Since DC Comics relaunched their entire line of comics with last year’s New 52 initiative, they’ve used that opportunity to take some classic characters in new directions. Some of the characters (I’m looking at you Green Lantern) continued almost directly from the pre-reboot with only minor noticeable changes, while others have had key elements of their past written out of existence. Arguably, none of these characters have undergone so many changes as Superman.
First came the cosmetic changes that transformed Superman’s trademark spandex into a Kryptonian battle armor. That costume switch also ditched the often joked about underwear-on-the-outside look that Superman’s had since he first appeared in 1938. And while many fans rallied against those changes, the bigger changes came later.
Before the New 52, Clark Kent and his long-time love Lois Lane were a lovingly married couple and had been for the last decade and a half. The New 52 tossed that relationship out of the window. The New 52 Superman is a younger, more brash version of the hero. He’s new to Metropolis and hasn’t developed anything more than a working relationship with Lois at his time as a journalist at the Daily Planet. So, at least the Daily Planet setting and job is still around… or is it?
According to CBM, Clark Kent is about to quit his job at the Daily Planet in the coming months. The report states that Clark becomes more and more disenchanted with the “spin” that big media. He finally reaches a breaking point and leaves the Planet to start his own blog to get the truth out to the masses. According to new ‘Superman’ writer Scott Lobdell, “This is really what happens when a 27-year-old guy is behind a desk and he has to take instruction from a larger conglomerate with concerns that aren’t really his own.”
While it shakes things up, I can’t say that this slight career change is a huge surprise. The New 52 version of Clark is much less the “mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet” of the pre-New 52 universe. This younger Superman stands for truth and what is right and that idealism has often come into conflict with the law, the military, and the general public. This was highlighted right from the start when the first appearance of Superman in Grant Morrison’s ‘Action Comics’ #1 had the Man of Steel dangling a corrupt businessman off the edge of a skyscraper in an effort to get him to confess his crimes.
According to the CBM report, Clark’s fellow writer at the Planet, Cat Grant, will be joining him on the new blog and that’s probably more shocking than Clark’s decision to quit since, in the past, Cat and Clark haven’t been the closest of friends. What do you think of Clark not working at the Daily Planet? Voice up in the comment section and let us know.
