Again, Nancy, you put your medical knowledge to such good use. You make me feel Clark's injuries and pain more than I usually do in these situations. Often, when Superman has been captured and exposed to Kryptonite, I'm just waiting for someone to find him or for him to come up with a way to save himself. In your story, his captivity and helplessness is the story in itself, set against the horrible Katrina tragedy. And just as Katrina adds an awful reality to the situation - my mind is suddenly overwhelmed with all the horrible pictures from New Orleans last year - so your medical knowledge makes Clark's injuries so tangibly real.
I think there are two ways to read this vignette. One way is the straightforward one - this is another story where Lex tries to kill Superman, kill him both as a living being and as a hero. Lex tried to kill Superman's body as well as his good will and his standing among the American people:
The worst part of the past few days has been hearing people crying for help. People crying for Superman.
"Yes, I'll get to more of that later. I just thought that everyone might like to know where I've been."
"That's an understatement. You are very unpopular right now."
Like these two quotes show, people were crying for Superman and when Superman didn't respond to those cries, he became very unpopular. People blamed Superman for their distress, because he wasn't helping them.
On the other hand:
By the time I get back to Metropolis that evening, Lex Luthor has been captured. Or his clone has. No one is sure yet. When he was arrested, he couldn't stop gloating about how he had killed Superman. It seems he hasn't seen the news.
When I arrive home, Lois shows me the shredded suit sent to her at the Planet. The attached note simply states, 'He's dead.' Oh, my poor Lois.
The Daily Planet had received Superman's shredded suit and a note stating that he was dead. Shouldn't a statement have been released that Superman had apparently been attacked and possibly killed? I'm asking, Nancy, mostly because I find it so painful that people should blame Superman for not coming to their rescue, when he was close to death himself.
The other way to read this story is to see Superman as a symbol of what is best and most inspiring about humanity. Our cleverness. Our ever-growing ability to control our surroundings and use the forces of nature for our own good. Our powers, so to speak. And also our optimism and our wish to use our powers to do good.
As your story shows, no matter how much our "powers" are growing, no aspect of humanity will ever become omnipotent. In this story Katrina was too much to deal with. And if it hadn't been Katrina, it would, sooner or later, have been something else. Ultimately there is always a way to defeat us. If nothing else, death will claim each one of us eventually.
But as your story also shows, as long as we retain our optimism and our wish to do good, we will not go down without a fight. Yes, death will claim each of us eventually, but that doesn't lessen the importance of each little victory for life that we manage to score. In your story, Superman emerges - not triumphant, but alive. Lex Luthor didn't manage to kill him. And the next time there is a hurricane, he will be able to save more people and do more to help.
Ann
