I was never a huge Superman fan growing up. Like most kids I’d watched Saturday morning cartoons and when the movie starring Christopher Reeve played on television I would watch it, but Superman just never interested me. I was a sophomore in high school in 1992 when it was announced that Superman was going to be killed off. I was shocked at how angry I was at the decision.
Why was I angry? I couldn’t really explain it at the time. What was it about the character that caused such a reaction? As the saying goes, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. The world is a better place with Superman in it, even if it is just in a comic book.
The Death of Superman was a comic book storyline that occurred across several of DC Comics' Superman titles between October and November 1992, the entire story was then collected into a trade paperback. It is not so much a story but a study of what Superman would do if he had to face the most vicious beast he ever had to face. A beast who could take down a near invulnerable person is a fearsome creature to deal with indeed.
Having a simple image of a fist hitting a wall was a brilliant way to introduce the character. In the wrong hands they would have had Doomsday do something overly complicated to show how dangerous he was, with the end result being that you don’t believe in the character despite the best efforts of the writer and artist. The opening images of the comic is the work of genius.
The ending. What more can be said about the ending? The artwork is great.
That is a haunting image. A figure we’ve taken for granted since the late 1930’s met his match. You can’t but feel stunned at seeing someone who you held in high regard for so many years lying dead, battered and bruised almost beyond recognition.
After the comic came out I made more of an effort to follow the character, and it wasn’t too long after that Christopher Reeve, the man who embodied Superman for my generation, had his tragic accident which left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Being an ignorant douchebag at the time I made my fair share of jokes immediately after the accident. But his courage, strength, and just pure good nature changed my opinion over the years to the point that when he passed away I shed tears like he was a member of my family.
I also gained a new appreciation for the films. The soundtrack alone was John William’s best work.
The music. My god, the theme song alone makes you think YOU are Superman. You want to rip your shirt off and hope your costume is underneath so you can fly around your living room.
Having grown up a James Bond fan I am not one who feels that another actor cannot bring more to a character simply because I associate one person with that character. But you’d be hard pressed to find many folks who don’t think that Christopher Reeve embodied everything that was good about the character.
“Easy Miss. I’ve got you.”This scene has to be one of my favorite scenes in movie history, up there with the reveal that Darth Vader is Luke’s father. Any other actor could have screwed this up by simply not taking it seriously. The genius of Christopher Reeve’s portrayal was that he truly believed in the character and everything it stood for. While Superman could be a little innocent at times, a little corny, his intentions were pure and meant for the good of mankind.
“You’ve got me…who’s got you?”
I think it was that line of thought that brought about DC to consider killing off the character even temporarily. Sometimes you don’t realize what something means to you until it’s taken from you. The absolute beauty of this comic is that in his death, you appreciate everything that is good about the character of Superman. His place in our culture is well deserved. The world is a better place for Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s creation. Superman’s death in this comic makes you appreciate everything that character represents. This is why comics are made.
If you only read one comic in your life, make it The Death of Superman.
Tim is a kid in a grown ups body. He enjoys pro wrestling, reading comic books, lots of them, as well as writing. When he's not giving his opinions of his latest reads on his website The Jousma Files he's doing his best to act like an adult around his wife. You can find him on Twitter at @timjousma.
No comments:
Post a Comment