"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