Awkward and extremely lovable reporter is moving on to greener pastures

Oct 24, 2012 06:57 GMT  ·  By
Clark Kent quits his job as reporter for the Daily Planet in new Superman comics
   Clark Kent quits his job as reporter for the Daily Planet in new Superman comics

Superman is getting in tune with the times, even more so than before. Clark Kent, his real-life alter ego, has quit his job as reporter for The Daily Planet in the comics, a job he’s been holding on to since 1940.

It was about time this happened, new Superman writer Scott Lobdell explains in a statement to USA Today.

Considering that Superman only took up the job because he needed a venue that would allow him to speak out on issues he couldn’t touch as Superman (hence, the Clark Kent identity), and that he’s been failing to do so as of late, it was only a matter of time before he packed up his things and left.

“I wasn't going to test the waters. I was just going to do a cannonball in the Super-verse,” Lobdell says.

“This is really what happens when a 27-year-old guy is behind a desk and he has to take instruction from a larger conglomerate with concerns that aren't really his own,” he explains.

The Daily Planet has long become part of a large media corporation, Galaxy Broadcasting, in the comics.

Clark’s big announcement plays out like the famous scene in “Jerry Maguire,” the aforementioned publication says, with his standing up and declaring that journalism is dead or, at the very best, replaced by entertainment, of which he wants no part.

His outrage is justified, so his decision to leave doesn’t feel forced in any way, the writer stresses.

“Superman is arguably the most powerful person on the planet, but how long can he sit at his desk with someone breathing down his neck and treating him like the least important person in the world?” Lobdell says.

Clark’s swan song will ironically allow him to voice all those things he’s been keeping mum on for years, by urging his fellow journalists to stand up for truth, justice and “and yeah – I'm not ashamed to say it — the American way.”

“While it has its problems, there are a lot of good things to say about America and the American way, and I'm glad Clark is standing up for her. I'm happy to be involved in that and his declarations,” Lobdell says.