DC Black Label will release Superman: The Stranger #1 on September 2, 2026, kicking off a six-issue series written and illustrated by Wes Craig that reimagines Clark Kent's earliest days at the Daily Planet against the backdrop of the Great Depression.
Rather than depicting Superman's modern, near-omnipotent power set, the series returns to his Golden Age roots, portraying him as a more working-class figure operating in 1938 Art Deco Metropolis. According to a preview of issue #1, Clark Kent pitches himself to Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White, and while Perry responds well to Clark's influences and offers even-handed feedback, he ultimately can't offer Clark a job as a reporter — or even as a copy boy. Perry explains that the Daily Planet has just been acquired, the new owners are pushing for layoffs, and hiring Clark now would be too great a risk. Clark instead takes the only opening available: janitor's assistant.
The setup mirrors the real economic conditions of the 1937-1938 Recession, a period marked by spiking unemployment and widespread layoffs. The series frames this humble day job as a deliberate counterpart to Clark's costumed identity, with Superman fighting crime by night only to see the same offenders released to cause more harm, while wealthy elites in Metropolis continue to grow richer and act as though they're untouchable. Lois Lane appears as a more senior reporter at the Daily Planet, using her own reporting to expose the struggles of Metropolis residents and to question whether Superman's efforts alone can address the city's deeper problems.
Superman's underlying origin remains unchanged in the retelling: born Kal-El on the doomed planet Krypton, he was sent to Earth by his parents, Jor-El and Lara, as an infant before their world's destruction. Superman: The Stranger's preview suggests that Clark Kent's grounded, working-class perspective is presented as essential to Superman's mission — not a secondary detail, but a core part of how he fights for the downtrodden of Metropolis.
Photo: Alex Lozupone, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
