The good news is that DC Comics is dialing back their woke narrative a little bit with their new Superman title. The last diverse Superman title they tried fizzled out pretty quickly.
It turns out no one wants to see an all-powerful gay guy wearing the classic S.
So now, they're going in another direction, emphasizing Superman's immigrant status, not unlike Superman: Year One a while back.
However, there are some big problems with Superman being an undocumented immigrant.
First off, Superman is the last son of the House of El, and that's just way too much privilege for the classist, creative writers at DC, so they're changing Superman's backstory completely:
In past comics and adaptations, Superman's iconic symbol on his chest represented the House of El or Kryptonian for hope. In this version, the 'S' represents the members of Krypton's lower class, who suffered under the upper class which led to the destruction of the planet.
That's right, in this new story, Superman's classic S is now the sign of an untouchable, like the yellow star of David that the Nazis made Jews wear during World War II.
Kal-el's mother is the brilliant one of the family, who wanted to build rockets, but was oppressed by the ruling class and forbidden from attending science school.
And that's how Kal-el gets blasted to Earth just before the ruling class destroys Krypton by dinking with the climate.
From there, Kal-el gets found and adopted by the Kents in Kansas, and that leads to our second big problem: Midwestern values.
The writers have Superman reject the Kent's values outright.
Instead, Kal-El will spend years on the run across far corners of the globe, living among the planet's most impoverished and persecuted peoples, working in mines and corporate-owned farms, fighting to protect the identity he lost when his homeworld exploded, always yearning to belong, somewhere, anywhere.
This is a Kal-El that's a little bit Mowgli, something of a wild boy, with long, unkempt hair and a sometimes fierce and snarling disposition. Given everything he's been through, he's a bit edgier and angrier than the Superman we're used to.
Because nothing says "superhero" quite like a savage, all-powerful, almost invulnerable being with a "snarling disposition."
The best part about Superman - the thing that made him endearing - was always his absolute goodness.
Batman is supposed to be the edgy one.
But, don't worry, DC is altering him too. No longer a billionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne is now the orphaned son of common people, making gadgets in his garage.
Also, he doesn't know martial arts.
And Wonder Woman?
Instead of being raised on Themyscira by the Amazons, she was cursed by the gods, raised in hell, and rides around on some kind of demon horse.
On top of all that, DC is charging a whopping $4.99 for digital copies of these abominations.
For some reason, I have this sneaking suspicion that these new books will go much the way of the gay Superman.
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