Did you get a chance to read Superman #701? I hope you did, because it would seem that this issue is tearing the internet apart…. Well, the Superman Fandom section of the internet, anyway. Writer, J Michael Straczynski (Rising Stars, Thor), has taken Superman out the skies and placed him on the ground as he begins what some are calling, “Superman Walks Around”. The story is actually called “Grounded”, and it focuses on Supes as he re-evaluates his position in life and takes a walk across America. From what I understand, this kind of story has been done before, but so what? This one is gonna go on for a year, and honestly, I feel that if anyone is up to the task, it’s Straczynski. Although, I may be a bit biased here, seeing as Straczynski’s Rising Stars is one of my favorite comics of all time. But even so, I think that it’s a good thing that Superman is back in his own comic. It just feels right.

So, following up on the final story in featured in Superman #700, Superman finds himself assaulted by a widow who’s husband died of an inoperable brain tumor. She felt that if Superman were around, he would’ve been able to save her husband, but he was nowhere to be found. Seeing as he was on New Krypton trying to save humanity from Zod, she was told that Superman was too busy doing more important things. While it’s not the fault of Superman that the man died, he saw just how hard this woman was taking the death of her husband. He left and asked his buddies about whether or not they agreed on what was and is important in the role of being a hero. Superman ultimately came to the conclusion that, for now, he’d see what good deeds he could do from the ground. Dealing with the things that typically seem unimportant to a hero of his stature. On this walk he helps a man figure out why he’s having car troubles, a bit later on, he does some work at a diner to earn himself a sandwich. You see, Superman is too cool for money. While eating, this leads to one of two of my favorite scenarios of this issue.

First, he learns of some drug dealers that have holed up in a bunch of houses at the edge of town. Supes walks over to some dealers and is told that there is nothing he can do to them that’ll hold up in court. Superman agrees. So he uses his X-Ray vision to find all the hidden stashes in the various houses, then sets them on fire with his heat vision. He then informs the dealers that “someone” set their drugs on fire. lol. Then he walks away, eventually finding a woman who is on the verge of ending her life by jumping off a building. This segment, I wont spoil for you. But I felt that the outcome raised a lot of questions about Superman’s moral code, and not just for the suicide event, but the entirety of the issue. Questions and arguments that I had as a child with other children were answered and settled for me. And I think that an actual serious debate can be raised within the pages of DC about what is and isn’t proper conduct for the various heroes of the DCU.

In the end, I feel that Straczynski has started his run on Superman with flying colors, and I feel that this issue has given us a great preview of what may happen later on in the storyline, which more than likely force Superman to do a few things that will break his image for what he stands for. I’m not sure I’m gonna like it, but its good to see characters grow as well. Life isn’t always flowers and sausages, so I can’t wait to see what Superman deals with next.

-Fleet

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