With The New 52 taking hold and in full effect, the DC Comics universe has been experiencing plenty of changes in the comics. One of the most complex element in old DC was the multiverse, which was essentially a plot device that described there were different earths in other dimensions with infinite versions of the famous superheroes. Now, the new DC reboot will begin to establish the multiverse with Earth 2 as of the May issue of Action Comics. And, for the first time in Superman history, the alternate version of the character will be African American.

DC Comics revealed the news on their DC Source Blog today, saying that the back-up story of Action Comics #9 will feature the tale of this new Superman of an alternate earth.

“Parallel worlds come to the forefront of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 “Second Wave,” with titles such as EARTH 2 and WORLDS’ FINEST exploring the adventures of heroes on alternate Earths. ACTION COMICS #9 sets up the multiverse with a standalone story of a Superman from another Earth, who must fight a monster from yet anotherparallel world. But this isn’t just any monster; it’s a Superman surrogate known as Superdoom, twisted into an unstoppable agent of evil.”

The issue will be inked by Gene Ha, with Grant Morrison penning the story. A sample of Ha’s art was supplied with the post, which you can see better by clicking to enlarge:

So, what do you think? Is the New 52 multiverse a place for a racial change for the Kryptonian superhero? Will Clark Kent and this version of Superman team up sometime in the future? Do you see this as a major milestone, or simply DC answering to Marvel’s own publicity opportunity?