Posted in: Comic Spoilers, Comics, DC Comics, Spoilers, Superman | Tagged: dc comics, dc rebirth, donald trump, lana lang, lois lane, phil jimenez, reborth, spoilers, superwoman

DC Told Phil Jimenez, Superwoman Should Appeal More To Trump Voters

Published Wed, 24 Feb 2021 08:45:13 -0600

by Rich Johnston

Last updated Wed, 14 Apr 2021 19:24:34 -0500

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For the DC Rebirth relaunch from DC Comics, Phil Jimenez created Superwoman, a new comic in which both the New 52 versions of Lois Lane and Lana Lang become Superwomen, after the death of the New 52 Superman, only for Lois to die and Lana to continue in her stead, until a continuity change in Superman Reborn changed all that and after issue 8, Jimenez left the book. The series did not last the year after he left. Now Phil Jimenez has been reminiscing on social media about what could have been. He wrote (emphasis ours);

Ah, #Superwoman. What a strange adventure you were. I had such high hopes for this project — plotted out roughly two years' worth of stories with Lana and Lois and Steel and Natasha and Traci and Lex and the rest of the gang: love triangles and drug abuse; an exploration of women, friendship, and allyship, and their intersections with race and class; sibling rivalry, stolen credit; and the cost of revenge; burgeoning LGBTQ love; panic and anxiety (reflecting my own experiences); memory, loss, grief; and even the weird relationship between Atomic Skull and Bizzaress (I loved them!) — and so much more. I even developed a healthy supporting cast of regular folk, including a deaf character, tho they never got much play.

Alas, my own creative/personal issues, mixed with behind the scenes upheavals/battles and a huge continuity patch to the Superman universe that rendered my first couple of arcs non-canon before they were even finished (and a note from higher ups that we needed to appeal more to Trump voters) wiped me out.

I know the first issue caused quite a stir and I sure wish I could have seen the original story to its conclusion (a common story in my last few years at @dccomics, I realize). That said, I never in my life thought I'd ever get to play with Superman or his universe, and it was a great opportunity and a real honor; and got to work with some incredibly fabulous artists; learned so much (even at this age I keep learning!), and I got to write one of my favorite scenes in comics ever — when Lana Lang calls Lex Luther a giant piece of shit. Literally. That little panel made it alllll worth it.

I'm not entirely sure how the comic could have appealed more to Trump voters. Made Lana Lang more of a ten? Maybe make that businessman-turned-President more sympathetic? Let's find that panel shall we?