In the early 1950s, the cultural anxieties that came to bear on the comic book industry were something that was born of concerns of the literate world about the oral culture; how-ever, it also ensured that the comic book industry would more clearly carry on as an oral culture. As comic book material began to diversify further, superheroes were losing their market dominance (although Superman was one of the few superheroes who did maintain his popularity in several on- going titles). As EC horror comics became more popular, the comic book industry would move in other directions but ironically return to the emphasis on the superhero thanks to the influence of psychologist Fredric Wertham and his 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent (Wright 157–161). Wertham would identify comics as a medium designed for the attention span of the adolescent (a dubious claim at best) that nevertheless contained material grossly inappropriate for the adolescent in the form of crime and horror comic books. While his emphasis was on graphic depictions of violence in crime and horror comics, he also suggested that Batman comics contained homosexual sugges-tiveness through the relationship between Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson. Devel-oping a simplistic cause (comic books) and effect (adolescent delinquency) argument, Wertham’s book had several unintended consequences. By arguing for the pervasive impact of comic books on behavior, he validated the cultural influence of the comic book industry as an institution (even though in his argument the institution was an evil empire). By taking his case to the public, he participated in the subsequent generation of new and supposedly moral stories and thereby, encouraged a certain kind of growth in the industry (not just marginalization and decline as some might suggest). One of the results of congressional hearings concerning comic books would be the industry’s self- regulation in the form of the Comics Code (Duncan 39–40; Wright 88–98). These regulations seemed to concede to Wertham’s claim that comic books were for adolescents and this was a problematic concession at best. However, it guaranteed that for the immediate future that comic books would
remain subcultural and allowed the oral tendencies of the superhero story to continue in the midst of a literate culture. While eliminating graphic violence and sexual suggestiveness from comic books may have made Batman’s male bonding with Robin seem more gay than before, the comic code was nevertheless applied more easily to the superhero story than to the horror genre. With Superman, story lines about the fantastic were encouraged as were story lines in which humor predominates. Again, this emphasis was not new to Superman and was considered essential as Superman grew increasingly powerful (there seeming to be less drama in violent confrontation) (Daniels, Superman 67–68). Covers featured various humorous comments or situations (such as Superman struck by lightning and saying “It tickles,” a barber breaking a giant scissors on Superman’s hair, and Chinese citizens surprised as Superman emerges from the ground after presumably digging to China). The perennial comic villain of Superman stories was the magical Mr. Mxyztplk whom Superman could only defeat by convincing Mr. Mxyztplk to say his own name backwards. In the Comics Code era, such humor made its way to the forefront of Superman stories and remained a very significant part of the idea of Superman during that era.
Even more significant than the emphasis on humor in the Comics Code era would be the larger presence of imaginary stories, thought to be fairly harmless, as they explored out-landish possibilities and had no consequence within the real world of Superman. As is the case in most oral cultures, stories of the past organically interact with stories of the present (seen in the on- going conceit of the superhero genre in which the superhero remains as young as when first introduced 40, 50, 60 years ago).26This framework should be applied to stories of the imaginary present or possible future. Exploring the ways in which the world would be altered with Superman in its midst, these imaginary stories took Superman’s mythology very seriously and made particular conceptual demands upon the reader in order to enable their full appreciation. During Curt Swan’s tenure as artist in the 1960s,27stories were written such as “The Death of Superman” and “The Amazing Story of Superman- Red and Superman- Blue.” In “The Death of Superman,” Jerry Siegel takes the time to further emphasize Lex Luthor, Superman’s arch- nemesis. After obtaining certain privileges and work releases in prison, Luthor develops a cure for cancer. Eventually released from prison for his humanitarian efforts, he cuts ties with the criminal world and gains Superman’s trust. Luthor then reveals these acts to all be part of a grand plan that allows him to not only kill Superman but also to enjoy the sadistic pleasure of watching Superman’s loved ones see him linger. While Luthor is punished in the end, the world is notably vacant without Superman. Moreover, the story explores the potential influence of Superman on the world for good but also for evil, with his presence pushing a genius to focus exclusively on his destruction; in this case, great power invites great power to rise up as its rival. In the Superman- Red and Superman- Blue stories, Superman works to eliminate his vulnerability to Kryptonite, and, with a comic book pseudo- science explanation, his experiment divides him into two hyper- intelligent Supermen (one with a red costume and the other with a blue). Implementing Superman lore developed over many years, red Kryptonite (which had previously created an evil Superman) now interacted with other Kryptonite to this end.
Subsequently, the split in Superman’s identity was reworked as the Supermen abandoned their Clark Kent personas with one marrying Lois Lane and the other Lana Lang. With their hyper- intelligence, they created a utopia and eliminated the need for the old order of Superman who took violent action to save the world whenever the world’s laws failed; even Lex Luthor began to live a productive life, developing a super- serum to cure all diseases (and baldness too). Both stories require a certain level of previous knowledge of the
con-ventions central to Superman, ranging from the specific psychology of Lex Luthor and the superhero power fantasy to the fundamental tropes of the superhero story, such as the split identity and justice found beyond the law. And both stories develop a playful and interactive way to investigate and question the basis for those conventions.
Various possible future histories of Superman would be created within various Modern Age stories, like Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns (with Superman as a sell- out to a pater-nalistic and jingoistic USA) and Mark Waid’s Kingdom Come (in which Superman rejects the UN and the earth in general because of their moral relativism and shabby treatment of superheroes). Again drawing upon the precedent of the “imaginary” stories of Superman, these series explored the implications of Superman’s existence within the world in convincing ways and were identified as adult superhero stories. While this “adult” label may in some ways be accurate regarding the controversial content and complex themes, these stories ulti-mately cover ground similar to that of stories that preceded them. Therefore, the landmark status usually associated with these works becomes debatable. Incidentally, it should also be acknowledged that “landmarks” in storytelling history is a convention of literate culture.
Moving across all Superman titles, the “Death of Superman” in the 1990s story line was regarded as a stunt by some and part of what drove the collectors’ bubble to a point of bursting; after all, Superman really wasn’t dead, and the story felt like a bit of a cheat. How-ever, it was also an extension of the Superman mythology in its Christ- like readings. Even though harkening back to the 1961 “Death of Superman” story, the new “Death of Superman”
story line would not be “imaginary.” Coordinated between all of the Superman titles (with The first of many “death of Superman” stories that are either imaginary or temporary but clearly popular and somehow resonant with fans (from Superman #149, p. 10).
five writers, five pencilers, six inkers, and two colorists), Superman faced the muscle- bound monster dubbed Doomsday and only saved the world at the cost of his own life — or so it seemed (as the dead never stay dead in comics because their stories need to be told and retold). In the “World without a Superman” segment of the story line, the tomb that con-tained Superman was visited by a cult that believed he would rise again, and, not surprisingly, the tomb was found to be empty. In the time before Superman’s resurrection, false or mis-guided saviors rose to take his place in a segment titled “The Reign of the Supermen” (a reference to the pulp story written by Siegel predating the creation of Superman).28With Bruce Timm’s 2007 animated film, Superman: Doomsday, the story has been retold and streamlined in some ways by amplifying major characters such as Lex Luthor but more importantly, developed into a “classic” component of Superman’s mythos to be revisited and revised.29
Ong suggests that oral culture always knows the heroes’ point of origin and therefore, finds it unnecessary to begin stories at the beginning. However, the episodic structure of the epic encourages a continual return to that point of origin, presenting greater detail with that return. This is due to the fact that oral culture lives with the expectation that any one hero’s story will continue beyond its current telling, and conventional closure that precludes future retellings is rarely seen. In part, because of the widespread exposure of the George Reeves television incarnation of Superman in the 1950s (although it would be best to regard the show as part of the incremental commercial process that represents Superman), the mythos of Superman (such as “truth, justice, the American way”) would become part of the common knowledge of Superman’s identity of America. From the simple special effects of the serial, the whistling of wind would forever be associated with what seemed at the time to be the “realistic” flight of Superman. More notable would be the lasting association of George Reeves with Superman; many people were shocked upon news of his suicide, not believing Superman could die.30Even today his image as Superman endures with people even though they have little conscious awareness of George Reeves as Superman. Alex Ross, the hyper- realistic Norman Rockwell of contemporary comic book illustration, paints Super-man in a barrel- chested way clearly derived from George Reeves, and those renditions of Superman occupy high profile releases, such as the recent DC coffee- table book, Mytholog y.
If not sooner, at least after George Reeves, the public at large responded enthusiastically to not only the continuing adventures of Superman but also the continued retelling of Super-man’s origin with more nuanced changes made for dramatic effect. As the number of comic book titles featuring Superman increased, more writers contributed to the Superman comics and various imaginative ideas were explored within the “real” world of Superman (what was regarded as “canonical” by official writers of Superman titles). For instance, the Superman family would be expanded with other survivors of Krypton such as Supergirl, Superdog, Supercat, and so on. A chief editor’s position became essential, as it was necessary to keep Superman’s stories consistent and in line with the company’s vision of Superman. However, the editor could never completely contain the variations that developed because of the per-sonal styles of different writers and artists. In 1978, again within a medium influenced by the corporate models of the 20th century, a virtual cooperative of writers31would develop a film in which Superman learned as a young man to be an outsider by hiding his power, and, consequently, he longed to be an ordinary human being. Particularly notable in this emphasis of split identity is Christopher Reeve’s portrayal of Clark Kent, a caricature of weak humankind so extreme that no one would ever think him to be Superman. Scenes of the planet Krypton emphasize the many ways Superman’s homeworld is unlike earth and
introduces the shield on Superman’s costume as not an “S” but the family crest of his dead biological father.32And ultimately, the real enemy is not Lex Luthor, played in the film for buffoonish comic relief, but Clark’s role as Superman. Superman’s responsibility to save the world indirectly allows the death of Lois Lane, and the only way to save her is by defying nature and reversing time itself. Greeted with disdain at the time and ever since for its deus ex machina, this specific aspect of the story has not been reinforced to the same degree as all the other emphases in the film (although defying nature and playing with time in general is part of Superman’s standard operations).
As noted in previous chapters, the growth in the adult readership and general respect of superhero comic books in the 1980s would initiate a change in superhero storytelling within the DC superhero universe destined never to completely take hold. DC company executives began thinking in a way they believed was more like fans obsessed with continuity, believing that the standards of storytelling within literature culture should be applied to comic books: round characters, linear plot structure, logic, and originality. As a consequence, DC developed the Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries that gathered all of the superheroes in the DC universe together to fight against a force destroying all the variant earths created in nearly 50 years of superhero comic book publication. While perhaps the best of the super team- up miniseries from the 1980s, the series was flawed in that it was driven by an ulterior motive (cleaning up superhero mythologies) and that it fundamentally misunderstood the playful oral culture that is superhero comic books; identifying the failure of the series to bring superhero stories in line with the conventions of literate culture is more proof that those stories never were part of literate culture in any particular way.33 In general, the premise of the series was flawed; the crisis would enable the origins of all major superheroes in the DC universe to be retold within the context of the 1980s and all things would then proceed from that point. And yet now, decades after the crisis, we are still dealing with superheroes who seemingly haven’t aged a day. Moreover, characters are often written with reference to Golden and Silver Age selves that, according to the crisis, never existed. In fact, DC has allowed writers to bring back characters who died during the crisis in contradiction with the new mandate of “realism” and logic within the DC universe. (Much more will be discussed in chapter 6, wherein I cover the philosophical need for a “multiverse” within an oral culture framework.)
In specific reference to Superman, the “final” Superman story that preceded the crisis is regularly hailed as one of the greatest: Alan Moore’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.” Making extensive reference to the elaborate mythology of Superman, Moore plays with expectations that could be shaped only by an oral culture’s rich knowledge of the specific conventions of Superman; Superman shares a wrenching scene with Superdog, the silly Mr. Mxyztplk becomes the ultimate threat, and Superman intentionally robs himself of his powers by exposing himself to gold Kryptonite. This last Superman story would soon be considered imaginary or noncanonical by the presentation of the “new” origin story from John Byrne (and by that line of reasoning, all of Superman’s history that preceded the crisis revamp should be understood as imaginary). In essence, DC gave Byrne the license to further the insignificance of storytellers who had preceded him. In Byrne’s The Man of Steel, the post- crisis revision of the Superman mythology, Superman’s powers would initially be lessened, Lex Luthor would be a corrupt businessman and politician, and the Superman
“family” would be nonexistent. Ironically but not surprisingly, elements of the Superhero mythology were quickly revisited; the partnership with Batman, the Frankenstein- type other Superman (Bizarro), and Luthor’s green and purple costume/exoskeleton were all part
of The Man of Steel miniseries and soon thereafter John Byrne brought most familiar elements back to the three on- going Superman titles (including Mr. Mxyztplk and the various colors of Kryptonite). Byrne was allowed this creative retcon of Superman because he had revitalized many of the Marvel comic book series featuring “classic” Marvel characters, such as the Hulk and the Fantastic Four; however, his approach in revitalizing these had been to retool the series with what had worked well in the past for these classic characters (like most par-ticipating in the culture of the superhero comic book industry). No more likely to relegate past ideas of Superman to obsolescence than most in the industry, Byrne worked effectively as a creator participating in the epic process that shaped Superman up to that point.
In a seeming response to the television series Lois and Clark where Lois became well aware of Clark’s other life (beginning in 1993), Lois and Clark were married within the comic book world (1996), demonstrating the continuing dynamic and organic relationship between superhero stories in various forms of media. In addition, Clark would marry Lois when Superman lost his powers (an echo of the film, Superman II in which Clark revealed himself as Superman and gave up his powers as Superman to live a “normal” life with her); this common link could be seen as a self- conscious homage but should also be understood as a thematic preoccupation in the Superman story concerning the masculine anxiety about domesti -cation. This idea of domestic life has been played with in different ways, in various stories, with Superman as a father (most notably in Superman Returns) and with a married and powerless Superman avoiding his wife and pursuing Lex Luthor as Clark Kent, star reporter (in Kurt Busiek’s Up, Up, and Away). The typical adherence to real world history has changed in recent years, with comic book story lines like the long- term tenure of “President Lex,”
but, again, Lex Luthor eventually reveals his power- mad self and loses his presidency. (And if willing to think beyond the “real” in a post–Enlightenment sense, the President Lex story line has been described by some as a real- world commentary on the Bush presidency.)
As becomes the case in most oral cultures, knowledge of the variations of the story is just as important as knowledge of an authoritative text. The most recent retelling of Super-man’s origins have been published as miniseries and are therefore separate from the regular
“continuity” of the ongoing series; however, they are also often (ironically) identified as authoritative and centrally important to the continued survival of Superman stories, which
“continuity” of the ongoing series; however, they are also often (ironically) identified as authoritative and centrally important to the continued survival of Superman stories, which