Superman: Earth One, Volume 1 by J. Michael Straczynski

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book is a modern retelling of Superman's origin tale with a modern Superman. There are many ways this should not have worked, yet JMS brings a lot to the table to make it work.

First, it was great how he explored Clark Kent having other options in his career. With his brain and might, the book explores the idea of him having many options and being torn as to what to choose with big piles of money being offered on one hand. This mirrors many of the struggles of Millennials and their search for fulfillment.

I liked the Planet staff. The people were written like real journalists, Perry White specifically. Too often these characters are written by people who don't understand how a real newspaper works. It was a nice touch having Jimmy and Lois play a part in Superman's decision.

I also thought the portrayal of how the Kents instilled the values that made him who he was was actually quite moving. Their advice was mostly good and inspirational, so they sheer volume of epigrams is slightly overwhelming. The book's storyline offers many ideas that were adopted by the film Man of Steel. It's a pity the portrayal of the Kents here wasn't what we got Man of Steel.

Beyond that, the book is very well done. While this Superman is a reinvention of the character, I still think JMS captures his essence and that, particularly for an origin story, this is Superman. The art is beautiful and the action is exciting.

The book's biggest flaw was just not knowing where to stop. There are two natural stopping places, it drives right through after the main plot's been resolved.

Still, other than that, this is an intriguing and worthwhile take on Superman.



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