So this story that's been running in Superman? Heartwarming tale about the special bond between a man and his dog and all that? And it is heartwarming, really. I like dogs. I appreciate their loyalty and friendship, though I'm more touched when I see dogs that are friendly and kind towards other dogs. Especially other dogs that are nervous, or worried about something. Still, I had this little nagging thing as I was reading the story. Not about Krypto's role, or even really about Superman's attitude towards Zatara*.
Mostly it was Superman trying to fight Atlas head on, when as early as the beginning of #679, he was realizing there was something wrong with this situation, that he couldn't seem to beat this guy. I recall thinking, "Gee, Supes, too bad you don't have any other powers you could use on him. Oh wait, you have like 75 other powers you could use on him!" Try heat vision. Try super-breath, if not on him, then try icing the ground under him, take away his footing. If he's unbalanced maybe you could get in a good solid hit***. Hey, trying flying really fast around him, creating a whirlwind that lifts Atlas into the air, and then deposits him in the Atlantic Ocean. Really, just try something other than punching him, especially when you are aware that it isn't working.
I'm guessing that Robinson felt the best way to tell the story he wanted to tell, was to have Superman face Atlas hand-to-hand, so that in the face of those results, Krypto's bravery really stand out. However, I'm not saying any of those tactics would have to work. If Atlas was really such a hotshot fighter, then he'd probably dealt with things weirder than heat vision and flying really fast (and since it's Jack Kirby's Atlas, it's a virtual certainty he faced weirder stuff than that). It's just seems odd to see someone with as many powers as Superman realize one of them isn't helping, and not at least try something different. Wolverine? Sure, his bag of tricks is kind of limited. The same can't really be said of Superman.
It's not a big deal, but I'm kind of interested in seeing characters use their powers creatively, or at least with some tactical sense, and I never got any sense of that here, and it kind of stood out to me. Still, good work by Krypto, huh? I wonder if he breaks furniture when he wags his tail?
* Though, as Rachelle at Living Between Wednesdays noted, Supes was kind of rude to the kid. I know he's battered, and worried about his dog, and Zatara's full of hot air**, but really, Superman's hung out with Ollie Queen for years, he ought to be used to bluster at serious moments.
** When I thought of Zatara as being full of hot air, I was reminded of someone, in a movie I believe, saying 'You, you big bag of wind!', and now I can't remember who said it, and it's starting to drive me insane. Er. Insaner.
*** I realize that these Squad K guys were doing something to disrupt his drawing strength from the sun - or something like that - and so he quite simply might not have been strong enough to hurt him, but I don't think he'd realized that yet, so it couldn't hurt anything to try.
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2 comments:
I'm not quite sure why Superman was so frazzled, but he certainly was. On the one hand, there were certainly a lot of other things that he could have tried. On the other hand, he's just NOT used to being beaten up like that, it doesn't really happen too often, and perhaps he was caught off-balance. Lois brought up Doomsday, and we all remember what happened THEN! Plus he was worried about his dog.
So, I guess I can see why he was a little rude and off-kilter. Plus Zatarra WAS being a bit of a brat. But I have to admit that I just loved Krypto.
Sallyp: I suppose since he wasn't prepared for Atlas' strength right off the bat, he could have been a little punch drunk, and not thinking too clearly.
As for Zatara if he's becoming a recurring cast member (which was the impression I got) we'll see if future interactions are any different. Maybe Zatara doesn't try to come off like such a big shot, and maybe Superman recognizes the kid's skills a bit more.
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