Scans: Superman: Secret Files and Origins (1998)
"Who is...Superman?" (1998): Written and penciled by DAN JURGENS
Superman and Batman went through a rough decade from 1986-1996 or so, but things were already starting to thaw when DC released a special issue called "Superman: Secret Files and Origins" in 1998. In it, we see a red-haired, mustached man poring over clippings about Superman and thinking about how he knows that Superman and Clark Kent are the same, "but that doesn't tell me WHY he is the way he is." So the man shows up in Smallville, at Jonathan and Martha Kent's door, introducing himself as Gordon Selkirk, Clark's college roommate. The Kents invite him in and he has a long conversation with them about Clark and about Superman (he hints he knows the secret but doesn't say). At the end he asks them, "Have you ever wondered...really WONDERED about Superman? About WHY he is the way he is? With powers like his, he could be emperor of the world. Instead, he's our greatest protector!" He recaps all the foes Superman has fought:
You'll notice this is during the short-lived time of Electric Blue Superman, who had a rather different skill-set (as we'll see later) and a wonderfully 90s look, including that fantastic face-framing thing all the Cool Kids were wearing back then. But wait, let's let "Gordon" finish that thought: "Over the years, I considered his incredible power a potential threat..."
*wibbles*
Later, Jonathan is having a nice glass of milk when Clark flies through the wall (electrical powers, remember?)
*melts* And so we end with a nice callback to the days when they'd sit in the cave and just chat, and it was definitely a harbinger of more friendly and less growly times to come!
(Back to 1996-2000 summary)
Superman and Batman went through a rough decade from 1986-1996 or so, but things were already starting to thaw when DC released a special issue called "Superman: Secret Files and Origins" in 1998. In it, we see a red-haired, mustached man poring over clippings about Superman and thinking about how he knows that Superman and Clark Kent are the same, "but that doesn't tell me WHY he is the way he is." So the man shows up in Smallville, at Jonathan and Martha Kent's door, introducing himself as Gordon Selkirk, Clark's college roommate. The Kents invite him in and he has a long conversation with them about Clark and about Superman (he hints he knows the secret but doesn't say). At the end he asks them, "Have you ever wondered...really WONDERED about Superman? About WHY he is the way he is? With powers like his, he could be emperor of the world. Instead, he's our greatest protector!" He recaps all the foes Superman has fought:
You'll notice this is during the short-lived time of Electric Blue Superman, who had a rather different skill-set (as we'll see later) and a wonderfully 90s look, including that fantastic face-framing thing all the Cool Kids were wearing back then. But wait, let's let "Gordon" finish that thought: "Over the years, I considered his incredible power a potential threat..."
*wibbles*
Later, Jonathan is having a nice glass of milk when Clark flies through the wall (electrical powers, remember?)
*melts* And so we end with a nice callback to the days when they'd sit in the cave and just chat, and it was definitely a harbinger of more friendly and less growly times to come!
(Back to 1996-2000 summary)