Up in the sky! It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s the New Superman ARG!

A new project set in the world created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932, this alternate reality game is taking an interesting shape. Within the boundaries of the game, the existence of Superman is recognized, but in a way that a citizen of Metropolis would — by having Superman be a very real super-hero within their “universe”.

The game includes Clawshun Industries, a company hired by Six Flags to build a Superman ride. However, a little bit of investigation on the company’s site informs that Clawshun is actually owned LexCorp, the fictional conglomerate steered by none other than Lex Luthor, Superman’s nemesis.

The players quickly finds themselves immersed in a story about brain washing, corporate corruption, and world domination. And then, Twitter messages from Jimmy Olsen start showing up, and as it turns out Jimmy is the lone investigative reporter that suspects something sinister behind Clawshun and the Superman ride.

Speculation that the ARG was created to promote another Superman movie are not confirmed yet, but Warner Brothers, who is no stranger to viral marketing to promote new movies, is said to have a new Superman movie in the plans for 2010. The more logical explanation is that the ARG is promoting a new roller coaster at Six Flags called Superman: Ride of Steel. The new attraction is set to be opened on Memorial Day Weekend, May 22-25, 2009.

Unfiction forum thread