A Pinoy Blog About Nothing

What would happen if Superman didn’t land in Smallville? Or better, what if that particular story was written by one of the wackiest men alive, former Monty Pythoneer John Cleese? Hilarity, as they say, ensues.

Sure the plot for True Brit is quite thin and the art of frequent Superman collaborator John Byrne isn’t as crisp as it used to be, this volume delivers a hilarious send-up of the popular superhero’s origin story. Crashing and growing in a small town in England, Colin Clark the Earth bound disguise of the Last Son of Krypton struggles to suppress his super human powers to prevent embarrassing his parents.

Clark ends up working for a British tabloid, The Daily Smear, he spends most of time following celebrities to catch their tawdry secrets for frontpage fodder. When he decides to use his super-abilities against his parents wishes, the public of couse goes crazy for the flying man in Union Jack and the Big S on his chest. They of course, proceed to impose impossible tasks on Clark a la the Labours of Hercules - like making the trains run on time.

While it takes a different route than Superman: Red Son, where the Last Kryptonian lands in Communist Russia, True Brit nonetheless points out how nurture shaped Superman’s destiny as much as nature - the Clarks forbade their son exploring his abilities for fear of offending the neighbors. Cleese also manages to jab at English sensibilities as only John Cleese could possibly accomplish. In fact it might even be viewed as a satire of the English society as much at is of Superman’s origin story. Flinging fish about? Bicycle-repair men? Evil disfigured politicians? Yes it’s John Cleese alright.

True Brit is an entertaining read in these times where the superhero genre is taking itself way too seriously. It was a very different world when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman in the late 1930s. For the two Jewish boys, Superman was the embodiment of their ideals. These days, Superman’s got issues. It’s nice to see Cleese make his Superman strive for better things again.