January 18, 2014

Metropolis Mailbag: Pa lives?

mediocreartisan asked:

The thing I've really come to appreciate about this era is, Jonathan Kent doesn't die. In most other iterations, Clark "matures" into Superman because of the loss of one (or both) of his parents (Golden age, Movies, Smallville). It works well with other superheroes, but shouldn't apply to Superman. I like to think Superman is who he is because of proper up bringing and the support he gets from Ma and Pa (Like in Man of Steel #1, where he gets advice from Pa after saving the space plane)

I like the “Pa dies” version too, but yep, the fact that he lives is definitely a big part of what makes this Superman special. This actually plays a big role in the “Day of the Krypton Man” storyline and the whole Death/Return saga.