Superman #683
For those keeping their eyes open, there was a welcome return in last week’s Superman #683
in Part 9 of the “New Krypton” storyline (featuring 100,000 Kryptonians
like Superman coming to earth) – non-white Kryptonians were clearly
shown.
There had been some “squint and you can see them” individuals in group
shots earlier in the storyline, but the Sergio Leone-style “showdown”
page (extreme close-ups of faces and eyes looking at one another)
showed Kryptonian African and Asian analogues. (Preview of Superman #683here)
Big deal?
Well, kind of. Without opening the larger can of worms in regards to how, by and large, superheroes are still
the domain of the idealized white man (and woman), for the first thirty
or so years of its existence (shown in flashbacks and time-travel
stories), Superman’s homeworld of Krypton was all-white. It was only in
1971’s Superman #234 - 33 years after his debut in 1938 - that
the first non-white Kryptonian was seen. A few months later in issue
#239, the idea of non-white Kryptonians was expanded upon.
from Superman #234
“In issue #239, a two-page map showed that Kryptonians Of Color had an
island all to themselves, which is pretty embarrassing,” says Mark
Waid, Boom! Studios Editor-in-Chief, occasional DC Comics writer, and
pretty much expert in all things Superman. “I cringe to tell you this,
but the Kryptonians of Color were all on ‘Vathlo Island, Home of a
Highly Advanced Black Race.’ It wasn't until the mid-70s, when more
‘World of Krypton’ back-up stories ran more regularly, that we really
saw any ethnicity whatsoever on the planet.”
While he’s not sure of how exactly Krypton got its color, Waid figures
that it had to do with E. Nelson Bridwell, the assistant on the
Superman books at the time. “He took a special interest in ‘caretaking’
the history and fictional culture of Krypton,” Waid says. “More than
anyone else who ever lived, Nelson knew that world.”
Before the speculation starts, Superman (and Krypton) creators Jerry
Siegel and Joe Shuster were not in any way, racists. Much like other mono-cultural planets of the Golden Age of science fiction, Krypton was
a product of its time.
the map from Superman #239
“A lack of ethnicity was an error of omission, and I'm not sure given
the time that it's fair to call that ‘racist,’” Waid says. “Siegel and
all those who followed in crafting the Superman legend were, indeed,
simply following the traditions of the Golden Age of Science Fiction,
when one world always equaled one culture, maybe
two if they were at war because the plot demanded it. Remember, as
absurd as this sounds in an America finally enlightened enough to elect
a black man as President, the Civil Rights Act wasn't passed until
1964. The gradual recognition of all races and ethnicities across all
of pop culture, comics included, really didn't start to blossom until
the late 1960s. Yes, Superman was weirdly late to that party - the
first African-American even in a Superman story, and it's from the
summer of 1970, believe it or not! - but again, and not to make excuses, that delay was just creative inertia in action.”
After the start of a diverse Krypton in the early ‘70s, it was left up
to creators and editors to make sure that Krypton was racially diverse,
and it was occasionally shown to be – if the story allowed (Iph-Ro from Vathlo was mentioned in Superman: Man of Steel #111, and mention of the island was made in Alan Moore's "For the Man Who Has Everything" story in Superman Annual #11). Throughout it's rather ignoble history, Vathlo remained undeveloped and unexplored by writers, which is both good and bad, probably. One interesting idea that was floated in the very brief mention of Vathlo in Krypton's history was that there was no slave trade on Krypton, which is why races didn't really mix - or at least why some of Jor-El's best friends weren't black.
More often than not though, the planet of Superman’s birth has been shown
to be made up of just one race, even in crowd scenes. As a quick aside, Smallville, an alternate retelling of Clark Kent's younger years on The WB/CW has shown Nam-Ek, a Kryptonian who is an African-American analogue.
But with “New Krypton,” story architects Geoff Johns, James Robinson
and Sterling Gates have been working to merge all aspects of Krypton
that have been shown over the years, making all the visions and
versions into a workable whole – including the fact that the planet was
racially diverse - and hopefully without the segregation of Vathlo
Island. Here's hoping for a more colorful Krypton.
Related:
A Field Guide to "New Krypton"Sterling Gates on Supergirl #35All-Star Memories: Grant Morrison on All-Star Superman, 10
