I really liked this comic. It’s the first Superman-related anything that I’ve read, and while it’s definitely a throwback, a fleshed-out version of a story drawn from a plot on the old Superman radio serial, it appealed to me quite a bit, and I love the ways it explores America, race, politics, and Superman alike.
It’s 1946, and Metropolis is taken with Superman, the hero who’s faster than a speeding bullet and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. While the city speculates as to what gave this man such incredible abilities, the appearance of a mysterious green rock sets Superman on a path to unlock secrets of his past. Along the way, he combats a white supremacist terror organization known as the Klan of the Fiery Kross. In addition to his usual allies, like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, he’s helped by Roberta and Tommy Lee, two Chinese American children who’ve just moved into Metropolis with their parents and have been on the receiving end of the Klan’s threats.
First of all, I just love the fact that the Superman radio show did a serial about Superman taking down a fictionalized version of the Klan in 1946 (revealing actual Klan rituals thanks to a guy who infiltrated the group – check out the Drunk History story!), and it’s cool that this comic brings that story back for a new audience. Written by Gene Luen Yang, who did American Born Chinese, this story is geared toward younger readers but offers up a sophisticated look at hate groups in America. The Klan of the Fiery Kross is frightening and dangerous, threatening real harm to the Lees and others in Metropolis who they feel “don’t belong,” but the comic also covers the sense in which they’re pathetic guys playing at having a glorious purpose, as well as those at the top who use the ignorance and bigotry of the lower ranks as a tool for their continued profit and power.
I also like the story we get about the Lees. Told mainly through the eyes of Roberta, we meet a socially-awkward girl who feels out of place away from Chinatown, who balks as her older brother quickly makes friends with the white kids in their neighborhood. While Tommy leans into the Orientalist jokes with easy good humor, Roberta doesn’t know where she fits, and she hangs back as more of an observer. But that places her in a prime position to pick up on important clues as things kick off with the Klan, and as the story goes on, she starts to gain the confidence to speak up for herself, defending her ideas as well as standing up for her culture.
What’s really cool, though, is how all this ties in with Superman. There’s a lot that’s neat here. Of course, there’s Superman, he of “truth, justice, and the American way,” giving a full-throated defense of multiculturalism and standing between the Klan and those they would terrorize and hurt. These days, when antiracism is viewed by some as anti-American, it’s great to see such an iconic hero standing up for the American ideals that America itself hasn’t often lived up to. There’s also the way the Lees’ story has connective threads with Superman’s own history. Yang certainly isn’t the first person to recognize Superman as an immigrant (more technically, as a refugee, a concept which Supergirl explores a bit more,) but what he does with that idea is really neat, especially when it comes to Superman’s abilities; there’s a nice lampshade on Superman’s changing powers over the years that ties in really well with the larger story Yang is telling.
I appreciate that, while there’s certainly a “golly, gee willikers!” vibe to the whole period-piece aspect of the comic, the story 1) uses the past to explore modern ideas and 2) Lois Lane remains perfectly awesome. There are those who would look on this age as “the good old days” or America’s “golden age,” but the story doesn’t shy away from the darkness and racism that existed in that so-called “simpler time.” And some might suggest that writing confident, intelligent, ambitious female characters in period pieces like this are actually anachronistic since “this was before women really had inner lives,” but women have always been women, and all that’s ever stood in their way has been their lack of opportunities, not their lack of interiority. I know that other projects have explored similar ideas in the past in recent years, but the more, the better! And if those stories are written to be accessible for kids? Better still.
Warnings
Strong thematic elements (including racism and hate crimes,) comic-book violence, and racist slurs/imagery.
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