Superman Renewed

In June 1938, two men from Cleveland, Ohio made history by giving birth to an alien. Although such a feat is remarkable, these men, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, did not even make the front page of their local newspaper. They had to settle for their offspring to be debuted in Action Comics #1. Little did they know that their creation would grow up to become the greatest hero the world has ever known—Superman. Since his inception, Superman has taken the world by storm and his adventures have been featured in radio serials, TV shows, and movies. After seventy years, Superman has remained alive in our world, but despite his old age, this character seems to have remained just as simple and two dimensional as the day he was born. That is, until 2005, when writer Tom De Haven took on Superman in the novel “It’s Superman!” In this novel, De Haven does a fantastic job of making Superman and the world that he lives in, deeper and more realistic. This new three dimensional perspective of Superman is brought to life through the setting, supporting characters, and an exploration of Superman’s internal personal struggle.
In the Superman comics, Superman lives on Earth, but it is not “our” earth. On his earth, technology is far superior, extraterrestrial villains are a common occurrence, and other superheroes are a dime a dozen. De Haven begins his story of Superman on “our” Earth, back where he first began—the 1930’s. Baby Superman crash lands in rural Kansas, and is found by a married couple, who decide to adopt him and raise him as their own son. They give him the name Clark Kent and teach him the values of an average god-fearing farmer. In De Haven’s exploration of the setting, in which young Clark is raised, the reader is granted access to a look at our past and is able to see the simplicity and struggles of a 1930s mid-American farming family. In one passage, De Haven even describes Clark’s father. Jonathan Kent, and his reluctance to rewire their house for electricity because that is a luxury that they just don’t need in their lives. As Clark gets older, he decides to accompany another character on a journey that takes these two across the United States. Throughout this journey, De Haven is able to take Clark and pit him against historical events and themes, such as racism in the South and the booming movie industry in the West. With each step into a new setting, the reader is privy to the emotional growth of Clark’s character, and by the end of the book, the reader is able to understand that Superman is not just a small town boy with small town values, but a hero that is made up of the best (and worst) of our country as a whole.
As young Clark struggles to grow up to the hero we all know he will be, he comes across many different characters. These characters, as De Haven so eloquently uses, are the spark to Clark’s outward growth as a real person. Having been raised by small town farmers, Clark is not familiar with the outside world, except for what he sees in the newsreels at the movie theatre, so he has yet to experience any sort of external opposition. He has simple ideas and small town dreams, but this all changes when he comes across Willy Berg, a big city photographer turned wrongly accused murder suspect. Willy is from New York City and has lived with nothing but the fast paced lifestyle of a big city. When they first meet, Willy’s big city attitude is something as a shock to Clark. Clark doesn’t like him very much, but is intrigued by Willy’s suspicious nature and lack of mid-American values. Willy represents the exact opposite of Clark’s upbringing, and De Haven uses this as a way for Clark to balance his own nature and moral code against that of a “normal” person. These two agree to take on a job that takes them on a tour across the country, and in doing so, come in contact with more people of different persuasions. Over the course of this tour, Clark writes letters to his father, describing his adventures with Willy. De Haven uses these letters as a unique way to show and describe the growth of his character and the new perspectives that he has had the opportunity to come across. In the climax of this story, it is Clark’s memories of the characters he met and the adventures he had with Willy that help him to discover his true identity as a hero, and we, as the readers, are able to see the rich evolution of Superman’s character by way of his friends and supporting characters.
As an infant, baby Kal-El was sent from his crumbling home planet of Krypton to Earth, to live out a life of peace as the last surviving member of their civilization. This baby was adopted as Clark Kent and raised as a human. He is not human (Shuster, 1938). In this novel, De Haven describes in very great detail Clark’s inner struggles of loneliness and isolation, as well as his difficulty coming to terms with his powers. This aspect of Superman identity has rarely ever been explored is the backbone of De Haven’s story. Clark is alone in full of world with people who look like him, but are not like him. He wants to be normal but knows he isn’t and that he can’t hide his true nature forever. Though out the book, Clark’s only genuine moments of happiness come from when he finds others that share physical characteristics with him, such as being left-handed or having blue eyes. He clings to any feeling of acceptance or thoughts of being common, but knows that ultimately, he is alone. This feeling of Clark’s isolation is explored very well, but it is never resolved. Along with his loneliness, Clark struggles with his powers. He doesn’t see them as a gift, and is uncomfortable when characters, such as Willy, attempt to exploit them for personal gain. De Haven even delivers a scene where Clark is so embarrassed by his powers, that when questioned by a sheriff after an altercation with a gunman, that he just mumbles his story and keeps hidden the bullet that he caught with his bare hand. By the end of the story, Superman becomes Clark’s true identity and his powers become an extension of his will, but his inner struggle becomes his one true weakness. De Haven’s exploration of the inner Superman became one of the most interesting aspects and has really given this character the depth that most fans have longed for.
Over the last seventy years, Superman has fought evil scientists, aliens, and even clones of himself, but he has never faced the foe De Haven presents him with— three dimensional character developments. Throughout this novel, De Haven gives a stunning and deep portrayal of Superman’s beginnings as Clark Kent and his evolution to the hero we all know and love. It is through the world he lives in, the people he meets, and his path of inner self-discovery that makes this version of Superman so compelling and exciting. Having read this book several times, I would implore anyone, even if you’re not a fan of comic books or typical superhero tales, to pick up this novel. It will have you sitting on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

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46 people found this helpful

A Super Book

I was surprised that I liked another story about Clark Kent’s coming of age. Clark knows he is strong, fast and can set things on fire with his eyes, but worries that he is not smart. Lois Lane likes bad boys and Jimmy Olsen (known as Willi Berg in this book) is wanted by the police, smokes cigarettes, and takes photos of women in their underwear to pay the bills. Lex Luther is a crooked politician with the goal of global domination. Clark and Lex are polar opposites but both break the law and lie to others.

After finishing the book, I felt that I was the naïve farm boy who went to the big city and discovered that truth is far different and more complicated than the simplistic fairy tales I heard while growing up.

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1 person found this helpful

I wished I had another seventeen hous...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. This was just a fun, entertaining listen...pure escapism. I liked the time setting of the book (1937) and the inclusion of actual historical figures. (Maybe a good way for some to brush up on their American history!)

What was one of the most memorable moments of It's Superman!?

I can't point to just one; there were several and I would not want to spoil anythingg

Which character – as performed by Scott Brick – was your favorite?

Willy....even though he was a stereotype

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

the films have been made, but a period piece such as this one might freshen up the brand.

Any additional comments?

I liked that the book had a bit of an edge to it. The characters, particularly Lois and Clark were very "real"

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1 person found this helpful

It's Superman

It was an interesting version of the story. I could get into it relatively quickly despite being different from any cinematic versions I have seen

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Robert's Review

Struggle with this book. The beginning is very slow, the characters are very frustrating. It jumps from character to character and that gets confusing. The main character Kent is very weak, that you want to jump into the story and shake him up.

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Amazing!

I love and am a huge fan of superman! To hear Tom de Havens interpretation of Clark Kents growth is amazing! I recommended this to any
Super hero fans! Scott Brick voice is energetic. He is an amazing narrator. I would love to hear more Superman and other super hero books brought to life!

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Loved it

I really enjoyed this different take on Superman. It was neat hearing stories of Clark as he was coming into his alter ego.

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it's ok

Where does Clark get his money from before he starts working for the Daily Planet?

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Super silly and fun!

I love Superman. My favorite superhero always; love the Clark,Kent/Lois Lane dynamic. I enjoyed this bit of fluff very much, including the 1930's setting, with cameos from historical figures. The "present" day in this story is 1937, but the listener gets all of Clark Kent's history, including work as a stunt man in early Hollywood. The history is sometimes incorrect, and I found myself thinking this book could have used an editor. For example, when a lovely starlet/seamstress is describing Clark Kent's good looks and comparing him to movie stars of the day, one of the names she invokes is Paul Newman. Mr Newman was born in 1925 and would have been 12 years old in 1937, did not become an actor until the 1950's, and later became a major star. The use of this name took me right out of the story, had me re-listening to make sure I heard it correctly, and sent me to IMBD. That's just sloppy writing and editing in a book using history as a colorful backdrop. Overall, I still liked this book and would enjoy a sequel.

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Good listen BUT!

The performance was outstanding!

To me it seems that the author tried to make the characters his creation.

Made the Kent’s completely opposite to the characters as originally created trying to wipe out the original authors characters!

Full of plot holes.

In a hurry to get to press.

Lana Lane just vanishes.

Two suit origins.

On and on.

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