Superman Secret Origin #1 (OF 6)

When I was a small child I loved Superman. He's strong, he can fly, x-ray vision, colorful costume. My little brain was hooked! Superman is AWESOME. At least that was how I felt until I got a little older, and moral black and white started changing to various shades of gray. It was then that I found myself more intrigued by characters like Batman. While Supes was the poster boy for all that was good, Batman was technically a criminal, wanted by the law, and striking terror into the hearts of the bad guys! While I didn't outright hate Superman, I found myself bored by his tales for the most part. I mean yes he could be messed up by Kryptonite, that really was the only kind of real threat to him. And how many tales could I listen to about that chestnut?

Every once in a while a good story would come along that would recapture the innocence that was my childhood love for Big Blue. I felt it the first time I saw the Superman, and Superman 2 movies, by Richard Donner for example. Now I know that they are all fictional characters and they really arent in any true danger, but I could suspend my disbelief enough that the bomb tied to the bottom of the Batmobile would make me nervous. With Superman, no matter how big the robot was, or how many mercenaries Lex Luthor paid to attack him, Superman was really in NO danger at all. He can move continents! How bad are things really going to get for him? Still whenever one of those stories that captured the true goodness of Clark, was told, I was 7 years old again and saying "Go get 'em Superman!"

This book is...... touching, I guess is the right word. It shows Clark as a young boy trying at once to control, and hide his powers all at once. At it's outset, Clark is aware he is different from the other kids, but has no idea why. He knows he is indestructible, but still cant resist to get into a football game with his buds. This football games ends with one of his friends suffering a broken arm, and Clark feels horrible about it. It all happens on the first six pages, and immediately puts you in the frame of mind where you feel bad for Clark. You feel the guilt he is suffering, and the shame as he can't look his dad in the eyes.

It is these kind of events that continue to happen to him, until things culminate in him finding out the truth of his heritage. Once again I found myself pulling for Clark. I was in the moment of the story wanting to tell him that "Things will be OK. You will grow up to be a great hero, and you will marry a beautiful reporter! Don't worry little dude. You do the right thing, and everyone loves you."

It is not often that happens to me. Once again writer Geoff Johns flexes his unique story telling muscles, and delivers a great title.

Like I said above, you really don't need to have an in depth knowledge of Superman, or his history to enjoy this book. As the title infers, it is very much an origin telling that has not been shown quite this way. Give it a try.

-Noob@NewToComics.Com