The Subtlety of the Ordway/Stern Reset, and Why Superman has to be a Goody-Goody



It occurs to me now that there's a subtle genius at play in what Jerry Ordway and Roger Stern (and likely editor Mike Carlin) did with Superman's characterization in the wake of John Byrne's 1986-1988 run. Whereas Byrne's goal was to remake Superman as an ordinary farm boy from Kansas given extraordinary abilities -- a character who could be rash, ignorant, and even downright rude (especially in his Action Comics Team-Ups), the post-Byrne issues wasted no time in exploring a dual identity in which Superman attempts to be a hero in thought as well as action while his subconscious finds expression in an alternate identity called Gangbuster, all supposedly because of the events of Superman #22 (if you didn't read it, let's just say some bad stuff went down at the end). Really though, this was a clear opportunity for the new creative teams to reset Superman's persona -- to clearly identify what Superman DOES stand for (characterized by Superman) and what he DOES NOT (characterized by Gangbuster) by putting those behaviors into two different identities; a way far more clear than just having him start acting more like a boy scout again. Ordway and Stern present a man who has put such pressure on himself to be perfect that his most superhuman features become his character and will, not his powers. It's a brilliant way to do this, and, once Gangbuster is out of the picture and Superman's internal quest is resolved, it sets the stage for the kind of characterization that the Post-Crisis Superman franchise absolutely needed.

Many have argued that Superman has fallen out of touch with American culture and needs to be more rough around the edges in order to remain relevant. Clearly, that's what Byrne was thinking, as well as several writers who followed (perhaps most notably James Robinson, who had Clark and Lois dry humping each other at the breakfast table). I'd actually argue that the reverse is true, though. We live in an age where the iconic Superman is needed more than ever.

America lost its sense of idealism in the 1960s and early 1970s. In the wake of two Kennedy assassinations, the assassination of MLK, the Vietnam War, the Kent State debacle, and (perhaps most damaging of all) Watergate. Suddenly, all the good guys were gone, the world was a dangerous, senseless and depressing place, the remaining heroes and icons we looked up to and trusted were no longer trust-worthy, and the beliefs and assumptions about the world we'd been fed all along seemed to blow up in our faces. The ideals we'd been fed, the morals and behaviors we were to aspire to, all became suspect too. We threw away all that we'd been told to become and replaced it with nothing else, tossing aside all hero worship and, with it, any sense that we could strive to become better than we are.

All one needs do is turn on the TV to see that this is true. Whereas we once watched well-dressed, responsible, courteous, successful, and generally happy/fulfilled protagonists, we've traded that for prime time anti-heroes. Married with Children, the Simpsons, Family Guy, The Osbournes, the Kardashians, and Duck Dynasty. We tossed away the characters that motivated us to want to improve/be better with characters so far below us as to affirm that who we already are must be good enough. As a result, we live in an age where people wear their ignorance with pride, where common courtesy in the workplace or in public is anything but, and where we laugh at others instead of working to learn how to better ourselves. Even facebook has become a steady stream of personalized news sources that affirm what you already believe instead of challenging one's perspective and informing people. Political scientists famously revealed that, in their polling, many people voted for George W. Bush in 2000 because he seemed like the kind of guy you could have a beer with; the kind of guy that was at your level (or possibly even below it) instead of some unwelcome potential hero, seeming to be better than us and challenging us to rise to his level; someone who should be distrusted because he might just let us down. It's how Joe the Plumber became a half-serious political candidate, and also how we got John Byrne's Superman.

We need heroes again. We need people we can believe in. And if it seems too unrealistic to accept the idea that a person could act with total integrity at all times, act thoughtfully and with wisdom, treat people respectfully, and consistently sacrifice of him/herself for the sake of others, then maybe we can at least believe that an alien from Krypton can do those things.

Really, the Christian New Testament, created in an age of great corruption and distrust of leaders, functions in the same way. It takes an outsider to show humanity its potential to be better than it currently is. Jesus' wisdom came from beyond, not from growing up in Nazareth. An ordinary Nazaethan could never achieve that level of greatness on his own within that cultural context, but he could be shown the way and follow. Apply the same idea to Buddha or Moses. And Superman fulfills the same purpose for a modern, less religiously inclined audience.

We need heroes again; we need harbingers to show us the way in our own dark, chaotic lives in which we loathe ourselves and yet will defend to the end our right to not aspire to anything. And if such heroes can't be found in reality, then we have need of fictitious noble-hearted aliens more than ever.

I'm not a Denny O'Neil fan either, especially if he's writing outside Gotham City.

ADVENTURES #449

Art: Dennis Janke everyone! Ordway's art has never looked worse than it did when inked by Janke.

Story: It's like watching the blockers set up on a punt that turns into a touchdown. It's still very early , but the pieces are on the field.

Superman's birth: The Supreme Court will visit this issue (sort of) in Superman Annual #3

It has been stated several times in the DCU by this point that Superman was the first modern public super hero and Batman, the JL, et al came after.  It'll be mentioned many times again before Flashpoint ends this version of the DCU.

Ah, I love that cover.  This was the first issue of ACW I ever read, and it was the cover that grabbed my eye.  I was back issue hunting, looking to fill in my Superman books having gotten addicted to weekly comics by the triangle era just officially starting at the time.  My father saw me reading it and said it looked like a rip off as Supes was on the cover but he just had the 2 page story.  Ironically, as the oldest ACW issue I own, it's now the only ACW I own missing the cover.

Reminds me of this cover:

Additionally, once more, I feel these covers will ultimately inform the look of Batman: The Animated Series: