Direct Course #10

Action Comics #508

 “Clark... I don't expect you to understand what I did today!" -Jonathan Kent

The Secret World of Jonathan Kent 

by Writer: Cary Bates, Penciller: Curt Swan, Inker: Frank Chiaramonte, Letterer: Ben Oda, Colorist: Gene D’Angelo, Editor: Julius Schwartz.  Cover by Ross Andru & Dick Giordano.
                           

Catching the reader up to date, we are told that Jonathan Kent died many years ago.  We then see that he is alive again in the present time of 1980, this fact hammered in by showing Clark and his father laying flowers down on his mother’s grave.  His father’s grave nowhere to be seen, as Jonathan stands beside Clark.

Flying off from the Smallville cemetery, Superman carries his father into his apartment building through an open window.  Jonathan questions if Superman is still with Lana Lang, his girlfriend from when he was still Superboy.  Before Superman can change back to Clark Kent, there is a knocking at his apartment door.  Jonathan goes to answer it, in order keep the visitor distracted while Superman changes back to Clark Kent.  The visitor turns out to be twin sisters named April and May Marigold, who are two of Superman’s neighbors.  They question how Jonathan can be there, him being so old.  Before anyone can figure out what they mean, the sisters turns on the TV.  Lana reports from news station WGBS that “...Every able-bodied person over the age of 30 years of age has left Metropolis!”

After hearing this news, May and April leave and Clark changes back into Superman to get to the bottom of this.  Superman flies out the window he came in, leaving Jonathan alone at his apartment.  He heads towards the out skirts of the city, where the over-30s are massing.  Recognizing Perry White, Morgan Edge and Steve Lombard, Superman goes down to meet them. While they try to figure out what’s going on, Superman hears a voice calling to him, telling him that this has something to do with a something called “please power.”

Following the voice through the sewer, Superman finds that it belongs to none other than that dirty hippy, Starshine.  Superman grabs hold of Sunshine, questioning if it was him who caused this exodus.  Instead of answering, Starshine uses his please power to command Superman to respect him by making him bow before his dirty hippy feet.

Back at Superman’s apartment, a pair of lanky, orange-skinned, humanoid aliens appear before Jonathan Kent.  They tell him that although it will not hinder their arrangement, a problem as occurred with their involvement with him.  For you see, after an adventure back in Superman’s youth, Jonathan had helped the two aliens beings out.  Afterwards, they decided to grant Jonathan a reward for his help “--A subconscious desire you are not even aware of!”  This desire was to see his son Clark Kent after he had become an adult.  Unfortunately the spot that they materialized Jonathan in, just happened to be where a dirty hippy got tossed to.  As the orange vapors were accidentally inhaled by Starshine it granted him powers to bend peoples wills to his. By saying one word, he can make anyone in the world do what he says.  Before dissipating, the aliens inform Jonathan that the “Rega-Mist” cannot by reversed.  Jonathan asks them to grant him the power to be able to see what his son sees.  They comply and then disappear.  In Jonathan’s mind, he can see his son Superman completely battered and bruised.  He can almost sense where Superman is and touches upon a certain name, that of Lois Lane.

Hurrying straight over to her apartment, Jonathan rings the buzzer.  Lois answers, claiming that she’s taking care of a sick friend.  Jonathan barges in, finding Superman completely beat-up and laying on her couch.  Superman explains that Starshine forced Superman to beat himself up with his own fists.  Jonathan tells him not to worry, but calls him son right in front of Lois Lane.

Realizing what’s just transpired, Superman questions why his father just blurted out his secret. Lois immediately figures it out, while Jonathan tells him that he should trust him. He’s seen a lot in the way Lois cares for Superman, so he figures it’s not that big of a deal if she knows. After Superman brushes by his father on his way back out the window, Jonathan tells Lois that she took the revelation well, and that she reminds him a lot of his Martha.  Lois reveals that she just might have already figured out Superman’s secret for herself, and is “smart enough not to let on!” She tells Jonathan that she’s so glad she got to meet him, giving Jonathan a small peck on the cheek.

Meeting with Starshine again, Superman offers him a small gift to make peace with him. Opening it, a remote-controlled muzzle flies out and attaches itself around the dirty hippy’s mouth.  Unable to speak clearly now, Starshine struggles with the muzzle while Superman informs him that only his strength can remove it.  Superman tosses the hippy into the air, spinning him round and round with his super-breath, until he lands back onto the ground.  On the ground, Superman rushes over to Starshine and presents a pocket-watch in front of his eyes.  Using super-hypnotism, Superman lulls the dirty hippy into a trance where he tells him he will restore the over-30's back into Metropolis and never use his please-power again.

Later, Clark Kent arrives almost late at the WGBS studio to cover his new shift with Lana.  He had been searching all over for his father, but could find no trace.  Lana tells Clark that they are reporting Superman stopping Starshine.  Before the show starts, Lana hands Clark a note that his father had left with her.  It explains that he’s gone back to Smallville and asks that he’ll come visit him after his news cast.  When the show begins, Lana announces that it is March 6th 1980. Clark thinks that her date is wrong and that it is really the 7th.  She goes on to say that their top story involves a typhoon that swet through the Sea of Japan.  Clark knows this can’t be right, as he does the letter his father left him disappears from his hand.  Everything from the last day has started to disappear from Clark’s mind.

Hovering in the sky above, the form of Jonathan Kent is told by the aliens that they had to freeze time in order to grant Jonathan his day of seeing his son.  Reverting back will destroy all evidence of him having been to earth that day, and everyone will forget.  As Clark leaves his news job, Lana tells him that she’s reserved a table at the restaurant Marcel’s for them and Lois. Clark turns her down, saying he’s needed elsewhere.  Outside the building, Clark is approached by a dirty hippy, begging for some change.  Hearing this, Clark remembers his appointment and flies off to Smallville.  Clark visits his father in the Smallville cemetery, at the tombstone which is once again in place.

Bearings

• The events the aliens talk about with Jonathan Kent happen in The New Adventures of Superboy #5 (1980)

Notes/Observations/Thoughts

I thought this would be a little better than last issue, and in some parts it is.  I like the small drama the best of Superman’s secret being explicitly exposed to Lois.  That was great seeing Superman’s tension.  I also really like Lois in here, her and Jonathan got the best characterization of anyone.

We still have that dirty hippy Starshine.  They still didn’t give him much characterization to him, other than being a dirty hippy.  He’s such a stereotype, we don’t know his motivation, why he’s become a hippy, why he’s poor, any of that.  We get the backstory of how he got his please power, but we get no information on why he feels so entitled.  With other villains you don’t always need that because they have their own certain charm that brings its own dimension to the character, like Lex Luthor or Parasite. But this guy has none of that.

The aliens are neat, it makes me wonder what Jonathan did for them in the pages of Superboy.  That everyone forgets what happened is a bit of a cop-out I guess, but I think it’s saved a bit by having Lois reveal that she may already know Superman’s secret, so it doesn’t really matter if she forgot this incident.  That’s the big thing I was alluding too last post.  Lois has figured out on some level at least, the Superman and Clark are the same person.

So Superman must be under 30 at this time in order for this story to work. And if Superboy is around 16 years old in the Superboy story judging by the cover of issue #1 of New Adventures of Superboy, and this takes place in 1980 as stated by Lana Lang, then the Superboy stories of this era take place in 1967 or so. But we know Superman was around in stories that take place before then. This is why I try not to pay attention to time continuity in comics.  They have a completely different time scale than ours and instead of getting hung up on those kind of things, I think it's smarter to behave towards these things like you would in comic strips; like Peanuts, for example.  They existed for about 50 years, but none of the characters age much beyond the year of 8 or so in that time. Why does it matter so much if Clark or Peter Parker were once teenagers, but have been 20 to 30 somethings for decades? As long as their age fits whatever story is being told with them, what does it really matter? These things are fictional, and are not restrained to your notions of reality.

Quotes

“Can you dig where I’m coming from, man?” -Superman

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