Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Superman #126: Superman Plays British

I was going to go back to my idea of writing about comics that Darwyn Cooke gave us and write about Superman: True Brit, but that book is actually too ridiculous to bother reviewing.

I would much rather zip back in time and look at Superman posing as a Brit!

Like all good stories, this one starts with Superman giving himself amnesia.

Well, yeah Superman. I could have told you that experiment was a bad idea. And I never took chemistry.

So he starts to notice that he has some powers, and decides to try to learn more about himself:


Yeah, Superman. You study those murals. You study them hard. There is a lot of information there, so you might want to take notes. (I'm not entirely sure how he's using his super-breath in that picture. Is he cleaning the boat?).

Anyway, Superman decides he could use some normal-looking clothes, so he steals this guy's:

Alright, he doesn't steal. He accepts them as a gift. The point is that Superman looks totally ridiculous in a second.

Perry White is a whore for accents.

I was going to post these panels in full-colour, but I really think the black and white is better because it lets you use your imagination more. Superman looks silly, but consider for a moment just how silly he really looks. Monocle, pipe that never leaves his mouth, and, get this TALCUM POWDER in his hair to make it look blonde. This does not make your hair look blonde. It makes it look like it's full of talcum powder. Believe me. Basically what I am saying is that Superman looks like a crazy person.

But it's not all pipe-smoking and goofy-talking for Clarence Kelvin. He has to do some Superman chores as well. Like this one:
One of the key differences between the DCU and our world is that DC whales are vicious killing machines. I could do a whole post about people being rescued from golden and silver-age blood-thirsty whales. (I also like that the narration reminds us that Clarence Kelvin is actually Superman. In case we got lost in the intricate plot).

What's Lois think of our Clarence?

Par for course.

Yeah, Superman. Your new identity is wearing a little thin. It was never really what you might call 'fat.' See, the problem now is that you not only are a man who looks like Superman, but you are also a man who looks like Clark Kent with a monocle, a pipe and powder in your hair. Tweed suit does not a new man make. I'm actually surprised neither Lois nor Perry weren't immediately like "Morning, Kent. What's with the pipe?"

Superman eventually gets his memory back. I won't bore you with the details. He then comes up with this cunning plan as a way to further confuse poor Lois:

Way to make Lois feel like an idiot, Superman. Again.

I like Clark's posture and expression in that last panel.

So, there you have it. Superman and Britain. Never a good combination.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

If Lois pledged to not betray his secret, why the hell didn't he just tell her the truth? Way to get the girl, Clark!

Skeleton Munroe said...

But she immediately told Clark, who she kind of hated at the time (when it was handy for the writers). Woman can't be trusted.

rachelle said...

Good point.

I don't even know what Superman sees in that woman.

Anonymous said...

Ah, but you forget. Silver Age Superman immediately abandons his tea and scones persona with the downwards fall out the window, thus freeing Lois to tell anyone she cared to about Superman's stereotype of Brits.

And Golden Age Lois was the one who really hated Clark. Called him a 'worm' a few times and I think she killed Golden Age Pa Kent.

Scipio said...

The ugly secret of the DCU;

everyone sees really, really poorly.

Anonymous said...

Superman and Britain, never a good combination? Except presumably when it comes to British writers such as Alan 'Whatever happened to the Man of Steel' Moore, Grant 'All Star Superman' Morrison or Mark 'Red Son' Millar, no?

But yeah, the monocle and tweed thing is ridiculous.

rachelle said...

I was waiting for someone to call me on that.

Superman and Brit writers is often a great combination. But Superman's gotta check that fake accent at the door.

Mikey said...

Speaking as a Briton, I make it a point never to leave the house without my tweed jacket and monocle, and indeed nor does my wife.

rachelle said...

And is it true that all Brits are blonde? Because that would explain why Superman felt he needed to powder his hair down.

Skeleton Munroe said...

Well, a monocle has so many uses in everyday life...
You really don't have to be British to appreciate them.

credit repair said...

The iconic American superhero will now be played by British actor Henry Cavill.

jump manual said...

Silver Age Superman immediately abandons his tea and scones persona with the downwards fall out the window, thus freeing Lois to tell anyone she cared to about Superman's stereotype of Brits.