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DC Just Changed 1 Part of Superman’s Origin For The 2nd Time In 10 Years
Superman is one of those characters whose origin has become a part of the pop cultural landscape. Superman’s homeworld Krypton, died, and he was launched to Earth. It’s sort of like Batman’s origin; even if you’re not a huge fan of either character, you still know the broad strokes. However, one of the hallmarks of DC Comics is its tendency to drop large-scale changes to its history. While some origins have basically stayed the same, like Batman’s, others have been modified multiple times, especially Superman’s. There’s something about the death of Krypton that lends itself well to changes, and we’ve gotten several different reasons why over the years.
The destruction of Krypton has changed many times over the years, but usually it’s been decades in between changes. So, for example, the original destruction of Krypton, when the planet was old and died, was eventually changed to the Kryptonian technology destabilizing the planet. This change took decades, but in the last ten years, we’ve had one major change to it, and Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #3 has given us another one, this time changing the real reason for Krypton’s destruction to Brainiac. Why does DC keep changing this part of Superman’s origin?
The Destruction of Krypton Is One of the Easiest Changes to Make
Fans had gotten used to the idea that Kryptonians technology and hubris were the reason for the destruction of Krypton, but that changed with 2018’s Man of Steel. Writer Brian Michael Bendis had come to DC and was given the Superman books. The publisher wanted to make Bendis’s arrival special, and the writer created Rogol Zaar, an alien villain who was hired by the galactic powers to destroy Krypton. Krypton’s technology was making them too powerful, and the powers of the universe were afraid they’d become conquerors. It was eventually revealed that Zaar himself was once a Kryptonian and hated his own people.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum is an old school Superman tale, taking ideas from across the history of Superman to create a new DC Earth. The third issue of the book sees Superman, who has been reduced to a teen by a new kind of Kryptonite, doing some art therapy with Billy Batson, and drawing the end of Krypton. In Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum, it’s revealed that Krypton was destroyed by one of Superman’s most dangerous villains — Brainiac. In this version of the destruction of Krypton, Brainiac was a Kryptonian AI that destroyed the planet, either because the Kryptonians were trying to destroy him or he was trying to destroy them.
This isn’t the first time that Brainiac and the Kryptonians have been explicitly linked in this way. While mainline Brainiac is a Coluan cyborg, there have been universes where Brainiac was the creation of the Kryptonians, most notably JLA: Earth-2. The interesting thing about this new change is that it still fits into the framework of Kryptonian science and arrogance destroying the planet, as they created Brainiac and Brainiac destroyed them. However, it says something else about the destruction of Krypton that doesn’t say the best thing about comics as a medium.
I think that making the destruction of Krypton be the fault of a villain is a little too “good vs. evil”. The universe is a cold, uncaring place and planets die for the most arbitrary reasons. Meteors crash into world. Gamma rays fry them. Some are swallowed by black holes. This is reality. It makes sense that an old world like Krypton would destroy itself; this is a thing that could happen. Making a villain do it isn’t realistic because it brings forth the idea that some version of Superman would have been able to stop it or that there needs to be someone evil who destroyed Superman’s world. It’s altogether too simplistic and adds something that Superman’s origin doesn’t need.
Multiple Choice Planetary Destruction
Brainiac and Krypton have always been linked, and Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #3 links the destruction of the entire planet to him. This isn’t a new idea, and it works for the modern Silver Age feel of the story. However, the idea that a villain has to be behind the destruction of Krypton is kind of lame. Now, yes, it’s usually meant to show us that Superman wouldn’t take revenge, but he still ends up fighting the person who destroyed his world. It’s such a simplistic idea and it hurts the overall concept of Superman.
I think that Superman works better when Krypton just dies. Parents die all the time, and a planet is the ultimate parent. It represents Superman leaving behind the ways of Krypton and becoming a hybrid, taking the best of both worlds and melding them. Putting a villain behind the destruction just doesn’t feel right. It honestly feels a little Batman, giving Superman’s anger over losing everything a target. Superman doesn’t need this sort of thing; while it can be interesting, it just doesn’t feel right.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #3 is on sale now.
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