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Superman #662 Here are Kurt Busiek's answers to questions fans put to him about "Superman #662" and other relevant topics:

Kurt's Answers

Neal Bailey (bailey.neal@comcast.net) asks:
Hey, Kurt! Just curious, why did you choose the character of Arion to show Superman his future, as opposed to, say, Rip Hunter or another DC future character? Also, coming off that question, is there a chance that Superman will, in the course of his investigation, ask a character knowledgeable of the future? I ask because, as of this last week's JSA, Superman has already been to the future, and things seemed to have turned out well, given how he knows the Legion. Thanks for answering our questions!

Kurt: Two reasons, I guess.

First, I originally came up with the seeds of this story as a JLA story, and one of the things I was planning to do was make Arion an occasional JLA ally/antagonist -- it used to be, back in the day, that the way you qualified for JLA membership was to have your own series, so I have this vague, rough sense that a JLA member needs to have a certain stature, and that stature is often (but not always) connected with having your own book. Arion had his own book for long enough to feel like he had the appropriate "weight" -- whatever that consists of -- so I started figuring out how to make him an interesting character for the present day. And then when I shifted the story over to SUPERMAN, I changed a whole mess of it to make it fully a Superman story, but kept Arion, because I liked what I'd come up with for him.

Second, it feels better coming in the form of a prophecy, so that seems to suit a mystic character more than an SF character like Rip Hunter. And besides, science-based characters seem to be very wary of telling anyone in the past details of their future, because it might upset the balance of things -- as when Supergirl and Superboy were Legion members pre-Crisis, and they were regularly made to forget the details of their time with the Legion so that they wouldn't screw up the past. To some degree, all futures are potential futures, so the Legion telling Superman that their future will come about isn't a guarantee. It wouldn't suit Superman either from his viewpoint or as a fictional character to have someone tell him, "Everything works out fine, so don't worry about it. Go to the movies, hang out at the beach, the future is assured." That's predestination, and it robs him of his heroism. However, Arion saying, "If you don't change things, the whole shooting match goes blooey" may be the path that results in the Legion's future, after all.

Third, well, Rip Hunter wouldn't do what Arion does in the second half of the story. But you'll have to wait to see what that'll be...

Chris Clow (demolitionist@gmail.com) asks:
Given the current political climate in the United States, what was your motivation to place Iran as a main location in this issue? Was it more than the story calling for it, or was it kind of symbolic of the fact that Superman defends the entire world?

Kurt: Partly, it was the idea that Superman should be seen doing what he does all around the world -- Carlos and I sometimes joke about the fact that he wants to see Superman in international settings, but then when I make him draw Tehran and Prague and a Kazakhtan airport, all of which he takes pains to get right, he grumbles that I make him draw all these places, and I say, "Ah, so when you said 'international,' what you really meant was 'Spain.'" Hmm. I really should get Superman to Spain one of these days...

And partly it was because Tehran is the closest major city to Alamut, and Alamut is important to the story. Sirocco's an Arab (though we haven't said what country he's from), so Superman needed to find him somewhere in the Arab world. And they had to go from there to Alamut. And I found a lot of photo reference and tourist descriptions on downtown Tehran on the Internet, which always makes things easier.

Adam Reed (reedo316@yahoo.com) asks:
Love "Camelot Falls", but why does Superman refer to Khyber's real name as Hassan-I-Sabah, while Sirocco calls Khyber Ibn-Sabah. Ibn is an arabic word for son. So are they the same person, or did Sirocco kill Khyber's son?

Kurt: "Hassan-i-Sabah" and "Hassan ibn Sabah" are the same name; they're just different ways of saying it.

Van Banoovong (vbanoovong@yahoo.com) asks:
Since Chris Kent has appeared in the latest issue, will he play a role in the second half of the "Camelot Falls" story?

Kurt: Anything's possible!

Or, to fall back on my usual answer when someone asks what's coming up, "Wait and see."

Michael Bailey (supermanearth2@bellsouth.net) asks:
Given the themes involved, the guest stars and the fact that Superman does a good bit of traveling in this issue is it your intent to explore Superman's place in the world and the effect his presence has on humanity? And, was this story in any way influenced by the classic "Must There Be A Superman?" story written by Elliot S! Maggin? I realize that the particulars are different but there seem to be echoes of the concepts brought up in that story.

Kurt: The answer to your first question is yes -- I don't want to overanalyze it, but I do want to explore Superman's place in the world and how he sees it. The answer to the second question is no, at least not consciously. I read "Must There Be A Superman?" years ago, and I know there are some thematic similarities, but I honestly don't remember how Eliot's story ended, and deliberately haven't gone back to reread it because I want to follow my own ideas. Once I'm all done with it, maybe I'll pull out that issue and compare, and see where we hit similar ideas and where we did something different.

Daniel (benreily6@yahoo.com) asks:
Isn't the Fortress of Solitude making Superman a little creepy and weird for having so much stuff in his Fortress like the statues and the animals and the lab? I think I actually prefer a Superman that's more simple and grounded and does heroic things because he simply wants to help and he loves doing what's right. I think having all these over the top things makes him look more methodologically and more arrogantly. I hope you get what I'm saying?

Kurt: The Fortress is essentially a Superman-scale trophy den, Daniel, so I don't think it's any creepier that an insurance salesman somewhere having a place to relax with comfortable chairs, golf trophies in a wall display and photos of his family. It's just... bigger.

I don't think there's any conflict between having the Fortress and doing heroic things out of a desire to help.

Ismael (dathmus@email.com) asks:
Krypto was mentioned as being missing for a year. Any ideas on when we might learn where he is and if he is okay? Is this something you plan to touch on during your run? I've been enjoying your run a lot. Keep up the good work!

Kurt: I know where Krypto is and what he's been up to -- after all, I wrote that story that we haven't been able to print yet -- but I'd rather leave you wondering until we can show you in a story. I don't know when that particular story is coming, but I can say that you'll be seeing more of Krypto this summer.

Robert Willing (staredcraft@yahoo.com) asks:
Kurt, you once stated in an interview you never truly understood Superman until you wrote "Secret Identity", which wasn't that long ago. How do you think you've "Evolved' as a superman writer since between then, up until "Up, Up, and Away"/"Back in Action", to this issue?

Kurt: I don't know, Robert. I'm too close to the process to stand back and analyze my work from the outside -- I've gotta let others do that. Or, maybe, when I'm old and gray (okay, older and grayer!), I can look back on it with the right perspective. But right now, I'm hip-deep in it all, so I'm in the wrong place to take a dispassionate and analytical view of how I'm progressing as a writer.

Mark Pennington (mrmarkus41@yahoo.com) asks:
Great issue, Kurt. My one question is: Does Zatanna greet ALL her visitors dressed that way or just the ones with X-Ray vision?

Kurt: Ha! Don't look at me! All I did was write "We see Superman being mystically scanned by Zatanna" -- I didn't pick out her wardrobe! That outfit is one that was established in the recent SEVEN SOLDIERS: ZATANNA mini-series, and either it's what was sent to Carlos for reference, or he just liked the outfit.

Paul Pace (corbin.pace@gmail.com) asks:
In "Superman #662" we see quite a number of overarching plots involving Superman, and you tie together all of his current storylines very well, really weaving a bigger picture of Superman's current world. I was happy to see Subjekt 17's return, as his fate had been left pretty open and confusing to me. I was afraid his story was over. Is it safe to say that you have more planned for Subjekt 17 in the world of Superman?

Kurt: We're not done with Subjekt-17 by a long stretch, Paul -- and #662 was just your first glimpse of how things aren't necessarily going to go how people might expect. Subjekt-17 was never a mindless monster -- what he was was a confused, abused and ill-educated innocent, since the scientists studying him didn't bother to teach him anything or grant him any freedom (or consciousness, for that matter). So when we first saw him, he was reacting completely emotionally to a world he didn't understand and was seeing for the first time -- but now he's had some time to figure stuff out.

He'll be back this year, and we have more plans for him beyond that.

David Chapman (legend-chappers@hotmail.co.uk) asks:
Hey Kurt! First off I'd just like to say keep up the good work! I really enjoyed this issue and the others you have written so far! My question relates to just how powerful Superman is at the moment? i.e. limits of his invulnerability, strength etc... I noticed Superman lifting the Daily Planet globe one handed with ease this issue suggesting almost silver age strength but back in issue #660 he was stunned by an electric shock after trying to penetrate The Pranksters bubble and also killed by Khyber in Arion's apocalyptic vision of the future in issue #658. Can you please clear up my confusion? Thank you.

Kurt: That was a pretty powerful electric shock the Prankster used, designed to have enough kick to stun Superman -- but as you saw, it didn't stun him for long. And Khyber's enormously powerful, and used pretty much all the juice he had to kill Superman.

For that matter, the Daily Planet globe isn't that heavy, compared to other things Superman has lifted. And it doesn't compare with his Silver Age strength -- back then, he could have lifted the whole building one-handed, and wouldn't have even been approaching his limits.

But I'm not the best guy to ask about power stats -- I prefer to let the stories do the talking, rather than have lists of quantified power levels and limits. So overall, I'd say keep reading, and you'll get a sense of what Superman's abilities are like through the stories, rather than through stats.

Daniel McIntosh (kalel@internode.on.net) asks:
In "Superman: Secret Identity", what made you choose the small town of Whyalla in South Australia as a location? Did you just open an atlas to a particular page and the first town your finger landed on was that? I think it's awesome South Australia gets a mention. Great writing, keep it up!

Kurt: I did some research on tornadoes in Australia, and where they might occur -- even if what I was writing was a freak occurrence. And there were enough references to tornadoes in that area to indicate it was at least possible, so I picked Whyalla as a nice-sounding name in the region I wanted to use.

Thanks again!

Kurt: My pleasure. I haven't been knifed yet, so I must be doing something right...



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