Birthright was a waste of time on Waid's part, and a waste of talent on Yu's. What's so great about 48 years of silly, silly concepts that's worth trying to bring back? A Super-Dog? The "S" being the family crest?! These leaps of plausibility...even within a comic book...are simply childish.
First off, the S-shield as the House of El crest had its genesis in the 1978 movie, not in the comics.
Secondly, the idea of the S-shield as the El crest is brilliant. What better way to explain where the emblem came from, and what better way to show Superman's link to his heritage by having it be the centerpiece of his uniform? Besides, several alphabets have the same letters in common, but they all have different meanings in each language/culture. Just because WE see the shield as an "S" doesn't mean it's an "S" to the Kryptonians.
But than again, I guess the only valid version of Superman is the 1986-1999 vision and that all others are inherently evil and worthless....
![[no no no]](graemlins/nono.gif)
