I also enjoyed the Red & Blue — way more than I expected. I liked the simple and cute stories in particular.
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I got my vaccine in style today and got lots of compliments! I always compliment anyone wearing Superman swag so it was fun to be on the receiving end today! Now I’m hanging out listening to our live music! Do you think she knows the Superman theme song?
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Only one way to find out… request! That is if they allow requests.
Congrats on the vaccine, and very nice mask indeed 
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How does everyone feel about the Superman monologue from Kill Bill?
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Interesting; I’d never seen that before (not a big Tarantino movie fan). So, that is the Donner take on Superman (and a good deal of comics of course), and pretty much the most popular one: Superman is his truth and Clark is the costume. I like the idea that the Clark “disguise” is meek because it’s how Kal-El views us, a critique so to speak, though I don’t agree that’s why that version of the character does it. He’s not merely trying to blend in; he is trying to be someone so different from Superman, that nobody would guess it’s him. In Geoff John’s Secret Origin, if memory serves me right, we see Jonathan telling Clark to slick back his hair, droop his shoulders, and change his voice. You see, by virtue of his upbringing by the Kents, he already blends in. That meek and bumbling Clark we see is almost like a third person altogether.
Then we get the Lois & Clark TV show, and we get “Superman is what I can do, Clark is who I am” bit. That Clark is confident & sure of himself, but puts on a stoic public face as Superman. Ok, another interesting take.
Based on what I’ve read and seen so far, & I’ve said this before, I find it all fascinating. Clark in Smallville, Clark in Metropoplis, Clark with Lois before and after reveal, Superman, Kal-El. Who is he, really? With his parents, with Lois after reveal, or with Jon will be as close we get to see. I think we as humans have many filters. We’re different people when we’re at work, then we are with family, than we are at the grocery store. We filter ourselves to suit the occasion, circumstance, or person we are dealing with, and we’re usually most unfiltered with our loved ones. Superman to me is an extreme case of that. Some folks swear that Smallville Clark is true Clark, emphasizing his Kent upbringing, some others view him through the super powered alien lens, some folks take more to his job as an investigative journalist. I think he is all of it. Just like any of us, he has many layers to peel, except he has a few more than the rest of us.
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I loved Superman: Red and Blue! I was looking forward to it and it was even better than I expected. If the rest of the series is on the same level I feel like it could be one of my personal favorite Superman books.
I read a few analyses of the Kill Bill speech a few weeks ago. There are some versions of the character that don’t really focus on Clark at all, so I can see where it’s coming from, but I think Clark adds so much more to the character and is a big part of what really makes him interesting to me. When the Clark part of his character is neglected or pushed aside, you have the Krypton Man or what happened in Injustice.
One of my favorite Superman “stories” (it’s an extremely short one) is the Toyman segment in Superman: Villains #1, where Toyman decides to change his life once he realizes that Superman wasn’t just some alien condescending to him, but was actually just a guy from a small town trying to make things better. It’s also what I like about Superman & Lois, where you have someone who really is “the most important person on the planet” but what’s important to him is being there for his family. So I guess I would say (in a long, rambling way, sorry 
) that I feel the Smallville Clark is who he really is, and Metropolis Clark and Superman are what lets him do his work.
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You can take the boy out of Smallville but you can’t take the Smallville out of the boy.
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Honestly can’t wait for the show to get back. Such a wonderful take on both lead characters, and the twins, & everybody really… it’s my new favorite DC show.
There’s a scene in the show, where Clark leaves Martha & Smallville to go “follow his destiny”. We got a similar scene with Clark & Martha in the cornfield in Superman: The Movie. I get goosebumps with either scene, because I went through something very similar when I was younger. My experiences after that definitely helped shape me. I look back at the young man I was and, while a lot of that is still me, a lot has changed since then as well. I would say our personalities are a totality of many things: our upbringings, our genes, our environments, our experiences, our wins, our losses… I would say that applies to Superman as much as it does to anyone else… which is why I try not to pigeonhole what I think of him. That make sense?
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That makes sense to me! I know a lot of people have the impression of Superman as a boring character, but I think that’s just due to not reading the right stories or watching the right shows/movies. I do think he can be a hard character to really write well, too.
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In Birthright, you also see that he’d taken acting classes to get the character down.
Bill sees it from a villains point of view, that ‘Metropolis Clark’ is Superman making fun of how weak we are, but that’s not true. Like you said, he acts in a way that let’s him live among us and still help when he’s out of costume. His words and stories for the Daily Planet help in ways Superman can’t. You can’t punch every problem away. Some just need a light shined on them for everyone to see.
Bill’s also wrong that he was born Superman, that no matter what he’d always be Superman. That’s only true if you equate being Superman with being Superhuman, with having powers. He was raised to do what he can to help others. He became Superman by following the set of values instilled in him by Jonathan and Martha Kent.
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What I like about the Kill Bill speech is how he describes Clark/Kal-el: he is always Superman.
There is a panel in a Batman/Superman run (2010?) (the basis for the S&B Public Enemies and Apocalypse movies) (that run) where Clark is showing Kara around as a civilian and they come a Superman statue. Am sorry i didn’t hunt down the panel, but I like her reaction about Clark’s choice of civilian costume.
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Yep it’s Superman Batman #9 2004 and we’re doing a read and watch of that storyline next month after we finish the first part this month!
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I deleted a comment earlier because I failed to add much to your (very well articulated) point. I agree on how the Kents’ upbringing and instilled values are a core part of who Clark is, of his personality. The superhuman component is just as important when it comes to Superman though. Without the values, his powers probably corrupt him, and without the powers & alien heritage, he’s a great guy from Kansas, maybe the best you’ve met, but he’s not Superman.
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I didn’t think of it as the villain’s point of view. I also don’t remember Bill saying how he was born Superman. I will have to watch the clip so I can better add to the conversation. Let me add this without any extra research/homework: it’s the circumstances of Kal-El’s birth plus certain choices made not of his control that brings about Superman.
@Bar-El That is the page. Thanks for doing the legwork!
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Bill’s view isn’t that far from how the radio show and 1950s TV show introduced Superman: “who, disguised as Clark Kent…”
I definitely agree with others here. I wouldn’t see either Superman or Clark as a false personality or identity but rather different sides of the same character.
That being said, I think the fact that Clark is the one who wears the “disguise” helps make Superman unique. Superman doesn’t wear a mask to help us trust him. J. Michael Straczynski makes this point in Superman: Earth One Vol. 1. With Superman’s incredible power, people are much more at ease seeing a friendly face. It makes it seem like he has nothing to hide.
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I vent about this to my wife all the time. (She doesn’t need convincing. She’s just often present.) Superman is not boring! Not every story is a winner, but there are some incredible ones out there.
My two cents is that often writers are too worried about big physical threats for Superman. Not everything needs to be a huge fight (even if those can be fun when done well). You can challenge Superman by striking in multiple places at the same time and making him worried about making the wrong choice or letting people down. Let us relate to Superman’s real human emotions and care for people. Inspire us with his perseverance and drive to overcome challenges and help others.
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I think of this anytime I read or hear someone share that opinion.
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That’s a great perspective from Grant Morrison. TIME said this about him:
Morrison… gets what’s fun about Superman: he’s ridiculously powerful, and therefore he just sees and does and has lots of incredibly cool, totally bizarre stuff.
I think of that quote (from the back of my All-Star Superman TPB) a lot when I think about Superman.
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