Saturday, December 28, 2019

Superman#18: The Secret Revealed

The big story for Superman # 18 is Superman's decision to no longer hide his secret identity as Clark Kent.  

So how does that go? 

Whatever one might think about this decision, it is a story that is remarkably well told.

Whatever Brian Michael Bendis brings to the table as a writer, restraint is not usually a trait one associated with his style. 

But the page where Clark tells Perry is presented totally in pictures with the emotional power of the moment presented without so much as a single word balloon from Brian. 



The scene where Superman goes to tell Jimmy Olsen plays a bitter differently.  

I like that Jimmy decides this a good moment to wind Superman up a bit.  It is a funny moment to underscore that Jimmy is indeed Superman's pal and perhaps a needed relief of the tension Clark is feeling in taking these steps to reveal his identity. 

"All I see is Superman with glasses on!" I love that bit.

But all this is some kind of diversion. Superman is really not going to tell the whole world that he and Clark Kent are actually one and the same.

He's not really going to do that. 




OK, he really did that. 

Meanwhile, this news is not going over well over at the Legion of Doom. 



It's enough to make Lex drop his super powered "Apex Predator" persona and go back to grim and brooding Lex Luthor, scientist businessman Superman hater. 

If this seems a bit familiar, a few years ago, in the waning days of the New 52, Superman and Clark Kent were outed to the world at large.

It wasn't handled all that well. And it all got undone with the advent of DC's Rebirth initiative.  

One one hand, there is a part of me that sees the loss of Clark Kent as a secret identity as a bad thing. When I was a kid, I was drawn to Superman comics not just for the super powered heroics but also for the bits where Clark has to hide who he really is. As a young boy who felt isolated from others my age, I found the idea of hiding in plain sight with others not knowing the truth an appealing concept.  

On the other hand, I have to say when it comes to Superman's secret identity as Clark Kent, why bother? It seems to me there are months on end when Superman never dons a pair of glasses. Clark Kent has admittedly become less relevant to the Superman mythos. I would say that is a bad thing but the reality is that it is true. 

Now as I understand it, the plan according to Brian Michael Bendis is that Clark Kent is not going away. Superman is not giving up on being Clark Kent. He's just giving up on Clark Kent being a secret identity.  

It will be interesting to see how that's going to work.  




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