Writer
J. Michael Straczynski described the project as a dream come true, as writing Superman was among his intended plans which also included
Babylon 5. The project was alluded two years prior when Straczynski announced his contract with
DC Comics, as it was obvious he was going to be working on one of DC's "Big Three" that consist of
Superman,
Batman, and
Wonder Woman, but it was unknown to whom he was attached towards. However, before it was announced, he had to keep tight-lipped on the project, while he worked on the
Red Circle characters, as well as his run on
The Brave and the Bold.
As a journalist, Straczynski placed his past experiences within the environment of the
Daily Planet, in order to make it more real. One major example being
Jimmy Olsen, who will be known as Jim Olsen in the book, being seen as tougher and smarter than his mainstream counterpart as he will be seen getting himself in harm's way to get the shot. Straczynski wanted to retell the beginnings of Clark Kent coming out as Superman, but bring in the thoughts of what-if Clark thought of becoming something else instead of being a superhero. As Straczynski stated; "he could have been rich as an athlete, researcher, any number of things. There's a flashback scene to when Martha Kent finishes his uniform and gives it to him as a gift, hoping he'll go that way. He looks at it and says, in essence, "Shouldn't there be a mask?" She says no, that "when people...
As for 'Earth One", I loved the origins of the death of Krypton--but I highly doubt it can go further since I know DC. It'll be real hard to develop the idea further...