All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely is, to this day, considered one of if not the singular greatest Superman story of all time. A microcosm of everything that makes the Man of Steel not just aspirational, but inherently relatable.
The mythic story by Morrison paired with Quitely’s expressive and stylized art remains a timeless tale whose influence can be seen across the character’s future adventures. As the DCEU desperately tries to find new ways to make the character click with a modern audience, there’s no better time to look back at one of Kal-El’s most memorable moments.
10 The Double Meaning of All-Star
Once the title All-Star Superman was chosen for the story as well as the larger All-Star line, it became clear to Morrison that focusing on Superman as a mythical solar deity was the direction to take. Portraying Superman as a god wasn’t a widely different take for Morrison, as they had already treated the Justice League as a sort of mythological pantheon in their iconic JLA run, but to focus so specifically on Kal-El as a pseudo-Helios is part of what gave All-Star such a unique and timeless quality. Hence, in fact, the name All-Star.
9 The Story Was Intended To Avoid Rebooting Superman
Distilling Superman down to his most crucial characteristics was nothing new. Following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the character had already been hard and soft rebooted a half-dozen times. The most famous of which is easily John Byrne‘s controversial yet influential Man of Steel mini-series. A sort of “Superman: Year One” for the new Post-Crisis continuity.
Whereas Byrne took the character back to basics, Morrison was more interested in involving as much of the character’s history as possible. Part of what makes All-Star so unique is that it is so clearly obsessed and drenched in the long and varied lore while at the same time being a self-contained story that avoids alienating a casual audience.
8 Clark Kent Took Inspiration From Yiddish Theater
Despite the usual protestant Christian upbringing associated with the Man of Steel, the character was created by two Jewish men. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, whether intentional or not, clearly had been influenced by the tale of Moses in the early origin of the character. Harkening back to those roots, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely took inspiration for their Clark Kent from aspects and hand gestures of Yiddish theater. Yiddish theater, as the name implies, are theatrical productions cast and crewed by Jews that, while having a wide range of stories and genres, is most often associated with the satirical productions performed during Purim.
7 Clark Kent’s Clumsiness Has A Purpose
A minor point throughout the story is the choreographed dance the klutzy Clark Kent performs whenever he needs to rescue someone whilst maintaining his guise as a mild-mannered reporter. The only time the book explicitly makes mention of Clark’s heroics is when he saves Luthor moments before he accidentally electrocutes himself. It’s a perfect moment to show not only Clark’s willingness to save even the worst humanity has to offer, but also that Lex is far above everyone one else intellectually having been the only one to notice that Clark’s antics saved him.
6 Jimmy Olsen Is Intended To Resemble Robbie Williams
Using pictures of real people as reference material is nothing new to comic book artists, much less artists in general. However, one such piece real-world reference that may come as a surprise is the use of singer Robbie Williams for the facial features of Jimmy Olsen.
Williams had asked to be in some way included in the work, and Quitely’s use of his face for Jimmy’s was the outcome. For the more self-assured and confident Jimmy that appears in All-Star, it makes sense.
5 The Book Almost Didn’t Happen
What would eventually become All-Star Superman was originally a pitch called Superman Now. Unfortunately, the original proposal for a new modern take on the character never made it to print and for some time it seemed as though the ideas brainstormed between Grant Morrison and Dan Raspler outside of San Diego Comic-Con would never come to fruition. Once Morrison started work on their New X-Men run, they didn’t expect to do any more work on Superman. It wasn’t until then DC Vice President Dan DiDio reached out that the project which would become All-Star Superman was a go.
4 Reused Superman NOW Concepts
Many concepts from the scrapped Superman Now project would end up making their way into All-Star. Lois Lane‘s super suit was an element Morrison had sketched during his time working on Now. The finished product closely resembles his original designs, and the final scene of the book also takes queues from the original pitch. The “2” symbol that implies the continued generation of Supermen being developed by Dr. Leo Quintum is based closely on the original Now symbol that would have adorned Morrison’s unique Superman.
3 Jimmy Olsen’s Silver Age Antics
It’s no secret that the antics of Jimmy Olsen that occur in All-Star Superman are heavily based on his wacky adventures from the Silver Age. However, there are quite a few deep cuts that more casual fans might miss. Jimmy gaining the powers of Doomsday is a clear nod to his time turning into a scaly giant, Megamind, and much more, but the blink and you’ll miss it moment of Jimmy in drag also has its own roots in classic tales. 1963’s Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #67 is the first instance of Jimmy’s gender-bending, but this history would continue throughout the years. Champion of the counterculture that Morrison has always been, it’s no surprise they had a soft spot for these boundary-pushing stories.
2 Morrison’s Scrapped Specials
One of the downsides of creating a self-contained story that condensed so much of Superman’s mythos into its purest form is that it leaves a wealth of unexplored stories and tales for fans to pine for. While most would likely agree that Superman’s final sacrifice(?) is what part of what gives the story its necessary mythic vibe, there are several characters, such as the Super Sons, which at one point were in consideration for their own in-universe spin-offs. Sadly these plans seem to have been shelved for the foreseeable future, though with the new infinite multiverse Post-Death Metal one can never be too sure.
1 Grant Morrison Had A Shamanic Meeting With Superman
Arguably the best story from the behind-the-scenes of All-Star Superman is the meeting between Grant Morrison and well… Superman. While the author discussed ideas for what would become All-Star with fellow writer Mark Waid, they came across a man cosplaying in what Morrison described as a perfect Superman suit. When he and Raspler began to talk to the man, he answered entirely in character. The ever mystical Morrison described it as a shamanic meeting between the two which gave the writer exactly what they needed to set his depiction of the hero apart from all that had come before.
The man was perched with his knee against his chest, chilled and relaxed. It was then that Morrison realized Superman wouldn’t need to always be puffing his chest out like the archaic strongmen he was based on. To someone that never felt pain nor discomfort the world would be an almost idyllic place, and as such he would be one of the most laidback people one could ever meet. This meeting is described by both authors in the 2010 documentary Grant Morrison: Talking with Gods.
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