ID NOTE: This update discusses quite a few storylines from current and ongoing movies and TV, including (but not necessarily limited to): Harry Potter, Madmen, Scrubs, House; this is the only spoiler warning you’re getting.
Inscrutable Diarist: Okay, so you left a message on my answering machine- something you wanted to talk about.
Superman: I realized something. Well wait- I’m getting ahead of myself. I finally went to see the new Harry Potter- I know, I’m stupidly late, but I’ve been busy. Anyway, it felt like a Halloweenish movie, with the witches and everything, and we finally had a moment to ourselves. And after the movie I asked Lois, who’s a huge fan of the books, about what comes next. Which of course opened a whole can of deaths and things that sound close to insanity when splashed out over the course of twenty seconds. And, intrigued, I asked how long until the last movie came out.
And that’s when Lois went white as a sheet. She managed to mumble that they’d split the last book into two movies, one in 2010 and the other in 2011. “Oh,” was all I could manage. See, I’d sort of forgotten myself; I’ve internalized my mortality enough that I thought I might be able to “wait” for a sequel next year- but at that moment I realized I couldn’t delude myself into believing that I’d see the end of the series.
Which is a roundabout way of saying I’ve finally started reading the books. Ollie and Lois have been on me about reading them since just after the first movie- but they both hated the films, and I liked them- and I wanted to continue liking them.
And I might not have come to it on my own, but I was talking to Ollie, because he’s been wanting to discuss Half-Blood Prince since he saw it at the midnight opening (really, I suppose he’d been waiting since he’d been at the midnight book opening). And it shouldn’t surprise me, because his exuberance has precedent, but he jumped on it, said, “If you want to know the ending now you’ll have to finally read the books.”
Of course, I could have always just read the Wikipedia synopsis, but I figured he was right. I thought since I can read pretty quick, and both he and Lois insisted that they’d cut out a lot from the movies, that I should start over from the beginning. And I’ve only just started, just a few pages into the first book, but so far I’m not blown away. I guess there’s just been so much hype, I mean, at least six years of it, now, that I think it would have taken something Shakespearean to really impress me like I’ve been told it would. And I’m not taking anything away from Rowling, not at all. I mean, Harry Potter, particularly that first book, from what I’ve heard, is meant as a children’s story, or at least something accessible to children. And there’s certainly something very British about the book, too, even more British even than the all-British/Irish/Scottish-cast movies.
Anyway, I’m tangentially off, um, what I was getting at is there’s all kinds of things I realized I’m going to miss out on. Lois and I have been addicted to Madmen- though admittedly for different reasons. I think she just likes staring at Jon Hamm.
ID: You know, there is more than a passing resemblance between the two of you- you know, before you lost all the weight.
S: Lost the weight? Clever. Anyway. I hate the show, and the fact that virtually all of the characters no the show are predatory and inhuman, and even at the best of times all of them are eagerly self-serving; it’s basically a misanthropic fairy tale, but there’s something about Don’s back story that, I guess because of its rural setting, it just hits close to home. I guess I can’t help but think that with a little less luck that could have been me, stuck in a home where I wasn’t wanted or even liked, and I guess every episode I go in hoping that he’ll rise above his lousy upbringing and
ID: Be you?
S: Be him. I mean, we get it in fits and spurts- the character’s got a strong base morality above and beyond what seems to be the norm for the show, but oftentimes he ignores his better instincts because he’d rather have sex with whoever’s guesting that episode.
ID: Okay. But what else are you anticipating, what else are you missing out on?
S: I’m glad I got to see House get out of the asylum. I’m not a huge fan of his character, and the show can be formulaic, but the mysteries… I guess I’m glad, too, I got to see the beginnings of post-asylum, moderately more human and gentle House. I’ve always gotten the sense that House is what would have happened to Bruce if there never was a Batman- that he would have followed in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor, and that he’d still be brilliant, but just as he does now, he’d use that brilliance to push people away. And I’m glad I got to see the “end” of Scrubs- at least to the point where JD stops being the main character, and really, that’s the end as far as anybody’s really concerned.
But it isn’t just movie and TV- although those kinds of things are always a little easier to predict. But Lana’s pregnant, which I don’t think is a secret- at least I hope not- and I found myself the other day counting up the time she has left, and thinking, “I’m not going to get to see her baby.” And it’s stupid, but when she first got pregnant, I know she talked about making me the baby’s godfather, and…
And in the League, there are a lot of engagements and wedding dates floating around. And I’m man enough to admit- maybe because for me mine was such a long time coming- but I like weddings. Seeing two people who really care about one another making that social commitment.
ID: Which brings up something, and I forget, hell, we may have talked about it at some point, but not having my notes on all previous forty-some odd conversations we’ve had, we’ll just roll with it, but I hear that there are a few gay superhero weddings in the mix- I think Question/Batwoman for one has been rumored. What are your thoughts?
S: That’s the easiest divisive question you’ve ever asked. If two people really care about one another enough to want to make that social commitment, then absolutely I want them to have that freedom. More than that, I want to stand with them when they make that declaration. It’s a beautiful thing to be a part of. And I can’t even begin to fathom how anyone could want to stand in its way.
We’ll be trying to bring you a new section of the interview every Tuesday. Some of the questions have already been prepared by the interviewer, but to ask Superman a question, leave a comment or send an email to DeathofSuperman@gmail.com.
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book. Show all posts
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
S for Salacious
Indigo Ding-a-ling: Okay, so who’s your hero?
Superman: Um… you?
ID: No, but that’s a good guess. No, I’m told that Beneath the Cape will not be published. Ever. I’m told that the publishing house was bought out by a new company called Wayne Publishing, and also that a team of very rabid lawyers have descended upon the manuscript with claims of defamation, libel and slander. Now, last week you talked about your ability to sense lying, well try mine.
S: I… really didn’t know.
ID: Huh. You didn’t. Which actually does kind of make sense, seeing as I can still smell the pepto coming off your breath. Kidding, I can see the bottle sticking out of your bag, see the top isn’t zipped all the way.
But funnily enough, I came across Wayne Publishing’s parent company, Wayne Entertainment, the little we hiding under big WE, Wayne Enterprises', skirt. Their first division was Wayne Film, which you might recall popped up after yourself and, uh, “Big Barda”- God I hope that’s her proper name- made a “video.” It seems under the influence of someone called “Sleez” the two of you did some “acting.”
S: If you don’t stop doing air quotes I’ll take your fingers away.
ID: Heh. Your newfound ability to deadpan notwithstanding, I wasn’t finished. Apparently WE (the little WE) bought up the distribution rights as well as every extant print and proceeded to sit on them. I was speechless for like a day and a half; regardless of whatever influence you might have been under at the time- Spanish Fly, Barry White, maybe some hypnotic whatever- you did SuperPorn. We’re just going to take a moment, for you, myself, and the folks reading at home, to let that set in.
--------
And we’re back. But here’s the rub: I may have, in my search, discovered elements of the manuscript and/or movie that’s been rather unquietly swept under the table. Journalistic ethics dictate that I divulge this information, at least as far as it’s informative and not just salacious- though, because I am the man I am, that’s not a line I’m very good at sussing out. But I’ll offer a trade. You answer me truthfully about sex as part of today's interview segment, and I forget the things I know. Now I understand that a person’s sex life isn’t just their own, so, you don’t have to identify partners or their proclivities, but I want honesty, here. I’m more interested in the psychological implications than I am in the gooey details.
S: I think you’re lying.
ID: About the gooey details, a little, but I doubt the audience skews as pervy as I do personally.
S: I mean about having details. I think you’re bluffing.
ID: But you’re not sure- you can’t be sure. Because I may not know everything, but I know some things. So you’ll answer my questions. I’ll be gentle- after all, it’s your first time.
S: One caveat: you stop that.
ID: Fair enough. I think your history shows that you can have an imtimate relationship with a woman- so a far more interesting question is, given your physical differences- what’s sex like?
S: Are you asking about whether Kryptonian genitalia is analogous to human, or are you asking more generally?
ID: I can guess from the scornful way you said the first that it's a stupid question, so we'll go with option 2.
S: I can feel the ebb and flow of each oxygen and nitrogen atom across my skin as I cross a room. I can count the number of water molecules tumbling down my throat when I drink. When you see the world, you’re looking through a $30 children’s microscope; I see, feel, touch and experience everything at the magnification of an electron microscope. There’s really no way to express to you what it’s like, how it feels- you have no comparison that even parallels. I was curious once, myself, and J'onn showed me what being human was like telepathically, and the English language, even Kryptonese, fail to convey even in simplistic terms the gulf between our experiences.
ID: Okay. Given that, the fact that you look like a movie star- well, okay, Brandon Routh and Chris Reeves were both soap opera actors before they played you, but still, soap operas have pretty people on them, too- and the fact that you can leap small buildings with a single bound- how is it that you’re not a total whore?
S: I guess… my parents just raised me to believe in physical intimacy in a certain way. Growing up, I never even really imagined the idea of a carnal relationship outside the context of a romantic one. And really, by the time I reached an age and a point in my life where the thought could even really occur to me, I’d had other experiences that had taught me that I prefer romantic and physical monogamy.
ID: I’m going to give you a list. I’m not going to include any of the possibles I’ve come across, but we’ll keep it at the likelies: Lois obviously, Lana likely, Chloe definitely, Lori Lemaris- now that one you’re probably shocked I know about- Barda, Maxima, Cat Grant, Lyla Lerrol. I mean, you’re not a billionaire playboy, but still, respectable- especially since this is just the likelies. Care to deny?
S: No comment.
ID: And that is what we in the printed news industry call a non-denial. It’s like an admission, only more libelous. Still, you can usually print it so long as you mention the caveat. But on the subject of Maxima, why didn’t you ever just agree to give her a super baby?
S: It goes back to what I said about romantic relationships taking precedence over physical ones, because physically, Maxima and I were compatible, but personally- well, I don't even know about compatibility, because she never stopped dry-humping me and stood still long enough for us to have even a single meaningful conversation.
ID: And on the subject of super babies, you knocked up your wife a few years back. There are a lot of questions, really, so I'll let you just tell us how.
S: I'll skip the birds and bees part- that's pretty standard. Then there was, not getting too graphic, some “catch and release.” We talked about a turkey baster or getting help from a fertility clinic
ID: Wait, you intentionally got Lois pregnant?
S: Yeah. Absolutely. We were at a point where Lois wasn't fulfilled anymore as a reporter, and she was happy with our relationship, but she just wanted something else, too. Eventually she realized she wanted to be a mother. So we did a little research, and a little planning- and after just two tries, well- apparently we're both very fertile.
ID: Okay, so if you intended to get your wife pregnant, what happened to the baby?
S: Same thing that happened when you thought the pregnancy was unintended- Lois miscarried.
ID: Oh. And were there complications? Can she not have children now?
S: Nothing like that, no. She just... losing that first one. You know how that old saying goes, that it's better to try and fail than never to have tried at all? Well, for her at least, losing that first child was more horrible than anything she'd ever imagined. She told me it was like losing me, but worse, because she also lost a part of herself, too. And for the longest time she just felt empty inside. And I think she's come a long way since then, but I don't think it's a scar that ever really heals. I mean, maybe, if I'd lived a little longer, maybe we would have tried again sometime down the road.
ID: You're talking about yourself as if you were already dead.
S: Am I? Hmm. I guess in a way, I feel like I am. Lois and I finally had to go shopping. She was bursting into tears every time she saw me, and I finally got it out of her that she could handle watching me die, slowly withering away, but that my clothes, big and baggy like they were, they just reminded her too much of how far gone I already was. She just needed not to have it in front of her right now. And that was when it hit, when I was in a dressing room, trying on pants that wouldn't have fit me even in high school- that's when I realized that I don't think I'm getting out of this one- and I don't think I have that much time left. I'm actually scared by that.
We’ll be trying to bring you a new section of the interview every Tuesday. Some of the questions have already been prepared by the interviewer, but to ask Superman a question, leave a comment or send an email to DeathofSuperman@gmail.com.
Superman: Um… you?
ID: No, but that’s a good guess. No, I’m told that Beneath the Cape will not be published. Ever. I’m told that the publishing house was bought out by a new company called Wayne Publishing, and also that a team of very rabid lawyers have descended upon the manuscript with claims of defamation, libel and slander. Now, last week you talked about your ability to sense lying, well try mine.
S: I… really didn’t know.
ID: Huh. You didn’t. Which actually does kind of make sense, seeing as I can still smell the pepto coming off your breath. Kidding, I can see the bottle sticking out of your bag, see the top isn’t zipped all the way.
But funnily enough, I came across Wayne Publishing’s parent company, Wayne Entertainment, the little we hiding under big WE, Wayne Enterprises', skirt. Their first division was Wayne Film, which you might recall popped up after yourself and, uh, “Big Barda”- God I hope that’s her proper name- made a “video.” It seems under the influence of someone called “Sleez” the two of you did some “acting.”
S: If you don’t stop doing air quotes I’ll take your fingers away.
ID: Heh. Your newfound ability to deadpan notwithstanding, I wasn’t finished. Apparently WE (the little WE) bought up the distribution rights as well as every extant print and proceeded to sit on them. I was speechless for like a day and a half; regardless of whatever influence you might have been under at the time- Spanish Fly, Barry White, maybe some hypnotic whatever- you did SuperPorn. We’re just going to take a moment, for you, myself, and the folks reading at home, to let that set in.
--------
And we’re back. But here’s the rub: I may have, in my search, discovered elements of the manuscript and/or movie that’s been rather unquietly swept under the table. Journalistic ethics dictate that I divulge this information, at least as far as it’s informative and not just salacious- though, because I am the man I am, that’s not a line I’m very good at sussing out. But I’ll offer a trade. You answer me truthfully about sex as part of today's interview segment, and I forget the things I know. Now I understand that a person’s sex life isn’t just their own, so, you don’t have to identify partners or their proclivities, but I want honesty, here. I’m more interested in the psychological implications than I am in the gooey details.
S: I think you’re lying.
ID: About the gooey details, a little, but I doubt the audience skews as pervy as I do personally.
S: I mean about having details. I think you’re bluffing.
ID: But you’re not sure- you can’t be sure. Because I may not know everything, but I know some things. So you’ll answer my questions. I’ll be gentle- after all, it’s your first time.
S: One caveat: you stop that.
ID: Fair enough. I think your history shows that you can have an imtimate relationship with a woman- so a far more interesting question is, given your physical differences- what’s sex like?
S: Are you asking about whether Kryptonian genitalia is analogous to human, or are you asking more generally?
ID: I can guess from the scornful way you said the first that it's a stupid question, so we'll go with option 2.
S: I can feel the ebb and flow of each oxygen and nitrogen atom across my skin as I cross a room. I can count the number of water molecules tumbling down my throat when I drink. When you see the world, you’re looking through a $30 children’s microscope; I see, feel, touch and experience everything at the magnification of an electron microscope. There’s really no way to express to you what it’s like, how it feels- you have no comparison that even parallels. I was curious once, myself, and J'onn showed me what being human was like telepathically, and the English language, even Kryptonese, fail to convey even in simplistic terms the gulf between our experiences.
ID: Okay. Given that, the fact that you look like a movie star- well, okay, Brandon Routh and Chris Reeves were both soap opera actors before they played you, but still, soap operas have pretty people on them, too- and the fact that you can leap small buildings with a single bound- how is it that you’re not a total whore?
S: I guess… my parents just raised me to believe in physical intimacy in a certain way. Growing up, I never even really imagined the idea of a carnal relationship outside the context of a romantic one. And really, by the time I reached an age and a point in my life where the thought could even really occur to me, I’d had other experiences that had taught me that I prefer romantic and physical monogamy.
ID: I’m going to give you a list. I’m not going to include any of the possibles I’ve come across, but we’ll keep it at the likelies: Lois obviously, Lana likely, Chloe definitely, Lori Lemaris- now that one you’re probably shocked I know about- Barda, Maxima, Cat Grant, Lyla Lerrol. I mean, you’re not a billionaire playboy, but still, respectable- especially since this is just the likelies. Care to deny?
S: No comment.
ID: And that is what we in the printed news industry call a non-denial. It’s like an admission, only more libelous. Still, you can usually print it so long as you mention the caveat. But on the subject of Maxima, why didn’t you ever just agree to give her a super baby?
S: It goes back to what I said about romantic relationships taking precedence over physical ones, because physically, Maxima and I were compatible, but personally- well, I don't even know about compatibility, because she never stopped dry-humping me and stood still long enough for us to have even a single meaningful conversation.
ID: And on the subject of super babies, you knocked up your wife a few years back. There are a lot of questions, really, so I'll let you just tell us how.
S: I'll skip the birds and bees part- that's pretty standard. Then there was, not getting too graphic, some “catch and release.” We talked about a turkey baster or getting help from a fertility clinic
ID: Wait, you intentionally got Lois pregnant?
S: Yeah. Absolutely. We were at a point where Lois wasn't fulfilled anymore as a reporter, and she was happy with our relationship, but she just wanted something else, too. Eventually she realized she wanted to be a mother. So we did a little research, and a little planning- and after just two tries, well- apparently we're both very fertile.
ID: Okay, so if you intended to get your wife pregnant, what happened to the baby?
S: Same thing that happened when you thought the pregnancy was unintended- Lois miscarried.
ID: Oh. And were there complications? Can she not have children now?
S: Nothing like that, no. She just... losing that first one. You know how that old saying goes, that it's better to try and fail than never to have tried at all? Well, for her at least, losing that first child was more horrible than anything she'd ever imagined. She told me it was like losing me, but worse, because she also lost a part of herself, too. And for the longest time she just felt empty inside. And I think she's come a long way since then, but I don't think it's a scar that ever really heals. I mean, maybe, if I'd lived a little longer, maybe we would have tried again sometime down the road.
ID: You're talking about yourself as if you were already dead.
S: Am I? Hmm. I guess in a way, I feel like I am. Lois and I finally had to go shopping. She was bursting into tears every time she saw me, and I finally got it out of her that she could handle watching me die, slowly withering away, but that my clothes, big and baggy like they were, they just reminded her too much of how far gone I already was. She just needed not to have it in front of her right now. And that was when it hit, when I was in a dressing room, trying on pants that wouldn't have fit me even in high school- that's when I realized that I don't think I'm getting out of this one- and I don't think I have that much time left. I'm actually scared by that.
We’ll be trying to bring you a new section of the interview every Tuesday. Some of the questions have already been prepared by the interviewer, but to ask Superman a question, leave a comment or send an email to DeathofSuperman@gmail.com.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Free Press
Superman: [I know this isn’t our] usual process, but I want to say something: it’s good to be free.
Invader Dim: Care to, uh, qualify that?
S: Sure. I’ve been working for the last several months, really, going back to fall of last year, on a series on homelessness in Metropolis, and the implications it has for the rest of the country and maybe even the rest of the world.
Homelessness is an important issue, but because of my failing health, I’d grown… concerned that it was a story I wasn’t going to have a chance to finish. I found myself really neuroticizing over it, to the point where I’d wake up in a cold sweat, and my wife would, well, she can be very tender, and she would sit up, watching my sleep. And I’d made arrangements; she was more than happy to take on the story if I couldn’t finish, but it would have taken her months to catch up, to reestablish a rapport with interviewees, to try to get the feel for the story I was trying to tell without taking it over. But all of that worrying, about deadlines, no pun intended, it’s behind me now.
It’s done. I mean, there are a few pages left, I guess, and some T’s to cross, but it’s finished. If there were a Kryptonite meteor heading towards the planet I could finish what’s left in a fraction of a second at my typewriter- but I’m kind of letting it lie for the moment, letting it all sink in.
ID: Well congratulations. But how’s that feel? It’s sort of one less thing tethering you to your life.
S: That’s very true. And if I were at all concerned that it’s my unfinished business that’s kept me here this long, that might be a concern for me. But as important as the issue of homelessness is to me, as personally important as getting this story done was, it pales in comparison to how much I don’t want to disappoint my loved ones, or say goodbye to them too soon.
ID: So does this mean you’re retired as a journalist? Is that your last hurrah?
S: The Planet isn’t hiring, if that’s what you’re getting at- but no. I’ll still take on some smaller pieces, you know, things with a quick turn-around. I’m just done with bigger pieces for the time being; I’d hate to leave unfinished business behind. But journalism, it’s such a part of who I am- and I’m not dead yet.
ID: You seem very passionate about your profession; what do you think is behind that?
S: I think it comes from being a stranger on this planet. The first several years I was here were just completely fascinating. Everything was new and exciting and different, and even though I didn’t know Krypton, I felt how it was- I’m sure that doesn’t make sense. But I was just a baby when I left there, so I don’t have really any concrete memories, but there was a texture and a flavor and a smell that the place had, and Earth was very different- like if your whole life you only knew about vanilla ice cream, and suddenly you discovered chocolate.
But I think because I’ve always been a bit of an outsider, because of where I come from, and because I’ve had to hide so much of who I am, that I spent a lot of time looking in. Observing people, not just to be able to blend in better, but because they fascinated me. They were so different and yet so much like me, the other, as psychologists term it. Reporting, for me, has always been as much about exploring my own humanity as examining specific stories or events.
ID: Okay. You won a Pulitzer for, um, it was the Intergang piece, I think, but what would you say is your proudest journalistic achievement?
S: Journalistic? I’m not sure. The Intergang expose was really important, I thought, but I don’t know. I think the biggest stories are the ones I haven’t been able to break, stories of courage I’ve witnessed from within the League, a lot of which I’ve actually written up, and, now that the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, about my identity, I’m toying with the idea of letting them publish those memoirs, you know, use the proceeds for public works. But if I had to say my most important literary work, I think it had to do with one of those things I normally couldn’t say. You know, when you’re a reporter, you’re often relegated not to the things you think, or even the things you know, but to the things you can prove. So I felt stymied for a long time, because Lex was always very good about covering his tracks, and keeping himself at arms’ length from suspicion. But when I wrote my novel, I actually got to be more truthful than in most of my reporting, because I didn’t have to pare back to the proveable facts in evidence.
ID: I’ve heard Luthor actually liked "Under A Yellow Sun"- particularly the thinly veiled reference to himself as a villain.
S: That was one of the most surreal moments for me, really. I knew, sort of from the beginning, that there was a danger, satirizing someone as rich and powerful as Luthor. I mean, opposing him as Superman took considerably less courage, because what was he going to do? The world knew I was an alien and had accepted me despite it; there was really nothing he could say or do to get people to stop trusting me as Superman, get them to refuse to accept my help (though not for lack of trying).
But as Clark it was different. He could have hounded me, and my friends, my family, financially. He could have declared fiscal war, made it impossible for my parents to keep up with property taxes on their farm, bought and closed the Planet, sued me, and it wouldn’t matter if I won, he could keep appealing, keep filing. Luthor’s proven himself incredibly adept at destroying people with his money.
And he did none of those things. We were at, God, some kind of a social function, and he came up and made a point to vigorously shake my hand and tell me how much he liked the book.
Now, it’s been suggested by some of the people who’ve heard the story that Lex didn’t get it, that he couldn’t see himself in the flawed and failing Machiavellian businessman. My wife thinks that it was really just an ego thing, that he so adored the idea that that many people would be reading about him, thinking about him, knowing him, that the fact that the last few chapters weren’t about his triumph but his downfall could be easily papered over, because the really important thing was that the story was about him.
And I don’t know, he might be fuming, now that he knows that the man who wrote the book is the same that he’s seen as his arch nemesis, that he’s obsessed over for for years. But I suspect that he isn’t. I suspect that he’s reread the book since my identity came out, that for him it will have a similar introspective quality, that in the writing I learned a lot about Lex just by trying to project myself into his head, and that Lex is, right now, wringing his hands across the cover of that book, trying to climb inside mine.
We’ll be trying to bring you a new section of the interview every Monday. Some of the questions have already been prepared by the interviewer, but to ask Superman a question, leave a comment or send an email to DeathofSuperman@gmail.com.
Invader Dim: Care to, uh, qualify that?
S: Sure. I’ve been working for the last several months, really, going back to fall of last year, on a series on homelessness in Metropolis, and the implications it has for the rest of the country and maybe even the rest of the world.
Homelessness is an important issue, but because of my failing health, I’d grown… concerned that it was a story I wasn’t going to have a chance to finish. I found myself really neuroticizing over it, to the point where I’d wake up in a cold sweat, and my wife would, well, she can be very tender, and she would sit up, watching my sleep. And I’d made arrangements; she was more than happy to take on the story if I couldn’t finish, but it would have taken her months to catch up, to reestablish a rapport with interviewees, to try to get the feel for the story I was trying to tell without taking it over. But all of that worrying, about deadlines, no pun intended, it’s behind me now.
It’s done. I mean, there are a few pages left, I guess, and some T’s to cross, but it’s finished. If there were a Kryptonite meteor heading towards the planet I could finish what’s left in a fraction of a second at my typewriter- but I’m kind of letting it lie for the moment, letting it all sink in.
ID: Well congratulations. But how’s that feel? It’s sort of one less thing tethering you to your life.
S: That’s very true. And if I were at all concerned that it’s my unfinished business that’s kept me here this long, that might be a concern for me. But as important as the issue of homelessness is to me, as personally important as getting this story done was, it pales in comparison to how much I don’t want to disappoint my loved ones, or say goodbye to them too soon.
ID: So does this mean you’re retired as a journalist? Is that your last hurrah?
S: The Planet isn’t hiring, if that’s what you’re getting at- but no. I’ll still take on some smaller pieces, you know, things with a quick turn-around. I’m just done with bigger pieces for the time being; I’d hate to leave unfinished business behind. But journalism, it’s such a part of who I am- and I’m not dead yet.
ID: You seem very passionate about your profession; what do you think is behind that?
S: I think it comes from being a stranger on this planet. The first several years I was here were just completely fascinating. Everything was new and exciting and different, and even though I didn’t know Krypton, I felt how it was- I’m sure that doesn’t make sense. But I was just a baby when I left there, so I don’t have really any concrete memories, but there was a texture and a flavor and a smell that the place had, and Earth was very different- like if your whole life you only knew about vanilla ice cream, and suddenly you discovered chocolate.
But I think because I’ve always been a bit of an outsider, because of where I come from, and because I’ve had to hide so much of who I am, that I spent a lot of time looking in. Observing people, not just to be able to blend in better, but because they fascinated me. They were so different and yet so much like me, the other, as psychologists term it. Reporting, for me, has always been as much about exploring my own humanity as examining specific stories or events.
ID: Okay. You won a Pulitzer for, um, it was the Intergang piece, I think, but what would you say is your proudest journalistic achievement?
S: Journalistic? I’m not sure. The Intergang expose was really important, I thought, but I don’t know. I think the biggest stories are the ones I haven’t been able to break, stories of courage I’ve witnessed from within the League, a lot of which I’ve actually written up, and, now that the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, about my identity, I’m toying with the idea of letting them publish those memoirs, you know, use the proceeds for public works. But if I had to say my most important literary work, I think it had to do with one of those things I normally couldn’t say. You know, when you’re a reporter, you’re often relegated not to the things you think, or even the things you know, but to the things you can prove. So I felt stymied for a long time, because Lex was always very good about covering his tracks, and keeping himself at arms’ length from suspicion. But when I wrote my novel, I actually got to be more truthful than in most of my reporting, because I didn’t have to pare back to the proveable facts in evidence.
ID: I’ve heard Luthor actually liked "Under A Yellow Sun"- particularly the thinly veiled reference to himself as a villain.
S: That was one of the most surreal moments for me, really. I knew, sort of from the beginning, that there was a danger, satirizing someone as rich and powerful as Luthor. I mean, opposing him as Superman took considerably less courage, because what was he going to do? The world knew I was an alien and had accepted me despite it; there was really nothing he could say or do to get people to stop trusting me as Superman, get them to refuse to accept my help (though not for lack of trying).
But as Clark it was different. He could have hounded me, and my friends, my family, financially. He could have declared fiscal war, made it impossible for my parents to keep up with property taxes on their farm, bought and closed the Planet, sued me, and it wouldn’t matter if I won, he could keep appealing, keep filing. Luthor’s proven himself incredibly adept at destroying people with his money.
And he did none of those things. We were at, God, some kind of a social function, and he came up and made a point to vigorously shake my hand and tell me how much he liked the book.
Now, it’s been suggested by some of the people who’ve heard the story that Lex didn’t get it, that he couldn’t see himself in the flawed and failing Machiavellian businessman. My wife thinks that it was really just an ego thing, that he so adored the idea that that many people would be reading about him, thinking about him, knowing him, that the fact that the last few chapters weren’t about his triumph but his downfall could be easily papered over, because the really important thing was that the story was about him.
And I don’t know, he might be fuming, now that he knows that the man who wrote the book is the same that he’s seen as his arch nemesis, that he’s obsessed over for for years. But I suspect that he isn’t. I suspect that he’s reread the book since my identity came out, that for him it will have a similar introspective quality, that in the writing I learned a lot about Lex just by trying to project myself into his head, and that Lex is, right now, wringing his hands across the cover of that book, trying to climb inside mine.
We’ll be trying to bring you a new section of the interview every Monday. Some of the questions have already been prepared by the interviewer, but to ask Superman a question, leave a comment or send an email to DeathofSuperman@gmail.com.
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