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Superman #701: Grounded (in America)

By Andy Frisk
July 18, 2010 - 13:32

“To be a hero—and I’m not saying I AM one, I’m just saying—is to live your life in a small cell whose bars are the principles and rules that define what you will and won’t accept. Injustice. Cruelty. Murder. On the night they threw Henry Thoreau in jail for civil disobedience, a friend came to see him saying, ‘Henry, what’re you doing in here?’ Thoreau said, ‘No, the question is, what are you doing out there?’ If I am lucky enough, privileged enough to live in that cell, to serve in that box with the word hero written on it—then I say to you, from somewhere deep inside that box—what are you doing out there?”

-Superman
Superman #701

“What’s that mean?”

-dumbfounded suburban jogger/dog walker
Superman #701

Yes folks, we’re definitely not on New Krypton, in Metropolis, or even in Kansas anymore. Technically (and if you consider ourselves as following Superman on his new quest), we’re just leaving Philadelphia. Clark Kent/Superman, having spent a considerable amount of time (even in comic book time) away from Earth and his home country of America, has decided to get back to basics and take a look at the ‘trees for the forest,’ if you will. He is going to walk across America, interact with its people, save a few lives, clean up a few neighborhoods (and pantries—like he does for dinner at a diner since he doesn’t have a lot of cash in his suit), and engage in some of the most intellectually and philosophically deep conversations he probably ever has. Welcome to J. Michael Straczynski’s Superman run…”Grounded.”

The point of “Grounded” is a simple one to grasp. It’s all about bringing Superman back, not necessarily to basics in any literal sense per se, but home. Superman, as a character, seriously became a stranger during the New Krypton saga. Never before (at least in my memory) was Superman so immersed in his native culture for as along a stretch of time (and away from his adopted and more aptly described as home culture) as he was during New Krypton. For nearly a year Superman readers saw nary one hint of any type of iconic Superman pose or stance. Superman brandished Kryptonian flags, wore Kryptonian military outfits, and flew with Kryptonians through Kryptonian skies. Superman is at heart an American and Earthling spiritually though. He did bring American style philosophical justice and equality to his fellow Kryptonians, demonstrating his beliefs, but he got a little lost in his biologically native culture which ended up being as different to him philosophically as it was to us. Superman is the allegorical embodiment of the ultimate American immigrant experience. America is built from immigrants (even illegal ones like Superman—what!?—Show me Clark Kent’s birth certificate! We’ve seen Obama’s. The Birthers should be worried about a real possible legal issue that actually might exist—the absence of Clark Kent’s birth certificate), Superman is undoubtedly the product of American culture and the best aspects of the American Dream. Witnessing Superman reference Henry Thoreau says it all.

The brilliance of “Grounded” is that it is a potentially vitally needed Superman tale, especially now. America’s vocally violent civil war of political words is really becoming tiring and detrimental to the nation (and world) as a whole. A story like “Grounded” which gives its readers a ground’s eye view of the incredible diversity, beauty, and at times ugly aspects of America, may just end up showing that for all of our differences, we all still have the same hopes and fears. In many ways, common Americans are all in the same boat so to speak. We all faces issues resulting from crime, economic difficulties, and sorrows. Having Superman become re-educated about America while at times educating his fellow Americans philosophically while going walkabout, just seems like the perfect way for Straczynski to explore some profound and relevant ideas. This storyline might go light on the action, but its going to go heavy on the political and social philosophy and history, and that’s just fine with this interested reader.

Artist Eddy Barrows’ art is solid as usual, and he does an excellent job capturing the suburbs and inner city of what we’re told is Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It would have been so much more poignant though to see Barrows recreate some of the more recognizable architecture of the city. Perhaps Straczynski purposefully wanted to stay away from such images, but it would have been a nice touch.

“Grounded” looks to ground Superman back into his native philosophical and metaphoric soil. World shattering plots and battles with extraterrestrials and mad unchained military/industrial complex mad men are shelved plots for now. Plots involving the trials and tribulations of everyday America and Americans look to be the norm, and it’s a welcome change. In the end, when we finally get back to plots involving the mad xenophobic actions of characters like Lex Luthor and General Lane, they’ll be much more poignant and vile after witnessing Superman demonstrate just how much he, although technically an alien (legal or otherwise), is American and more importantly…human.

Rating: 10 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12