Superman: The Stranger #1 - Review: This Comic Is SOOOOO Good Y'all

So I just picked up and read Superman: The Stranger #1 and wow, it completely met my expectations! I've been fascinated with the Golden Age Superman for a long time now, he's so different from current Superman but he contains the truest spirit of the character. The entire Golden Age is such an interesting time to me, comics weren't for kids yet and all the creations that came from it have so much historical baggage while also setting up the characters and formulas that pop culture is still in love with to this day. The comics were also a huge product of their time, they were incredibly racist and nationalist at times, to the point where its almost impossible to separate those aspects from the characters as a whole, including their modern versions

 So when I say that The Stranger is the reinterpretation of Golden Age Superman that I've always wanted, I mean it! This comic perfectly captures the loneliness of Superman in the 30s setting, Earth-2 Superman never had any parents or knowledge of Krypton, he is literally just a guy with powers for no reason. The backstory for them is so secondary, because the point of the old comics and cartoons wasn't to have deep lore, it was to watch this super strong guy beat people up! This book takes that classic framework and attaches the historical reality of the Great Depression and a much more bigoted America, while updating Clark's character to be extremely isolated thanks to the way the world has treated him so far. I love history and period pieces, so this book really appeals to me! The only piece of actual Superman action is directly contrasted with a bigoted man that Superman encourages with his heroism. I love how Clark, despite his chud Great Depression orphan life, is still a privileged white man who perpetuates racism, because Golden Age Superman was the exact same way. I hope Lois is explored in a similar fashion, she was subversive in the 40s just by being a woman who had a job, but now we can look back and see that her character was still sexist and perpetuated stereotypes. I hope Craig is able to explore her struggles as a woman in the corporate world while still examining her privilege just like how that's being explored with Clark!

 I find the question of "Is Clark or Superman the real person?" to be very dumb and reductive. There is Clark Kent, the Earthling, and Superman, the alien. The point of the character is that he's both, and the tragedy of his character is that he can never truly be both. The way we look up to him and see ourselves in that conflict is the core appeal of the stories. The Stranger understands this perfectly, the alien side of Clark makes him feel like a stranger to himself, and his loneliness because of it makes him a stranger to Metropolis. Superman is his attempt to unite those 2 aspects of himself, and he doesn't even realize it! I'm so excited to see how this book continues in the future, because it sets up such an intriguing foundation.