Warning! Spoilers for Superman #26 below.
Like New York City’s Empire State Building, the Daily Planet has become an easily recognizable silhouette amidst the vast Metropolis skyline. Clark Kent, aka Superman, and his pal Jimmy Olson have often enjoyed lunch breaks atop its spinning golden globe. With the Man of Steel as an employee, it seems unlikely that anything could happen to such an important DC Comics landmark. Still, several of Clark’s co-workers have recently expressed anxiety about working alongside a hero with so many powerful enemies. While these safety concerns seem valid, Superman quickly put them to rest by transforming the Daily Planet into the DC version of another fictional landmark: Avengers Tower.
The recently released Superman #25 introduces the Synmar, an alien race on a distant planet that witnesses the destruction of Krypton. As Krypton explodes, their scanners detect a lone rocket hurtling towards Earth. The Synmar fear that the Earth’s yellow son will transform this surviving Kryptonian into a god-like dictator. Thus, they begin training their own “Superman” named Eisno Alkor to thwart any attempt by Kal-El to take over his adopted homeworld, and subsequently the galaxy. Years later, the Synmar discover that Superman is a benevolent protector with no designs on planetary rule, and Eisno Alkor is instructed to stand down. At least, at first.
In Superman #26, Daily Planet sports reporter Steve Lombard tells Clark that working side-by-side with a superhero makes him fear for his safety. Superman assures Steve that he has nothing to worry about. These assurances fall flat, however, when Eisno Alkor mysteriously appears and attacks the Man of Tomorrow. Just as a destructive battle threatens to endanger the Planet’s employees, an interdimensional door opens and transports Superman and Alkor to the Phantom Zone. Superman explains to Steve that he and the Justice League have equipped the Daily Planet with defense systems similar to the Hall of Justice, DC Comics’ version of Avengers Tower.
Superman was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster for Action Comics #1 in 1938. The Daily Planet newspaper was established as Clark’s place of employment twenty-two issues later in 1940. Interestingly enough, while the Justice League’s headquarters at the Hall of Justice first debuted in the premiere episode of the Super Friends animated television show in 1973, it wouldn’t appear in mainstream comics until 2007’s Justice League of America (Vol. 2) #7 thirty-four years later. The current “Mythological” story arc in the pages of Superman is written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Ivan Reis.
The Hall of Justice shares many similarities with Marvel Comics’ Avengers Tower. Both are the headquarters for their respective super-team and equipped with a myriad of defenses. The recently released Justice League Annual #2 depicts the Hall of Justice as having sentry drones, anti-tech microbots, a randomized molecular structure that deters speed phasing, flight, and a self-destruct feature. The Hall is also reinforced with titanium plates similar to the vibranium-laced Avengers Tower. It is unclear how many of these features the Daily Planet shares, but both are apparently equipped with a Phantom Zone Projector. The journalists at the Daily Planet can rest assured that as long as Superman is an employee, their lives will never be at risk.
Source: CBR