Warning: contains spoilers for Action Comics #1051!For 85 years, Superman has been saving the planet on a daily basis, but recently he's decided to step up his game - not just saving others from disaster, but actively improving the quality of their lives. In many ways, the Man of Steel is improving on Batman's tactics. Batman has always tried to save Gotham City by saving it from peril and improving its standard of living, and now Superman is using that same tactic on a worldwide scale.
Readers get to see Superman's brilliant new plan in Action Comics #1051's 'Speeding Bullets' by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Rafa Sandoval. Superman has been working with genius inventors and superheroes John Henry Irons and Natasha Irons, and together they're opening the Steelworks Tower. The Steelworks Tower is intended as a hub of scientific innovation in the DC Universe, pushing forward new innovations to improve humanity. By giving his longtime ally Steel this opportunity, Superman is hoping to show humanity that they've always held the tool and ability to save themselves.
Superman Wants to Make the World Better, Not Just Protect It
Superman has been trying to save the world for a long time now - any time there's a threat from outer space or a multidimensional monster, Superman is there to fight it. And while this certainly saves the planet in the short term, it doesn't do much for the long term. At the same time, critics like Lex Luthor - and some real-world readers - have argued that by only supporting humanity in this reactive way, the Man of Steel is actually limiting human innovation and forcing the planet to depend on his benevolent protection rather than find its own way to thrive in a dangerous universe. With his new plan, Superman rejects this idea, putting just as much energy into uplifting human innovation as he does protecting human lives.
Superman Is Getting Behind Human Heroes Like Steel
By supporting the opening of the Steelworks Tower, Superman is trying to show humanity that they've always had the option of improving and fixing their own problems. While Superman and the rest of the heroes will always be there to handle the unexpected and outlandish threats of the DC Universe, Superman is trying to show humanity the way forward without directly leading or forcing them. This is why he picked John and Natasha Irons, two humans to lead the Steelworks Tower, having mulled over his son Jon's accusation that he's held back from helping humanity grow, fearing that as an alien, he doesn't have the right to dictate the course of societal progress.
Superman has always been one of the greatest heroes in the DC Universe, but this new era shows the Man of Steel helping humanity to grow without using his incredible power to take over as any kind of leader. Superman is a wildly optimistic hero who loves humanity - whatever Lex Luthor says, Clark has always believed human potential is all but limitless, and his new plans truly embrace this concept.
Action Comics #1051 is on sale now from DC Comics!