Superman: Grounded—Volume 2

Comic Info

Superman (1) #707

Reprints Superman (1) #707-711, 713-714 (1). Superman continues his trek across America and finds himself at odds with Lois while having to make big decisions about the lives of Americans. Re-examining his own legacy, Superman finds himself faced with a question…must there be a Superman? As Superman searches for the answer to his question, he finds himself watched and pursued by a woman who might destroy him before he can decide.

Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson who both plotted the series, Superman:  Grounded—Volume 2 serves as the end to the long running Superman series before the events of Flashpoint.  The collection features art by Eddy Barrows, Allan Goldman, Travel Foreman, Diogenes Neves, and Jamal Igle.

Superman is a legacy comic.  People who read Superman and Action Comics as a child have passed on and their children and children’s children now read about the adventures of Superman.  The last issues are collected here minus Superman (1) #712 which as a Krypto story (why it was omitted I’m not sure since previous volumes had Lois and Perry stories). Getting mixed reviews, Superman’s walk across America did garner attention from the media, but overall, the series is rather lackluster.

Superman (1) #714

I was not a fan of Straczynski’s Superman tenure, but I have to be fair, I’m not a fan of Straczynski. Not all of Straczynski’s stuff has been bad. The Twelve is rather entertaining (though he left it half-finished for over a year). Rising Stars was ok and Amazing Spider-Man started out ok before turning to crap. I thought his Thor was virtually unreadable. The problems I have with Straczynski are illustrated in this storyline.

Straczynski seems to think his plots are grand and deep. A perfect example is the story in the first issue Superman (1) #707 which has Superman deciding if he should turn in a factory for polluting when it could cost the community its only source of employment. This is not deep…it seems almost like pandering and a question that everyone always has asked about the role of superheroes in society. In The Authority and Squadron Supreme, superheroes decide to take over the world and police it for the people. Most of Straczynski’s stories seemed borrowed. Here he combined Forrest Gump (where Superman is almost acting like Forrest Gump half the story) and then it also relies heavily on Alan Moore’s Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow which said goodbye to Superman before Crisis on Infinite Earths. Unfortunately, Straczynski’s isn’t good like Alan Moore’s.

Straczynski gives himself an out in the story by always just saying Superman’s being manipulated and suffered a crisis of faith and mind but even so, that has nothing to do with making decisions about big moral issues. It almost doesn’t seem to match the idea of Superman’s future and what Superman has to do with the common man. The series is a poor way to wrap up the character before his relaunch after Flashpoint and in my opinion continues Straczynski’s string of underachieving (and being lauded for it).

Related Links:

Superman:  Grounded Volume 1