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DC needed an answer to Marvel’s “Ultimate” line of comics — a Universe featuring new versions of classic characters beholden to no mucky continuity — and came up with “All Star,” a new imprint of comics by the best creators in the biz, with stories told from the ground up. While All Star hasn’t exactly worked out as some may have hoped (All Star Batman & Robin has only seen four issues released in two years, and whatever happened to All Star Wonder Woman?), the line has given some top-shelf creators the ability to play freely with DC’s icons in an ongoing format. And the quality of one title alone, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s All Star Superman, has made the whole thing worthwhile.

Universally praised as telling the best Superman stories in a long, long time — including issue #1, which many maintain is the best single-issue Superman comic ever — there’s a new question worth addressing: should DC make All Star Superman canon?

I’m beginning to think it should. True, the only reason these stories exist is because Morrison was given carte-blanche, but why not? If DC could use Infinite Crisis to make such big changes as raising Jason Todd from the dead and restoring the original continuity of the Doom Patrol, then surely something could be done to make this historic comic a part of the DC Universe’s fabric? And for a title so beloved by fans and critics alike, there’s actually a chance that fanboy reactions may be positive.

In just seven issues, the series has managed to create several bonafide iconic images and moments: The kiss on the moon. Flying around the sun. The jaw-dropping cover to issue #1. The reveal that Superman traveled back through time to see his father one last time. The Bizarro attack in deep space. Jimmy Olsen-as-Doomsday. The list goes on. Has any other mainstream superhero comic accomplished anything like this in recent memory?

In an interview with Newsarama, Morrison said:

“I don’t think we need to ‘make’ Superman relevant. We just have to tell stories which resonate with human experience. The best Superman stories are fables about love, pride, shame, fear, death, friendship etc. We can all relate to those big issues. Superman stories should represent huge, basic human dramas and human emotions, played out on a larger than life canvas. “

I’m an unabashed Morrison-devotee, but even looking at the series objectively, has All Star not done all of this? Morrison seems to understand Superman better than anyone (ironic that it took a Scottish dude to nail a character so linked with America), and maybe that’s why it’s resonating with so many readers.

Still, if the story ever becomes adopted into the mainstream continuity, either during or after its run, the strong possibility that it will lose its impact remains. And if it becomes canon, then why have an All Star line in the first place?

All that said, if any Superman stories deserve to “count,” surely it’s the stories of All Star Superman.

Comics