DC Comics is the oldest purveyor of superhero stories, and this has brought some problems over the decades. Comics are serious business nowadays, mostly because the readership is older, and so a lot of the more out there concepts were jettisoned, mostly because Marvel made people want something more realistic. In 1985, Crisis on Infinite Earths ended the DC Multiverse. Thiss changed the history of the publisher, doing away with all of the multiversal duplicates, including the Golden Age ones. Earth-Two Superman, the original Man of Steel, landed the killing blow on Crisis big bad Anti-Monitor, and was rewarded by going to a paradise dimension with his wife Lois, a fairy-tale ending.
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Eventually, creators who loved the old multiverse took power at the publisher, and restored the past with the blockbuster event Infinite Crisis. Earth-Two Superman returned, and was again integral to saving all of creation. However, he also died at the end of the book, joining Earth-Two Lois Lane (who died in Infinite Crisis #5). However, I’ve always thought this was a huge mistake. There have been many versions of Superman, but the Earth-Two version has always been the best. Not only do I think that DC Comics shouldn’t have killed him, I think they should bring him back.
The Original Superman Is the Best
Earth-Two Superman first appeared in Action Comics #1. He is the original Superman, and he birthed everything about the superhero that we love. The hero was a true man of the people. He didn’t just fight supervillains, but he also fought corrupt government officials, evil landlords, and abusive husbands. Clark Kent was a man who believed in using his powers to help the world around him, and he did that perfectly. He did everything he could, both in costume and out, to make the world a better place, joining the war effort in the ’40s and keeping the world safe.
Comics were very different back in those old days, so I can’t really say the character developed in the ways he would have in the modern day. However, Earth-Two Superman did change, becoming more and more like the hero we know today. His powers increased over the years, and he became more jingoistic in the days of World War II, but that core of a man who wanted to do right for everyone was always there. This was a superhero for the Great Depression, and everyone loved him, from the children who read the comics to the adults who listened to the radio show and watched the TV program with their kids. Even back then, he was a true man of the people, going after the Klan in his radio show when they were at the height of their power. Earth-Two Superman faded away as the Silver Age began, but would return in the 1970s, returning as a member of the Justice Society in Justice League of America #137.
I didn’t start reading comics until after Crisis on Infinite Earths, and didn’t read that story until 2002. I knew about the multiverse, but didn’t really know many of the particulars. However, Earth-Two Superman touched me right away. There was something about his older Man of Tomorrow, a hero who had married the woman he loved and created a legacy of heroism that would extend to the present day. He’s the ur-Superman, a version of the character that takes everything we love about the Man of Steel and boils it down to its perfect essence.
Earth-Two Superman represents something very special. He didn’t become the unstoppable god that the Last Son of Krypton became in the Silver Age; he was powerful but had to work harder than his counterpart. He fought evil with less, and was always there for his contemporaries and his niece Power Girl. Kal-L was everything a superhero could be. Going back and reading the Bronze Age stories starring the character gives readers an interesting and unique look at what the hero could be if he was allowed to grow older, the perfect elder statesman for the greatest group of superheroes of all time.
We Need Earth-Two Superman’s Old School Heroism
Since his death in Infinite Crisis #8, I have wanted Earth-Two Superman back. There are some out there who say that DC continuity is tangled enough and doesn’t need two Supermen at once, but let’s be real — we already have numerous versions of the character. Having another one, the original one, isn’t that big a stretch of credulity. We don’t even need him back in the main continuity, but could just get to see him in series set on Earth-Two, showing us “lost adventures”. DC Comics has canonized everything in New History of the DC Universe, so there’s no reason not to return to the character.
It’s something of a dark time in the world, and we need as much hope and light as we can get. Earth-Two Superman has always been the epitome of hope; he’s the only reason we have superheroes. He fought for the common people, and it was nice to have this sun god fighting for us. Kal-L is the most pure version of the character, everything good about the Man of Tomorrow in its most concentrated form. DC has been giving readers a lot of awesome returns to its past (and some not so great ones — looking at you, H2sh), and a return of the original superhero, his purity and the hope he represents, would be a dream come true.
What do you think of Earth-Two Superman? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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