Superman: Year One No. 1: Smallville as told by Frank Miller

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Credit

: John Romita Jr., Danny Miki, Alex Sinclair (DC Comics); from

Superman: Year One No. 1

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In every version of Superman’s origin, Jor-El and Lara are already in their lab, preparing to send their son into space, just as Krypton is about to explode. Until now. Here, Kal-El’s parents cart him through the panic-filled streets towards where they keep the rocket as Krypton starts to explode. It’s more dramatic, for sure, but at least the earlier versions of Supes’ parents seemed better prepared than this.
Nice to know the ship can automatically clean baby Kal-El up. Thankfully, we don’t get any explicit details about all its sanitary functions other than cleaning up his baby puke.
Hold on? Is this comic suggesting that Kryptonians have minor telepathic powers, and that baby Kal-El may have psychically influenced Jonathan Kent to take care of him? So much for adopting Clark out of the goodness of his heart. His love for his son is a product of possible brainwashing.
You know why every version of the Superman origin story has both Jonathan and Martha finding Clark in the field? Because having only Jonathan find Clark then take him home to Martha results make him sound like a weirdo when he says baby Kal-El “came out of a rocket what dropped from the sky.” It also makes Martha into a naïve country-bumpkin when she completely believes what her husband says at face value, and not call the police about a baby her husband may or may not have kidnapped.
Gee, Clark’s adoptive parents are awfully causal about him running and hopping around so fast that they constantly lose him. I’m surprised child services haven’t knocked on their door at any point during his toddler years.
Okay, so the Kryptonian tongue is the one muscle which can still feel pain, especially if yucky split peas are too hot. Maybe because, unlike the rest of Clark’s body, it doesn’t get much exposure to the sun? But then, he also feel hot enough to sweat when sleeping at night, too. So, he’s only invulnerable some of the time?
Hey Clark? Why tip over the entire truck just to get your baseball? You could have just as easily hoisted it up and set it back down without making all those hay bails spill out.
Really? Smallville’s holding a ticker-tape parade for Clark on his first day of high school. Or are those supposed to be Autumn leaves?
“Look at them go! It’s like they’re dying to see me!” Look at what, Clark? I mean, from what I can make out from the art, there’s a couple of girls cheering for some rea–oh….
So according to this high school science teacher, while our ancestors were “monkey people,” they also weren’t apes, even though, biologically, we’re closer to apes than monkeys. Also these “monkey people” were “more like teddy bears,” even though bears are not primates. With teachers like these, Smallville’s academic standards must be the worst in the country.

Credit: John Romita Jr., Danny Miki, Alex Sinclair (DC Comics); from Superman: Year One No. 1

Wait? As Clark’s “adjusting” the size of Mickey’s space helmet, Mickey’s behind him. So how is the helmet speaking? Also, it’s a wonder Clark didn’t kill him the way he shoved the helmet on his head afterwards. And Clark seriously has to help Mickey open his visor, too?
You know, it would’ve been nice to see what the other kids are talking about and not just a bunch of cafeteria gossip. Especially since we have no idea who this Markham kid is yet, or what horrible things he’s done to deserve such humiliation from Clark.
“Coolest move I ever saw.” What, that Clark didn’t bleed from being stabbed in the hand with a ballpoint, or that the goth kid, Jeremy stabbed Clark’s hand?
But I thought Billy Bob Markham (yes, his name is seriously Billy Bob) was the kid with the mullet, not the one who broke his hand punching Clark.
Really? Tagging “Weirdos Suck” on a school bus? I mean, I realize bullies aren’t the most creative bunch, but that’s the best insult they can come up with?
“Let me court you, Lana Lang.” Woah! Slow down there, Clark. Lana almost went through a very traumatic experience, and you’re practically proposing to her before you two have even been on your first date? Love needs time to marinate, dude.
So Clark thinks the teachers and students only argue about Aristotle, Plato, Freud, and Jung instead of actually learning from them. Except for him and Land, of course. It sounds like he was a typical teenage know-it-all. No wonder Batman can’t stand him.
Really? Clark marks his territory on the spot where the Smallville bullies used to ambush kids and calls it his “Fortress of Solitude.” Okay, Frank.
Yes, a Superman story actually has somebody say “wacky tabaccy.” Maybe that’s why this comic feel under the Black Label?
This isn’t the first Superman origin story in which Clark played on the Smallville High School football team. That being said, why would Clark’s parents, who’ve warned him about not “showing off” be okay with this?
Hey, Ma Kent. You sure you really want Clark going off to basic training with his baby blanket? That’s the kind of thing guaranteed to make him receive a lot of ridicule at boot camp.
Okay, there’s no question that Lana sitting on the roof with her goodbye note for Clark to see is very touching. That being said, how does she know Clark can even see that far when he doesn’t know if he can until that very moment? Guess he unknowingly did a little Kryptonian “psychic imprinting” on her whenever they were together?
While it’s good the comic remembers that Clark has “super memory,” it seems a bit much that he can remember Krypton exploding. Not to mention a little disconcerting.

Next. DC Comics shares first look at new Batman/Superman series. dark

That’s the first of Frank Miller and John Romita Jr’s three-part Superman: Year One. For those who picked it up, was it too much of a departure for Superman, or not enough of one? Did it’s content warrant being under DC’s Black Label. Also, why is it called Year One, when the first part covered the first eighteen years of Clark’s life?

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