#that jor-el said 'this is your home.' when describing krypton.

[loverboybrightsideghost]

one of my favorite clark headcanons that i have (that is completely unsupported by canon) is that he's transgender by kryptonian standards. martha and jon kent raised him as a boy and as he grew up he never had any reason to doubt it at all, he was like yeah i'm a boy, makes sense. and then he gets to the fortress of solitude for the first time and it turns out how Gender works on krypton was just Different enough that clark doesn't really fit the kryptonian standards of whatever he was supposed to be. bonus points because this makes him feel like even more of an outsider as a kryptonian, even if he's the last one left.

[miraculousagentsofkrypton]

Imagine an Alien Sister Pt 1

Alex is 6 years old.(A smart six yr old)

AO3

For as long as Alex could remember, Kara had been there. An older sister, watching over her always. No one else could see her, and Alex never understood why. She looked and felt just as real to her as anyone else. Granted, Kara couldn’t touch anything very easily. She had to concentrate, and it tired her out quickly. She never had that problem with Alex though. Whenever Mom and Dad weren’t around, Kara loved to pick Alex up and swing her around like she was flying. And Kara gave the best hugs. Alex was secretly glad she got them all to herself.

But sometimes Kara had to go away for a little while. Kara called them her “wake up” moments. Kara never seemed to like her wake up moments. She was always so very quiet when she came back. No matter how much Alex bugged her, Kara never told her where she went in her wake up moments. Or why she was so sad when she returned.

Every time she would simply say, “I just missed you little one . That place doesn’t matter when I’m with you. You push all the sad away. I love you and I’ll always come back.”

That never explained how… sensitive... Kara always was afterward. She’d avoid dark and small places like the plague and spend more time outside. Alex loved preparing picnics for her sister when she returned cause she knew it always cheered her up. She made all the sandwiches herself. She had to ask her Mom for help with everything else though.

Kara never kept being an alien a secret from her. Kara would tell her all kinds of stories about Krypton, their legends, their culture. She even taught Alex the language. She spoke less often about her family, but sometimes she would regale her with all kinds of stories of working in the lab with her father, and of studying the stars with her Aunt. She talked about her mother in a quiet solemn voice, describing her admirable sense of duty and love for the people. And she never once mentioned a cousin, not until Alex met Clark Kent for the first time when she was six years old.

There’d been a knocking at the door, and since Mom and Dad were both busy in the lab, she’d gone to open the door herself. He was a large man, with a quirky sweater, big glasses, and a kind smile. He’d introduced himself as Clark Kent, and started asking after her parents, but Alex stopped listening quickly, because as soon as Kara had seen him, she’d started crying.

“Uncle Jor-El?” The words were whispered, “No. It can’t be.”  Alex watched as she hesitantly walked up to the man. “He has Aunt Lara’s eyes.” Her face scrunched up, “I know it’s been years, but it can’t possibly be… Kal-El?” A hard sob broke through her lips, pure devastation visible across her face. “ No. Oh Rao, please no. You’re supposed to be a little child! Not an adult, raised without any knowledge of home. ” Kara’s form started to shimmer and disappear as she reached up, as if to touch his face. She was having a wake up moment. Kara started at the sight of her translucent hand. “No, wait! Not now!” Then she was gone.

For all her questions and worry, Alex knew better than to interfere when someone else was around. She so desperately wanted to comfort her sister, and ask who Kal-El was. Someone from Krypton?

“Alex.”

The sudden sound snapped her back into focus, reminding her that Clark Kent, or Kal-El, had been talking and she hadn’t heard a word. Whoops.

“I’m sorry Mr Kent. I was thinking about your glasses. You must have some really bad eyes!”

Learning to make up random lies on a moments notice had been a necessary skill, when growing up having to hide the presence of Kara. People didn’t appreciate children that talk to thin air and act like someone was responding. Occasional mistakes could be excused by an imaginary friend, but that only went so far, and for so long. Kara always looked sort of uneasy at the idea of using an imaginary friend as an excuse, and often pushed her to be more careful. Alex wasn’t sure they had imaginary friends on Krypton.

Clark gave her an uncomfortable smile, almost nervous at the question. “Haha, um, yep. Almost blind without these things. I was just wondering where I might find one or both of your parents.”

“They’re in their lab.”

“Do you mind showing me the way?”  

“Yes!” Alex squeed excitedly, always up for any excuse to visit the lab.

She lead him into the house, and lasted about ten seconds before the curiosity got the better of her and she recklessly burst out, “Is your name really Kal-El? Are you from Krypton? How did you get to Earth?”

Shock spread across his face. “I- I didn’t realize your parents were so open with you.”

Alex grimaced. Right. She wasn’t supposed to know anything . But, apparently she was right, and her parents knew, so she quickly lied, “I overheard them talking.”

A soft smile returned to Kal’s face, and he ruffled her hair affectionately. “You’re a curious one aren’t you.”

Alex smirked. “So?”

He held his hands up jokingly, “Alright, alright. I am from the planet Krypton. My parents sent me to Earth when I was just a baby. Kal-El is my Kryptonian name, but you can still just call me Clark.”

Alex was almost vibrating from excitement. Maybe Kal would tell her something Kara never would. “Why?”

He looked at her confused. “Why what?”

“Why did your parents send you away?”

His smile slipped away. “I don’t know if you’re old enough for that story yet.”

“No.” Alex stomped her foot. “I’m so sick of that excuse. I know it can’t be a happy story if you had to leave your parents. I can handle it.”

Kal looked at her appraisingly, slight surprise and respect on his face, but also apprehension. Alex knew she was going to lose this argument, she always did with Kara, so she grasped her last card, a cute pouty face. (A perfect copy of Kara’s) “You don’t have to tell me everything. Please.”

A big sigh. Alex’s hope peaked. He crouched down to her level, and put a warm hand on her shoulder. “Alex, I don’t know everything about what happened. I’m just starting to learn my story myself. But I know my parents sent me away to save me. Something really bad happened, and now I’m the last Kryptonian.”

But there’s Kara. “No you’re not.”

He tilted his head. “What?”

She wanted to tell him all about Kara, and help him feel less alone. But she couldn’t. “You can’t be the last Kryptonian. There’s someone else. I know it!”

She looked at him with wide eyes, hoping to convey her sincerity and give him a little comfort, but he didn’t look any happier. If anything, he looked worse. With dull eyes he said, “I hope so kid, but sometimes things just are the way they are.”

He ruffled her hair again , and headed into the lab that Alex hadn’t even noticed they’d reached a while ago.

She wanted to yell, I’m not some baby. I know because Kara is Kryptonian. She’s alive. But she didn’t, because her “imaginary friend” Kara wasn’t supposed to be real. She headed up to their room to think, and wait for Kara to eventually come back.

Kara didn’t return for two days. She didn’t start speaking again until the day after that. Alex didn’t mentioned her conversation with Kal-El once.

[yasbxxgie]

Superman should be black.

By that I mean he should have dark skin, and not that he's African-American or any other person of color. After all, the Man of Steel is from the planet Krypton, not Earth. That said, Superman could indeed be played by a black actor in future superhero movies.

My argument for why Superman should be black is based on science. Before I explain the reasoning, however, we need to address a sensitive subject: race. Many people use skin color as shorthand for ethnicity, but 'race' has little meaning in biology – it's a social concept that describes recent ancestry.

Race matters for superheroes because it contributes to their identity. And over the past few decades, comic book publishers and movie studios have increasingly changed characters to reflect a society's ethnic diversity.

While that should be applauded in principle, identity changes are often short-term publicity stunts. It might sound cynical, but if publishers and studios had pure intentions, changes would be permanent. As long-time comic fans know, major heroes almost inevitably revert back to their original identities.

Rather than promoting diversity just for diversity's sake, I believe the case for changing a character's identity is made stronger if the rationale makes sense based on origins and powers. The change is more likely to be welcomed – and become permanent – if it's based on logic, not gimmick. And that brings us to Superman.

Because most superpowers break the laws of physics, explaining why they're impossible is a pointless exercise. For the science of superheroes, it's more fun to focus on what's plausible. So while Superman's powers probably require unrealistic amounts of energy to work, we can at least imagine how to maximize the energy he'd need.

Solar-powered cells

In the movie Man of Steel, Superman asks his biological father why he's different from humans. As Jor-El explains: "Earth's Sun is younger and brighter than Krypton's was – your cells have drunk in its radiation, strengthening your muscles, your skin, your senses."

The fact Superman is powered by solar radiation – light – is also shown in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In one scene, he regenerates after bathing in the Sun's rays, paying homage to the comic that inspired the film, 'The Dark Knight Returns', when he tells Mother Earth: "The Sun's power... fuels us both."

Almost all life on Earth is ultimately powered by the Sun via photosynthesis: plants and other organisms use light to make food (carbohydrates) from CO2 and water. Their photosynthetic cells also release oxygen, which can be used to burn the energy-rich carbs that fuel metabolism.

Superman's cells would carry out a process similar to photosynthesis. Instead of making carbs, maybe he synthesizes fictional molecules that store even larger amounts of chemical energy.

Light rays consist of photons, subatomic particles that behave as both waves and pure energy. The length of a wave determines a photon's energy: short wavelengths – gamma rays, x-rays and UV light – are at one end of this spectrum, long wavelengths like infrared at the other.

High-energy radiation such as UV damages living tissue and can trigger genetic mutations (potentially causing cancer), whereas low-energy radiation is harmless but has low energy. As a consequence, Superman would absorb photons from the visible spectrum.

In complex organisms, photons are harvested by specialized compartments, such as the chloroplasts in plant cells. Chloroplasts contain proteins that funnel photons toward pigments, which convert energy from light.

When photons hit a pigment molecule, its electrons gain enough energy to leave their associated atoms. Electrons are then passed along chain reactions to produce molecules that can later release the energy stored in their chemical bonds, which is used to synthesize carbs.

Colored pigments

On Superman's home planet of Krypton, the best pigment color for absorbing solar radiation would be black.

Light-capturing pigments act as antennas tuned for picking-up photons with a particular energy, and their colors – how they look to our eyes – is determined by which photons they absorb. Blue photons have more energy than red photons, but few manage to reach our planet's surface.

Air and water filter-out certain wavelengths. On Earth, land plants have evolved to use the red-absorbing pigment chlorophyll, which looks green. Not all photosynthetic organisms are green, however: some plants have red leaves, while purple bacteria can even absorb infrared.

Photosynthetic organisms on distant worlds would use whichever pigments are most appropriate to the available wavelengths of light. Green may be common on Earth, but other colors could be more popular on other worlds. This could be exploited to detect signs of extraterrestrial life, as described in a brilliant article in Scientific American by biometerologist Nancy Kiang of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

As Kiang explains in her article, 'The colour of plants on other worlds': "The limiting factor is not the feasibility of novel pigments but the light spectrum available at a planet's surface, which depends mainly on the star type."

While the light that reach the surface is affected by which wavelengths penetrate the atmosphere, it's ultimately dictated by which rays are emitted by nearby stars.

And as comic fans know, Krypton orbits a red star and Superman gains his powers thanks to Earth's yellow Sun.

In Man of Steel, Jor-El sends his son to a planet "orbiting a main sequence yellow star." What does that mean? Many stars have a lifespan lasting billions of years, which often includes a 'main sequence' – the period when it carries out nuclear fusion, forcing hydrogen atoms together to create helium. This generates massive amounts of light energy.

Sun of Krypton

Astronomers classify stars according to 'spectral type' – basically, temperature and luminosity. There are 6 types (O, B, A, F, G, K and M). Rare O-type stars are hot, bright and look blue, whereas M-type stars – such as red dwarfs and red giants – are relatively cool and dim. Our Sun is somewhere in-between, a warm and yellow G-type star.

After accounting for atmosphere, the peak wavelength of light reaching Earth's surface is around 685 nanometers. For an M-type star like Krypton's Sun, it's about 1045 nm. In Man of Steel, a Kryptonian soldier says atmospheric conditions on their spaceship isn't compatible with humans, so the peak wavelengths would be slightly different due to filtering by air and water vapor.

Photosynthetic species – including a Kryptonian like Superman – living on a world orbiting a relatively inactive star would therefore need dark pigments to harvest light.

As Dr Nancy Kiang explains in her Scientific American article: "A planet around a quiescent M star would receive about half the energy that Earth receives from our Sun... Evolution might favour a greater variety of photosynthetic pigments to pick out the full range of visible and infrared light. With little light reflected, plants might even look black to our eyes."

Dark skin

The dark pigment that Superman's cells would need to absorb sunlight has a different function to melanin, the brown pigment that humans and other mammals use to protect against damaging UV radiation.

After humans migrated out of Africa 200,000 years ago, those populations exposed to less light would have been under weaker evolutionary pressure to spend metabolic resources on making UV-blocking pigments, which is why their descendants now have white skin.

Characteristic features of species are usually the result of natural selection, adaptations to their local environment. Because Superman has powers, light-capturing pigments must be useful to the survival of Kryptonians.

How did superpowers evolve? One possibility is that abilities were favored by evolution on Superman's home planet, and his ancestors lost their powers when the star turned red. Alternatively, they never evolved super-strength or super-senses – light was simply an energy source for ordinary metabolism – and Earth's yellow Sun artificially boosts their abilities.

Will we ever see a black Superman? In fact, Kryptonians of color already feature in comics. On an alternate version of Earth, for example, Calvin Ellis is not only Superman, but President of the United States (the character was modelled on Barack Obama).

But ethnic diversity hasn't always been politically correct. One issue of Superman describes Vathlo Island as 'home of a highly developed black race'. Such cringeworthy statements were typical back in the 1970s, but as comics writer Mark Waid points out, "A lack of ethnicity was an error of omission, and I'm not sure given the time that it's fair to call that 'racist'." It's less forgivable that the Kryptonians in Man of Steel (released in 2013) were all white.

DC Comics regularly relaunches its continuity, but it's unlikely the company would make Superman black, partly because he has so much history. A hero's race influences whether people identify with that character too.

But there is a precedent for changing ethnicity. Most famously, Nick Fury – traditionally depicted as white – was reimagined as Samuel L Jackson in comics. Life then imitated art as the actor was cast in the Marvel cinematic universe. Fury is a relatively minor character, however, and changing a major superhero might be met with more resistance from long-term fans.

The companies that own superheroes – publishers and movie studios – could follow the example of their heroic characters and make brave decisions. Henry Cavill will play Superman in Warner Bros' Justice League films, but what about the inevitable reboot in a few years' time?

Science says Superman should be black. Hopefully the next time we see him on screen, the Man of Steel will be a more realistic, solar-powered superhero. [h/t]

[omniversalobservations]

All-Star Superman (2005)

Another invocation technique that the magician can employ is called the assumption of godforms—where with “concentrated imagination of oneself in the symbolic shape of any God, one should be able to identify oneself with the idea which [the god] represents.” Comics writer and practicing magician Grant Morrison describes the process in his essay Pop Magic. The Gods of myth are primal forms, expressions of big ideas that have been here long before us and will remain long after.Morrison writes that, for example:

“ANGER is one of those Big Ideas and LOVE  is another one. Then there’s FEAR and GUILT “So…to summon a god, one has only to concentrate on that god to the exclusion of all other thought. Let’s just say you wish to summon the Big Idea COMMUNICATION in the form of the god Hermes, so that he will grant you a silver-tongue. Hermes is the Greek personification of quick wit, art, and spelling and the qualities he represents were embodied by Classical artists in the symbol of an eternally swift and naked youth, fledged with tiny wings and dressed only in streamers of air. Hermes is a condensation into pictorial form – a sigil, in fact – of an easily recognizable default state of human consciousness. When our words and minds are nimble,when we conjure laughter from others, when we make poetry, we are in the real presence of Hermes. We are, in fact, possessed by the god.”

Morrison is keen to point out that there need not be a ghostly or real reason for this. As Crowley wrote:

“In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.”

Still, two questions arise. if these Gods are not ‘real’, why invoke them at all? Morrison answers that for us nicely:

“People tend to become possessed by gods arbitrarily because they do not recognize them as such; a man can be overwhelmed with anger (the Greek god Ares), we can all be “beside ourselves” with passion (Aphrodite) or grief (Hades). in life we encounter these Big Ideas everyday but we no longer use the word “god” to describe them. The magician consciously evokes these states and renames them gods in order to separate them from his or her Self, in order to study them and learn.”

So for example, “You may wish to connect with Hermes if you’re beginning a novel or giving a speech or simply want to entertain a new beau with your incredible repartee”. Practical magic then. Choose a god based on their qualities; what Platonic ideal or archetypal human experience they represent, and invoke them in order to know and learn from them

[...]

Morrison too advocates drawing upon fictional entities in magical practice:

“So once I got into the chaos magic thing, I started to think well if all I’m doing is triggering a state of mind can I do the same thing with something I know to be unreal? And I would start instead of summoning up Greek gods or Voodoo Loa, I would summon up Metron from the New Gods or HP Lovecraft monsters, or the Cenobites from Clive Barker and get the same thing. It was all about, okay, so even fictional things appear as long as they correspond to the specific feeling that you’re trying to create using this ritual method.”

Could Superman work this way? Certainly the religious and mythopoetic elements of the Superman story our often argued. Noting the Jewish heritage of Superman’s creators some commentators have read Superman as a Moses figure. Superman’s home of Krypton was about to be destroyed by events beyond his parents control. In Biblical Egypt the Israelites faced the mass murder of their male children. Both the infant Moses and the infant Superman were saved from death by their parents, one placed in a reed basket and sent down the Nile, the other in a rocket sent into space and bound for Earth. Both children grew up in foreign cultures, discovered and raised by adoptive parents who realise their true potential. Superman disguises his Kryptonian heritage with the human persona of Clark Kent, just as Moses was forced to keep his Jewish ancestry a secret.

Another variation says that Superman is a Christ figure. Like Jesus, Superman is sent by his father from the ‘heavens’ to save mankind (albeit one at a time). Both are raised by adoptive parents of humble means-Superman by farmers, Jesus by a carpenter. And both possess extraordinary powers that they use for the benefit of mankind. Furthermore, Superman’s real identity as Kal-El, son of Jor-El, has theological significance, “El” being a semitic word for ‘deity’ or god.

[...]

Perhaps then, like Jesus before him, Superman  is the latest incarnation of dying and reborn god, or of the Solar deity variously known as Horus, Sol or Apollo. In his book Supergods Grant Morrison neatly summarises what archetypal function Superman, as the latest manifestation of a perennial form, then serves. superman, he writes, embodies our species ‘loftiest aspirations��. As such Superman “was brave. He was clever. he never gave up and he never let anyone down. He stood up for the weak and knew how to see off bullies of all kinds. he couldn’t be hurt of killed b the bad guys, hard as they might try. He didn’t get sick. he was fiercely loyal to his friends and to his adopted world. He was Apollo, the sun god, the unbeatable supreme self, the personal greatness of which we all know we’re capable.” (Supergods, p.15)

It seems obvious why one would want to invoke Superman and absorb those qualities. What’s peculiar to Superman however is his tendency to leave the pages of his dimensional universe and manifest himself in our 4-dimensional realm.

Take Alvin Schwartz’s story in An Unlikely Prophet for instance. Schwartz was a writer of both Batman and Superman for seventeen years in the forties and fifties. Later he was contacted by a Buddhist monk named Thogden. Thogden claimed to be a Tulpa, a ‘thought-form’, a being thought into existence by a Tibetan mystic. Thogden proceeds to take Schwartz on a spiritual journey that takes in many of the familiar stopping points on the twentieth century magical path-shamanism, quantum physics, and of course, superheroes. Schwartz’s journey apparently continues in A Gathering of Selves, which focuses on Batman (who as Morrison points out is the Lunar counterpart to the Solar Batman). As it happens, I haven’t yet read the second book so if anyone knows more about it I’d love to hear.

Most important right now though is Thogden’s claims that Superman, too, is a Tulpa.  That Schwartz’s (or perhaps all the readers and creators) thought and focus on Superman have given him some kind of materiality; some ability to manifest in and interact in our world. Certainly, Schwartz has an experience that may or may not be evidence of Superman’s intervention. Grant Morrison has also had a magical contact with the Superman thought form. As he said in an interview with Newsarama:

“My specific take on Superman’s physicality was inspired by the ‘shamanic’ meeting my JLA editor Dan Raspler and I had in the wee hours of the morning outside the San Diego comic book convention in whenever it was, ‘98 or ‘99.

“I’ve told this story in more detail elsewhere but basically, we were trying to figure out how to ‘reboot’ Superman without splitting up his marriage to Lois, which seemed like a cop–out. It was the beginning of the conversations which ultimately led to Superman Now, with Dan and I restlessly pacing around trying to figure out a new way into the character of Superman and coming up short…

“Until we looked up to see a guy dressed as Superman crossing the train tracks. Not just any skinny convention guy in an ill–fitting suit, this guy actually looked like Superman. It was too good a moment to let pass, so I ran over to him, told him what we’d been trying to do and asked if he wouldn’t mind indulging us by answering some questions about Superman, which he did…in the persona and voice of Superman!

“We talked for an hour and a half and he walked off into the night with his friend (no, it wasn’t Jimmy Olsen, sadly). I sat up the rest of the night, scribbling page after page of Superman notes as the sun came up over the naval yards.

“My entire approach to Superman had come from the way that guy had been sitting; so easy, so confident, as if, invulnerable to all physical harm, he could relax completely and be spontaneous and warm. That pose, sitting hunched on the bollard, with one knee up, the cape just hanging there, talking to us seemed to me to be the opposite of the clenched, muscle-bound look the character sometimes sports and that was the key to Superman for me.

“I met the same Superman a couple of times afterwards but he wasn’t Superman, just a nice guy dressed as Superman.”

Source: Nth Mind

[comiconverse]

Review: Action Comics #976

Action Comics #976 arrived this week, completing the Superman: Reborn story arc with a bang. The fourth and final chapter of the earth-shaking epic was written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Doug Mahnke. ComiConverse’s Superman reviewer, T. Kyle King, is here to assess the hugely important conclusion.

(WARNING: MAJOR DC UNIVERSE-REARRANGING SPOILERS FOLLOW!)

Action Comics #976 Review:

The Superman Family has been restored… or has it? Are the Superman and Lois Lane who stand before Superboy actually Jonathan Kent’s parents? What will happen when two timelines collide, and what hidden figure manipulated reality to cause their divergence in the first place?

(SERIOUSLY, IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, PROCEED AT YOUR PERIL!)

Action Comics #976 Synopsis:

Atop the ruins of Mr. Mxyzptlk’s destroyed interdimensional simulacrum of the Daily Planet building, a thrilled Jon excitedly welcomes the parents with whom he has been reunited. These, though, are the New 52 Superman and Lois, who recognize neither the boy nor the world he represents. The mischievous imp offers only vague and confusing clues to the befuddled adults, but Superboy encounters a pair of blue energy orbs and begins to sense the outlines of the truth.

Mxyzptlk, fearing the impending arrival of the more powerful force that created the pocket universe in which he has confined the Superman Family, departs, abandoning them there. Jon uses an emotional plea to persuade the New 52 Superman and Lois to let the floating blue phantoms merge with them. This unification of the pre-Flashpoint and pre-Rebirth Supermen and Loises not only brings back their memories of their life together, but also brings the entirety of the existences they represent into singular alignment. Watching from afar, Mr. Oz is astonished at this reality-reordering feat, yet he wonders whether the final word will belong to the restored Superman on Earth or to the unidentified instigator behind these events on Mars.

Action Comics #976 Analysis:

Mahnke was a good choice to pencil the combining of the post-Crisis and New 52 Supermen into a wholly reconstituted Man of Steel. Thanks perhaps to the trio of inkers — Jaime Mendoza, Christian Alamy, and Trevor Scott — who gave definition to Mahnke’s handiwork, more than merely a more sensible neckline separates the looks of the various iterations of the Action Ace who populate Superman: Reborn — Part 4. Colorist Wil Quintana effectively fulfilled the critical task of distinguishing, then combining, the chromatically defined Last Sons of Krypton, while letterer Rob Leigh artfully conveyed the words accompanying the big events and subtle touches of Action Comics #976.

Literally from the beginning, one of the driving themes of DC Comics’ Rebirth has been restoring the publisher’s legacy as the oldest and most established producer of superhero comics. That heritage, of course, includes the company’s status as the original progenitor of the genre, starting with Superman, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane in Action Comics #1. The Big Blue Boy Scout and his supporting cast, consequently, have been the biggest beneficiaries of DC’s new initiative, as the missteps of the New 52 slowly have been reduced and replaced with a Metropolis Marvel who is recognizably Superman.

The upward trend for the Last Son of Krypton has been evident across the board, and nowhere more prominently than in Peter J. Tomasi’s Superman and in Jurgens’s Action Comics. Because of that, fans of the Man of Tomorrow — and, particularly, of the true Superman Family so painstakingly established among Clark, Lois, and Jonathan — understandably were hopeful yet hesitant when Superman: Reborn was announced. The initial solicitations, after all, promised not just to reveal “the shocking truth”, but also to culminate “in a tragic moment for Lois and Superman.” Action Comics #976 specifically was advertised with assurances that the hero’s life would be “drastically changed” by the developments of the crossover. To an audience that often felt disappointed and disrespected during the New 52 era, that foreshadowing carried with it a feeling of foreboding. Had all this restorative architecture been erected just to reclaim the reader’s emotional investment as a prelude to an even more devastating denouement? Were we being set up for the fridging of Lois Lane… again?

Fortunately, the Superman Family’s rise during Rebirth was no mere precursor to a fall from an even greater height. Jon, the purest product of both his parents’ best selves and their enduring love for one another, was the first to recognize what had happened. While the Man of Steel still doubted, dismissing Superboy’s apparent ravings as more of Mxyzptlk’s manipulations, it was Lois — ever skeptical yet never cynical; always dogged in her pursuit of the truth without ever lacking compassion — who urged Superman to trust the youngster she did not know for certain was her son. Once the transformation was completed, the reconstituted Superman stated simply and powerfully: “I’m back. We’re back. And everything is going to be fine.”

In the midst of the transition, though, we see the timelines combining while the unseen Mr. Oz describes the realignment. The mysterious observer characterizes the synthesized continuities as “[c]onsistent with the memories and experiences of all”, “so it all fits.” Admittedly, the issue is light on the specifics, but we get the gist: Jor-El and Lara, complete with Silver Age headbands, are shown sending baby Kal-El into space; the Kents find him in his crashed rocket; Clark Kent goes to Smallville High with Lana Lang, goes to work at the Daily Planet, reveals his secret identity to Lois Lane, dies in battle with Doomsday, is resurrected, and marries Lois; and Clark and Lois have their son, Jonathan, then bring their infant child in to the office to meet their co-workers, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White.

It is open to debate how much of the New 52 survived the switchover, as the most distinctive moments in the merged timeline either are essential elements common to all continuities, overtly allude to such distinctive pre-Flashpoint storylines as The Death of Superman and The Wedding Album, or incorporate the most critical carryover from Convergence directly into the mainstream DC Universe. (With any luck, the flowing together of the timestreams will enable the creators to split a few differences, like keeping Grant Morrison’s Halloween Phantom Zone story but putting Krypto back in the cape.) Although the red trunks have not been restored and the canonical status of the Electric Blue Era remains up in the air, Action Comics #976 very clearly gives the lie to Truth: Clark Kent confessed his secret to Lois Lane, but she did not publicly reveal it.

Beyond that, the nuances of what the combined timeline truly looks like decidedly are unclear. Although Jurgens has offered assurances that the next couple of issues will clear up some of the specifics, the most appropriate takeaway from Superman: Reborn — Part 4 is that, for now, the audience should just enjoy the forest and not get bogged down too deeply in inspecting each individual tree. Glen Weldon said it best: Superman never gives up, and he puts the needs of others first. The minutiae may vary, but Superman stories that possess these traits ring true, while those that lack them do not. Simply put, Action Comics #976 has them, places them front and center, and celebrates their explicit and universal re-elevation — finally! — to primacy.

After the spectral projections of the post-Crisis characters merge with their post-Flashpoint analogues like the Watcher fusing with Tom Baker at the end of Logopolis, the Superman Family re-enters the conjoined continuity at the Daily Planet building, where Lois takes her husband’s hand and finishes his sentence for him, noting that they both feel “whole again.” As the trio heads for home, zooming outward from the page toward the reader, Superman says to his son: “You saved the day. Lead the way, Superboy!” Mr. Oz’s cryptic coda, uttered over images that take the viewer from Earth past the moon to Mars, unquestionably suggest — but stop short of stating — that the unrevealed “him” behind it all is Dr. Manhattan. Because there remain secrets left to expose and storylines yet to conclude, Superman: Reborn was a beginning and not an ending. Lois, appropriately, sums it up when she confesses she “fees like I just woke up from a dream.” In fact, though, it is the nightmare that is over, and it is the dream that has come true once more.

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