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DC's Superman villain Bizarro is finally getting some self esteem from writer Jason Aaron

"It's got to really suck to be that dude," says Aaron about the admittedly imperfect Superman clone

Bizarro variant cover for Action Comics #1061
Image credit: Tom Reilly/DC

Jason Aaron is on a rescue mission with his latest work for DC — and it’s all because he feels bad about how Superman’s accidental antagonist Bizarro has been treated in the past.

“When you go back and read some of [the earlier Bizarro stories], especially the Bizarro world stories from the '50s, they are very much played for wacky laughs: Look at how ridiculous this guy is and all of his people from his planet. But as I read him, I felt so sad,” Aaron explained, when talking about his upcoming three-issue Action Comics run. “I felt so sorry for this guy and he's just like, ‘Hey man, I'm just trying to live my life. This is just who I am. This is the way we are. And you're just like, telling me how stupid and terrible and ridiculous [I am], and I'm just a mistake, basically, is what you're saying. That Superman's the cool guy and I'm just his ridiculous, pathetic opposite.’”

He continued, “I just came away with this great sympathy for Bizarro. Like, man, it's got to really suck to be that dude.”

Hence, ‘I, Bizarro,’ a three-part story that will help fans see Bizarro in a new light, and perhaps even set him on a new course moving forward. Superman fans have already had a glimpse of what this means before the release of Action Comics #1061 tomorrow, but it’s only going to get bigger from there.

“It definitely helps that there are three 30 page issues,” Aaron said of the brief storyline, which launches DC’s Superman Superstars initiative. “I never worried about. Like, oh, am I going to have room to do what I want to do? I knew that many pages, I can swing big, do big stuff.”

Popverse’s full interview with Aaron will run later this week; keep your eyes out for it, if only to find out how influential Mark Waid was to Aaron’s run.


As part of Jason Aaron and artist John Timms' makeover for Bizarro, he's learning a new skill. Look at him with his New Year energy.

Graeme McMillan

Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.

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