Why Rege-Jean Page Could Damn Well Have Played Superman’s Grandfather

I read with some shock the recent allegation that the co-founder of DC Films, Geoff Johns, had chosen not to cast Rege-Jean Page in the role of Kal-El’s grandfather in the recent TV series Krypton out of a desire for the show to “evoke a young Henry Cavill.”

It’s an instructive exercise in systemic racism. This may seem like a small thing, but a young (and, as it turns out, immensely talented) actor was denied a role in a TV series…

EXPLICITLY BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN.

IN THIS CENTURY, NOT 1963.

This is not a small thing.

My first reaction was something that sounded reasonable to my Anglo-Saxon mind. “Well, of course. Superman’s white.”

Lazy-assed white man thinking. As a lifelong fan of The Last Son of Krypton, I kept going.

The first realization was blindingly obvious. Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman is not Caucasian. He definitely passes for a midwestern white farm boy, but he’s actually of an unknown Kryptonian race. Bear with me, this is the first racist box out of which I needed to climb.

We also know that Kryptonians come in different shades of alien melanin. There were the Vathlo Islanders, a Wakandan archetype that first introduced Black Kryptonians. They’re a segregated island race, cringy even for 1971 when they were introduced, but not the point. Krypton also had Nam-Ek, a war criminal, so Black villains are also OK in the Superverse. Krypton, according to canon, was a multi-racial society before its untimely end.

Canon also documents that Krytonians can fall in love, and mate, with alien species. Kal-El and Lois Lane, a decided member of homo sapiens, had two children. Krypton was an interstellar society, capable of building spaceships that were both living systems and life support systems, as we saw in the Snyder Cut Justice League movie. It’s more logical than not that Kal-El was not the only Kryptonian to get with non-Kryptonian species.

Second racist box: it’s entirely plausible that Kal-El could have had a man of color as his grandfather. It’s not a stretch whatsoever to say he probably had non-Kryptonian DNA as well. Johns’ argument for a racially pure lineage is the least-sensical approach to casting if you know your (fictional DCU) history, and it perpetuates the lie that racial purity even exists.

Imagine millions of Rege-Jean Pages hearing slightly veiled versions of the same story throughout their lives: you won’t get equal consideration because of your skin color.

Finally, let’s cut back to reality. KRYPTON IS FICTIONAL. We can create any rules we want about Kryptonian DNA! If Kal-El looks white but has a Black grandfather, doesn’t that happen all the time on Earth? Our first Black president had a white mother! Why not on Krypton? To eliminate the possibility that Superman may have a Black man in his lineage to ostensibly “evoke a young Henry Cavill” requires a decision-making process that ignores both science and fiction.  

Third racist box: when we’re writing fiction, we can write it any way we want. Geoff Johns, an acclaimed filmmaker, chose a white-centric narrative to tell a story where he could have logically chosen any path.

This is systemic racism writ large in popular culture. This is what costs Black people jobs, promotions, proper schools, wealth, even basic human rights in America. We all have a choice about how to think about our multicultural world. Too often, we revert to lazy thinking born of being raised in a racist nation. Imagine millions of Rege-Jean Pages hearing slightly veiled versions of the same story throughout their lives: you won’t get equal consideration simply because of the color of your skin.

And don’t get me started about Idris Alba and the James Bond casting thing.

When I consider how automatic my initial racist narrative sounded once examined in the light of, well, fictional reality, it’s no wonder people of color continue to be traumatized and outraged by their marginalization in this country.

But all it takes is that moment of self-realization to change. In a few moments of reflection, I changed my racially-charged knee-jerk reaction to a fictional alien’s lineage.

And it didn’t take a Superman to do it.

Rob Pait is a senior talent acquisition leader based in Los Angeles.