Warning! Spoilers for Superman: Birthright
Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel should have taken more advantage of Superman’s modern origin story than it did. Superman: Birthright provides a framework for a live action story that doesn’t compromise the heart of Smallville.
Clark Kent’s journey to become Superman has had several modern reinventions. Superman: Earth One told a story that felt similar in tone to Snyder’s take. Superman: Secret Origin was a love letter to the Christopher Reeve era. The New 52’s Action Comics differentiated from previous versions and provided a fresh “coming of age” tale. However, one retelling of Superman’s origin story felt particularly ripe for a film adaptation, in Superman: Birthright written by Mark Waid with art by Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguila.
Man of Steel depicted a darker world in which Superman exists, but many fans felt it omitted essential aspects of the character. In the grand pantheon of Superman’s retold origin stories, Superman: Birthright would have served as a good framework for the film. Waid’s take on the familiar premise inspired some moments in Man of Steel, including Clark’s travels around the world and his flight over a stampede of zebras. The 12 issue limited series showed Clark’s failures as he adjusted to using his powers for the good of humanity, and followed through with consequences. Working as a freelance reporter in his early twenties, Clark is able to see the planet he eventually decides to protect. Although he is on a journey of self-discovery, it isn’t an end to itself, and he is not “lost” like Henry Cavill’s representation of the character.
Birthright incorporates key elements from the Superman mythos and grounds them in Clark’s upbringing on Kent Farm. Unlike Man of Steel, the limited series tied together parts of his childhood and made them relevant during his career at the Daily Planet. The time spent in flashbacks intentionally builds Clark’s character and dynamics that will play out when he becomes Superman. This contrasts with fragmented flashbacks in the film that only tell the audience that Clark didn’t have an easy childhood due to his powers and the responsibilities that came with them. When Clark meets the genius Alexander Luthor as a teenager, there are some red flags, but he chooses to see the best in him.
Mark Waid’s interpretation of Kal-El’s journey to become the Man of Steel embraces the source material, adding a new sense of energy. Although it isn’t strikingly realistic, the developed relationships provide a grounding for the larger than life story. Alexander’s transformation into Lex of LexCorp fame comes at the right time as Clark has matured into the recognizable version that fans know. Although Superman: Birthright is cinematic in its storytelling, Waid doesn’t compromise what has made readers connect with Superman.