A fantastic retelling of Superman's first days in Metropolis. In Africa, Clark learns how a costume manifests national pride. When he first begins to save others, people are suspicious of his motives. They fear that which they do not comprehend. Why does he do what he does? Is he good or bad? Luthor attempts to convince the citizens of Metropolis that Superman is an evil alien.
There is a great sequence where a foe says to Superman, "It's only a matter of time before you turn on anyone weaker than you. That's how it works." Superman replies, "Not... Not always." The foe responds, "What, were you raised in a barn?"
The final scene is fantastic. Luthor has opened a wormhole to Krypton's past, and Superman is able to tell his birth parents, Jor-El and Lara, that he made it to earth, just before Kryton collapses.
The article in the back by Mark Waid on reimagining Superman is a goldmine, and demonstrates his grasp of the character. He writes of why Clarks is so mild-mannered, slightly aloof, and very tightly wrapped. "When he screws up, people can die. Clark brings Kal-El so close to being human, so tantalizingly close ... but never are we more 'human' than when we make mistakes, and mistakes are the things Clark can least afford."
He continues: "There's also another sad irony to Clark, and it's one that reaches right to the heart of every adolescent out there: in order to have any sort of genuine relationship with people, Superman has to be someone he's not. He comments on the reason for the success of Smallville: Smallville is built around the same thing that ALL teenage lives are built around, the one bonding element we can count on our audience to find in common with this alien who can fly: the search for identity. Clark, like all of us were (or are, or will be at one time or another), is desperately trying to figure out who he is and what his place is in this world. In Clark's case, obviously , his quest for identity is complicated by the fact that he's of TWO worlds." Great stuff!
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