MARVEL vs. DC: Mixed Messages
by Jason Kelley
Heroes and Villains Special Contributor

“WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY”
OR
“WITH NO POWER COMES NO RESPONSIBILITY”

Which of these messages is more inspiring to you:

(1) the wisdom conveyed from an uncle to his nephew or
(2) the standard displayed by the greatest superhero of all time?

I argue that DC has made a tremendous mistake with their recent “Up, Up, And Away” storyline written by Geoff Johns and Kurt Busiek. The 8-part story ran through Superman 650-653 and Action Comics 837-840. The story is part of the whole “1 Year Later” theme. Superman lost his powers after the Infinite Crisis and has enjoyed the past year as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent.  

In Action Comics #837 Clark Kent is offered the most powerful weapon in the universe. Hal Jordan approaches Clark and offers him a Green Lantern ring.

 “…you could do so much more. You just need the tools. Clark…it’s time you got back into the game.” -Hal Jordan

In Superman #651 Clark makes excuses, declines Hal’s offer, and chooses to remain “normal”.
“We’ve got things pretty well covered, I think” -Clark Kent

I think it’s more than fair to argue that Johns and Busiek’s recent take on Superman wasn’t very “super”. There are only a few rationales that could be used to formulate Clark’s decision:
            (1) I’ve done my part
            (2) I deserve a vacation
            (3) Leave the fighting to the superheroes
            (4) Green Lanterns are overrated

In the story, Clark makes his decision in order to spend more time with his wife. While I can appreciate the sentiment of his position, it’s still a selfish one. In the DC Universe, Superman is the “big guy” that everybody looks to for guidance and strength. The idea that he would consciously choose to avoid that responsibility undermines his character. I think Batman would have a field-day with this. Here’s a guy with no powers fighting crime. If you put Clark Kent in the same position as Bruce Wayne, which one proves to be the true hero? What about Steve Rogers (Captain America) who actually sought out the means to “fight the good fight” when he was told that he was too weak? 

I think this storyline is just another case of the big two (Marvel and DC) failing to protect the integrity of their characters from big name writers. Popular writers pitch a story and are given the leeway to do whatever they want without care to the consequences of their brief runs. Fundamentally, it’s up to the editors to ring in the writers-on-a-power-trip.  I think Nachie Castra (Associate Editor), Matt Idelson (Editor), and Dan Didio (Senior VP Executive Editor) deserve just as much of the blame for redefining the “super” in superman.     

In the end of “Up, Up, And Away”, Superman got his powers back and donned the cape once again. While things are back to normal, it doesn’t change the fact that when faced with the opportunity to make a difference, Superman opted to do nothing. I guess Superman should consider himself fortunate that he didn’t learn the hard way like Peter Parker that “with great power there must also come—great responsibility.”