Superman: True Brit
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Superman: True Brit is a book first published in 2004 in the US by DC Comics and by Titan Books in the UK. Written by John Cleese and Kim Johnson, with art by John Byrne and Mark Farmer, it reimagines the origin of Superman, by considering how Clark Kent's upbringing would be different if his spaceship had crashed in Weston-super-Mare in England instead of the fictional town of Smallville in Kansas, America.
The plot follows Superman's (named by his parents as Colin Clark) formative years, being encouraged by his parents to suppress his powers and abilities for fear of standing out otherwise. Humour arises from the fact that as a result of this, Colin is not fully in control of his abilities. Colin spends some time attempting to find his role in life, before settling on something bearing close resemblance to the original Superman's mission. As a result, Superman becomes the most famous celebrity in Britain and the tabloids set out to destroy him, solely for the sales to be generated from the story.
The story aims to poke fun at the apparent desire to conform embedded in the British psyche, as well as mocking the British tabloid press, in particular the Daily Star. Characters with similarities to Superman regulars Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White make an appearance.
The book had a mixed reception from the critics, some of whom felt that the jokes and stereotypes used throughout the book were tired and no longer valid.[1][2]
[edit] Plot
Kal-el, instead of landing in Kansas, was intentionally sent to England. He is found by the Clarks, who, viewing a headset video found with Kal-el, learn of his origins, but mistake 'Kal-el' for 'Colin' and name him Colin Clark. Being raised stereotypically British doesn't help Colin's self-esteem, being raised to believe in the philosophy of "What would the neighbours think." When Colin's powers begin to surface, each power causes a unique problem: when he learns to fly, he smashed the ceiling, and when he acquires heat vision, he accidentally burns his mother, and is given glasses made by his father out of the glass of his space ship to contain the heat. When Colin goes to college, he meets and fall in love with "Louisa Layne-Ferret" who ignores him completely. After a tragic cricket accident (the bowler was impaled by Colin's cricket bat, the bowler afterwards said, "it only hurts when I laugh"), Colin meets the British version of Perry White, who takes him under his wing to become a reporter for the British tabloids, because his parents hated when he used any of his powers. After a heroic save of the "Rutles" Colin adopts the secret identity and garish costume to become Superman.
