even Superman's very best creators like Morrison can't quite think outside that box regularly (with exceptions).

This is where we get the misguided (in my opinion) legit hate for the "Clark Kent is who I am" take. The second this guy doesn't identify as Superman or Kal (Kal's always made the least sense to me because it's who he WOULD HAVE been) foul is cried. "Marvelization" is called along with a suite of other unflattering things.

Really sucks because honestly I think this is the contemporary Superman in earnest for the first time ever. I mean could you just imagine how charming this character would be on like the big screen? I'm sure he'd get more than 42 lines to say in his own squeal lol

[Myskin]

Institutionalized. For better or worse most, even the ones that love AA, can't see it being the standard because they've spent the majority of their time with a guy who's basically a saintly robot. You're right even Superman's very best creators like Morrison can't quite think outside that box regularly (with exceptions).

This is where we get the misguided (in my opinion) legit hate for the "Clark Kent is who I am" take. The second this guy doesn't identify as Superman or Kal (Kal's always made the least sense to me because it's who he WOULD HAVE been) foul is cried. "Marvelization" is called along with a suite of other unflattering things.

As far as I am concerned, superhero readers AND writers should read way fewer Silver Age Comics and way more Love and Rockets collections. Mainstream superhero comics simply don't have any soul (and they haven't had for a very long time).

[Drz]

Isn't next issue Superman vs Lobo?