Brian Azzarello has long been one of my favourite writers because a lot of his work raises very fundamental issues of human nature. Take the cult ‘100 Bullets’, for example. Before it spun out into the Mafia-Minutemen serial, it addressed a very simple question: what would you do if you were given the means and indemnity to kill someone close to you if you found out they ruined your life? Or his more recent ‘Joker’, which put the reader next to the super-villain and begs the question: why does he do what he does?
But my favourite Azzarello comic is undoubtedly ‘Lex Luthor: Man of Steel’. Before we go into the why’s, here’s a brief outline of the story for those of you who haven’t read it. It’s the framework within which Azzarello crafts his questions.
The story is narrated by Luthor and begins with a building he’s constructing in Metropolis. It’s to be dedicated to scientific advances made by Man, and with the opening just a couple of weeks away, he’s run into labour problems. He’s also created a woman called Hope, who has super-strength and can fly – just like Superman. Hope is the world’s first ‘corporate-sponsored hero’ and eats into Superman's limelight. Here’s the kicker. Hope is actually a humanoid robot who – thanks to Luthor – imagines she’s human. Lex’s plan is to make her do something that is against everything that Superman stands for and lure him into destroying Hope because he (with his x-ray vision) would know that she’s not really a living breathing human being. That, of course, is after he’s endeared her to the people of Metropolis.
Sounds simple enough, right? And if Chuck Dixon had written it, the story probably would have been exactly that – with Superman fight sequences taking up oodles of the layout. But with Azzarello, you can depend on things to be different. Like Superman only being a figure in the background, for instance, and using the DC Universe only as a shell for telling a story that’s as philosophical as ‘It’s a bird’, but takes an opposite stance.
Before going further into the story, I’d like to talk about Lee Bermejo’s artwork. It’s seminal to the story being told because it sets the mood for every sequence and ties it all together in one neat bundle. When the story begins with a narration (by Lex), it’s the shot of the Metropolis skyline that gives it context. When conversations take place in real time, the style is crisp and clean with his portrait style or rendition bringing the characters to life as if they were modelled after actual people (I’m not sure whether they are or not). And when sequences take place without Lex’s presence, there’s a movie-like quality of the visual narration blending with the narrative. All that’s missing is the background score. If you look closely at the art, you’ll notice that the realism of characters has a lot to do with their lack of perfection. Note the creases on the foreheads, the bags under their eyes, the wrinkles in their shirts and suits. Superman’s eyes are usually shown here as being red – as if he’s constantly x-raying everyone. I think it was brilliantly done.
Now back to the story.
Most writers take the villain’s characters for granted, and take a position that says “Who cares why villains are evil?” Azzarello, however, writes from the mind of Luthor – a brilliant scientist, successful industrialist and master strategist. So why would an obviously intelligent man hate Superman’s are existence and tirelessly fight him – even if he seems to have no chance of winning? Here’s what Azzarello thinks Luthor has to say on the following issues:
On Superman being from another planet - "All Men are created equal... You are not a Man.…most accept him like a member of the family. Grown-up little girls and boys, certain that the uncertain will bully them, find comfort in their big brother from another planet. He's made himself appear so much like us he has almost everyone forgetting he's not one of us."
On what Superman supposedly represents - "...fighting for Truth, Justice, and the American Way… Truth? That's in the Teller... Justice? Belongs to the Judge...And the American Way? It constantly evolves out of something that proves to be true and a lie…"
On Superman’s deification by society - "But they've made you their Hero, and they Worship you. So tell me, what Redemption do you offer them?"
On the hope that Superman offers - "... when I see you? I see something no man can ever be. I see the end. The end of our achievements. The end of our dreams."
On how Superman perceives Metropolis while he flies over it - "But does He see what I see? Does he see the finest example of what Humanity can accomplish, reaching for the sky? Does he see a city that lives up to its Past which defining its Future? Does he see the greatest city on the planet? Or does he merely look down on it?"
On what Superman is capable of – “(Superman has a name) that we gave him, an attempt to humanize him... as pointless as naming a hurricane… think about a hurricane with a will. Then multiply that intensity a thousand fold."
On the danger of having Superman around - "What if he changes his mind? What if, tonight, he looks down at us and decides we're not capable to manifest our own destiny? What if tomorrow he wakes up believing he knows what's best for us? That it's not enough to protect the world... when he can rule it? The only safeguard we have against that happening is his word... even if you believe it; does it make sense to accept it?”
On Luthor’s attempts to kill Superman - "I'm not interested in bringing him down... but obsessed with bringing Us up. All of us... everyone... deserves a chance at Greatness. All that takes is the Belief that it exists. But His existence threatens not just that Belief... but our Existence."
On Superman’s legendary status in society - "I believe there's something inherently dangerous when something Real becomes Mythic. I believe when that happens, we lose the part of ourselves that yearns to be Great. Because when faced with a Myth, we can't win."
On Superman’s love for humanity – “You profess a Love of humanity, but that is an emotion you can’t possibly know because those same abilities make it Impossible for you to know its opposite... Fear."
On Hope and Mankind - "...Hope is an Aspiration. A beacon that shines brighter than any star, lighting the way for all mankind. Hope is what makes us human. For when reality threatens to destroy us, we reach inward and we create hope."
And, in the final analysis, here’s the question that Azzarello poses with this one: Is having a Superman a good thing?
