Since his introduction in 1938, Kal-El of Krypton’s power set has evolved quite a bit. He started out really good at jumping, but mastered the art of flight soon thereafter. Whereas once he wowed audiences by merely deflecting bullets, by now, he’s survived at least two atomic bomb blasts (that I can remember offhand). This week, Superman officially added a new ability to his collection of uncanny talents: Respectable taste in music.
Earlier this week The Man of Steel #1 hit shelves, launching Superman’s first saga under the direction of writer Brian Michael Bendis. DC Comics announced that they had locked Bendis — the creator of Jessica Jones and Marvel’s most prominent story architect of the last 15 some odd years — to an exclusive deal back in November. If Taylor Swift ever announced Kanye West as the producer of her next record, this six-issue Man of Steel weekly series would be the superhero comics equivalent of the first single.
Now, a lot of other content distributors have zeroed in on how Bendis may have added a new element to Clark’s origin story (spoiler alert: Krypton still explodes) but they all picked the wrong headline. The important part of The Man of Steel #1 occurs on Page 6, as Supes hovers above Metropolis, using his Matt Murdock-levels of sound perception to scan the city for trouble. Miles away, he hears a woman practicing a song he recognizes — one part goes “La La La La Laaaaa” but dagnabbit, Superman can’t recall its name.
“It’s just about the most beautiful thing I have ever heard,” thinks America’s favorite undocumented immigrant. “What is this song?”
Superman gets distracted by a building fire that has trapped a little girl and some puppies (spoiler alert: They’re okay! Thanks to Superman!) before he has time to figure it out.
So somebody asked Bendis.
Siouxsie And The Banshees – The Passenger https://t.co/Ih64fnKtjz imagine it playing over the closing credits of the comic. I do 🙂 https://t.co/LJEoh06mOv
— BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS (@BRIANMBENDIS) May 30, 2018
It’s important to note that “The Passenger,” written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie, first appears on Iggy’s 1977 classic Lust For Life and has subsequently been re-imagined by plenty of artists besides Siouxsie and The Banshees.
However, when Superman heard “The Passenger” his mind immediately went to the version that stuck with him; Siouxsie’s iteration from 1987’s Through The Looking Glass.
The significant takeaway here: Superman’s secret favorite band is Siouxsie And The Banshees. We can now speculate that if Superman had more time to focus on music, he’d take a deep dive into post-punk and discover he’s actually a massive goth, which also explains why Batman is his best friend. This is not an alternate timeline or some kinda Elseworlds rigamarole.
Superman is goth, and I now consider this canon.
Featured image via DC Comics.