Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Superman | Tagged: 5g, dan didio, grant morrison, superman, the authority

When Grant Morrison Planned A Left Wing & A Right Wing Superman

Published Mon, 07 Mar 2022 08:57:12 -0600

Grant Morrison continues to expound and expand on what went down with Superman & The Authority, 5Gand DC Comics, and Bleeding Cool has been paraphrasing along,

When it was still part of the 5G concept and a little more parodic, I had this big daft idea to update the classic utopian Superman story Superman Red/Superman Blue from 1963 by having an older Superman face a literalization of his contradictory impulses towards anti and pro authoritarianism.

The original Superman-Red/Superman-Blue tale was an "Imaginary Story" that first appeared in Superman #162 in 1963 by Leo Dorfman, and Curt Swan. In the story, Superman is compelled to finish a list of unaccomplished goals, including the enlargement of the Bottle City of Kandor and eliminating crime and evil from Earth. In order to accomplish these goals, Superman invents a machine, powered by various types of kryptonite, that will increase his intelligence. The machine works, increasing Superman's intelligence a hundredfold, but with the unexpected side effect of splitting Superman into twin beings, one outfitted in an all-red Superman costume and the other in an all-blue version. The twins name themselves Superman-Red and Superman-Blue. With nearly all of the world's problems solved, Superman-Red proposes to Lois Lane, while Superman-Blue asks Lana Lang to marry him. Red decides to live on New Krypton with Lois, renouncing his powers and raising a family, while Blue remains on Earth and retires to devote his life to scientific research and starting a Super-family of his own.

In 1998, Superman had developed energy-based abilities, which eventually forced him to adopt a blue and white containment suit to prevent the energy dispersing, and became the Superman wrote in their JLA run. In the Superman Red/Superman Blue one-shot in 1998, a trap caused Superman to split into two beings who represented different aspects of his personality, though each believed himself to be the original. Over time, these two personalities grew more and more polarized and individual, to the point that neither entity wanted to become one Superman again. So what were Grant's plans this time?

My suggestion was we split Superman not into Superman Red/Superman Blue but Superman Left/Superman Right – collectivism versus competition – authoritarianism vs. libertarianism with each half starting closer to the centre, then growing ever more hardline as time went by and they remained separated. With dire consequences for the world, of course!

The Superman & The Authority originally came out of Dan DiDio's desire for the older Superman to turn to right-wing authoritarianism, but Morrison turned that plan into something more celebratory of the classic adventurer. But it seems a little of that survived, with the Red/Blue reflecting the politics. Morrison continued;

A final scene in the original plot for issue #4 had Superman Red unveiling his own team – only for it to turn out to be the ORIGINAL Authority with Damian Wayne and Jon Kent in place of the Midnighter and Apollo! The echoes of this idea that remain can be seen in the series' obsession with resolving duality – light and dark, good and evil – and the need to unify opposites to make progress, as well as in the – 'No – WE'RE the Authority…' scene at the end of issue #3.

When I outlined this plot to the Superman editorial team and Phillip Kennedy Johnson, I could see Phillip visibly recoil, and I promised to change the ending so as not to commit him to all the implications of a divided man of Steel impinging on a story he'd been meticulously building and setting in motion.

The solicitation copy for the issue however does refer to Superman splitting – so now you know what that was about!

Let's check… and indeed!

SUPERMAN AND THE AUTHORITY #4 (OF 4) CVR A MIKEL JANIN
(W) Grant Morrison (A/CA) Mikel Janin
Is the team ready for what's next? Will the Man of Steel's new super-group fall apart before they even begin? The Ultra-Humanite has put together his own team of rogues designed to match the Authority fist for fist. This series comes to an explosive conclusion that will threaten to split the Man of Steel in half!
Retail: $4.99 In-Store Date: 10/12/2021

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