Greg Rucka on Superman and New Krypton
Greg Rucka on Superman, from The Rucka Debrief June 2009:
For Superman to be super he’s gotta be the best of our potential. And if you put him amidst 999,999 other men and women [i.e. the surviving Kryptonians] who can do all the same things he does, then you’re forced to say, well why is he still Superman? And he is still Superman because he’s the best of us. He is the strength of character, the moral compass, the man who will do what is right and he will stand on the right principle and the guy who will say the things we will never say. He’s the one voice who not be silent when the thousands are. And he’s gotta be.
When Superman’s the only, or one of only a few superheroes in a fictional universe, that characterization is fine. But not in the comics DCU where there are hundreds of other superheroes. I cannot get on board with the idea that Superman is and must always be portrayed as better than anyone else. That’s just too much. I just don’t have any interest in believing in anything so ridiculously perfect and impossible. He’s better than everyone? All other superheroes? Isn’t that a little…contemptuous of every other fictional superhero? I’m a huge Superman fan, but I would never be so presumptuous.
Interviewer: It’s fun to see this active world of Krypton…I kind of welcome this Kryptonian society back and really seeing Superman and Supergirl kind of walk around this world again.
Greg: I think we’re all sort of delighted to be able to sort of explore those, and explore with a little more time and a little more leisure all the things that we’ve seen hints and whispers of and caught glimpses of.
Agreed!
James came in very early on and said, “I have a take for the workers’ guild, I wanna do this thing.” And we were looking around and we were going, We need a religious guild, where’s the religious guild? what do we know about the religious guild? There’s gotta be a priesthood, there’s gotta be some element of this here.
The active presence of religion on this Krypton is something I have not understood AT ALL. Krypton’s supposed to be post-religion, right? Did I imagine that? I swear I read in a novelization years ago that Krypton had, by the time of its destruction, been an “advanced” civilization for hundreds (or even thousands) of years that had long since thrown off its superstitious, religious beliefs. I think that may have been the young adult novelization of the Death and Return of Superman. So maybe that was based on the John Byrne Krypton more than the movie Krypton. And of course a novelization is not necessarily comics canon. But as much as DC comics is currently reviving the Silver Age, they are also bringing in the Superman movieverse in a big way. I just cannot picture a modern Krypton with an open, active religious guild being tolerated.
What you think: do you prefer the portrayal of Krypton as some kind of advanced civilization, both technologically and socially? A positive example for Earth to look to as a goal (and truly a tragedy to have been nearly lost)? Or do you think the current portrayal of Krypton as a flawed society with problematic issues like a caste system, an authoritarian and inflexible political structure, an oppressed labour class, very few people of colour playing active roles, a crazy and scarily powerful religious guild, an outdated adherence to the death penalty, and a powerful military with authoritarian, hierarchical values, is more realistic given the disquieting hints we’ve seen over the years? Or even just more interesting to explore?
I really wanted to see Krypton as a progressive society, updated to match current political advancements. That feels more sci-fi to me than a Krypton that is politically no better than present day America and Britain (one of the Superman writers being British). There’s room for so much conflict between Earth and Superman and his home planet there.
(I enjoyed Rucka calling Kara “science guild-minded” in her questioning of Thara Ak-var in Secret Files next month. Yes! More science hero Kara, please!)
I find myself liking the thought of Superman as, at least one aspect of, the best of us (human beings). The brighter half, the optimistic half, the trusting half, the moral half, the patient half, the half that doesn’t give up on people or causes.
And I say half because I do tend to think in terms of ‘World’s Finest’ and Batman to me is ALSO the best of us, but a darker best of us. The half that gives up on some in order to save others, the half that is suspicious and investigates and researches religiously, the half that doesn’t take truth at it’s word, the half that prowls and is on guard for trouble, and the half that never, ever, gives up on Hope even if it gives up on individuals (as being salvageable).
So Superman representing the better and brightest parts of Humanity Itself, is a concept I’m good with.
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I’ve liked the scans I’ve seen and what I’ve heard about New Krypton. It has been enough to make me put it on the list of trades to get (along with Batwoman). And I like all the disquieting glimpses coming to fruition.
After all there has to be a reason a whole world was destroyed with no colonies to run to and no global escape plan. Hinting that all the castes might not have been able to agree, or were hiding information from one another puts Jor-El and Lara’s decision in a whole new perspective to me. They could not trust their own people, and so they trusted a little piece of technology and a planet full of aliens with their child instead.
That’s an interesting thing to explore, I think. And best of all, the political situation mimics so many scenarios that Kal has had to deal with on Earth. He’s seen these patterns before as an outsider. He’s seen what happens when oppressed people aren’t listened to. He’s seen religion twisted into a weapon and an excuse. He’s seen dictators and military coups and societies under martial boot and law.
So I’m intrigued to have him with that particular history of experience involved in Kryptonian life – which isn’t some idealized dream, but a living, breathing culture that is still evolving.
I like the idea of Superman embodying the best qualities of humanity a whole lot better than “Superman is BETTER than everyone else, ever”. Maybe that’s not what Greg Rucka meant, but that’s what I heard. But I like the idea of Superman representing a *specific* type of best, as you describe, even better. Being optimistic and patient is all great, but it’s not the best behavior for every one in all situations. It’s a lot easier to be trusting and expect the best of people if you’re, well, invulnerable. Perhaps Batman represents our best survival strategies (his editorially-dictated inability to kill aside).
“After all there has to be a reason a whole world was destroyed with no colonies to run to and no global escape plan.”
So true! That’s something that never really made sense. There had to have been a lot more going on than we (and Superman) were shown. Jor-El in particular always seemed like an untrustworthy source with a definite agenda (and very likely not to “see” any viewpoints outside his own, dominant one).
I actually really like the idea of there being friction between the castes. And the idea that this great scientific society was built on the back of the labour class? Yeah, I want to see that explored. A LOT.
“Hinting that all the castes might not have been able to agree, or were hiding information from one another puts Jor-El and Lara’s decision in a whole new perspective to me. They could not trust their own people, and so they trusted a little piece of technology and a planet full of aliens with their child instead.”
Ooh, I like this!
“And best of all, the political situation mimics so many scenarios that Kal has had to deal with on Earth.”
Absolutely. This is what he does, and it’s a great idea to have him have to play that role with his own people, whom he’s idolized. Things are just going so slowly in World of New Krypton, that I’m a little bored and worried that the exploration of social issues is going to be far more surface than I expected. I am very interested in seeing things to come to a head and the ruling elite finding themselves faced with an outright revolt. Seems like that’s a long time in coming.