Superman: Earth One Volume 3 - Interview With Writer J. Michael Straczynski

In this interview, we get Superman: Earth One series writer J. Michael Straczynski’s thoughts on his reinterpretation of the Man of Steel. He also speaks to us about how his journalism background helped him in creating a realistic setting. Furthermore, as a longtime fan, Straczynski talks about how Superman affected him growing up.

BSP: For your characterization of Clark Kent / Superman, did you draw upon any past incarnations of the character (either live-action or in comics)? From Superman: Earth One Volume 1 and Superman: Earth One Volume 2, I sense a bit of Tom Welling’s Clark Kent from The CW’s Smallville, and also a bit of John Haymes Newton’s Clark Kent / Superboy from the first season of the Salkinds’ 1988 – 1992 Superboy television series.

JMS: Because we all grow up with different iterations of Superman, we all tend to see the character through the lens of those early interpretations. So to a degree, one sees what one projects. But insofar as the writing is concerned: no. DC wanted a new interpretation of the character for the 21st century, and there’s absolutely no point to going backward or basing the work on something that’s already established. The prior stuff is equally as valid as what’s being done here, make no mistake. Each iteration is a product of its time, and this Superman is a product of 2014. The next guy to do this will create a Superman that’s a product of 2037 or whatever that year is. Which is a long way of saying: no.

BSP: Did you start off with a character map on how you wanted to develop Clark Kent / Superman as a character? Was there a planned “master arc” for multiple volumes in the Superman: Earth One series?

JMS: There are two main ways of building a character (there are lots of alternatives and subsets, but they’re usually derivative of one or the other of these): you build from the inside-out (you start with the character and decide what they want, how far they’ll go to get it, and how far someone else will go to stop them, which brings you to plot and circumstance) or you build from the outside-in (you start from the plot or the setting and back your way into the character). I belong to the first school of thought. So for me, I started with “who would Clark Kent be today, right now, walking into Metropolis for the first time? What would he want to accomplish, for himself, for his mom, for the world? How far is he prepared to go, and what is he willing to sacrifice to accomplish that?”

So from there came the general structure of the first three books. I knew they had to connect, that the books had to stand more or less on there own, but at the same time there had to be a larger narrative at work. The question “why did Krypton blow up, really?” gave me that structure. So v3 really ties all of the books together and answers some of the questions set up in the prior two books.

So for instance, as well as answering the “who killed Krypton?” mystery from v1, there were some online who complained that when Superman engages in some regime change in v2 that this violated the character, that he should know there would be consequences, and there weren’t any. Well, no, there weren’t any in v2, but those birds come home to roost in a huge way in v3…after which Clark will know very much that one does not do some things even though one can.

BSP: Coming from a screenwriting and journalism background, can you tell me what unique challenges you faced when you started to write scripts for comics?

JMS: Probably the hardest thing I had to overcome initially coming from the film/TV side was the fact that the pictures don’t move. You can’t write, in a panel description, “he gets up, goes to the door and opens it.” You can show one or the other of those three things, but you can’t have persistent movement. So you’re really writing a storyboard more than a movie or a TV episode. Once I got past the worst of that learning curve, I was able to settle in a bit and enjoy the process.

The journalistic aspect comes in more with these books than many others, informing how a real newspaper office would function versus how it’s sometimes portrayed. A reporter’s job is to cover the news, not to affect the outcome of the news, and that comes into play in v3.

BSP: What was the most challenging aspect of writing Clark Kent / Superman and why?

JMS: Making him feel modern while still maintaining the classic, heartfelt vibe of the period when the character was created. There’s a fine line between being hip and being flip, and I had to be careful to walk that line with Clark so he feels earnest and awkward but also has a sharp wit that comes out in a very quiet, sly fashion. This is a guy who’s a fast thinker but he’s led by his heart. Sometimes Clark gets written as a stiff, and I’m not sure that’s entirely right. He’s the quiet guy in the back of the classroom who doesn’t talk much, but when he does, it’s dead-on and to the point.

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BSP: What drew you to Superman? Many writers find him to be a dull tapestry because he’s too powerful and too perfect. Was there something you wanted to explore with the character?

JMS: Going back to the point above: I find perfect characters less than interesting because there’s nowhere for them to go, no mistakes they can make, and fewer colors that they can show. The moment you realize that as a kid, Clark would have had to keep a distance from other kids while he was figuring out his powers in order to avoid accidentally hurting anyone, you automatically begin to set up a character who is flawed by virtue of being distant by practice…but by his heart, longing to be close. An alien by birth, he is, as the saying goes, “among them but not of them.” To walk that line, to live that life, is to produce a personality that is deep as a river and thoughtful and idealistic and just a little fractured…far from perfect. And thus interesting.

BSP: For Superman: Earth One Volume 3, were there any particular panels, scenes, or pages that you are particularly proud of in terms of how it is delivered to the readers? What makes them special to you?

JMS: I love the whole feel of the book as it’s been rendered. Big action scenes can be done handily by a wide range of artists, but it takes a special gift to make small, personal character scenes work visually in a comic, and that’s so much a part of what makes v3 special. If I had to pick one scene as my favorite, it’s probably the one in which a certain character discovers Clark’s secret, both in the discovery part and the conversation afterward. It’s touching and funny and just a lot of fun.

For me, the whole process of doing the Superman: Earth One books has been the ultimate treat as a comics writer. My house is filled with Superman artwork and statues and collectibles because for me, as a kid, Superman was a role model. I learned my morality and ethics from Clark Kent, a level of idealism that sustains me to this day, and to have a chance to turn full circle and now create a current take on Superman is just too terrific for words.

J. Michael Straczynski is a writer and a producer. He is the author of all three volumes in the Superman: Earth One series. His long diverse career spans film, theater, television, novels, short stories, radio, journalism, comic books, and other media. Most notably, he was the creator and showrunner of the hit science fiction television series Babylon 5. From 2001 to 2007, he was the writer for the Marvel comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man.

He has also been honored with multiple awards for his works. These include the 1996 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation for the Babylon 5 episode, The Coming of Shadows; the 1997 Hugo Award for Dramatic Presentation for the Babylon 5 episode, Severed Dreams; the 1994 Visions of the Future Award (with the cast and crew of Babylon 5) from the Space Frontier Foundation; the 1998 Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation for Babylon 5; the 2002 Eisner Award for Best Serialized Story (with John Romita, Jr. and Scott Hanna) for the Coming Home story arc for The Amazing Spider-Man; the 2005 Eagle Award; the 1994 Inkpot Award; the 2008 Christopher Award for the movie Changeling; and the 2013 International Icon Award from San Diego Comic-Con International.

He has also been nominated multiple times. These include the 2009 BAFTA Award for the screenplay for Changeling; the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Limited Edition for The Twelve; the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series for Thor; the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Writer for Thor; a Writers Guild Award for the adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; and a Cable Ace Award for the adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

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