Know Christ And Make Him Known

IV: Superman, All-Star: Part 1

” is The prime example of Superman storytelling from the master team of author Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely . As far as being easily accessible for anyone, be they interested in Superman or really just quality entertainment, this story stands above an enormous portion of it, and all it took for one of the greatest Superman stories to ever be told to happen—-was for Superman to face the end of his life.

” is a very special Superman tale. It began publication in 2005 under the “All-Star” imprint of DC Comics. What this imprint was created for was for their top creators to tell the stories they wanted to about their most iconic creations, without having to worry about some 70 odd years of comics and history. It was the companies push to try to bring more attention to their characters and make them easily accessible to the general audience and fans not really willing to just yet spend their life savings to enjoy all things Superman. So, out of all the stories, why is this one so integral to the workings of Superman?

The toughest thing about Superman is that it’s hard to make him work in a realistic, grounded setting. So much of modern comic book storytelling comes from being able to make the characters easily related to real life situations and people. This is the reason why Marvel heroes and the recent resurgence of their movies have become so popular, because they tell stories that we here in the real world can acknowledge as possible, or realistic. This is also the reason that the Christopher Nolan/Christian Bale “Batman Begins/Dark Knight” movies have succeeded where the flamboyantly awful Joel Schumacher “Batman Forever/Batman & Robin” movies failed. They impact you because you believe them to be set in the real world.

However, a muscle filled man flying through the air is much harder to sell. Taking a cue from the Christopher Reeve movies, however, helps you show what makes Superman matter. Why the world needs Superman, in a sense. Within this story, Grant Morrison reminds us why Superman deserves to be the greatest cultural icon of the planet.

But enough about the philosophies for now. That can come later.

Superman does not need to be solidly grounded in reality to work, and within All-Star Superman that’s how the stories truly shine.

The story begins with what could be the greatest and simplest introduction page ever. Following, we are shown an intense rescue mission on the surface of the sun. The reason why no more than one page is given to the origin of Superman is because this story is not about the beginning of Superman’s life, this is about the end. From millions of miles away, utilizing technology bestowed upon to him by the government in the hopes that he would do something good and completely the opposite of what he has just done, Lex Luthor has orchestrated the means of Superman’s death. While Superman was busy rescuing the crew aboard the manned space mission to map out the surface of the sun, Superman’s solar charged body absorbed too much solar radiation. This leads to apoptosis, or cell death. Superman is dying.

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So that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people - so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war - so that we may reach out our hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world - so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.