"Grounded" is a 2010-2011 comic book story arc that ran through the Superman monthly ongoing series. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson, and penciled by Eddy Barrows, with covers by John Cassaday.
Following the year-long New Krypton storyline, the story depicts Superman's return to Earth after residing on New Krypton. Exiting a congressional hearing about the "Hundred Minute War", he is confronted with the notion that he has grown disconnected from everyday Americans he has been committed to watching over, and doesn't truly know what his adopted people are like anymore. Feeling a responsibility to his adopted homeland, he begins a long journey where he will walk across the United States to reconnect with the everyday people he is committed to protecting.
Publication history
In June 2010, Superman reached issue #700, and writer J. Michael Straczynski, a Superman fan who felt 'a personal connection to the character', took over writing duties with a short story in the issue, and had his run on the title begin in earnest with issue #701. Artist Eddy Barrows, a previous Action Comics artist and one of the artists on the War of the Supermen limited series, is Straczynski's artistic collaborator.
When discussing writing such an important character to him, Straczynski claimed to know Superman's place in American iconography: "For me, Superman was, is and shall forever be America’s hero. Yes, his mandate is to protect the people of the world, he doesn’t take sides, he’s not overtly political...but like jazz and comic books themselves, he is inexorably tied to our culture and way of life. He stands for all the things we like to believe we stand for, especially when standing is the most difficult, when it would be simpler and easier to turn away". The storyline was noted for bearing striking resemblance to early Captain Marvel stories, which were a trans-American tour of the titular superhero for the purpose of a marketing ploy.
To amplify this, Straczynski felt that the opposite effect of New Krypton should be the new premise of the title: "...When DC's Dan DiDio approached me about re-invigorating Superman, my first thought was, take him back to his roots. Bring him back to the soil that nourished him, literally and figuratively. 'Pin him to the Earth', I said. Let him set out on a journey across America, on foot, so that we can see ourselves in his eyes and he can see himself in ours, and gain a better understanding on both sides as to who we are, who he is, and where we’re going".
Contest
In order to depict a correct representation of America, DC Comics asked readers to write in and campaign for their towns and residents to be depicted in the series. In an afterword to the prologue story in "Grounded", Straczynski assured readers that the story would not depict an idealist America that most Superman readers would expect: "It should be mentioned that this journey is not intended as a blind paean: as he moves across rich areas and poor ones, though the midwest and the rust belt, through cities on the rise and those on the downward slide, we will be honest in what we show: there will be casual cruelties and drive-by selfishness, as well as problems and difficulties that even he can’t solve. Powerful as he is, he cannot defeat poverty, or inequity, or our blind, headlong drive toward self-destruction. But alongside those faults we will feature the charity, the decency, the compassion and the stubborn, noble courage of the human race, and rediscover why he has come to represent the best of us while never shrinking from the worst of us".
Changes in the creative team
On November 2010, Straczynski announced that he would be leaving the series halfway through the storyline's run. This he did in order to concentrate on other projects as well as a sequel to Superman: Earth One. The storyline was finished by Chris Roberson when he took over as writer for the arc.
In an interview, Roberson noted that: