This weekend was the annual Nola Comic-Con, a small, local show that I enjoy going to whenever I can. It doesn’t always land at the right time in the schedule, but this year my wife happened to have the day off, so we headed out together. And naturally, I grabbed a few Superman family books from the bargain bins. Coincidentally, these two are both from 1971. It’s like it was fate or something.
Superboy #173 Title: The Super-Clark of Smallville Writer: Leo Dorfman Art: Bob Brown & Dick Giordano Cover: Neal Adams
The story begins with Clark helping Lana Lang and her archaeologist father open up an ancient jar that is rumored to constrain a small amount of ambrosia, the food of the gods of ancient Greece. Professor Lang’s experiments somehow cause an explosion, knocking him out. Clark leaps to save him, but in his haste, neglects to switch to his Superboy costume. When Lana sees him using his powers with her own eyes, she immediately realizes she’s been right all this time – Clark IS Superboy!
Then, even FASTER, she jumps to a totally DIFFERENT conclusion: that Clark ate some of the ambrosia, and it gave him the powers of the gods!
Lana, I love you, but come on.
Clark plays along with Lana’s absurd assumption in order to protect his secret, so she whips up the ugliest costume in superhero history and starts parading him around Smallville. Within seconds, the citizenry have embraced Clark as their new hero, having him do any menial task they can find for him and trash-talking Superboy. When an actual emergency happens, Clark relishes the chance to slip away and do some REAL Superboy stuff, but as he’s out of town, Lex Luthor comes striding back in. Lex shows up just in time to see the Smallvillians tear down their statue of Superboy and replace it with one of Super-Clark (this is the most fickle town in the history of history), and Lex vows to vanquish Clark as well…but Superboy first.
As Superboy returns to town he confronts Luthor, who hits him with a ray that steals his powers! It’s all over, right? Nah, because as luck would have it, Superboy happens to stumble upon a bit of REAL Greek ambrosia! He eats it and uses his new godlike powers to beat Lex. Then, once his magic powers are gone and his Kryptonian might restored, Clark tells the townspeople the ambrosia wore off and Lana goes right back to telling him how lame he is.
There are a lot of screwy Superman stories from this time period, but I gotta tell ya, this one is next-level. That the people of Smallville with toss Superboy out so quickly feels utterly ridiculous and frankly makes the entire town look bad. Lana comes across even worse. She plants a big kiss on Super-Clark, leads the whole “Who needs Superboy?” movement, but she’s STILL the first to say “Thank Heavens we still have Superboy” when “Clark’s powers” go away. What did she expect, he could just keep magic ambrosia powers through sheer force of manliness?
The only person in this story who’s even remotely effective is Lex Luthor, who does in fact invent a device that takes Superboy’s powers, but doesn’t even realize it – in fact, when Superboy starts doing things like throwing around the lightning of Zeus, Lex thinks he somehow gave Superboy EXTRA powers.
Everybody in this story is the stupidest person in Smallville, is my point.
Superboy comes across looking a lot better in this issue’s back-up story, “Trust Me Or Kill Me” by Cary Bates, with art by George Tuska. In this Legion of Super-Heroes story, most of the Legion is on their way to a medico-asteroid (that’s a thing, kids) to get vaccinated against a virus that’s contaminating Earth. Cosmic Boy, having had the disease as a child, is the only immune Legionnaire and is left holding down the fort alone, until a mirror duplicate of himself pops out and starts a fight. Cos summons Superboy from the past, hoping that he can determine which of the two is the real Cosmic Boy, and they learn the whole thing is a scheme from the Legion’s old foe, the sorcerer Mordru. Superboy has only until the rest of the Legion returns to determine which of the two is the real Cosmic Boy, or the fake will destroy the Legion.
That Mordru is pretty confident, isn’t he? In fact, he’s SO confident that he promises to leave (for now) is Superboy can figure out which one is the bona fide Legionnaire. Fortunately for the people of the 30th Century, Cary Bates writes Superboy as much more intelligent than Leo Dorfman: after a few tests fail to prove which of them is the genuine article, Superboy comes up with a quick test, hurling iron boulders at them to see who has the magnetic powers to repel them. When one of them fails, Superboy declares HIM the true Cosmic Boy, as the “iron” boulders are really plastic, unaffected by the real hero, but repelled by the fake’s magic powers.
If only Superboy was always the smart one, huh?
Adventure Comics #408 Title: The Face at the Window Writer, Pencils, and Cover: Mike Sekowsky Inks: Henry Scarpelli
In the 70s, Linda Danvers bounced from city and city and job to job pretty frequently, as the writers didn’t seem to really know what to do with her. This issue is set during a brief time when she was working as a journalist. As she and her team film some old homes for a documentary, they wind up being run off a spooky old property by an old man with a shotgun. Before they flee, though, Linda spies a little girl in the window of the house. That night Supergirl returns – as does her rival reporter Nasthalthia Luthor. That’s right, Lex’s niece, who they actually called “Nasty.” The little girl appears to Supergirl, telling her that her parents are inside the house as well.
If you’ve ever told stories around a campfire you can probably figure out where this is going. Supergirl uncovers the old man’s dark secret and the literal skeletons in his closet, and in the end, finds that the girl who summoned her in the first place isn’t with us anymore either.
It’s spoooooky.
Supergirl gets a second story in this issue, “Invasion of the Mer-Men.” Linda and her co-worker, Johnny, are enjoying a day at the beach when they’re suddenly attacked by aliens wearing bubble helmets full of water. Linda dashes off to change into Supergirl (she couldn’t very well wear her costume under her bikini), but when she returns she finds that Johnny has been taken by the aliens. What’s worse, for a few issues now her powers had been cutting out at inopportune times, and when she tries to make chase, they die on her again. As her co-workers begin diving in a search for Johnny (feels like this should be a job for the Coast Guard, but whatever), Supergirl goes to Kandor to get some implants to allow her to breathe underwater. The aliens, meanwhile, show up at a conclave of scientists and announce that they’re stealing Earth’s water, because they need it more than we do. And with that announcement from what I assume are primitive AI bros, the story ends on a cliffhanger.
It was a glorious time, the 70s.
Blake M. Petitis a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure seriesOther People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon.Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in theYear of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
It’s time once again for a healthy helpin’ of reviews. Here are most (if not all) of the Superman-related comics that hit the stands in July, beginning with an anniversary special.
Action Comics #1100 Title: Mission Failure/Superman Meets Superboy (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writers: Mark Waid & Joshua Williamson Art: Skylar Patridge, Ryan Sook, & Daniel Sampere Main Cover: Ryan Sook
Action Comics turns the big 1-1-0-0, and it doesn’t look a day over 872. But the Reign of the Superboys continues here with Clark “Superboy” Kent facing the time-travelling villain Epoch, powerless, with his time-tossed allies from the Justice League missing. Even without powers, though, he proves his mettle, and he’s soon reunited with the Leaguers to finish the mission that started all this – finding the Superman who’s been missing since the end of DC KO. I guess this is technically two stories, but the creators put them together so seamlessly that you don’t even realize it until you get to the credits on the last page. It’s a great little tribute to the character, though, showing Superboy glimpses of his future and culminating in a grand reunion. It does, however, raise a few questions, including a glimpse of a Legion of Super-Heroes that doesn’t quite seem to gel with the reboot that Joshua Williamson is writing in a few months. Curiouser and curiouser.
The other creative teams of the current Superman comics are also in on the fun, contributing a few more back-up stories.
Title: Game Night Writer: Sophie Campbell Art: Dan Mora
The regular Supergirl writer and Superman team up for this story, in which we check in on Lois Lane and the rest of the family during Superman’s absence. The first thing I noticed about this story is that I probably should have read the other Reign of the Superboys finales before this one, because it seems to spoil certain things. Ah well. The important thing here is that we finally get a confrontation between Conner Kent and Superboy-Prime, whom you may remember KILLING Conner back in Infinite Crisis, way before his current redemption arc. It’s a confrontation I’ve been waiting for, honestly, and although it was a little abrupt, I was very amused that Campbell managed to sneak in a little self-deprecating humor via Prime’s fourth wall awareness. I do like jokes like that.
Title: End of Reign Writer: Dan Slott Art: Lucas Meyer
The final story in this issue is a neat little adjunct to the El Caldero story that’s happening over in Superman Unlimited. We get a little history of the country that’s building on the riches of its Kryptonite deposits, as well as a couple of chilling revelations.
Overall, the issue works fairly well in advancing and tying together the storylines that have been happening in all of the assorted Superman titles, and the upcoming Kingdom of Zod crossover looming between the four titles (a real one this time, not a thematic one like Reign of the Superboys), it feels perfectly timed.
Superman #40 Title: Prime Time: The End (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Joshua Williamson Art: Dan Mora Main Cover: Dan Mora
Superboy-Prime vs. Manchester Black is not what I expected to be the faceoff of the year, but this arc has been fantastic. With Prime trying his hardest to redeem himself, Manchester Black is hoping to use Prime’s unique status and awareness of his existence in comic books to give himself an upgrade and make the whole DC Universe as nasty and edgy as him.
This. Issue. Rocked.
It’s not just the fight, as good as it was. It’s the heart of the story behind it. Those of us who remember Prime’s first appearances back in the original Crisis on Infinite Earths have probably always felt a pang of regret that a character who seemed to have such potential would fall as far as he did. Williamson has done the impossible – he’s done the hard work to take a character who seemed indelibly tarnished and bring him back from the brink, making him sympathetic, even likable again. The Superboy-Prime in this issue may not truly be worthy of the S-shield that he wears, but he’s trying again. He wants to be. And that’s important.
What’s more, the battle between the two of them hinges on a meta-commentary about the state of comic books and comic book fandom as it exists today. It has something to say, and even the page where Prime gives us a speech doesn’t feel preachy or unearned. It’s a magnificent thing.
We also get a catchup with the rest of what Prime is now calling his own supporting cast, including Witchfire, and I can’t believe how much I hope we get to see these two together again. Prime even hints that it’s coming, but not before Supergirl swings by to pick him up for the upcoming crossover. Ah, a Kryptonian’s work is never done.
If you had told me a year ago that the Superboy-Prime redemption arc would be one of the best things to happen to comics in 2026, I would have thought you were crazy. But even without Superman appearing in this arc, Williamson has made it about Superman and who he is and what he means, and I love that so, so much.
Supergirl #15 Title: Hero of Kandor Finale (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer, Art, & Main Cover: Sophie Campbell
It’s the final battle for the fate of Kandor. Supergirl and Luminary face off against the Black Flame and – although I don’t want to spoil anything – I WILL say that, once again, Conner Kent’s presence here was completely superfluous. More than ever, I’m convinced that Campbell was asked to shoehorn him into a story that he didn’t belong in so that they could market this book as part of the “Reign of the Superboys.”
That said, once you get over that little hiccup, it’s a great finale. The ending comes naturally, playing off the character work that Campbell has been putting into this series since issue one. And while Luminary does something here that feels hopelessly naive, I can’t argue that it doesn’t feel appropriate to the character and the path that she’s been taking, so I have to respect that.
This issue also seems to set up a new status quo for the character and the title, although whether it’s going to be a long-term arrangement or something that’s done away with after an arc or two remains to be seen. I hope it sticks around at least for a little while, because there’s an interesting dynamic that I would like to see played with here. Although I worry that the whole thing might be derailed right off the bat since next issue is going to kick off the whole Kingdom of Zod crossover with the other books, so just how much Campbell is allowed to explore this new dynamic remains to be seen.
Superman Unlimited #15 Title: Save Yourself (A Reign of the Superboys tie-in) Writer: Dan Slott Art: Lucas Meyer Main Cover: Taurin Clarke
At the end of last issue, the truth about the time-tossed “Superboy” was revealed – he’s actually Ultraboy, son of Ultraman of the Crime Syndicate, who was trapped in the same volcano as Jon and tortured the same way. This issue, as Kryptonite threatens to overrun Smallville, the rest of Team Superman (namely Steel, Superwoman, Krypto, and Lois) try to save the day, while Batman and Robin join Tomorrow Man to face an Ultraboy who’s going out of control.
Lots to like here. Again, without giving away how the story ends, Slott pulls a very Superman-like play here, demonstrating that Jon – like his father – has the ability to see the inherent good in anybody, and will fight to bring that good out whenever possible. The confrontation between Damian and Ultraboy works well too. True, the Bat-family in no way suffers from a lack of exposure, but having Damian as part of this story actually makes sense. It doesn’t feel shoehorned in like some Bat-appearances. Jon is his best friend, and he’s taking this whole thing very personally.
One spoiler I WILL let through – I’m surprised but happy that Jon seems to be holding on to the Tomorrow Man name, at least for the time being. I never liked it when they took to calling him “Superman,” not because of the character himself, but because I really hate the modern practice of having multiple people running around using the same code name. I can accept it for the Green Lanterns, as that’s really more of a job description than an actual code name. And I’ll let it slide for the Flash, because how to do you tell any of those guys that they need to step down? Everybody else? Get yer own name, sparky. Anyway, “Tomorrow Man” works just fine.
Dark Knights of Steel II #1 Writer: Tom Taylor Art: Otto Schmidt Main Cover: Yasmine Putri
The original Dark Knights of Steel is one of the series that convinced DC it was time to bring back the Elseworlds imprint in the first place, so it’s nice to see that this sequel brings that universe into Elseworlds proper. This isn’t purely a Superman story, mind you, but the main thrust of this universe hinges on the Superman family: Jor-El and a pregnant Lara came to a medieval Earth together. Then…stuff happened. Look, just read the book, okay? There’s a nice little recap page here that tells you the high points of the original series and lets us jump to the main story: the three kingdoms of the League (Metropolis, Amazonia, and the Kingdom of Storms) are planning to defend themselves from an imminent threat by the shape-shifting creatures from Mars. A day of happiness for the three kingdoms turns to tragedy when a treacherous attack from beneath the seas reveals yet another kingdom – and leads them all potentially to war.
Tom Taylor does a great job of bringing new readers up to speed here. I’ve mentioned before that I wish DC Comics would include “previously” pages the way Marvel typically does, but it was really helpful here (I haven’t read the original series since it concluded in 2023 and, frankly, I needed the refresher). There’s a bit of expansion of the world here, but mostly what we get is a reminder of where the major players were at the end of the previous series (specifically Kal-El, Diana, Bruce, and Arthur), with their stories being reestablished and pushed forward incrementally, until the scene at the end changes everything. It’s a great way to begin a sequel, and while I would still recommend anybody interested in this series read the original first, if for some reason you can’t, this book will give you everything you need to know to jump in.
Absolute Superman #21 Title: Moon Fall (Reign of the Superman Finale) Writer: Jason Aaron Art & Main Cover: Rafa Sandoval
The epic battle between Superman and King Shazam comes to a conclusion this issue. With Superman and Hawkman facing the former Teth-Adam on the surface of the moon, their allies back on Earth are taking care of other business, particularly seeking retribution against Talia Al Ghul.
With a serialized story like this one – like most modern superhero comics, really – the end of an arc needs to accomplish two things. It needs to tie up the story that was told over the course of the previous however many issues in the arc, and it needs to lay the seeds for future storylines. Aaron really handles them both well here. The battles against King Shazam and Talia both come to very satisfying conclusions here, and while conclusions are indeed had, they’re the kind of the conclusions that open more doors than they close. A new threat looms on the last page, and Jimmy and Lois both experience shifts in their personal status that lays the framework for more stories in the future.
Superman himself, meanwhile, ends this issue in something of a darker place. Although Kal-El continues to be the bright spot in this Absolute world, as this issue reminds us quite adroitly, most of the people he’s surrounded with are darker than the versions we’re used to seeing in the main DC Universe. By the end of it, it feels as though that’s taken its toll on Superman, and that’s a logical place to bring this arc to a close.
Adventures of Superman: Book of El #10 Title: So Say the Dead Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson Art & Main Cover: Scott Godliewski
The members of the House of El face off against Kryl-Ux. Tamarind lies in the balance, and I can’t lie, I couldn’t care less. Ten issues now, we’ve been drifting through a future that has failed to engage me. It’s the same ol’ problem – the reset button is looming, and the idea that this will ultimately be a story of consequence will not take hold.
In an Elseworlds story, you think about the fate of the alternate reality that you’re dealing with. Here we’re dealing with a world that feels like it’s going to vanish as soon as Superman returns to his proper time. If that DOESN’T happen, then this whole thing will be invariably relegated to an alternate timeline, in which case it STILL will have no consequence. It would be different if I was interested in these characters, if I cared about them, if I felt like they mattered but…I just don’t.
I honestly feel bad being so negative about this book. I know other people are enjoying it, and I would never want to take that away from them, but I simply can’t see it. I don’t get what – if anything – I’m supposed to care about here. Maybe once it’s over, maybe once the final issue hits and the story can be viewed as a whole, I’ll feel differently. I sincerely hope so. But for the time being, all I can really bring myself to do is wait for the end.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #53 Title: Warlords Conclusion Writer: Mark Waid Art: Adrian Gutierrez Main Cover: Dan Mora
Our heroes’ epic journey to Skartaris comes to a conclusion this month. Tyrant Rex has not only ensorcelled Batman and Superman’s minds, but he has stolen Superman’s powers and distributed them among his minions, leaving Robin and Warlord to take them on. This whole story really has been sort of a Robin spotlight. He’s the one who has worked hardest to forge bonds with the people of Skartaris, he’s the one who has to step up with his mentors stolen and pulled to the other side of the chessboard. The story is a nice look at the young man who will eventually be the Nightwing we know today. There isn’t much action going on with either Superman or Batman here, but I don’t mind that. Seeing him get the spotlight is a nice change of pace that still fits well into the framework of this series.
Superman: Father of Tomorrow #3 Title: Machinations Writer: Kenny Porter Art & Main Cover: Danny Earls
Having spent years sharing Kryptonian technology to improve life on Earth, Jor-El is beginning to feel pushback from people who feel like he’s going too far. Lex Luthor, as usual, being the most fervent adversary to the House of El, decides to seek magical help from the Tower of Fate. And General Sam Lane is putting together his own team to deal with the problem.
Such as it is.
I feel like the wheels are starting to come off this story a bit. The basic premise is fine – Jor-El is the one who comes to Earth rather than Kal-El. Traumatized from watching one world die, he decides to make his adopted home better by sharing the technology of his planet of birth. The idea that doing so somehow stifles humanity is the core of the conflict. The problem is that nothing in the story actually sells the idea that Jor-El’s shared technology is doing any damage. As presented, the world seems to be a demonstrably better place. Maybe I’m missing something, but the worst thing I can find anyone saying about this altered world is that despite the fact that Jor-El has improved medical technology, hospitals still aren’t free. And as much as it may enrage some people to hear this, that ain’t enough for me to accept that a fascist regime is taking over.
At one point, Martha Kent suggests that Jor-El is behaving like a parent who is doing everything FOR a child rather than teaching the child HOW to do it. Is that actually true? The Kryptonian technology is everywhere, and presumably SOMEBODY out there is manufacturing and maintaining it. Even Superman Jor-El can’t possibly be doing it all HIMSELF, so logically we have to assume that humans HAVE learned how to do it. The message of this book is collapsing rapidly, and barring some sinister secret that Jor-El is keeping that will be revealed in a later issue, I’m not sure how to reconcile the point the author is trying to make with the world that he’s presented us with.
Supergirl: Survive #2 Writers: Ethan S. Parker & Griffin Sheridan Art & Main Cover: Rod Reis
After the destruction of their homeworld, Kara and Kal-El are found by a new Corps made of Lanterns of every color. Their safety is short-lived, though, as Lobo and a squad of Czarnians are out for the baby, thirsty for the bounty of a survivor of Krypton.
I mean, with Lobo as the big guest-star in the Supergirl movie, it’s not surprising that they would bring him in here as an antagonist for this series. And the way he’s being used is pretty logical, making sense for what would happen in a world of this nature, where there are two known survivors of their planet’s destruction. What I’m really interested in, though, is what’s up with the Lanterns. The first issue gave us hints that there was more to the death of Krypton in this world than we were being presented with, and this issue’s conversation with the Guardians of the Universe pushes that narrative forward, spooling out a little more of this mystery as we go along and making me all the more curious as to what the real story is here. This story may be labelled as a Supergirl story, but like some of the best of the modern Elseworlds, it feels like there’s an entire universe here worth exploring, and lots of other characters and corners that are going to be worth looking into and playing with.
Batman/Superman: World’s Finest 2026 Annual Title: The Hero Trap Writer: Mark Russell Art: Clayton Henry Main Cover: Dan Mora
It’s Father’s Day, and Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are having lunch with their respective adoptive fathers when a Justice League alert summons them away, leaving Jonathan Kent and Alfred Pennyworth to bond without them.
As a writer, Mark Russell is hit or miss with me. Sometimes I feel like he’s indulging in soapbox writing that starts to get tiresome, but on a story like this one, he knocks it out of the park. The story drifts between the heroes trying to solve the supervillain plot du jour and the conversation between the fathers, and it’s obvious to everyone that the second part is the most important. This is an emotional issue, it’s a story about fatherhood and what exactly that means, especially for fathers of particularly extraordinary sons. But while stories like this one often neglect the other half of the narrative, Russell has a clever trap laid for our heroes and some really entertaining moments as they struggle to puzzle a way out of it. Neither the superhero side nor the fatherhood side of the story is neglected or damaged by the other, giving us a story that’s an absolute joy to read.
Title: Date Night Writers: Mark Waid & Tyrone Finch Art: Pat Boutin
Regular World’s Finest writer Mark Waid teams up with Tyrone Finch for this issue’s back-up story, “Date Night.” A spat between Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptylk leads to Bruce Wayne taking Lois Lane on a date to the state fair while a disgruntled Superman is forced to watch from afar. This one is…okay. It’s a silly, lighthearted story with no real stakes, as we all know that Lois will ultimately wind up with Clark Kent and that any flirtation with Bruce by necessity won’t go anywhere. There’s nothing wrong with a strange little story like this one once in a while, but it kind of pales in comparison to the main story in this book.
Superman 2026 Annual: Year One Thousand Title: The Return of Superman & Legion Found Writer: Joshua Williamson Art: Eddy Barrows & Yasmine Putri Main Cover: Eddy Barrows
As we all know by now, Superman went missing after taking on the mantle of King Omega at the end of DC KO. In Action Comics #1100, he was found by his Justice League teammates and his own younger self, because time travel. This annual tells us the story of what happened in-between, which means it’s that rarest of animals in this day an age: an annual that’s actually relevant to the ongoing story.
Shortly after the end of the tournament, Superman discovers that the death of the Time Trapper (whose powers have been added to his own) has left the timestream in turmoil, and something is using that chaos to feed on the destruction being created in its wake. In his attempt to repair the damage to the timeline, Superman finds himself once again encountering Darkseid’s Legion, but a very different Legion than he’s met before.
A few weeks ago, it was announced that the Legion was coming back in their own title, written by Joshua Williamson. As great as he’s been as the Superman writer, I was a bit put off when the description of the book made it seem like the Legion was being rebooted YET AGAIN. (This would be at least Legion Version Six, depending on how you want to count.) But I do have faith in Williamson, and this issue makes me feel like that faith is justified. Without getting into spoilers, it feels as though this newest reboot is part of the story, and that the previous iterations of one of my favorite teams are not being shunted into Comic Book Limbo after all, but may indeed have a part to play. I hope that’s right. I guess we’ll find out when Legion of Super-Heroes #1 hits in a few weeks.
Blake M. Petitis a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure seriesOther People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon.Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in theYear of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
Comic book announcements seem to come in fits and starts. Fans may go weeks without hearing any news that’s of particular interest, then all of a sudden somebody makes a big announcement and it seems like everybody else has to make a bunch of their own just to keep up. This week came several announcements from different publishers about upcoming projects, many of which have me very excited, and one of which…well, you’ll see. But before we even start I’m going to say that this is not a COMPREHENSIVE list of projects. These are just some of the things that were announced that interest ME, and that make me feel ways about things. Sorry, “release date for Midnight Marvel” – ya didn’t quite make the cut.
Marvel DID have one thing announced on Monday that I find pretty interesting, a one-shot special coming out this fall in which the Marvel superheroes will – for the first time – team up with some of my favorite corporate siblings of theirs. This fall, we’re going to get the crossover we never knew we needed: The Muppets Take the Marvel Universe.
The Muppets have appeared in comics before, even published by Marvel a few times. There have even been a few Marvel variant covers featuring the Muppets. But this will mark the first time that the Muppets and the Marvel heroes will actually meet in a story, and I’ve got to tell you, I couldn’t be more excited for it. In the main story, by Chip Zdarsky and Pete Woods, the X-Men’s old foe Mojo apparently kidnaps Rowlf the Dog, bringing Kermit the Frog and company in cahoots with some of Marvel’s all-stars in order to rescue him.
This is actually such a perfect set-up. Mojo is an interdimensional parody of a corporate media executive, obsessed with ratings and viewership. That’s what makes Rowlf the perfect central character for this story. As opposed to Fozzie’s cringe comedy or Gonzo’s stunts that are guaranteed to go wrong, Rowlf is simply a gifted piano player, one of the few Muppets that is unabashedly GOOD at what he’s trying to do, and thus he’s exactly the kind of character that would be on Mojo’s radar. Crossovers like this will be inherently silly, and that’s welcome, but they’re at their best when they play to the characters’ strengths this way.
There will be back-up features in the book as well, similar to the recent Marvel/DC crossover comics. Hank Pym and Bruce Banner will visit Bunsen and Beaker at Muppet Labs, and Dr. Strange will star in a bizarre team-up with the Swedish Chef. As Disney proper struggles with what to do with the Muppets (despite the fact that the Muppet Show special earlier this year was both a critical and streaming smash hit, and any idiot would have greenlit a revival series by now) at least SOMEBODY out there has the wherewithal to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show the way it deserves.
A few hours after Marvel’s big announcement, IDW came in with a project of their own that seems to have been aligned perfectly to intersect the venn diagrams of my personal obsessions. IDW has held the Godzilla comic book license for many years now, and for the last few years they’ve published miniseries and one-shots under the banner Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theater. The first miniseries was a crossover mash-up in which Godzilla encountered public domain characters such as Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, the time traveller from H.G. Welles’ The Time Machine, and – most perplexingly – Jay Gatsby. Follow up one-shots have dropped him in Verona during the events of Romeo and Juliet and ancient Greece to further complicate Odysseus’s journey home during The Odyssey. But this September we’re getting a book that excites me like no other: The Kaiju of Oz.
I am, as people who’ve read this blog for a long time know, an unabashed fan of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, as well as many of the expanded universe books, movies, and comics that have been published in the decades since Oz entered the public domain. And Oz crossovers aren’t a new thing – we’ve seen lots of stories about Dorothy and Alice (from Wonderland, obviously), stories where the characters interact with the DC Multiverse, the characters join the fairy tale kitchen sink of ABC’s Once Upon a Time, and plenty of other incarnations and crossovers. IDW, for their part, has also produced a series of one-shots in which Godzilla stomps on various American cities like New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. (Hey, IDW, if you ever want to go Godzilla Vs. New Orleans, give me a call. I’ve got a story for you.) Having Godzilla march in to crush the Emerald City sounds like a hell of a lot of fun. Hopefully the creative team of Mike Costa and Ryan Browne are familiar enough with the Oz mythology to use the characters to their true potential. I don’t care how good his brain is – the Scarecrow isn’t going to be much of a match for Godzilla. But if Glinda, Ozma, Professor Wogglebug and some of the other Oz luminaries step up to the plate, it could be a pretty exciting showdown.
DC Comics, meanwhile, announced the latest expansion of their excellent Compact Comics graphic novels line, the series of smaller-sized paperbacks with a smaller price point that have taken the comics world by storm. They STILL haven’t taken any of MY suggestions (philistines), but what they announced this week is perhaps the next best thing. Recognizing what a great series this is for introducing new readers to comics, DC announced four “Compact Comics Adventures” books for younger readers, specifically collections of the comics based on some of their most popular cartoons: Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, and Teen Titans. DC has a pretty deep bench of comics for young readers that they could draw from, but a lot of them wouldn’t quite be long enough to justify the Compact Comics format. These series are a nice compromise, with comics appropriate for young readers but that will appeal to the nostalgia factor of people who grew up with the cartoons.
A lot of these comics have been out of print for decades, and some have never been collected at all, so this will be a great collection. Best of all, these will be even MORE bargain-priced than the main line, with each book collecting six issues for $7.99 (as opposed to $9.99 for the other books). My sister is always asking me for graphic novel suggestions for her 12-year-old son, and as soon as I heard about these, I texted her.
The next announcement is the one that I’ve got a little trepidation about. Earlier this year DC began a new line of titles called “Next Level,” bringing back characters that haven’t had a big spotlight in some time for new titles that – although part of the DC Universe – are largely self-contained. New books starring the likes of Batwoman, Lobo, Deathstroke, and Barbara Gordon (not as Batgirl or Oracle, but in an intriguing book where she’s going to prison as part of an undercover sting operation) have been well-received, and I’ve been especially impressed by the new takes on Firestorm and Deadman. This week DC announced three team books joining the Next Level lineup: Doom Patrol, Teen Titans, and most pertinently, Legion of Super-Heroes.
I am, of course, a Legion superfan. I’ve been itching for YEARS for DC to come back and give us a solid Legion series again. And the fact that it’s being written by Joshua Williamson, an excellent writer that’s just been killing it on Superman for the last few years, was very welcome news. But then I kept reading and…well, let me just give you the synopsis of the first issue that DC released:
One thousand years after the Last Son of Krypton’s rocket crashed on the Kent Farm comes a new future inspired by the Man of Tomorrow! But this new future is in danger! Superheroes are outlawed! Deadly enforcers known as the Persuaders keep the populace of the United Planets in check! Worlds are at war! And this dark tomorrow’s last glimmer of hope, R.J. Brande, has been brutally murdered. Can the mysterious Brainiac 1 of 5 solve Brande’s murder? To restore hope to the universe, he must assemble a legion of gifted young rebels from across the cosmos!
…yeah. It’s another freaking reboot.
This will be, by my count, the SIXTH incarnation of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and as much as I enjoy Williamson’s writing, that has SERIOUSLY diminished my enthusiasm. We’ve seen the Legion assembled countless times. There’s a reason James Gunn didn’t start his Superman movie with an origin – because nobody needs it anymore. What’s more, each reboot version of the Legion has proven to have a shorter lifespan than the one before it. The most recent one, by Brian Michael Bendis, lasted a mere 19 issues plus a two-issue prequel and a six-issue miniseries where they faced the Justice League. If this keeps up, the next Legion after Williamson’s will be a one-shot.
Mr. Williamson, should you be reading this, please don’t take my lack of enthusiasm personally. I like your work very much. I was VERY excited to hear that you were writing this team. But no matter how great the creative team is, it’s going to be an uphill battle to make me invested in Iteration Six when my heart still belongs mostly to One. (And, in large part, to Two.)
You know, I can’t end this on a down note. How about one more super-cool DC announcement? For a few years now Dan Mora – one of my favorite working comic artists – has been doing a series of variant covers of the World’s Finest comic with Superman and Batman meeting various celebrities like William Shatner and Nicolas Cage. Earlier this year DC released two at once, one with Weird Al Yankovic and then another, on a Bizzaro comic, where they encountered Al’s imperfect counterpart “Normal Al Yankovic.” As it turned out, that was just the beginning. Coming this fall World’s Finest writer Mark Waid is going to give us a one-shot where DC’s top heroes are going to encounter the universe’s greatest musical genius, Batman/Superman/Weird Al: World’s Weirdest. I haven’t read anything about the story, I don’t know what it’s going to be about. It doesn’t matter. This is going to be the greatest comic since…
…well, since Spider-Man met the Muppets.
So call up your local comic shop and place your orders, friends. There’s lots of cool stuff coming soon.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. He’s also started putting his LitReel videos on TikTok. He means it, IDW. Think about Godzilla biting into a certain trademarked New Orleans beignet shop and then coming up with powdered sugar covering his enormous muzzle. That’s just the start.
It’s time for another roundup of recent Superman comics. This week I’ll be reviewing the Superman and Superman-related releases that were released on Jan 28 and Feb. 6. Let’s get into it!
Superman Vol. 6 #34
Title: I, Superman (A DC KO Tie-In)
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Art: Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira
Main Cover: Dan Mora
In the arctic, the unusual trio of Lois, Superboy-Prime, and a Superman Robot are fleeing the Fortress of Solitude and the battle with members of Darkseid’s Legion. Meanwhile, the Final Four from the main tournament get a chance to look in on what’s happening back on Earth. It’s a pretty sparse recap, I admit, but the pages are PACKED here with character stuff.
The surprising redemption of Superboy-Prime continues this issue, as he finds himself confronting a Superman Robot that has many of the memories and personality of the original. The contrast between the two is marked and the way that Prime has to reckon with the way the REAL Superman apparently thinks of him…which isn’t what he expected, but is probably exactly what the reader would anticipate. I like Prime’s reactions quite a bit – he’s got an awful lot to cope with here, and for the most part, Williamson is handling it well. He may be going slightly too hard on the fourth wall-breaking dialogue, though. Prime is carrying around knowledge of the fact that he’s in a comic book universe, which is fine, but we don’t want it to go so far as to turn him into Deadpool.
We also spend time with the members of Darkseid’s Legion, who up until this point have come across largely as mindless stormtroopers wearing the faces of our friends. We get a different look here, a reminder that although they’re from a universe corrupted by Darkseid’s Omega Energy, they’re still fundamentally the same people, and perhaps the notion of redemption that Williamson is playing with here isn’t restricted to Prime himself.
I’m all about Eddy Barrows and Eber Ferreira’s artwork – bold, strong, and proud. They’re also pretty good about drawing a Prime that looks like an actual Superboy. Even at his most villainous, it’s important to remember that he’s still a version of Clark Kent, and there have been artists who occasionally forget that.
DC KO: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Art: Travis Mercer
Main Cover: Bruno Redondo
The Justice League is strained at the moment, with many of their members caught up in the tournament for the Heart of Apokalips, and most of the others fighting to help evacuate Earth or deal with the dozens of other disasters cropping up all over the place. Jon Kent is given one of the most important duties of all: staying on the Watchtower and keeping an eye on some of the younger heroes, including the Boom, Fairplay, Quiz Kid, and Cheshire Cat. Of course, it would be a pretty short special if the kids just sat around and did what they were told, wouldn’t it? Naturally, they get loose, run into trouble against some of Darkseid’s minions, and Jonathan is forced to call on Cassandra Cain for help.
Jon has been in the last several issues of Titans, working with them as they spearhead the evacuation effort. In March, the book is scheduled to be retitled New Titans with issue #32, and the cover (with several characters in silhouette only) implies heavily that Jon will be a member of the new team. If that’s the case, I’m really quite satisfied with it. The character has been rattling around aimless, for entirely too long, and if making him a member of the Titans actually gives him something to do that makes sense, that’s the best we can hope for. What’s more, I like the group of kids that we see in this issue, the ones that Jon is protecting. I’ve wanted to see more of Boom since she first appeared in the Stargirl: The Lost Children miniseries a few years ago. Fairplay, too, is an interesting character, a very different take on Mr. Terrific that has a lot of promising storytelling avenues. Best of all, there’s a surprise guest-star in this issue that filled me with joy, and no doubt will have the same effect on a lot of other readers. It’s someone we haven’t seen in quite some time, but that DC has been teasing very heavily lately. I’m hoping that this character will stick around in New Titans as well.
Of course, none of that is set in stone. Jon is the only character in this issue whose silhouette appears on that New Titans cover. But covers – especially early solicits – can be deceiving. I don’t expect the heroes we see in this issue to be the new Titans team in its entirety, but I hope that Jon isn’t the only young hero that got a tryout in this issue, because I think there’s a lot to work with here.
DC’s Supergirl Next Door #1
Note: This is DC’s Valentine’s Day anthology for 2026. There are eight different stories in the book, but I’m only reviewing the Supergirl story.
Title: A Dream of Different Stars
Writer: CRC Payne
Art: Paulina Ganucheau
Main Cover: Amy Reeder
Allen is a new kid in Midvale, struggling to make friends and struggling to fit in. That is, until he meets another new kid in town, Linda Danvers. The two of them form a bond and she opens up to him, revealing just how deeply she misses her old home, and Allen decides to do something to help her.
Short and sweet, but that’s what this story is. It’s a lovely little tale of a couple of foundlings who find solace in one another. CRC Payne is a name I mostly know from her work on DC’s digital comics, such as Batman Family Adventures and Harley Quinn in Paradise. She’s brought the same kind, quiet, reflective tenor she uses in Batman Family Adventures to this story as well, crafting a tale that makes it easy to relate to the characters despite its brevity. Ganucheau’s art has a loose quality to it as well, befitting the more animated style we see in Payne’s other work and fitting very well for this tidy little love story. There’s real charm here that I appreciate.
DC KO: Boss Battle #1
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Art: Ronan Cliquet, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Kieran McKeown, Pablo M. Collar
Main Cover: Jamal Campbell
Seconds after the end of DC KO #3, the Final Four in the tournament for the Heart of Apokalips are poised for the battle of their lives, but World Forger manages to “pause” the game. They’re not ready, the need more Omega Energy, so he finds a way to generate some by briefly spending the heroes into neighboring realities to have additional battles and charge up, leading to fights against the wildest opponents yet: Sub-Zero and Scorpion from Mortal Kombat, Samantha Strong from Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Vampirella, Red Sonja, the murderous doll Annabelle, and – in the title fight that people have been wanting to see for YEARS, Superman versus Homelander from Garth Ennis and Darrick Robinson’s The Boys.
During the Year of Superman, I included Homelander in the week I wrote about “Superman gone wrong” – characters who are intended to be dark or even evil versions of the Man of Steel. To me, Homelander is one of the most insidious of those. He is what people who never understand Superman THINK Superman should be like. And knowing that Superman is one of the few superheroes that Ennis actually has respect for, from the minute this book was announced, I was looking forward to seeing our boy Clark finally giving Homelander the beatdown he so richly deserves.
The result is…okay.
Look, the concept of this book is fantastic. It’s utterly insane, and the matchups are crazy. (Joker versus Annabelle, anybody? COME ON!) But it’s just too short. It seems like nearly half the book is taken up just with giving each of the champions borrowed from other universes a page of introduction each, then the fights themselves are over and done with far too quickly. I have never said this before, but this is a crossover spinoff one-shot that probably SHOULD have been a crossover spinoff miniseries.
What’s more, it’s kind of inconsequential. It picks up just as DC KO #3 ends, and the final page promises that the story leaps from this book straight into DC KO #4, and it’s structured in such a way that people who are only reading that main book will feel like they haven’t missed anything. I get why they structured it that way, and I don’t begrudge that, but considering that this book is ultimately just a fun little sidestory rather than required reading (like so many of the books from “All Fight Month” were) just kind of makes me lament the fact that there wasn’t time for a little more fun.
Superman: Chains of Love Special #1
Title: Creepers
Writer: Leah Williams
Art: Ig Guarra
Main Cover: Yasmine Putri
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we get this one-shot. Livewire is being paroled from prison, but her years away have left her without her audience…until she stumbles into the Creeper, who finds a way to help her climb back to prominence. And then, with love in the air, the sparks fly.
It’s a cute enough story – questions of continuity aside (Livewire says early that she’s “from the 90s,” which feels a little meta), the two characters have an interesting chemistry that actually plays out in an entertaining way. Superman’s presence in the story is minimal however, mostly there for structure in the new environment that Leslie Willis finds herself in. But I guess DC (correctly) assumed that branding this as a Superman special rather than a Creeper/Livewire special would get more readers.
Title: Bill Zarro’s World
Writer: Dan Slott
Art: Rosi Kampe
Dan Slott and Rosi Kampe also come through with a back-up story in this issue. Bill Zarro is a lowly peon working at the Daily Planet. His boss is a jerk, his wife resents him, his kids disdain him…until one day he wakes up on Bizarro World, and everything changes. This is a short story that’s essentially an extended gag piece that builds up to an unusual and amusing punchline. The ending is funny enough to make the story worth recommending.
Absolute Superman #16
Title: The Never-Ending Begins Part Two: This Universe Will Break Your Heart, Kid
Writer: Jason Aaron
Art: Juan Ferreyra
Main Cover: Rafa Sandoval
This issue brings us the full introduction of a new Absolute Universe hero as Superman is approached by the mysterious Hawkman. This version of Carter Hall has been around for a long time, and initially doesn’t know what to make of this newcomer with all of the powers. We also see Lois as she tries to find a new direction in the wake of her departure from the espionage game, a new version of another classic character, and the recruitment of Lex Luthor continuing unabated.
Here’s something that I haven’t really said before about many of the Absolute comics: this issue is surprisingly funny. The first couple of pages in which Superman and Hawkman meet in midair are punctuated by Kal-El getting distracted by disasters both minor and major and then zipping off to deal with them and leaving Hawkman flapping his wings. The introduction to this new Hawkman works really well. It can be easy to forget that this “young” universe is still a universe, with a history all of its own, and Hawkman feels like a great opportunity to explore that a little bit more.
The Lois story has some humor as well. For a while it didn’t seem as though this book was going to brush much on the traditional Superman status quo at all, but here we’ve got Lois and Jimmy looking into being reporters, the introduction of the Daily Planet, and the debut of one Perry White. Even there, though, we see the influence of Darkseid on this world. The Planet ain’t the grand old dame she is in the main DC Universe, and although Perry has the same sort of grit you’d want from the character, it comes with more grime than one would usually expect. The way this is structured he may be a one-off character, but I really hope that’s not the case. I feel like there’s a lot of potential here, especially in having him interact with Lois.
Even the Lex Luthor scene is darkly comedic. The Absolute Luthor – with a proud shock of red hair and a burly beard, is a man utterly happy and content in his simple like. The difference between him and “our” Lex Luthor is perhaps more striking than any other Absolute character we’ve met yet, which is amusing, but at the same time, seems poised to bring him to a bitter, heartbreaking end.
Or not. Aaron has been surprising me a lot with this book.
Juan Ferreyra handles both the line art and colors for this book, and I really like his work. The flashback scenes, showing some of Carter’s adventures in the 40s, have a nice sort of archaic look to them. In the modern scenes, where he and Kal-El meet, he does this really interesting blur effect to show Superman zipping into action. It’s not wholly unique – I’ve seen similar effects from other artists – but his execution is great. I’m also a big fan of the monster designs from later in the issue, and his battle scenes look stunning.
We’re on the second issue of this new story arc, and it’s honestly shaping up to be my favorite from the series so far. It’s brighter somehow, and while that may be a deviation from the whole ethos of the Absolute Universe, I feel like that’s kind of the point. A Superman – a REAL Superman – should always be the bright spot in his world, no matter how dark the world itself may be.
Blake M. Petit is a writer, teacher, and dad from Ama, Louisiana. His most recent writing project is the superhero adventure series Other People’s Heroes: Little Stars, volume one of which is now available on Amazon. Don’t forget, you can check out earlier blogs in the Year of Superman/Superman Stuff Archive! Got a request for a future “Superman Stuff”? Drop it in the comments!
As I write this it’s December 17, one scant week until Christmas Eve. And I don’t mind telling you guys, we need a little Christmas right this very minute. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna quote the entire song. I will, however, spend the next several days reading some of my favorite classic Superman stories set around the holidays. I’ll also tackle this year’s DC Christmas special, which I’ve been sitting on in anticipation of this week, and I’ll take a look at the third Krypto short, Package Pandemonium.
Comic:DC Comics Presents #67, DC Go! Holiday Special #7 (Bizarro), DC Go! Holiday Special #8 (Sunshine Superman)
Notes: I’m starting this week with one of my all-time favorites, a comic book I’ve loved since I was a kid and I go back and re-read pretty much every year at this time. DC Comics Presents was, of course, the Superman team-up book for much of the 80s, and in issue #67 Superman teamed up with the greatest hero of them all: Santa Claus.
In “‘Twas the Fright Before Christmas” (a title which I feel has probably been used and reused hundreds of times over the years), Superman happens to pass by a kid using a toy gun to try to hold up a sidewalk Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Superman determines that the toy gun actually has a device that’s controlling the boy’s mind, and he whisks him off to the Fortress of Solitude to investigate. Superman breaks the mind control and the boy, “Timmy Dickens” (because Len Wein and E. Nelson Bridwell were not subtle writers) tells him how he found some of his Christmas presents early. Superman deduces that it’s the work of his old foe the Toyman, and bundles up Tim to bring him home. Just moments after he takes to the Arctic air, Timmy’s other toy blasts him with a ray that sends him crashing to the ground, unconscious. As Tim pleads with him to wake up, a group of tiny men with pointy ears appear as if from nowhere and take them both to safety.
Back in Metropolis, we see the Toyman monologing about how he found a chunk of white dwarf matter that he used to create heavy gravity, cancelling Superman’s powers, and believes him to be dead…but JUST in case (the Toyman may be crazy, but he’s not an idiot) he starts preparing a few other weapons. Superman, meanwhile, wakes up surrounded by his rescuers. When he asks where he is, his eyes clear and he sees Santa Claus standing over him, welcoming him to his top-secret workshop. He gives Superman a tour of the workshop, triggering memories in Superman of a holo-projector he played with as a baby, a gift from Jor-El that was lost when Krypton exploded. With Superman still weak from the gravity beam, Santa offers to give him and Timmy a lift back to Metropolis in his sleigh. They stop at Toyman’s hideout and Superman bursts in to stop his old foe, but between the earlier blast and Toyman’s Kryptonite-armed toys, the pushover of a villain turns out to be far more dangerous than usual. Santa drops down the chimney and lets some of his own toys out, and the tiny warriors help the Man of Steel defeat the Toyman in an epic battle. After the Toyman is taken away, Santa gives Superman safe toys to replace all of Toyman’s tainted gifts. As he finishes his rounds he’s about to take Tim home, but Tim’s toy blasts him again, knocking him out. He wakes up back in the arctic snow, Tim standing over him, and he believes the events of the evening to be a dream. But after he brings Timmy home, he returns to Clark Kent’s apartment to find a special gift in his cape pouch – the holo-toy his father made for him.
Usually, I despise the whole “It’s all a dream…or WAS it?” trope, but this is one of the few stories where I give it a pass. Part of it, I suppose, is the nostalgia behind it. I was probably ten or eleven years old the first time I read this story, and it’s as dear a holiday yarn to me as the likes of Rudolph and Frosty. There’s so much charm to it, and I just love Curt Swan’s depiction of Santa Claus. As much as he is one of the iconic Superman artists of all time, sometimes I wish he had gotten to do a Santa miniseries or something, just because his style lends itself so well to the character.
The story also plays on nostalgia as well, with Superman remembering the toy from Jor-El and thinking fondly of Christmases past. And while Superman’s initial skepticism about Santa DOES seem a little silly, considering all of the other outlandish things in the DC Universe that he knows are real (lest we forget, he has previously visited an alternate dimension occupied entirely by funny animals), they at least justify it by him saying that he would have seen Santa’s workshop at the North Pole if it existed and Santa casually telling him that nobody sees the workshop unless he WANTS them to. That whole “magic vulnerability” again, y’know?
This story, along with several other classics, was reprinted in 1988 in the first of two Christmas With the Super-Heroes specials. It was my first exposure to not only this story, but other classics like the Teen Titans “Swingin’ Christmas Carol” and “Silent Night of the Batman.” Both this issue and the entire special are – for once – available on the DC Infinity app, and if you want a little holiday cheer, it’s worth the read.
Dec. 18
Comics: Superman Vol. 2 #64, Adventures of Superman #487, DC Go! Holiday Special #12 (Super-Pets), DC Go! Holiday Special #13 (Bizarro)
Notes: This was probably the first Superman Christmas story I remember reading as an ongoing fan of the comic, surprisingly enough. I’d only come on-board 14 issues prior, during the Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite, and there wasn’t a Christmas story the previous year. This one made up for it, though, with “Metropolis Mailbag” written by Dan Jurgens with art by the late Butch Guice. This story established something that we’ve come back to in the Superman titles a few times over the years: people send letters to him all the time and they pile up in the Metropolis post office, as he doesn’t actually have an address. Then, a few days before Christmas, he comes by and reads and responds to as many of them as he actually can.
The task of reading the mail is arduous for Superman, the hero who wants to help everybody and sees the mountains of letters as a visual representation of all the desperate people beyond his help. This year, at least, he has a little company, as Lois is joining him in reading the letters so she can write a story about Superman’s tradition for the Daily Planet. After sifting through fan letters and get-rich-quick schemes, he starts to sift out the people he can actually help, such as an Auschwitz survivor who has discovered that the sister whom she thought died in the war is still alive, but she has no means to get to Germany to see her. The triumph of their reunion is quickly dulled, however, when he finds another letter from a boy whose father is dying from a brain tumor. Superman visits the child in the hospital, arriving just minutes after Terry Baldwin Sr. passes away. Although Mrs. Baldwin is grateful that he came, Terry Jr. – who wrote the letter – is outraged. Superman sits with the boy and tries to explain himself, but he’s not having it.
“But you’re SUPERman!” Terry shouts.
“No. I’m SuperMAN. And there are many, many things I just cannot do.”
After a few weepy panels (both for the characters and the reader), the doctors come by to ask Mrs. Baldwin if her husband was an organ donor. Superman, sensing an opportunity to take some good from this tragedy, tells her about a letter he received earlier from another woman in desperate need of a heart transplant. In what can only be categorized as a Christmas miracle, Baldwin’s heart is a perfect match, and Superman swiftly delivers it.
One last letter comes from a charity for disadvantaged kids that can’t afford Christmas presents or a Santa Claus this year, asking Superman to make an appearance to distract them from the lack of toys. As always, Superman does it one better with the help of his friends. Emil Hamilton whips up a sleigh and plays Santa, delivering a load of toys donated by one Mr. Bruce Wayne. Superman flies the sleigh down to visit the kids, incognito, and slips away before any of them suspect that they’ve witnessed anything other than Christmas magic.
This issue has been a favorite of mine for decades now. It’s a sweet, simple extrapolation of who Superman is and what would likely happen in a world where he existed – a mountain of pleas for his attention, of course, and the way he tries to handle as many of them as possible.
The story also humanizes Superman in ways that few other stories do. It’s natural enough to see him in pain over all the people he simply cannot help – that’s just part and parcel for who a Superman should be. But the panel where he’s arriving at the hospital, unable to save Terry Sr., cuts right into the gut. Jurgens has him pause for a moment on the hospital roof before going inside, thinking about the boy whose world he’s about to shatter, thinking, “I hope he understands. I hope he won’t hate me.” You read this panel, Guice drawing Superman’s face in shadow, and you’re not hearing the voice of the world’s greatest hero. You’re hearing a very human man who loves people, who desires connection, and allows a very relatable moment of despair at the thought that he’ll be blamed for something beyond his control. It’s one of those single panels that encapsulates the character just beautifully.
The story worked so well that it was revisited a few times, most notably one year later when Superman was “dead” after his battle with Doomsday and the rest of Earth’s heroes picked up his mail and dealt with it in his honor. But this original did it best. It’s a perennial read for me, a work of art, and it is as Superman as Superman gets.
Fri., Dec. 19
Comics: New Adventures of Superboy #39, DC Go! Holiday Special #19, 20
Notes: It’s the last work day of the year for me, and honestly, I’m ready for it. I need some time to decompress, although I fear terribly that those circumstances I keep talking about are going to do their best to prevent such decompression in the home stretch of the Year of Superman. Still, I spent Thanksgiving with Superboy, so I’m bringing him back for one last go today in “A World Without Christmas” by Paul Kupperberg and Kurt Schaffenberger.
It’s Christmas Eve in Smallville, but Clark’s classmate Bash isn’t feeling it. Bash – whose parents had to go out of town unexpectedly, leaving him alone – rants against the commercialization of Christmas and storms out of the Kents’ Christmas party. Clark heads after him, approaching him as Superboy, figuring that Bash would be more receptive to him that way. It doesn’t work – Bash continues to rail against the world. Playing a little Dickens, Superboy whisks Bash to an alternate reality where there is no Christmas, and Smallville is a dilapidated dump. Bash encounters that world’s Clark Kent, who runs away from him in fear, summoning an angry mob that’s out for blood, wanting to drive out the “costumed stranger” and the “Bashford Punk” from town. The two are separated, and Superboy is found by that world’s Jonathan Kent, one of the few decent people left. He takes Superboy to an underground hideout where, to Superboy’s shock, he finds Bash teaching Jonathan’s friends to sing “Silent Night.” Superboy takes Bash back home, his Christmas spirit renewed, neither of them ever learning that the leader of Jonathan’s resistance is that world’s Bash Bashford.
It’s a different kind of Christmas story, that’s for sure – kind of bleak and melancholy. Although I suppose the ultimate message is that good can be found anywhere, which is appropriate enough for the Christmas season. I’ll allow it.
Sat., Dec. 20
Short Film: Krypto Saves the Day: Package Pandemonium
Notes: It’s the third of the four Krypto shorts, this time giving us a warm, fuzzy tale of absolute chaos that feels delightfully appropriate for the holiday season. It’s Christmastime in Metropolis, and while Clark is sending out his Christmas cards, Krypto’s X-Ray vision happens to spot a postal worker carrying a package with a mouthwatering t-bone steak. Hunger overwhelms Krypto’s urge to be a good boy, and calamity ensues.
Okay, three cartoons in and I think it’s safe to say that this is the pattern for the Krypto shorts: he gets the urge to chase something for some reason, he causes lots of wacky shenanigans in his pursuit, and in the end he realizes he’s made a mistake and does his best to fix all the stuff that he’s wrecked. Yeah, it’s formulaic, but is it really any more of a formula than the classic Coyote and Roadrunner or Tom and Jerry shorts? They’ve all got their patterns, the real question is whether the filmmakers can find a little variety and a little fun while staying within the bounds of the formula. And I think this one does. The chaos is funny and Krypto’s remorse at the end feels genuine. Plus I’m still chuckling over the fact that Metropolis has a store literally named “Oversized Ornaments Outlet.”
Sun., Dec. 21
Comic:DC Special Series #21
Notes: Today I’m grabbing another old favorite from DC Special Series #21, aka the Super-Star Holiday Special. This book from 1979 featured several stories starring Jonah Hex, Batman, Sgt. Rock, and the House of Mystery. The one I’m reading this for, though, is Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes in “Star Light, Star Bright…Farthest Star I See Tonight!”
Superboy is bouncing forward in time for one of his regular visits to the Legion just in time for Christmas. His friends show him some of the futuristic holiday celebrations, and Superboy is left feeling nostalgic for a simple, old-fashioned Christmas. Then, to make all the Legion’s futuristic technology worthwhile, he proposes a little adventure: using their tech to try to track down the Star of Bethlehem. With Wildfire, Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, and Phantom Girl joining him, the Legion sets out to look for the star. When they arrive where it should be, though, they find a planet in dire straights. The planet is entering an ice age, causing its three intelligent species problems. An aquatic race is dying because the plankton they feed upon is freezing. A land-dwelling mammalian race is so desperate for warmth that they’re setting fire to their own crops. Finally, ice storms are battering the nests of an avian race, threatening the eggs that hold their young. The Legionnaires help each of the tribes but know their aid is only temporary, until Superboy comes up with a plan. Together, the Legion uses their powers to carve out an underground catacomb where the three races can shelter from the storm and coexist with one another, sharing resources and warmth until the United Planets can find a way to safely evacuate them to a more suitable world. Although Wildfire remains characteristically skeptical, Superboy is happy to credit his quest for the Christmas star for saving an entire world that Christmas Eve.
The first time I ever read this story, like the DC Comics Presents story from a few days ago, was when it was reprinted in Christmas With the Super-Heroes from 1988. Dang – maybe I should have just read that book this year. But regardless, I really like the message here. The story is a bit light on traditional Christmas elements: no Santa Claus, no Angels, no carols or candy canes. Despite that, though, writer Paul Levitz leans on the spiritual aspects of the holiday even 1,000 years in the future, set against the backdrop of a story that feels like it could have come out of an episode of Star Trek. It’s not something that many writers would do today…in fact, more recent Legion stories have mashed all of the Earth’s winter festivals into a bland, homogenized “Holiday” (which is actually what it’s called), whereas Levitz recognizes and celebrates different traditions: while the story is explicitly a Christmas tale, we see other alien cultures, as well as other Earth festivals like Chanukkah, which is celebrated by Colossal Boy (whose Judaism isn’t frequently referenced, but it’s not ignored either).
I particularly like how Superboy has this sort of childlike wonder to him. He’s never got a hint of doubt that their quest will bear fruit, and although he doesn’t exactly find what he expected, the fact that his curiosity helped save three intelligent civilizations is evidence that he was right all along.
Although only the final story in this special is Superman related, the others have a lot going for them as well. The Jonah Hex story cracks open Jonah’s childhood to show the horrible cycle he’s trying to escape, the Batman story has some early Frank Miller art, and the House of Mystery is a wild little romp where most (if not all) of DC’s horror hosts of the era get into a little contest to see who can tell the best Christmas story. The special is available on the DC Universe Infinity app, and it’s worth cycling into your yuletide reading.
Mon. Dec. 22
Comic:Superman Vol. 2 #165, DC Go! Holiday Special #26, 29
Notes: I don’t talk about cover art often enough in these write-ups, but let’s take just a moment to appreciate this lovely little scene by Ed McGuinness: Superman and Lois looking down at a box of ornaments as Superman ponders that most inscrutable of holiday questions: what do you get the JLA for Christmas?
The story within, unfortunately, is somewhat less effusive with the holiday cheer. Written by Jeph Loeb, this story takes place in the aftermath of the election of Lex Luthor as President, with Superman struggling to wrap his head around the fact that such a thing could have happened. The issue is a series of vignettes, each by a different artist, in which he visits a member of the League, has largely the same conversation over and over again, and then gives them a token Christmas present. Some of them, like Green Lantern’s gift, are a bit of a gag, while others like Wonder Woman’s belie a deeper meaning.
I get the intent behind this issue. The President Luthor story was a big one, and it makes sense for Superman to struggle with it, even to the point of a mild existential crisis But in practice, this issue comes off as very repetitive, with each Leaguer’s respective stance being highly predictable. The rotating artists thing doesn’t work great either. Some of the scenes are sublime – having the late Mike Wieringo illustrate an outer space game of Satellite Baseball between Superman and Kyle Rayner is just lovely. Others are less so, but I suppose that Loeb was a big enough name at the time to want to work with his friends, and I can’t in good faith begrudge him that.
All said, despite the premise of this issue being that Superman is delivering Christmas presents to his teammates in the Justice League, this is probably the least Christmasy story I’ve read this week.
But again, that cover is a banger.
I had more fun with the DC Go! Holiday Special #29. This digital series has mostly taken short stories from the assorted DC holiday anthologies of the past and re-presented them one at a time in their “Infinite” format, so they aren’t new stories, but I honestly don’t remember where most of them were originally presented. In this case, we’ve got “A Lex-Tacular Christmas Carol” by Ethan Sacks with art by Soo Lee. It’s one of a thousand takes on the ol’ Dickens chestnut, but it’s an entertaining one. After sending an employee (named Bob, naturally) off to spend his Christmas Eve working instead of spending time with his family, Lex sets out to have a good night’s sleep, only to find himself visited by a variety of familiar spirits. Just when you think you’ve seen every iteration of A Christmas Carol that you could think of, you get hit with something like this. Whereas most of our Scrooge stand-ins go through the requisite character arc, Lex is utterly nonplussed about the ghosts. Even his own father as the stand-in for Jacob Marley doesn’t make Lex bat an eye, merely comparing his current appearance to what he looked like when Lex – y’know – murdered him. Sacks DOES give in to tradition just a hair at the end, but all in all, Lex makes for them the most delightfully unrepentant Ebenezer Scrooge you could possibly imagine.
Tues., Dec. 23
Comic:Batman and the Outsiders #19, DC’s I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus #1, Titans Vol. 4 #30 (Guest Star Jon Kent)
Notes: I like it when Superman pops up as a guest star alongside other, younger heroes. It’s a good way to see just how he’s perceived by the hero community at large, and this Christmas story from Batman and the Outsiders #19 serves that purpose well. On Christmas Eve, Geo-Force (arguably the most powerful member of Batman’s mid-80s team) is with the young Halo when gets a phone call from a friend who has swallowed a bottle of pills. After getting the young woman, Denise, to medical attention, Geo-Force discovers that she was driven to this desperate situation after being sexually coerced by one of her college professors. Geo-Force sets out to kill the professor and Halo rushes off to Batman for help. Recognizing that he can’t possibly stop Geo-Force on his own, Batman makes a call to Metropolis. As Superman and Halo seek out Geo-Force, hoping to stop him before he does something he can’t take back, Batman uses his own skills to attack the lecherous professor in his own way.
Several things worth mentioning in this one. First, when Batman quit the Justice League and founded the Outsiders (a whole 19 issues ago) it caused a rift between himself and Superman that all of their assorted titles dealt with for months, particularly the title they co-starred in, World’s Finest Comics. The fact that Bruce immediately calls Clark for help when he realizes what Geo-Force is up to is a wonderful way to demonstrate that the rift has largely been healed at this point. It’s also cute to see Halo mooning over Superman when she meets him for the first time. The “young heroine gets a crush on Superman” trope wasn’t new even when this book was published in 1984, and often it gets tiresome. It works quite well with Halo, though – she’s a teenage girl who is struggling with assorted identity issues of her own while, at the same time, still dedicated to being a hero. She’s also the kind of person whose heroism shows brightly, cheerfully – she may be a member of Batman’s team, but she’s not the kind of hero who sulks in the shadows.
The Geo-Force fight is the really interesting part of this story, though. It’s often tempting to enact what TV Tropes calls “the Worf Effect” in stories like this one – having a character who should theoretically be much more powerful than his opponent suddenly become weak or ineffective. It’s an annoying trope, and when you hear “Superman Vs. Geo-Force” (who’s very much a rookie at this point) it doesn’t seem like it should be a contest. But Geo-Force not only holds his own, but writer Mike W. Barr sells you on its plausibility. Superman’s powers are, after all, due in part to the lower gravity of the Earth, and since part of Geo-Force’s powerset is the manipulation of gravity, it allows him to balance the playing field considerably, making for a more tense battle scene.
Despite the dark undercurrent of this story, the presentation at the end feels hopeful and bright, which is just what you want in a Christmas story, isn’t it?
Also on the docket today is this year’s DC Comics Christmas special, I Saw Ma Hunkel Kissing Santa Claus. (Again, and I cannot emphasize this enough, whoever it is in the DC marketing department that’s coming up with the titles for these holiday anthologies deserves a raise.) There are eight stories this time out, and I particularly liked the opening story starring Ma Hunkel herself, as well as the tales with Billy Batson, Animal Man, and Dr. Light. But I’m here to talk about the Supergirl story, “Holiday Woes” by Ash Padilla with art by Anthony Marques. Kara is spending Christmas in Smallville with Lois and Clark – her first since declaring herself the protector of National City, and she’s nervous that if she takes time away from her tasks as a superhero, people in her town will go undefended. But Clark wants her to loosen her up, and sets her up on a blind date at the Smallville Winter Festival. As is to be expected from a blind date in a comic book, things don’t go exactly as planned.
I’ll knock out the thing I didn’t care for: the retcon of Pete Ross’s son. As recently as the Summer of Superman special early this year, we saw that Pete and Lana’s son Clark Ross is still in continuity and still a child. A teenage son named Jonathan Ross doesn’t fit in anywhere here. Now it’s easy enough to dismiss the story as just being out of continuity, as the stories in these holiday specials rarely turn out to have any ongoing relevance. But in this case, darn it, I WANT this story to turn up again. The truth about Kara’s date is really sweet, and the kind of thing that appeals to an old-school fan like myself. (And truth be told, I’d like to see Dr. Light team up with the Atom again the way they do in this issue. What can I say? Like Clark Kent in this story, I love love.)
Notes: I’m going to wrap up this festive week with some Golden Age Goodies, beginning with what I have to assume is the first ever Superman Christmas one-shot, Superman’s Christmas Adventure from 1940. Lois and Clark convince their editor to begin a campaign to collect and refurbish used toys to give to needy children for Christmas. News of this campaign makes it all the way to the North Pole, where Santa is pleased to see that Lois and Clark are acting as his helpers this year. But a pair of villains who hate Christmas – Dr. Grouch and Mr. Meany – have sent a ship to the Pole where they try to convince Santa to convert his workshop to a commercial enterprise. Failing, they attack the Planet’s toy drive, setting the workshop on fire, with it only being spared thanks to Clark’s super-breath. Foiled again, they decide to attack Santa’s workshop directly, only to be driven back by his army of toy soldiers. Lois has stowed away on their ship (because of course she has) so they strap her to a rocket and blast her into the sky, where Superman rescues her. The villains split up, with one of them kidnapping Lois (again) and the other stealing Santa’s reindeer – a crime that statistically is far greater than stealing forty cakes. Santa radios Superman for help, and although he saves the reindeer, Grouch and Meany manage to gas them to sleep, rendering them unable to pull Santa’s sleigh. Superman, of course, steps up to help the big guy make his rounds.
This 16-page comic, originally published as a department store giveaway, is absolutely wild. It ends when Santa gives the bad guys Christmas presents, despite the fact that they quite clearly belong on the naughty list, and this makes them instantly reform and give up evil. Really, that’s all it takes. And I didn’t even mention the two-page sequence where Superman takes a spoiled rich kid on a tour of the less fortunate children of Metropolis to make him appreciate what he’s got and teach him the spirit of giving. That has NOTHING to do with the main plot. This story is wild, unfocused, a plot seemingly assembled by shotgun. And I of course loved every panel. Here’s hoping that Tom King is working on the gritty reboot of Grouch and Meany for next Christmas.
Action Comics #93 brings us “Christmas Around the World.” It’s 1945, and in the aftermath of World War II, Lois and Clark find an abundance of refugee children separated from their families during the war. Superman, of course, loads them up in a glider and begins a world tour, delivering food and supplies to impoverished areas while, at the same time, reuniting the children with their families, and spreading Christmas spirit along the way. It’s an odd little story. There’s no villain. There’s not even really any conflict. The closest we have is one boy who lies about wanting to go with Superman to be reunited with his father, but who only didn’t want to make his friends (whose fathers died in the war) feel bad. It’s just a little picture postcard of a world healing itself after its darkest hour.
I’m going to wrap up this week of yuletide joy with Action Comics #105, a comic so stuffed with holiday cheer that I am currently wearing a t-shirt with the cover on it. Millionaire Jasper Rasper is a mean man who hates Christmas. He sneaks off to the North Pole and tempts Santa with some candy that is specially formulated to make fatty tissue multiply at an alarming rate. When Superman gets wind of the scheme, he rushes to the Pole to find that Santa is now too plump to make it down the chimneys on Christmas Eve. Superman begins whisking Santa around the world on an exercise tour, slimming him back down. As he’s about to head out, though, they find that Rasper ALSO drugged Santa’s reindeer (Santa needs to step up his security detail), so Superman agrees to pull that ol’ sleigh again. As they’re making their way south, they see that Rasper’s helicopter crashed on an iceberg. Superman saves him and the villain, just like our pals Grouch and Meany, has a miraculous change of heart.
Just when you think you’ve seen every Christmas story possible, we get a gem like “Villain makes Santa Claus too fat, so Superman becomes his fitness instructor.” It’s a magical time.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week of holiday adventures friends, and I hope you and yours have the merriest of Christmases. And I hope to see you all next week, on New Year’s Day, when I’ll present the grand finale of my Year of Superman.
As I write this, it’s Oct. 29 and I am still very much in the Halloween mood. I know, however, that this isn’t going to be posted until Nov. 5, and I respect the fact that you guys have probably shifted gears by now. So I’m going to do another random week for you, bouncing from one story to another at will and not beholden to anything in particular. You may still see a vampire or two, I make no promises.
Well, except for the promise that you’ll see a picture of my kid in his Halloween costume when we get to Friday. I can absolutely promise you THAT.
Comics:Superman #410, 412, 413, Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite #16
Notes: With the end of the year looming, I’m going to try to tick off some of the more random comics on my list that I haven’t gotten around to, books that don’t fit into any particular theme or week, but that I want to read for one reason or another. And I’m going to start in 1985 with a three-part Lex Luthor story that has become a minor classic.
Superman #410 starts normally enough, with Superman saving Honolulu from a plunging satellite. With Hawaii safe, Clark returns to the Daily Planet office and dutifully types out the story, turning it over to Perry White to put on the front page of the paper. As the evening edition hits the streets, though, Morgan Edge comes to Perry with horrifying news – the satellite Superman supposedly stopped is still in orbit, making the story he “told” Clark Kent seem fake. Superman zips to space to investigate and finds the satellite he clearly remembers catching floating in orbit where it belongs. Superman is faced with a horrible choice – tell Edge the truth and have people believe Superman is losing his grip on reality, or allow him to think Clark falsified the story. Given a choice between shattering peoples’ trust in Superman or in Clark Kent, he allows Edge to think Clark was at fault. Edge and Perry immediately fire Clark from both the Planet and WGBS news. As Clark tries to find the truth about what happened, we see Lex Luthor in a secluded island hideaway, boasting to his minions how he has found a way to broadcast false memories into Superman’s mind.
The trilogy skips issue #411, the legendary tribute to Julius Schwartz issue, and resumes in Superman #412, which begins with a humiliated Clark Kent on the unemployment line. He’s called away just as he’s about to be served, as Superman is needed to prevent a nearby construction disaster. Meanwhile, as Perry, Lois, Jimmy, and Lana agonize over Clark’s dismissal, Luthor is gloating over how Superman “allowed” his old pal Clark to take the fall for his own false memories. Lana, in fact, tears into Superman the next time she sees him for the same reason. Clark turns to his old friend Steve Lombard – who now owns a sporting goods store – for work. They’re hanging out when Luthor arrives in Metropolis, planting a series of “Scrambler Rods” around the city and nearly impaling Steve in the process. As he catches up to Luthor, an enraged Superman drives his fist into Luthor’s chest, killing him. When he withdraws his hand, Luthor’s armor explodes in an atomic wave that destroys the entire city of Metropolis!
For, like, a panel, before Superman finds himself clinging to the top of a skyscraper, having hallucinated the entire encounter. Luthor, meanwhile, has finished planting his rods, ready for the final phase of his “Ultimate Revenge” plan.
The final chapter picks up just seconds later, Superman still at the top of the building, having lost all faith in his own grip on reality. Even though he’s certain that Luthor is behind all of his current troubles, he no longer trusts his own senses, destroying his effectiveness as Superman. He stumbles back to Steve’s store, where Steve receives a phone call from Lois with a plan of her own. She has Steve invite Clark to a “charity bash” that evening, to which he reluctantly agrees. As he ponders his future, another hallucination hits – Steve’s store seems to vanish, then the entire city block, then the entire city, including his friends. Clark is missing, then, when the “charity bash” begins – actually a dinner in honor of Clark thrown by the people who still believe in him. While his friends give testimonies in Clark’s honor, Superman watches in horror as Luthor makes him believe he is obliterating the entire planet Earth. While Luthor has Superman captive, suffering from his hallucinations, Clark’s friends are growing worried, searching for him, wondering where he’s gone. When Superman’s hearing picks up on their fervent pleas, it breaks through Luthor’s spell. He goes after Luthor, but a strange vortex plucks Luthor from his clutches before he can bring him to justice. Superman joins Clark’s “other” friends at the dinner, claiming the whole thing was part of a plan of his to smoke Luthor out, thanks Clark for going along with it, and says he’s SURE Clark is looking forward to getting back to work.
I’ve said several times that the late 70s and early 80s were kind of a pallid era for the Superman comics. The villains and stories felt recycled and pointless, and although there were attempts at change (Lois “breaking up” with Superman, Clark dating Lana, etc.) none of it felt particularly important or consequential. But in the last year or so before the John Byrne reboot, they took some chances, and this story is one of the better ones. Although the conclusion still puts everything back in its neat little box, the journey to get there is an interesting one and I like the whole concept of everybody coming out in support not of Superman, but of Clark Kent. This was a time when Clark was usually still written as the disguise and Superman as the real personality, so having people in Clark’s corner for once was fresh and satisfying. Luthor’s getaway is a little irritating, but the knowledge that the vortex was sucking him up to participate in Crisis on Infinite Earths helps a bit. I almost wish they hadn’t given Clark his job back at the end – with the reboot on the horizon it wouldn’t have really made much of a difference, but may have made this story even more memorable.
Thur. Oct. 30
Podcast: Totally Rad Christmas, Episode, “Superboy-Young Dracula (w/CM Chuck)”
Notes: It’s the day before Halloween, so I decided to take a break from my usual Star Trek podcast on the way to work and see if the Totally Rad Christmas podcast had dropped any Halloween episodes this year. To my delight, I found that Gerry D and CM Chuck had gotten together to review an episode of the 1988 Superboy series in which young Clark faced off against…well, Young Dracula. I haven’t really gone back and watched this series in a long time, and I’m not sure at the moment where to find it. I own the first season on DVD, but not the subsequent ones, and although I know at one point it was available on DC Universe, that before it was merged with HBO Max and before Warner Bros. lost their collective minds and started throwing their IP to the four winds in the hopes of finding somebody desperate enough to buy them. The whole situation is ridiculous.
But anyway, the podcast. I don’t really remember the episode they’re discussing, and I wish I had it readily available to watch, as I’ve still got so many other Superman/vampire encounters fresh in my mind. I was glad to see that Gerry did enough research to unearth Superman #180, which I talked about last week, and how it demonstrated that a vampire biting a solar-powered Kryptonian wasn’t the best idea for the vampire. But that was a side conversation, not about the show itself, and the scattershot nature of this particular podcast does a nice job of emulating a conversation hanging around the comic shop, but isn’t exactly comprehensive in its coverage of the topic at hand. I’ll have to find this episode on my own somehow.
Comics: Superman: Silver Banshee #1-2, Cheetah and Cheshire Rob the Justice League #3 (Cameo), Saga of the Swamp Thing #24 (Guest Appearance), Justice League of America #36 (Team Member), Flash Vol. 6 #26 (Guest Appearance), Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #12 (Team Member)
Notes: In the comments to last week’s blog, Ben Herman asked if I’d ever read Dan Brereton’s two-issue Superman: Silver Banshee miniseries from 1998. And I know I have, I bought it when it came out and it’s still in my collection, but I probably haven’t read it SINCE the original publication. And as it, too, is a Halloween story (which I had forgotten, or I would have included it last week), this seems like an excellent opportunity to revisit it.
On Halloween Eve, Lois Lane gets a tip that will help her uncover a notorious gang of art thieves called the “Trickertreaters.” At the same time, in the Netherworld, Silver Banshee learns that there is one remaining descendant of the MacDougal clan, the clan responsible for her curse, and that she will never be free until the last MacDougal has perished. On Halloween, though, there are other options – she can go to Earth again, and if she uses the power of “good works,” the final MacDougal can lift the curse freely, without need for further death. Lacy MacElwain, her target, now lives in Metropolis (because of course she does) and the Banshee sets out to find her, but instead is snared by a summoning spell cast by the devil queen Hecate. Hecate – as it happens – is the one who lured Lois Lane with the promise of catching the Trickertreaters, whose newest member happens to be…oh come on, you can guess…yep. Lacy MacElwain herself.
Funny how things work out sometimes.
Anyway, Hecate’s stooge Thorpe knocks out Lois and ties her up as the art thieves arrive with their newest acquisition, an amulet that has no apparent monetary value, but that Hecate needs so she can do evil witch stuff. She tries to dismiss them without payment, but they take offense to that and wind up battling Thorpe, who turns out to be some kind of were-demon-thing. That’s an industry term, peeps. Lacy manages to get her hands on the amulet, which she brings to the mystic web where the Silver Banshee is held captive. The two of them are transported away from Hecate’s lair, and the Banshee tells Lacy that she will be freed of her curse if Lacy destroys the amulet, but it turns out to be fairly powerful. Thorpe tracks them down, but Superman (who got a little concerned when he found a dead body in the church where his wife was supposed to be meeting an informant) has caught up to them and saves her. As he confronts Hecate, Lacy flees for home, but the Banshee follows her, demanding she destroy the amulet. Unfortunately for Lacy, Hecate’s demons – including the transformed Trickertreaters – have trailed her as well.
In issue two, the Banshee tries to defend Lacy from the attack, but is forced to merge the two of them into a single body to prevent her death. In their shared form, the Banshee promises Lacy that destroying the amulet will set them both free. Unfortunately, Thorpe has his hands on it now. Superman, meanwhile is trapped by Hecate’s magic, and she plans to use Superman and Lois in her scheme. She gets the amulet back from a reluctant Thorpe, and the Banshee/Lacy hybrid attacks. The Banshee’s wail is surprisingly effective against Hecate, but she can’t free Superman or Thorpe from the Puppeteer demon that is holding them. In the battle, Lacy is killed, and the Banshee is freed from her curse, but unwilling to allow Lacy to sacrifice herself, she follows her into the afterlife, where the two of them are consumed by light. When the light fades, Superman, Lois, and a back-from-the-dead Lacy are all that remain. Lacy goes home, only to find that in saving her, the Banshee is now bound to her…no longer merged, but more of a regular haunt.
I’m really glad that Ben suggested I read this one again. The Silver Banshee has always been an interesting sort of anti-villain – she does bad things (murdering people, y’know) but she doesn’t do them out of actual malice or evil, merely out of a desire to free herself from a torturous curse. Once that curse is lifted, you can take the character in different directions, and this two-issue story is a nice sort of capstone to the status quo John Byrne first established for the character. She’s been used periodically ever since, sometimes as a villain, sometimes almost as a hero. I don’t recall offhand how long Lacy stuck around, but I don’t think she’s currently a factor when the Banshee shows up. Still, if there can be THREE ongoing series starring Batman bad girls who keep straddling the line between villain and kinda-sorta-hero, I think it’s well past time the Silver Banshee got at least another miniseries or something to give her the spotlight.
Notes: I don’t have a ton of time to read, though, because there’s trick-or-treatin’ to do, so I pulled the 2010 Supergirl annual, in which Kara is accidentally bounced 1000 years into the future and encounters the Legion – but NOT the Legion SHE knew. This is her cousin Kal-El’s Legion (recently restored in Action Comics) when they were teenagers. Brainiac 5 wants to find a way send her back immediately, worried about her disrupting the timestream the way he always worries when Superboy shows up, but it’s not that simple. She’s there for a month, joining the team and lending a hand, and learning – tragically – the circumstances of her own death. When a horned villain calling herself “Satan Girl” attacks, Kara and Brainy bounce four days into the future to see that Satan Girl has destroyed Metropolis, possessed the Legion, and taken over the world. It gets worse when she realizes that Brainy himself summoned her, but is arrogantly dismissing his own part in it.
An epic battle ensues between Satan Girl and the possessed Legion, with Kara, Brainy, and an army of animatronic Jimmy Olsens on the other (it makes sense in context). In the end, Brainy manages to send them back and prevent himself from summoning Satan Girl in the first place, then brings Kara home. In the process, they erase her memory of the future, including that of her own death, but Brainiac swears to do something to save her.
I like this story for a lot of reasons. Don’t ask me to explain why, but the various versions of the Legion that have flirted with a Supergirl/Brainiac 5 romance over the years have always appealed to me, and this one plays with that element as well. I hate it when people get into “shipping wars” over their preferred pairings, but I have to admit that I have a few of my own, and this is one of them. It works for the characters as they were at the time, and I hope that when the dust settles around the whole All In/DC KO thingamabob and we have a new, proper Legion again, this is an element that will be touched upon.
That said, I’m a little bummed because the reason I chose this particular issue is that the DC Universe app describes it as a Halloween story and…it ain’t. I mean, it was released in October and there’s the whole “Satan Girl” thing, but there’s no mention of Halloween in the story whatsoever. I assume that most of the listings on the DC app are copies of the original solicitations for the comics, especially for something as relatively recent as this, but that gets me a little grumpy that I skipped over a chance for some prime Halloween content.
There are greener – relatively speaking – pastures with the Halloween story from Superman/Batman #65. The story begins with Superman trying to save a falling plane as he’s done thousands of times. And this one, of course, has Lois Lane on it, as it has thousands of times. But it also has Perry White, his parents, Jimmy Olsen – and Superman watches in confusion as the plane goes down, killing everyone he loves. The scene shifts and we see that Superman is actually unconscious, as are Batman, the Joker, and Lex Luthor, all of whom had been engaged in a battle, then all taken down by an outside force. We watch the Joker live through his worst nightmare – a place where people actually treat his terrors as a joke. Lex Luthor’s worst nightmare, it turns out, is living out the bland, boring life of a subservient, specifically Jimmy Olsen. And Batman has a nightmare of a family – married to Selina Kyle, a son named Richard, his parents alive — and then watching them all gunned down by Alfred so he can bring things back to “the way it has to be.” The dream is nightmarish enough for Batman to wake up and realize all of them have been captured by – and are about to be buried alive by – the Scarecrow. Superman comes to next, stopping Batman from going too far in his revenge, and in the end we see a glimpse of the Scarecrow’s own worst nightmare – a land where he’s just an ordinary man of straw, one without a brain. It’s a cute story, and definitely one that feels more seasonally appropriate than the Supergirl one. But I think that’ll do it for Halloween in this blog. Until next time, anyway.
Halloween Bonus: I know you won’t believe me when I say this, but I had no influence on my son’s choice of Halloween costume this year. Well, not directly anyway. Obviously, his sphere of reference is influenced by proximity to me, and I wasn’t exactly subtle when I told him how happy it made me to bring him to watch the new James Gunn movie back in July. But at no point did I deliberately try to influence or manipulate him when the time came for him to select a Halloween costume.
“Eddie,” I asked him during one of our 27 trips to the various Spirit Halloween locations in our area, “What do you want to be for Halloween this year?”
“SUPERMAN!” he announced.
“Nobody is ever gonna believe I had nothing to do with this,” I said.
We wound up getting his costume at Walmart rather than Spirit, since they somehow got an exclusive on costumes from the movie. But we got the black hair color spray from Spirit, and I finally got a chance to wear the Superman pajamas he and his mom got me for Father’s Day back in June.
And I may be a little biased, but amongst all the arguing about Reeves and Cavill and Corenswet…well, with all due respect to those gentlemen, I may have a new favorite Superman.
Sat., Nov. 1
Comics: Superman: Red and Blue 2025 Special
Notes: This summer, during my family’s annual trip to Pittsburgh, I used the time to read over a lot of collected editions of various Superman books that didn’t quite fit in anywhere else. One of those was the collection of the delightful anthology series Superman: Red and Blue. I was quite happy when DC announced that they were bringing the concept back this year for a one-shot special with four new stories.
First up is “Priceless,” written by Paul Dini with art by Mirka Andolfo. Dini’s story features Superman on a mission to collect a rare mineral he needs to bail Supergirl out of an alien prison. It looks as though Dini is maintaining the characterization of Supergirl from the movie – a sort of hard-partying girl who gets into a little trouble with her dog. The story is funny and the art is wonderful, but there’s a nice little turn at the end that shows us that things weren’t exactly what Superman had assumed – and, in fact, family is everything.
“All the Time in the World” by Michael Walsh is a pretty simple story, a day in the life of Superman set in the era when Jonathan was still a toddler and Clark is desperately trying to find the time to be a husband and a father in a world where the demands for Superman’s gifts are neverending. This one…hits. I mean, there’s nothing world-changing or anything going on here, but it’s a theme that is particularly significant to me, right now, at this moment, where I’m looking at a schedule and trying to figure out how to fit in my son’s choir rehearsal and his basketball practice and his speech therapy and my own job and my wife’s job and if it is even possible, in the entire totality of the universe, to carve out even a single afternoon where I’m not going to be pulled into yet another thing that I don’t even know is going to happen now but it going to turn out to be of universe-altering consequence approximately 30 minutes before it has to happen. I may not have any literal fires to put out or people to catch as they fall off a building, but this is real. I know nothing about Michael Walsh, but I have to assume he’s a parent, because how the hell else could he understand this so well?
Next is Dan Abnett and Caitlin Yarsky’s “Out of the Ordinary.” When Superman saves a small town in Canada from a giant robot – you know, like you do – he is approached by a reporter for the tiny local paper who sheepishly asks for an interview. And to the surprise of absolutely nobody who understands Superman, he graciously agrees to one. The bulk of the story is just a quiet conversation between Superman and this young woman in a small-town diner, about what it’s like to be him and what it means to be “ordinary.” It’s a lovely story that really does nail the character, and in fact it functions very nicely as a (Clark Kent-ian polite) kind of rebuttal to Quentin Tarantino and anybody else who thinks that Superman is the “real” identity and Clark is a mask.
Last is “Red-Letter Days” by Rainbow Rowell and Cian Tomey. On Lois and Clark’s anniversary, Superman is summoned away by one of those regular world-threatening crisis type events. By the time he gets back, Lois has gotten a tip on an enormous story that deserves front-page coverage, but it’s going to take her and her husband staying up all night to get the sources and get the news straight. This isn’t a Superman story, it’s a Lois and Clark story, and I love it for that. We see the two of them doing what they do best (when Clark isn’t wearing a cape, that is) and in a way that isn’t interrupted by supervillains, alien invaders, time travel, or any of the other thousands of things that screw up a superhero’s life on a daily basis. It’s a story of a loving couple that struggles a little sometimes to find time for each other, and it’s delightful.
Superman’s the greatest hero there is, I think I’ve fairly well established my position on that by now. But for all the stories where he saves the world or the universe or a cat in a tree, there aren’t enough stories like the ones in this anthology. Four stories that lean on the man part of his name rather than the Super. There aren’t enough of these, and I hope that the Red and Blue anthology comes back again and again.
Sun., Nov. 2
Comic: Brave and the Bold Vol. 3 #16
Notes: Sundays aren’t days of rest for teachers. We’ve gotta get ready for the week, and I’ve got a ton of stuff on my plate today, so I decided to look for a one-off story I could read without sacrificing a huge chunk of time. I decided on this issue from the 2007 reboot of DC’s Brave and the Bold, which in this incarnation was a team-up title without a specific anchor character – there was never any telling which two characters would wind up with each other on any given issue. And as you can tell from the look on Superman’s face, this team-up with Catwoman surprised him as much as anybody.
Written by our old pal Mark Waid with art by Scott Kolins, the story begins with Superman responding to a bat-signal, telling Gordon that Batman asked him to cover for him while he was out of town. Gordon asks him to look into a rumored underworld auction, and Superman’s hearing picks up a burglary nearby. He finds Catwoman stealing an enormous jeweled egg, and Catwoman – a little smitten with the Man of Steel – tells him she needed it to get into the same crime auction. The evening’s prize is allegedly a map that leads to a certain hidden cave outside of Gotham City. Superman reluctantly agrees to work with Catwoman to stop the map from falling into the wrong hands. Selina dresses the two of them up to go undercover at the auction and a comedy of errors follows, most of them based on Superman’s attempts to sidestep actually giving any sort of aid to the criminal element around them. In the end they manage to prevent the contents of the cave from being used for nefarious purposes, and their encounter ends in a bit of a stalemate…but one that leaves Catwoman smiling.
I really enjoyed this issue. Batman never makes an appearance, but the story is essentially about him – specifically about how Superman and Catwoman, respectively, each feel about the Dark Knight and how that common ground allows them to put aside their differences and work together. And while you don’t get the impression that Catwoman’s flirting with Superman is entirely serious, it doesn’t seem as though she’s entirely joking either. After spending her life playing with the bad boys, a “date” with the ultimate good guy seems to be a refreshing change of pace for her, and even when Superman gets a little bit of an upper hand on her in the last few panels, she doesn’t seem to mind all that much. It’s just a simple, charming little story, the likes of which we could certainly use more of.
Mon., Nov. 3
Animated Feature: The Batman/Superman Movie: World’s Finest (1997)
Notes: When I woke up this morning at around 2:30 with a rumbling in my stomach I had every intention of going to work. However, as the rumbling continued to have pointed conversations with me for the next several hours, I eventually resigned myself to a day on the couch. And since getting off the couch to find something to read didn’t seem like a fun time, I decided that today’s Superman fare would consist of something I could access via my remote control. Bizarrely, The Batman/Superman Movie: World’s Finest doesn’t appear to currently be streaming anywhere, not even on HBO Max. Although I could theoretically have watched the individual episodes of Superman: The Animated Series that were cut together to make the film, I once again am grateful for my adherence to physical media and how I’ve used that to meticulously populate my own Plex server.
Younger people reading this blog (and of course, we all know how popular it is with the kids) may not realize just what a big deal this movie was. Today, when everybody and their brother is trying to create a cinematic shared universe, it seems like a film of this nature would be a no-brainer. But in 1997, despite the fact that these characters were all owned by the same companies and their shows were worked on by the same people, there was still relatively little crossover. Batman: The Animated Series was a smash hit, and when the same creators put their work into a Superman series this is exactly what everybody was hoping for, but it was far from a foregone conclusion that we would GET it, at least not until it got gotten.
The movie starts off with the Joker and Harley Quinn stealing a jade dragon from a shop in Gotham City. Batman’s examination of the crime scene sets off some alarm bells, and he makes plans to head to Metropolis. In Superman’s town, the Joker and Harley rather forcibly coerce Lex Luthor into a partnership, presenting him with the “jade” dragon, which is actually made of Kryptonite. Lois and Clark are on-hand when Bruce Wayne flies into Metropolis for a business summit with Luthor, and feeling like she’d made a fool of herself in front of Superman earlier, Lois finds herself smitten with Bruce, who invites her out to dinner to discuss his plans in Metropolis. Although Bruce and Luthor have a business deal in place, Bruce pulls back from parts of it that are intended to create militarized robots, something that burns Lex.
That evening, as Batman roughs up some hoodlums in a bar to find information about the Joker’s whereabouts, Superman bursts in to stop his “vigilantism.” He’s shocked when he uses his X-Ray vision to peer through Batman’s cowl to see Bruce Wayne’s face, and Batman warns him about the Joker’s Kryptonite by taking out a shard to hold him back, allowing him to escape. When Clark returns to his apartment, he gets two surprises: a phone call from Lois informing him that she’ll be having breakfast with Bruce tomorrow, and a bat-shaped tracking device on his cape that alerts him to the fact that he was followed, and that Batman is watching him from a nearby building, his own identity revealed.
The next day, as Bruce arrives at the Planet to pick up Lois, he and Clark briefly compare notes on the Joker’s schemes. Clark is also a bit concerned about Bruce’s burgeoning relationship with Lois, to which Bruce replies, “It seems to me you had your chance.” At their date that night, though, the Joker swoops in and kidnaps her, despite Bruce’s efforts to keep her safe. The heroes go to her rescue, but despite knowing they’re walking into a trap, the Joker manages to get the upper hand and nearly kills them all before escaping.
Lois’s relationship with Bruce gets more and more serious, with her even requesting a transfer to the Planet’s Gotham office, but when she discovers he’s Batman (during an uncharacteristic moment in which his mask is yanked away) the brakes are put on. The heroes naturally team up to stop the Joker and Luthor, complete with his army of murderbots, and ultimately have to save both Luthor AND Metropolis from the Joker’s lunacy. Lois breaks up with Bruce, with the supreme irony of her not wanting to be in a relationship with a man with a dual identity, and Bruce and Clark part perhaps not as friends, but at least with respect and cooperation.
At the time this movie was released, the comics were still in a kind of nebulous state for Superman and Batman. The antagonistic relationship they had in the early years of the post-Crisis reboot had largely vanished and they were teammates in the Justice League again, but they had not yet re-forged the friendship that they’d enjoyed in years past. The movie does a quick job of fast-forwarding through that relationship to get them to a more stable place: when Batman and Superman first encounter one another in costume, they’re antagonists. The next day, each of them having learned the others’ identity, they immediately begin working together, if grudgingly. The cast is top-notch, of course. Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy ARE Superman and Batman for so many of us, but perhaps even better than the two of them together are the interactions between Mark Hamill’s Joker and Clancy Brown’s Luthor, perhaps the two greatest villain voices in animation history. I loved this movie when it first came out, and I still have fun watching it today.
Now if you’ll excuse me, my stomach is doing that thing again.
Tues., Nov. 4
Comic: Batman Adventures #25, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures #29 (Superboy Guest Appearance), Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite #17
Notes: I went back to work today, although I’m still not really at 100 percent. But I’m a teacher, and if you ask any teacher they’ll tell you that it’s sometimes easier to go to work feeling like garbage than it is to prepare for a class without you in it. At any rate, after the classing is done, I still need to work in something Superman, and I want it to be something quick. Continuing the theme from yesterday, with the World’s Finest movie, I decided to take a peek at Batman Adventures #25 from 1994, the first team-up between the animated Batman and Superman. Well, kinda, anyway. This comic came out before there was a Superman: The Animated Series, and the Superman that appears is based more on Superman as he appeared in comics at the time, long hair and all. Still, writer Kelley Puckett did an admirable job, and the artwork by the brilliant (and gone far too soon) Mike Parobeck make this issue a delight to revisit.
The story opens with Bruce Wayne at a party, unaware that there are crooks planting a bomb in the kitchen. Among the people he schmoozes with at the time is a Lex Luthor with long, red locks and a beard (befitting his “Lex Luthor Jr.” persona from the books) and a ponytailed Clark Kent. LexCorp and WayneTech are competing for a military bid, but the discussion is lost when Clark’s superhearing picks up the ticking bomb under a table. Bruce also notices something amiss and the two of them dismiss themselves, Superman appearing moments later to dispose of the bomb. While he takes it into space, Batman apprehends the crooks who planted the bomb in the first place. Superman comes down to help finish mopping up, and the two icons meet for the first time.
Maxie Zeus sends Commissioner Gordon a video taking credit for the attack and promising to blow up Gotham City if he doesn’t get the “proper tribute” by midnight, and although Zeus is clearly insane (demanding such ransom as “five hundred head of oxen” and “two hundred vestal virgins”), Gordon is clear that he doesn’t bluff. As the heroes search for Zeus’s explosives, Luthor offers his military hunter robots to aid in the search. Superman and Batman find Zeus’s lair, along with the controls of the bomb, just as Luthor’s robots crash in and attack everyone, including Superman, which he tries to explain away as saying the robots “mistook him for an enemy” – but shoot, isn’t it impressive that their weapons can slow him down? They defeat Zeus, but Batman soon deduces that the whole thing was staged by Luthor to secure the military bid. He confronts Luthor with the evidence, telling him to withdraw his bid or he’ll present the evidence to the military. In the end, he and Superman part on terms a bit friendlier than they did in the later movie.
It’s fun to go back and look at this sort of embryonic animated Superman here. Setting the story in Gotham gets them out of having to deal with elements like Lois, Perry, or the Daily Planet, with only Superman himself and Lex standing out as being from that world. And truly, visuals aside, they’re not that far off. Give each of them a haircut (and a shave, in Lex’s case) and tweak the dialogue a little so that this no longer comes across as their first meeting; you could quite easily make this canonical to the animated series. The relationship is slightly warmer, without the initial antagonism we saw in the movie, and is a little more in line with who they would become once they joined the Justice League together. The story works nicely as a little bit of a time capsule, looking at the world of Batman: The Animated Series before that world had a Superman in it and kind of guessing how he would fit in. The later Adventures in the DC Universe series would do the same thing with lots of characters, which made the whole thing kind of out of sorts when those same characters eventually appeared in different forms in the cartoon…but it was no less fun.
It was a nice week off from themes, folks, but we’re running out of 2025 and I’ve still got several themes left that I intend to tackle. So next week, I’m going to mirror something I did in October with “Superman gone bad.” Starting tomorrow, I’m going to spend seven days exploring the Supermen of Other Worlds – and I’m not just talkin’ Elseworlds, my friends. See you in seven!
The monthlong journey through Superman’s electric era was fun, but I’m ready to mix it up again and get back to some different types of stories. So this week I’ve decided to go without a theme. I’ll grab random stories to enjoy each day, without any overarching plan or goal. I’ll get back to themes in October. And I’ve got plans for October.
Comics:Superman #162, Taste of Justice #12 (Krypto Appearance), Harley Quinn in Paradise #37 (Cameo), Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite #13
Notes: With the saga of Electric Superman behind me, I realized that there’s one thing I should have read that I forgot to include. Like “The Death of Superman,” the long-running epic of Superman Red and Superman Blue was not a unique idea to the Triangle Era, having drawn a little inspiration from a Silver Age “Imaginary Story.” Today, even though I’m purposely leaving this week open for random readings as the mood strikes me, I wanted to go back and read the original story of Superman Red and Superman Blue from 1963. I read this story for the first time when I was a kid, included in the delightful Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told trade paperback, which now that I think about it, may be the first trade paperback I ever got. I wonder how the contents of that would change were they to make a new volume today.
Anyway, in “The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue” by Leo Dorfman, with art by the immortal Curt Swan, we start off with a discussion of Superman’s many failings. The publisher of the Daily Planet puts out a post listing raises for every employee except for Clark Kent (in fact it specifically says “Clark Kent: No Increase,” like that time on The Simpsons that the power plant announced layoffs in alphabetical order and only said “Simpson, Homer”), and before the bruising has even subsided, he’s summoned to the Fortress of Solitude where the citizens of Kandor are pissed that he hasn’t gotten around to enlarging them yet. And while they’re on the subject, why hasn’t he found a cure for Kryptonite poisoning or eradicated crime on Earth? Is he a Superman or isn’t he?
I gotta be honest, the Kandorians kinda seem like assholes in this one.
At any rate, they give him six months to try to accomplish all of these feats or they’re going to have him switch places with a Kandorian citizen and let the new guy try to do it. Superman, apparently forgetting the fact that he is – relative to them – the size of the Empire State Building, agrees to their terms. He tells Supergirl that he’s invented a “brain evolution machine” that could theoretically improve his mental power a hundredfold. The catch is that the machine is powered by radiation from all different colors of Kryptonite, so there’s a significant chance that something could go wrong. As it turns out, though, something goes extraordinarily RIGHT. The machine splits Superman into two beings, each 100 times smarter than the original. Unlike the last time this happened under the influence of Red Kryptonite, though, this time there’s no evil twin – they’re both still good.
The two super-geniuses quickly put their brains to work solving the issues that Kandor set forth for them, beginning with repairing Brainiac’s enlarging ray (which he’d never been able to do before) and restoring Krypton by causing a chain reaction that magnetically draws every chunk of Kryptonite in the universe to the planet and, at the same time, neutralizing their harmful rays. Kandor is enlarged on its rebuilt homeworld, and the first two problems on his list are solved just like that.
Before they can move on to the next item on their list, they get a telepathic signal from Lori Lemaris. The Atlanteans saw what they did for Kandor and ask them to help them find an uninhabited ocean planet to live on, since they’re “tired of being considered freaks here on Earth.” This is kind of a crazy notion – it’s not like the existence of Atlantis was common knowledge at the time, so who exactly was calling them freaks? It’s also weird that nobody ever stops to consider what Aquaman has to say about all this, although I suppose you need to remember that at this time, DC didn’t care nearly as much about continuity as they would later.
Once that’s taken care of, it’s crime time. The Supermen invent a ray that can “erase all thoughts of evil” from the minds of the world’s criminals, which they swiftly deploy through a series of satellites. Instantaneously, every villain on Earth is reformed. Bank robbers return their loot, escaped prisoners turn themselves in, the Soviet Union dumps all its missiles into the sea! Even Brainiac, coming from space to attack Superman again, has a change of heart when he gets in range of the satellites. And GEEZ, is this a story that would take on a different aspect if it were written today. If you were reading comics in the mid-aughts, you probably remember Identity Crisis, the DC event which revealed that certain members of the Justice League had agreed to use Zatanna’s magic to essentially brainwash certain criminals over time, removing memories and – in the case of Dr. Light – turning him from a serious threat into a buffoon. The revelation of their actions caused a schism in the League that nearly destroyed it before it was rebuilt in the wake of Infinite Crisis. One could argue that what happens in this story is far worse. Sure, there’s no more crime, but it’s at the cost of effectively brainwashing the entire planet. These are our HEROES, folks.
Not to say it’s all bad. Once the rays hit Lex Luthor and reform him, he whips up a serum that, after the Supermen distribute it into the world’s drinking water supply, instantaneously eradicates all disease from the Earth, even allowing him to grow his hair back. Yes, they even eradicate male pattern baldness.
The final chapter of this three-part “novel” shows us the end of the Supermen’s career. With Krypton restored and crime wiped out, Supergirl releases the Phantom Zone criminals (who are immediately reformed by the rays) and together they decide to go back to live on New Krypton, but not before the Legion of Super-Heroes pops in to say goodbye to her, and also give her a spaceship. Remember that, people, good friends are the greatest treasure. The Supermen then decide to turn their attention to the greatest danger of all: women. Superman, it seems, had always struggled between two girls, Lois Lane and Lana Lang, and unable to make a decision, kept them at arm’s length. Now that there’s no crime to endanger Superman’s wife, there’s no longer any reason to stay single. For the first time it turns out that Red and Blue aren’t EXACTLY alike – Red prefers Lois, while Blue is conveniently Team Lana, so each of them goes to reveal his identity and propose to the girl he loves. They each agree immediately to marry Superman (they most certainly would NOT have married Clark, let’s be honest), but are stunned when they discover that there are two of him.
Have they not been watching the news? I…I feel like the two Supermen who eradicated crime and spread Lex Luthor’s serum to cure all disease would have made the news.
Wait, LOIS AND LANA would have made the news, they BOTH WORKED for news organizations.
Anyway, their double wedding is disrupted when Best Man Jimmy Olsen and Maid of Honor Lucy Lane decide to tie the knot as well, making Lois and Lana considerably more understanding than any bride who was ever featured on TLC. Red decides he wants to retire to Krypton, taking Lois, Krypto, and Comet the Super-Horse with him, while Blue stays on Earth to devote his life to science while his robots take over the job of patrolling the Earth for natural disasters and accidents, which surprises me inasmuch as Dorfman didn’t have him invent an anti-Earthquake ray or something. The end.
This story…It’s been several years since I read it, and I have to admit, it hits a little differently than it used to. I still enjoy it. It’s got that sweet, naive charm of the Silver Age, and I’ve got a heavy chain of nostalgia that makes me appreciate it. At the same time, though, there’s a lot of stuff in here that very much would not fly today. In fact, I’m kind of surprised that nobody has latched on to this for one of the far-too-frequent “evil Superman” stories, returning to this “imaginary world” (which is now just considered part of the multiverse) to look into the consequences of actually manipulating the brains of the entire planet the way these Supermen do. There are several other things in the story that are a little iffy, but nothing as awe-inspiringly wild as that.
It was a different world 60 years ago, wasn’t it?
Thur. Sept. 26
Comics: Adventures of Superman #473
Notes: When I started this year, I compiled a sizable document listing the assorted theme weeks I had planned or was considering, along with another list of specific stories that I wanted to include for one reason or another. With the end of the year coming faster than it seems, I’ve decided to pepper these weeks that aren’t adhering to any particular theme with more of these random stories that made the list because I remember reading them and I wanted to visit them again. Such is the case with Adventures of Superman #473.
This issue came immediately after Lois and Clark’s engagement in Superman #50 which – if you recall when I wrote about the whole “Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite” storyline months ago – is the story that actually locked me in as a regular Superman reader. That makes this one of the earliest Superman stories that drew me into this incarnation of the character, as well as the one that showed me a bit of what was then the status quo of the Green Lantern Corps, which at the time didn’t really exist. It was kind of foundational for my entry into the DCU.
Plus, that Dan Jurgens cover just slaps.
The story starts with Lois and Clark telling Jimmy the news of their engagement over lunch – a lunch disrupted when an enormous Green Lantern symbol appears in the sky over Metropolis. When the symbol morphs into an S-Shield, Lois rushes to write up the story that one of the Lanterns is trying to contact Superman, leaving Clark (who still hasn’t told her his identity at this point) the opportunity to sneak off. He flies to New York to find Guy Gardner, but Gardner didn’t send the signal. Gardner uses his ring to track the signal to a location in Wyoming where Hal Jordan is being held by a giant alien whose ship crashed on Earth centuries ago. Hal is helpless, his ring’s charge having been spent just as he signaled Superman, plus the alien is siphoning energy from his power battery. They find him beneath an air force base where Hal escapes and recharges his ring, then with the addition of Superman’s will, they take back the emerald energy he stole. The alien is despondent, believing himself trapped on Earth, but Superman and the Lanterns take pity on him and restore his ship to space with enough energy to finally, after centuries, return home.
This is a nice self-contained issue, with the only major link to the ongoing storylines being Lois and Clark’s engagement and a few references to the still-fresh wound of the death of Jerry White. But the book turned out to be pretty fundamental to me. As I said, I was still relatively new to DC at the time it came out, and this served as something of a gateway for me to both the Justice League America series that Guy was a member of, as well as the then-new Green Lantern series featuring the down-and-out, gray-templed, globetrotting Hal Jordan that existed at the time. I knew who the Justice League and Green Lantern were, of course, but at this point my perspectives on the characters were built primarily around pre-Crisis comics that my uncle had given me and the way they were depicted on shows like Super Friends. With this book my eyes were opened to a larger world. I became a fan of these properties, especially Green Lantern, and I’ve been a faithful reader of that comic ever since (with the exception of one writer whose run turned me off so much that I dropped the book until it ended – but the less said about that bleak period the better).
This book is also a great glimpse at the way the characters were written at the time. Gardner, for example, had the same stupid, brash attitude that Nathan Fillion made so much fun in the movie, although he’s perhaps even a little more dimwitted. There’s one point, for instance, where Superman shows his exasperation that the alien has allied himself with two old sparring partners of his named Dreadnaught and Psi-Phon, and Gardner takes that as a cue to go after them with a power ring-generated chainsaw. There’s some interesting contradictions here as well – he’s jingoistic enough to casually wish for a new war so he could show what he can do, but too dense to realize that the airplanes attacking them are American. Fortunately, this particular facet of the character has dulled over time.
Superman, meanwhile, is all him. When the alien believes himself to be stranded, Superman hits him with a classic observation: “How come extraterrestrials are always coming here and causing all kinds of trouble instead of asking for assistance? All you have to do is ASK!” The giant alien is suitably ashamed of his behavior before Superman helps him out anyway, because of course, he’s Superman.
A fun book from early in Jurgens’ run, and I enjoyed revisiting it again after all this time.
Fri., Sept. 26
Comics: Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #139, 141, All-Star Squadron #36 (Team Member)
Notes: Here’s a fun, weird one that should have been worked into the week of Superman’s Strangest Team-Ups. Jack Kirby, who at this point was doing pretty much whatever he wanted with this title, had made Project: Cadmus a regular co-feature of Jimmy Olsen’s adventures. This is the issue where the Project unveiled the Guardian, the clone of the Golden Age hero who became a regular member of Superman’s supporting cast in this same basic form during the Triangle Era. Guardian changed a bit before the 90s, though. In this one he’s much more focused on being a clone, even commenting how it’s always an “experience” to meet an “original” human like Clark Kent. (That’s what we call dramatic irony, by the way, kiddos.) By the Triangle Era, Guardian had shed the conceit of making his status as a clone such a big part of his identity and was just the original Jim Harper in a new body.
The rest of the story involves “Goody Rickels,” WGBS employee with an uncanny resemblance to Don Rickles. Morgan Edge can’t stand him and tries to manipulate things to get rid of him, and honestly, it’s hard to blame him. It’s a really weird little story and, despite the promise on the cover of “Two Rickles,” the real Don doesn’t appear until part two of the story, which comes in issue #141. (Issue #140 was a giant-sized issue of reprints.) The second part begins with the bold cover proclamation: “Kirby says: Don’t ask! Just buy it!” Jimmy, Guardian, and Goody have been given a meal with a toxin that will activate and cause them to explode within 24 hours if they don’t get the antidote. As Guardian searches for it, Jimmy and Goody wind up at WBGS where the real Don Rickles is in a meeting with Morgan Edge. There’s a big dust-up and Goody is on the verge of exploding when Guardian shows up with the antidote. This also happens to be the issue where Clark Kent, in space with the New Gods, gets his first-ever glimpse of Apokolips, which is an interesting historical note for a comic book with Don Rickles on the cover.
Sat., Sept. 27
Comics: Superman Unlimited #5, Superman Vol. 6 #30, Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #11, New History of the DC Universe #3, Aquaman: Yo-Ho-Hold on To Your Hook #11 (Guest Appearance)
Notes: Once again, today I’m picking up the new Superman-related comics for the week, including two new issues of the ongoing, Justice League Unlimited, and a return to the reshaping of DC’s history.
We’re starting it off with Superman Unlimited #5. The Daily Planet gets word that the Kult of Kobra is operating in El Caldero, the “Kryptonite Kingdom.” What’s more, the Calderan mining operation is about to uncover a Kryptonian Sunstone, the same kind of technology that built Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Donning a suit of Kryptonite-proof armor and catching a ride in one of the most gloriously anachronistic pieces of Superman tech, he heads to Caldero to try to get the Sunstone before Kobra. The story seems to be picking up a little here. Previous issues have been largely one-off stories that connect to the larger story of the Kryptonite Kingdom, but this one gives us a nice little cliffhanger. It looks like the story is opening up, and I’m excited to see where it’s going to go.
The story of Darkseid’s Legion continues in Superman #30. Superman’s supposed ally, Superboy-Prime, has turned (insert surprised Pikachu face here), joining Darkseid’s Legion and capturing him, along with the long-suffering Booster Gold. The issue wraps up this (surprisingly short) storyline, but also acts as a lead-in to the upcoming DC KO event, and although I don’t want to get into too much more detail about what happens, Joshua Williamson pulls off a hell of a trick. There’s a brilliant reversal of expectations in this book, leading up to a climax (before the epilogue) that felt positively stirring. There’s a reason Superman is the greatest hero there is, and it’s got nothing to do with his powers. It’s about what he represents, what he stands for, what he means to other people. And boy-howdy, does this issue understand that. I love Superman, I love the Legion, I love Booster Gold…and I love what this issue does with all three of them.
We also, incidentally, get to use Prime’s meta awareness to give us what is objectively one of the most funny panels in a Superman comic all year. You’ll know it when you see it.
Justice League Unlimited #11 is another prelude to DC KO, this one starting off with the Justice League Watchtower being invaded by an army of Parademons. At the same time, beneath the country of Markovia, a League squad including Power Girl and Captain Atom find themselves in battle against some of Darkseid’s Legion. The battle goes poorly on both fronts and we get Leaguers down before a last page that ties very nicely into this week’s issue of Superman. I love when comics pull off tricks like this one, two stories that happen simultaneously and tie together in the end. It’s a nice way to make the shared universe conceit work, and theoretically, you don’t HAVE to read both of them to understand either one. It sure makes it more satisfying when you do, though.
And Waid returns with a plethora of artists to bring us New History of the DC Universe #3. Picking up on the aftermath of the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, Barry begins to recount the era of the DC Universe that made for my foundational years – the late 80s and early 90s – all the way up to Barry Allen’s resurrection in Final Crisis. As Barry is, in fact the narrator of this series, you could simply call this issue “stuff that happened while I was dead.” Once again, I’m impressed at how Mark Waid has gone about smoothing over certain elements of the combined/rebooted/revamped DC Universe. For instance, when Supergirl came back in 2004, she was introduced as though she were a brand-new character, her death in the original Crisis being removed from continuity. Waid has it both ways here – Supergirl DID die in the crisis, and the story we read in Jeph Loeb’s Superman/Batman run has been retconned slightly – rather than introducing her to Earth to use her as a weapon, now Darkseid actually resurrected Supergirl for the same reason. Waid also, once again, brings in elements of the Milestone Universe, specifically the 90s incarnations of the characters, marking them as denizens of the DCU proper in such a way that certainly makes it seem as though there are plans afoot to bring them back again.
This series really is a nerd’s dream. And as a nerd, I approve.
Sun., Sept. 28
Comics: Superman #125, DC Vs. Vampires: World War V #11 (Appearances by Supergirl, Steel, Lois Lane)
Notes: Let me tell you something about my family. My son is a football nut. Like, he’s crazed. If there is an NFL game on, he is insistent upon watching it, to the point that he begged me to take him to church yesterday on Saturday afternoon so that he could stay home this morning, Sunday, and watch the Steelers/Vikings game in Dublin at 8:30 am. He also gets up and gets VERY excited and VERY hyper, and the point is, by the time the early game ended and the noon game began, I was already exhausted by this little creature which I am emotionally, biologically, and legally responsible for. I didn’t really have it in me to get into any deep Superman lore today, so I scrolled through the DC app looking for the silliest, most ridiculous one-off comic I could find. The winner turned out to be Superman #125 from 1958.
The first story, “Lois Lane’s Super-Dream,” begins with Lois falling into a coma when she falls from a ten-foot ledge trying to sneak into the Metropolis Science Fair a week early, which has got to be the stupidest way she’s ever almost gotten herself killed, even in the Silver Age. She gets a blood transfusion to save her life, but her subconscious mind thinks she got it from Superman, and she has a dream where his blood gave her powers as well. In the dream she puts on a red wig and starts calling herself “Power Girl,” and she’s actually fairly effective until – again, in the dream – Clark Kent is nearly killed in an explosion. Power Lois gives Clark a transfusion of her blood, and now HE’S got powers too. Go figure. So she makes him a Power Man costume and the most comically ridiculous mustache anyone not named Oliver Queen has ever worn and makes him join her as a superhero. But Power Clark, in Lois’s subconscious, keeps screwing things up due to a combination of cowardice and ineptitude. The whole story kind of makes Lois look bad, showing not only what she really thinks of Clark, but the particularly cruel way she treats him as her sidekick.
“Clark Kent’s College Days” is next, the beginning of an “Untold Tales of Superman” series. I’ve read this story many times, as it too was included in either the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told or Superman From the 30’s to the 70’s books (I honestly don’t remember which) I read so many times as a kid. Clark gets an invitation to his college class reunion and begins to reminisce about his early days at Metropolis University, where he’s putting on his weakling act and letting the upper classmen haze him. The seniors aren’t the real problem, though – in year two, Clark’s teacher Professor Maxwell catches Clark using his vision powers to weld a seam in a robot and immediately deduces that one of his students must be Superboy. In this next class, he begins hooking his students up to a lie detector and asking if they’re Superboy, which makes you wonder what the hell he’s supposed to be teaching. Clark barely escapes being interviewed before class ends, and Maxwell begins a series of schemes that could make Lucy Ricardo proud, attempting to prove that Clark is Superboy, even to the point of exposing him to Kryptonite. But Clark winds up outsmarting him every time, and finally escapes the Professor’s attention by strapping in and letting him ask if he’s Superboy. Clark says “No,” and passes the test. Is it because of his powers? His Kryptonian physiology being incompatible with the machine? Nah, it’s because he decided, right at that moment, that it was time to consider himself an adult and start referring to himself as “Superman.”
The cover story that got me to read this issue comes last, “Superman’s New Power.” Superman finds a pocket of fires in the core of the Earth that are causing tremors above in Metropolis. As he stabilizes the fires, he uncovers a tiny space ship that seems to have been embedded in Earth’s crust for eons. The ship blows up, and he later realizes his powers have changed. His normal powers (except, conveniently, invulnerability) have vanished, even as he gains the new ability to shoot a tiny replica of himself from his fingertips. The mini Superman has all his normal powers, so Superman’s career as a crimefighter shifts to being more of a puppeteer, sending Lil’ Superman into danger instead. While he proves just as effective as the real thing, Superman finds himself feeling emasculated at sitting on the sidelines while his teeny proxy goes into danger. The story ends when Tiny sacrifices himself to save Superman from a chunk of Kryptonite some crooks hurl at him. The Kryptonite makes Tiny vanish and Superman’s powers return to normal, ending with a panel where he contemplates whether Tiny had a consciousness and will of his own and made the sacrifice deliberately.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the 50s were a wild time.
Mon., Sept. 29
Comics: Superman Vol. 2 #2, Justice League of America #30 (Team Member)
Notes: Returning to my list of random Superman stories that I’ve read at some point, here’s yet another that I remember reading first in the old Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told trade paperback. The second issue of the John Byrne reboot in Superman #2 is a good story, and it’s got one of the best Lex Luthor moments of all time…at least, “best” in the sense that it’s one of the greatest expressions of who Lex is as a character, not in that it makes him look good.
At this point, Superman had been active for a few years (mostly glossed over in the Man of Steel miniseries), and Luthor is looking for any clues that could potentially help him destroy the Man of Steel. He finds them, along with analyst Amanda McCoy, in the form of a red-haired woman who seems to keep showing up when Superman is active. As they search for the strange woman, Luthor turns to his frequent flunky Sidney Happersan, who is examining the Metallo cyborg they captured in Superman #1. Determining that the Kryptonite heart in Metallo’s chest is potentially fatal to Superman, Lex ruthlessly rips it from him even though Happersan warns him that it will kill the cyborg. (Don’t worry, he got better.)
In Smallville, a pair of Luthor’s goons are looking for things that link Clark Kent to Superman, as Clark seems to be the one who gets all the big scoops. They drug Jonathan and Martha Kent then ransack their house, stealing Martha’s scrapbook of newspaper clippings regarding Superman. As they leave the house, they’re spotted by the passing Lana Lang, whom they drug and (realizing that she can identify them) kidnap. Imagine Lex’s glee, of course, when she turns out to be the very red-haired woman his people are searching for.
Days later, Clark Kent comes home to find a series of bloody footprints leading to his apartment and Lana hiding there, having been tortured for information that she refused to give. Sensing Luthor’s involvement, Superman barges into LexCorp, only to find that Luthor’s got a new piece of jewelry – a ring with a glowing green stone that keeps Superman at bay. Stymied, and with no actual proof of Luthor’s involvement, he takes Lana back to Smallville. In Metropolis, Amanda runs all the data they’ve found through the computer, seeking the link between Superman and Clark Kent, and she arrives at one inexorable conclusion: Clark Kent IS Superman.
And Luthor is furious at the absurdity of it. “I know that no man with the power of Superman would ever PRETEND to be a mere HUMAN!” he shouts, firing Amanda McCoy on the spot because “I have no place in my organization for people who cannot see the OBVIOUS.”
Ah, what a fantastic story, Mr. Byrne. This is the ultimate platonic ideal of who and what Lex Luthor is, especially at that time. He’s ruthless and cruel – his treatment of Lana, of Amanda, even of Metallo all demonstrate that. He’s intelligent, but not the super-scientist he was in the Silver Age or would become again. But he’s also so unbelievably arrogant that when the answer to all of his questions is served up to him on a silver platter, he rejects it because he cannot fathom anyone with Superman’s power being so good that he would “pretend” to be Clark Kent. Byrne actually used this as part of the punchline in his “Superbman Vs. the Fantastical Four” story from Marvel’s What The–?! #2, with the fake Dr. Doom telling Rex Ruthless that Superbman COULDN’T be a normal human because that would make him “nicer than us.”
This story is also important in that it sets up a number of different elements that would be of tremendous importance later, especially the Kryptonite Ring. That little domino would set off multiple chains. Luthor would learn to his grave error that he was wrong about the radiation being harmless to humans, and that wearing the ring constantly gives him cancer. This ultimately leads to him faking his own death, cloning a younger body, and returning to Metropolis pretending to be his own son. Amanda McCoy came back later desperate to prove she was right, stealing the ring but being killed in an alley for it, leading to theDark Knight Over Metropolis story where Superman gave the ring to Batman, a concept which has been a consistent part of the characterization of the two heroes ever since.
It’s also a pretty good showing for Lana, proving – even under torture – that she’s a good friend and worthy of Clark’s trust, never betraying his secret. In Man of Steel, Byrne had turned Lana into something of a broken bird, heartbroken at the realization that Clark Kent was too big and too important to the world to be in her life the way that she wanted. It took a long time to rebuild her character, and this issue I think was the beginning of that.
Even these short stories can be great sometimes.
Tues., Sept. 30
Graphic Novel: Superman: True Brit
Notes: I decided to cap off this week with something relatively lighthearted – perhaps even a bit silly, and this 2004 Elseworlds graphic novel certainly fits the bill. True Brit brought John Byrne back to do artwork for the Man of Steel again, but this time in a story written by Kim Johnson “with some help” by Monty Python legend John Cleese, who of course is most famous for that one “Bicycle Repairman” sketch that we covered back in Parody Week. (There’s a brief shout-out to that bit in the book, as well.) Like many Elseworlds, it starts with a “what if” type of scenario – Jor-El sends his infant son to Earth. Instead of Kansas, though, this time his spacecraft lands in what Jor-El calls “their most advanced, most powerful nation – the British Empire!” Kal-El is found by a British farm couple, Jonathan and Martha Clark, who raise him as their son Colin. He struggles to control his powers, even after being told of his true alien heritage, and when the time comes to go off to University Mrs. Clark admonishes him to keep the powers hidden away in shame.
Studying journalism, he becomes smitten with his classmate Louisa Layne-Ferret, but she doesn’t show any interest in him until he accidentally impales a classmate with a cricket bat just before graduation. He winds up using his powers to get stories for a sleazy rag called the Daily Smear, where he finds out the famous rock band the Rutles (another in-joke) are in mortal danger, forcing him for the first time to act publicly in a Union Jack-adored Superman costume.
The Smear runs with it, making the Superman stories more outrageous and scandalous, to the point where the Clarks even move without telling Colin where they’re going. But his fortunes change when the Queen sets him some “impossible” tasks – making the trains run on time, reducing the wait time for hip operations (the solution, by the way, is to convince the surgeons to play less golf), and raising the quality of the programming of the BBC. But all his work may come to a screeching halt when he runs afoul of his greatest enemy: the Bat-Man.
The story is rife with gags and jokes that almost could have qualified this graphic novel for Parody Week in and of itself. For instance, when his adoptive parents think Colin can fly, they advise him to flap his arms like a bird, which causes a bit of amusing chaos and resultant property damage. When he finally does fly – with a horse – the poor animal has to be carted away to a veterinary hospital and treated for shock. An attempt to milk the cows with his super-speed and strength leaves them…let’s say “unhinged.” Perhaps my favorite joke comes when his mother tries to steer him into being a postman rather than a journalist, and he fires back with “I don’t CARE about respect! I’d rather be a REPORTER!”
Ah, maybe it’s just the ex-reporter in me that finds that hilarious, I dunno. But that seems to be the main thesis of this book. Rather than telling a story about Superman in another culture, True Brit comes across as Howard and Cleese giving a scathing indictment of the British media. Most of the book comes down to a heavy and brutal satire of the state of the British press, with the more lurid types of publications rising in prominence and the few legitimate reporters being buried. It’s a funny book, although I imagine a lot of the Britishisms are lost on an American audience.
Byrne’s artwork is interesting here. While not as cartoonish as he used in his What The–?! story, nor is it as clean and straightforward as his usual style as seen in his Superman run. He somewhat splits the difference here, drawing a world that still feels like part of the DC Multiverse but, at the same time, having enough fun with it to allow some silly sight gags, outrageous facial expressions, and goofy poses.
This week was a nice change of pace, friends, but October begins tomorrow. And October begins my favorite part of the year — those last three months that I love so much. And this year being the Year of Superman, it’s gonna be even better. For the next few weeks, as we approach Halloween, we’re going to be looking at darker versions of Superman, Superman gone wrong, a focus on his greatest villain, and more! See you then!
The Year of Superman continues our journey through the Electric Superman era! This week we peek at the Pulp Heroes annuals, explore Superman’s activities during the Genesis crossover, and see that electric blue spark into crimson. Join me, why don’t you?
Comics:Superman Annual Vol. 2 #9, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #6, Adventures of Superman Annual #9, Action Comics Annual #9, Batman: Gotham By Gaslight-A League For Justice #2.
Just like old times.
Notes: By 1997, DC had fallen off of the annual crossover events such as Armageddon 2001 and Bloodlines, instead shifting to a policy of doing annual THEMES, where the creative teams would tell one-off stories that fit into categories such as Elseworlds or Legends of the Dead Earth (which was also essentially Elseworlds, but post-apocalyptic, although one of the characters from these language later showed up as a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes). The 1997 theme was Pulp Heroes, in which each annual was tasked with placing the hero into a genre from classic pulp magazines – westerns, potboiler detective stories, old-fashioned sci-fi. The Supergirl annual for that year even did a romance comic, with a love story between Supergirl and Brainiac 5 (the Legion was still stuck in the 20th century at the time). It was a fun summer, with different types of stories that sported some gloriously painted covers that really evoked the time period they were paying tribute to.
These stories were all self-contained and could really be inserted almost anywhere into the timeline before the Blue/Red split, so I’m going to punch through them all here since we’ve got a sort of hard stop before the Genesis crossover. And I’ll start off with Superman Annual #9 by Dan Jurgens and Sean Chen. Labelled “My Greatest Adventure” on the cover, this issue drew its inspiration from the same sort of globe-trotting adventure yarns that inspired the likes of Indiana Jones. In the country of Bhutran, a mysterious cult called the Black Crucible is setting its sights on Jimmy Olsen, because it’s been at least twelve minutes since his life was endangered. In this story, set before he was canned from WGBS over the “Superman’s Secret Identity” fiasco, Jimmy is undercover trying to get the scoop on a smuggling operation when Bibbo accidentally outs him to the same crooks he’s trying to catch. He finds himself being targeted by an assassin who – upon failing in his task – kills himself. What’s even stranger is that the assassin, save for an enormous dragon tattoo on his chest, is a perfect doppelganger for Jimmy.
Jimmy and Bibbo assemble Lois, Clark, and lawyer Ed Drysdale at Professor Hamilton’s lab to try to get to the bottom of things, and the group uncovers a link to Bhutran. One plane ride later, they’re off to investigate. From here the story comes off as kind of a Doc Savage pastiche (with a bit of a lampshade to that fact in the end), with the hero operating alongside a team of specialists who each contribute something unique and invaluable to the mission (even Drysdale). We even get to see de-powered Clark using his own fists when he gets into a situation where Superman’s powers lose their advantage. It’s easily the best Jimmy story of the era, although that’s a low bar to jump considering the way he was being played in the main comics of the time.
Man of Steel Annual #6 bears the banner “Suspense Detective” for a story by Louise Simonson and Tommy Lee Edwards. In “Pierced,” SCU head Maggie Sawyer steps into the narrator’s box, agonizing over recent losses to her unit in their battles against the more unorthodox villains that seem to plague Metropolis. This time out it’s a telekinetic assassin with a face loaded with piercings, and Maggie gets understandably outraged when the FBI steps in and wrests control of the investigation away from the SCU. Lois, similarly, is frustrated with the lack of cooperation from law enforcement in getting her story out, with Maggie told not to talk to any reporters, ESPECIALLY Lois Lane. (Honestly, if you’re trying to keep something low-key in Metropolis, that’s a sensible demand to make.)
This isn’t a bad story at all. It feels like a chapter from the Metropolis SCU miniseries that guest-stars Superman in a prominent role, and that’s not a bad thing. I’ve often enjoyed the sort of “lower decks” storytelling we got from that comic and the brilliant Gotham Central. That said, I don’t think it’s as successful as the Superman Annual at capturing the feel of a pulp novel. The story is too contemporary, not really having the flavor of the kind of two-fisted cop stories that it seems to want to invoke. But if I didn’t know that was the goal, I wouldn’t give it that note, either. It’s a complete story, just a tad out of place.
Adventures of Superman Annual #9 brings us an absolutely gorgeous cover by Laurel Blechman with Electric Superman swinging into an old west saloon present a few Weird Western Tales. First is “Terror of the Sierra Madre” by John Rozum and artist Alcatena. Perry White sends Clark to New Mexico to look into a “major archaeological discovery” which promises to link the disappearances of three different tribes from the region. Joining the dig, Clark descends into an underground structure with iconography from the three different tribes all in the same place, suggesting that it was used for some sort of meeting between them all. As they investigate, strange spirits begin to inhabit the bodies of the archeological team – and then they come for Superman! This is one time where the Electric Superman particularly works, I think, causing an even sharper contrast with the western theme than it would if Superman had his conventional powers in this story. The bizarre juxtaposition of the energy man in a tale of the old west is a nice, zesty combination that I really enjoy.
Mike W. Barr and Dale Eaglesham then pitch in for “The Return of Saganowahna,” a story of a town where native American residents are being compelled into selling land that has been in their families for generations by the ravages of a creature called Saganowahna, “Chief of All Chiefs.” (No, it has nothing to do with Perry White) If you think it sounds like the plot of an episode of Scooby-Doo, you’re not far off. Eaglesham, for absolutely no reason, draws Superman in a white cowboy hat and duster, which looks absolutely fantastic over his electric blue costume. I want a Funko Pop of this guy.
The third story in this one is “The Journey of the Horseman” by Paul Grist and Enrique Villagran. In this one, an alien comes to Earth just as a new experimental energy source is about to be tested. The alien sets out to destroy, which I’m sure you can imagine, causes him to run afoul of Superman. Of the three stories in the book, this is the one that strains the theme the most. There’s really nothing “western” here, except for possibly casting the alien in a sort of “Man With No Name” sort of role, where he’s under suspicion even though his motives may ultimately turn out to be benevolent.
We’ll wrap up our Pulp Heroes journey with Action Comics Annual #9, a horror-inspired “Tale of the Unexpected” by David Michelinie and Vince Giarrano. Clark Kent is investigating a recent rash of museum thefts where ancient artifacts have been stolen – crimes that Clark believes are connected. The crooks are assembling pieces of a mystical stone, one which leaves Superman in the unenviable position of fighting an army of the dead. Of the four annuals, this is the one that feels most pertinent to the ongoing storyline of the regular comics. Ever since his shift to his energy powers, Clark says, he’s wondered if this has changed his vulnerability to magic. In this issue he’s forced to face it, along with dealing with the fear of forces that he can’t defeat, and he learns a little bit about the relationship between magic and energy that could definitely come in handy in later stories. That is, if any of the remaining stories from this era feature magic and if the writers of those stories actually remember that.
Thurs., Sept 11
Comic Books: Genesis #1, Steel #43, Superman: The Man of Steel #72, Genesis #2, Supergirl Vol. 4 #14, Superman Vol. 2 #128, Genesis #3, Adventures of Superman #551, Genesis #4, Batman: Justice Buster #27 (Superman Cameo), Jon Kent: This Internship Is My Kryptonite #8
This crossover just wasn’t the same after Peter Gabriel left.
Notes: Superman’s power struggles started during DC’s 1996 summer crossover event Final Night. Now we’ve progressed through a solid year’s worth of comics and we’re colliding with their 1997 crossover series, Genesis, which spun out of the pages of John Byrne’s Jack Kirby’s Fourth World series. The concept here was that the “Godwave,” a cosmic phenomenon, was about to pass through the universe. It had gone through twice before, the first time creating gods on multiple planets, and the second time creating humans. This time, reality itself seems to be threatened by its approach. As I did for Final Night, here I’m going to read the main Genesis series and any of the crossover issues featuring Superman or a member of the Superman-family, starting off with Genesis #1.
In Genesis #1, written by Byrne with art by Ron Wagner and Joe Rubinstein, heroes and villains start to feel their powers going haywire. The Flash’s speed is drained, as is Green Lantern’s ring, and Captain Marvel simply falls out of the sky. Others find their powers enhanced: Ultra Boy (the Legion is still in the 20th century) can suddenly use multiple powers at once, and Superman’s electrical powers feel an unexpected surge of energy. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it – heroes may be affected whether they’re metahuman, alien, mutant, or just have a powerful weapon like Green Lantern’s ring, while others like Aquaman suffer no changes at all. Batman theorizes that people from other dimensions, such as (the Matrix version of) Supergirl are not affected, but that never explains Aquaman. And as they debate and discuss what’s happening, an alien armada shows up in the skies above Earth. I never got the hang of Thursdays either.
The first Superman-family crossover comes in Steel #43 by Christopher Priest and Denys Cowan. This is a weird one, with the first half of the book mostly devoted to the ongoing stories and subplots of the series before touching upon Genesis – John Henry flies into Metropolis to check on Superman when he hears about the power fluctuations, only to suddenly start suffering from wild bursts of anger. He talks to Superman, who asks him to keep an eye on Metropolis while he meets up with the League (something that happened in Genesis #1), but when he flies off his new electromagnetic powers act like an EMP burst, frying the circuitry in John Henry’s armor and causing him to plummet from the sky! Cliffhangered!
Next up is Man of Steel #72. Lois and Clark are hanging out at the Planet when Clark’s powers spontaneously create an image of a meteor striking the Earth, freaking out Perry White’s assistant Alice, who decides she’s been working too hard. As Allie goes home, she’s attacked by Baud and her crew called Mainframe. Superman dives in to save her, but his powers again cause him to freeze and start projecting images, and Mainframe captures him, bringing him to their hideout. Override, the leader, is trying to use Superman to power a dimensional window, but Superman manages to get free, busting up a barroom brawl at the Ace O’Clubs between Bibbo, Scorn, and some monsters. This issue really has little to do with the crossover, just Lois theorizing at the end about some of the wild power fluctuations that have been happening lately. I hate that.
Genesis #2 picks up where the first issue ended, with the heroes at the Justice League Watchtower seeing the alien armada arrive in Earth orbit. Meanwhile, on the fused world of New Genesis and Apokalips (it’s a Fourth World thing), Darkseid seems to have vanished, which one would usually consider good news, except in this case it’s making the New Gods believe he’s behind the power fluctuations. One of the oldest of them, Arzaz, chooses this moment to reveal his true form as one of the “Old Ones,” the first Gods, who warns that if they do not stop the Godwave the Fourth World will be destroyed and replaced by a Fifth World. The changes don’t seem to be limited to powers, though – it’s also creating crises of faith. For instance, in Gotham City Robin, Huntress, and Catwoman seem to find themselves beset by a plague of fear and doubt that they normally don’t have. The Earth is suddenly besieged by Darkseid’s armies of Parademons, while the fleet in the sky turns out to be lead by the Darkstars leading an assault on Earth. Highfather finally shows up and says there’s one chance – some of our heroes will have to ride into the Godwave with a set of special Mother Boxes to focus the waning power of the Source. And all it’ll take is a few volunteers to run a suicide mission. He has no shortage of volunteers, of course.
The story moves from there to Supergirl #14. The crux of this series is that Supergirl saved the life of a woman named Linda Danvers that caused the two of them to merge into one person. This issue she goes to both of her sets of “parents” – the Kents, who raised her as Matrix, and Linda’s parents the Danvers – to tell them about it. It goes considerably better with Kents, who are far more used to weird stuff. Again, though, while Peter David’s whole run was great, the relationship to the crossover is tangential at best.
Superman #128 is – wonder of wonders – a crossover chapter that actually has to do with the main storyline. Picking up seconds after Genesis #2 ended, Green Lantern has had our heroes draw straws to decide who’s going to go on Highfather’s suicide mission. Before they can act, though, Highfather receives a psychic burst alerting him to danger at the Source Wall, the barrier between the universe as the cosmic energy of the Source itself, in which everyone who has tried to penetrate the wall has instead become bonded with it. They send Superman to investigate while the others continue their plans to deal with the Godwave. Superman is briefly dazzled by the sheer brilliance of the Source Wall, but his astonishment is broken when the giants bound to the wall begin trying to grab him and pull him in. He is trapped in a sort of living bubble, surrounded by memories of a human who turns out to be Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman! Cliffhangered AGAIN!
In Genesis #3 the inevitable happens – Darkseid returns. He gives an infodump on the Godwave before noping out and having his army attack the heroes until the New God Takion breaks it up, before reverting to his human form and dying for some reason. Can you tell I’m getting tired of this crossover?
Adventures of Superman #551 apparently forgot that it was supposed to be part of Genesis, at least on the cover, since it’s missing the trade dress, despite being far more linked to the story than the Man of Steel or Supergirl issues. Picking up where Superman #128 left off, Superman is in the clutches of the Cyborg, who has been inside the wall for some time. They fight and Superman hurls the Cyborg back into the wall before returning to Highfather and the others, meaning this two-issue excursion apparently took place between two panels at the beginning of Genesis #3. Oh yeah – and although Superman doesn’t know it, the issue ends with a hint that Henshaw, who has the power to hop from one electronic device to another, is actually now riding around inside Superman’s new techno-suit.
In Genesis #4 Earth is in utter chaos, with people giving in to despair and rage all around. But it’s okay! Because the heroes save the universe by…holding hands and believing? I don’t even know at this point. I’m going to be blunt here – this is one of the most poorly-structured crossovers I’ve ever read in my life, and I’ve read a LOT of them. Things happen for no reason and the individual installments feel pointless. Too many of them have barely any connection to the main event, and even the main event itself is a complete mess. Why the hell did the Darkstars invade Earth? Why is Darkseid and his entire army just allowed to appear and disappear at will? The two-parter with Superman fighting the Cyborg isn’t even referenced in the main story, we just kind of have to ASSUME it happened somewhere between panels of issue three. And none of the characters have personality – even the strike force that is assembled to use Highfather’s special Mother Boxes never gets any real development. We only learn in a flashback which 13 characters were chosen, and the choices are pretty irrelevant – you could swap any of ‘em out with anybody else and there would be no impact on the story because they don’t DO anything except show up, shoot at things, and then come back with a dead Takion.
John Byrne has been responsible for some of the best, most memorable comic books of all time. His runs on X-Men, Fantastic Four, and indeed, Superman are legendary. This book? This is the platonic ideal of phoning it in.
Ugh. Now I’m grouchy. Here’s hoping tomorrow is better.
Fri., Sept. 12
Comic Books: Action Comics #738, Superman: The Man of Steel #73, Superman Vol. 2 #129, Adventures of Superman #552, Action Comics #739, Taste of Justice #9
That’s more like it.
Notes: We start today with Action Comics #738, the one Superman title that dodged the bullet of having to tie in to Genesis. Superman returns to Metropolis following the crossover and almost immediately runs into a thief with the power to phase through solid objects. He escapes through an electronic store, where the Cyborg (hiding in Superman’s suit) jumps into the store’s computer system and begins plotting his revenge. This is a pretty-low key issue, mostly there to set things up and progress subplots like Clark and Lois dealing with the new circulation manager at the Planet who has the hots for Clark, and Jimmy – who has been on the run from Intergang for several issues now – finding himself in ever-hotter water.
Man of Steel #73 picks up Jimmy’s predicament as Intergang finally catches up to him, just to run afoul of a group of high-powered hippie bikers that call themselves the Outsiders and who aren’t happy about Intergang’s encroachment on his territory. Meanwhile, Morgan Edge manages to convince Desaad (Edge works for Darkseid, by the way) to lend him some Parademons to help him wrest control of Intergang from Boss Moxie. Now Jimmy’s caught between three fighting factions. Superman finds himself in the unenviable position of defending Lex and his pregnant wife from them, and in Australia, Lois is on assignment to interview a native tribe whose Chief tells her “we are honored, for we have been chosen to witness the coming of the giants…and the end of all that is.”
Nicely ominous, and I’m surprised that they started referencing the Millennium Giants – the story that would be the endgame of the Electric Era – so early.
Superman #129 brings the focus back to Scorn and Ashbury, who has decided to start keeping a diary, beginning with the tale of bringing Scorn along with her to help decorate for her high school homecoming dance. Clark Kent also happens to be there (funny how that happens) working on a column when a fire breaks out. Fortunately, as Ashbury recounts, Superman ALSO shows up to help put it out. The issue mostly tracks Ash and her art teacher, Mr. Sormon, who it turns out isn’t a Superman fan. It also turns out there’s a reason for that. I have to admit, I got irritated with Sormon proselytizing in the classroom, which is the absolute last thing any decent teacher should do, until we got to the reveal that clarified it all.
Adventures of Superman #552 has Big Blue face the Parasite again, for about two pages. Most of the issue is actually taken up with Lex Luthor and Intergang, as Lex makes his own play for control of Metropolis’s organized crime cartel. We also check in with Clark, missing Lois (she’s still in Australia) and trying to deal with things like getting tired in his human body, which has never happened before.
And in Action #739, Ashbury takes Scorn to her homecoming dance, moved to a swanky hotel after the school caught on fire. Sounds nice – until an explosion rocks the hotel. Superman swoops in to save the day, only to discover the whole thing is a scheme by his old foe Carl Draper, now going by the name Locksmith. (Previously he was “Deathtrap.” In the pre-Crisis era he was the Master Jailer. And when he went to Smallville High with Clark, he was “Moosie.” The guy does not have a knack for good names.) As Scorn works on saving the kids at the dance, Superman works out his escape, getting back to the hotel just in time to stop it from collapsing. Back in Australia, though, Lois is kidnapped by Rajiv Naga, the guy who tried to kill Clark on their honeymoon. Fortunately for her, her dad gave her a GPS tracker before she left, which is why Clark is pretty surprised on the last page when Sam Lane shows up and demands Clark join him on a little trip down under to save her.
I’m looking forward to the next few issues – Sam Lane and Clark Kent working together? Sounds wild.
Sat., Sept. 13
Comic Books: Superman: The Man of Steel #74, Superman Vol. 2 #130, Adventures of Superman #553, Action Comics #740.
Faces. Faces are cool.
Notes: DC used to occasionally do these interesting events on their covers – one month every cover featured the hero on the top half of the cover with the title incorporated into the artwork at the bottom, for instance. This month was “Faces of the DC Universe”: each cover was a close-up of the face of the main character, or one of the main characters. I really liked these sort of mini-events – they had no bearing on the story inside, not disrupting the story like a Genesis-type crossover did, but it really made the books stand out on the racks in a pleasing, fun way. You still occasionally get cover themes like this, but they’re almost always restricted to variant covers these days, which isn’t nearly as much fun and don’t even catch the eye randomly. Ah, here I am getting nostalgic instead of talking about the comics. I guess I’ll do that now. I do it for YOU.
In Superman: The Man of Steel #74, Rajiv reveals his plan to the captive Lois. Back when he had Clark captured on their Honeymoon, he doused him with truth serum, during which Clark admitted to being Superman. Rajiv dismissed it at the time, but now he’s starting to wonder – so if Superman shows up to save Lois, he’ll consider it confirmation. Clark and Sam, meanwhile, are on their way to Australia, Clark lamenting the fact that he CAN’T get away and save Lois as Superman without Sam noticing something is up. There’s more “Clark’s Secret ID” stuff during this run than I remembered. Anyway, after a few close calls, Clark and Sam make it to Rajiv’s base, where Clark pulls off some quick-change shenanigans and figures out how to go invisible to save Lois without blowing his identity. This is the kind of stuff that works best in this period of Superman lore – forcing Clark to find alternative ways to pull off a rescue, while at the same time having to find new ways to protect his identity, since he can’t use his powers as “Clark” anymore. There have been several stories where the power change was really negligible – a few slightly rewritten panels and the stories would have worked just as well with “Classic” Superman. This time around, it’s a story where the different powers have a clear and measurable influence on the plot.
In Superman #130, with art by the late, lamented Norm Breyfogle, it’s Halloween! Lois and Clark are on their way to a Halloween ball, but are briefly detoured to S.T.A.R.Labs, where Superman examines the recently-uneared Dragon’s Tooth artifact. This large rock formation has an unusual molecular structure, almost like DNA, as if it were alive. That can’t possibly mean anything, right? Anyway, at the party Lois and Clark stride in wearing Robin and Batman costumes and we go through a half-dozen subplots. Perry is feeling better and he ribs Clark on his recent weight gain (turns out that Mr. Perfect Kryptonian Metabolism is struggling with being a normal human half the time). Lex Luthor is still trying to play Metropolis Mayor Berkowitz, while Dirk Armstrong is on the anti-Berkowitz bandwagon. When Ashbury winds up getting into it with her dad, she and Scorn bounce from the party only to be picked up by a guy wearing Doctor Doom knock-off armor and riding a fancy motorcycle. It turns out to be Jimmy Olsen. The guy, I mean, not the motorcycle. Oh yeah – and apparently Superman’s energy caused something inside the Dragon’s Tooth to awaken, releasing a gigantic spirit that quite publicly kidnaps Clark from the party, leading to him switching to Superman and finding himself battling not one, but THREE of the giants as the issue cliffhangers.
Adventures of Superman #553 picks up with Superman facing the three figures, who reveal themselves to be part of something called the “Millennium Guard.” He barely manages to escape, but they’re hot on his trail as he stumbles upon Jimmy, Scorn, and Ashbury – who’ve also picked up the Hairie called Misa (who not too long ago was part of Morgan Edge’s Superman Revenge Squad). They load the stunned Superman into Jimmy’s super-motorcycle and jet out of there to Cadmus. They manage to trick the Millennium Guard into thinking that Superman has been killed, at which point they each turn into a new Dragon’s Tooth. Well, at least that’s the end of it, right?
Nah, of course not. Also, Misa teleports Jimmy, Scorn, and Ashbury away before Superman can bring Ash back to her father or Guardian can arrest Misa. And in a subplot, Lucy Lane is terrorized by a super-powered serial killer that signs his name on walls as “The Ripper.”
Action Comics #740, the police find some of Lucy’s things in the sewer, the first actual clue they’ve got in the Ripper case. Superman follows the trail into the sewer and winds up fighting an enormous beast. It gets away, but Superman finds Lucy trapped in a makeshift cage. The word “Ripper” is, again, inscribed on the wall, but this time there are more characters, leading Superman to theorize that the word isn’t actually English at all, but part of a different alien language, and that the creature – whatever it is – was trying to tell Lucy something. It’s an interesting idea, I suppose, but kind of a stretch. I mean…what are the odds of a symbol in some sort of alien language resembling a character from our English alphabet? Come on, Superman, think about it.
Sun., Sept. 14
Comic Book: Superman: The Man of Steel #75
Wait, this looks…familiar.
Notes: 1998 began with Man of Steel 75 and a book that must have had Jon Bogdanove utterly delighted to draw – a spoof of Superman #75 on the front, and between the pages, a one-off story of Mr. Mxyzptlk. Lois and Clark happen to stumble upon a funeral procession of such size that they have to stop and check it out, only to find Mxyzptlk hamming it up over the casket. Mxy has decided that he wants to explore the concept of mortality, which (as a 5th dimensional imp) he’s never had to really think about…so he decides to die. Superman and Lois, as you can imagine, are not particularly concerned about this proclamation. Mxy whips up a new version of Superman’s killer to face – Bada Bing Bada Boomsday – and gives up his powers so he can REALLY die in battle.
Then it starts to get weird.
This is a really great little story. It’s goofy, silly, has no consequences and not even any real stakes. But Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove paint Mxyzptlk in a way that comes across more as a naive imp than the malevolent trickster he can be sometimes. He’s genuinely just there to experience something new, and the havoc he causes comes across not as the result of spite, but of genuine ignorance as to how we mere three-dimensional organisms live our lives. The whole thing boils down to a hilarious revelation as Mxy sees his version of the afterlife. You could skip this book. You could simply pluck it from the omnibus editions of the Electric Superman era. You could pretend it’s not there. But you’d be missing out on something that’s actually a lot of fun.
Mon., Sept. 15
Comic Books: Superman Vol. 2 #131, Adventures of Superman #554, Action Comics #741, Superman: The Man of Steel #76, Superman Red/Superman Blue #1, Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite #9
One last burst of blue…
Notes: It’s the big day! Lex’s wife, Erica, is about to give birth – so naturally, Lex is at a photo op with Mayor Berkowitz. He gets into it with Perry White over their shared history, which fills us in on a lot of things about this continuity’s version of Lex that had slipped my mind. I knew he hadn’t grown up in Smallville with Clark like so many versions of the character, but I’d forgotten he and Perry had taken on a similar dynamic: children of Suicide Slum that grew up as friends but broke apart. It’s also worth noting that Perry and Alice’s son, Jerry, had turned out to actually be Lex’s son – the product of an affair decades before. Although Perry and Alice had reconciled, the bitterness over Jerry’s death still lingered over Perry at this point. Perry gives Lois a reader’s digest version of Lex’s life – growing up in the slums, his parents dying in an “accident,” and being taken in by a foster family that was only interested in him because they suspected he had money. Lex fell in love with another of their fosters, a girl named Lena, who their foster father accidentally killed in a fit of anger. From then on, Perry says, any remnant of warmth in Lex Luthor was extinguished forever.
The ending of this issue is pretty shocking, even for Lex Luthor, and is kind of disturbing to read in the current climate. But by the time it’s over, Lex has a new daughter, he’s thrown his wife aside, he’s gotten what to him no doubt seems like a satisfying revenge, and Metropolis is on the hunt for a new mayor.
Adventures of Superman #554 returns to the far more comic booky story of the Ripper, the monster patrolling beneath the streets of Metropolis, but not before a scene where Lex lords his new daughter – Lena Luthor – over Superman, gloating that his studies of Kryptonian DNA have suggested to him that it would be utterly impossible for him to ever have a child with a human.
Anyway, Metropolis’s new mayor calls in a Kraven wannabe called Burton “Hunter” Thompson to try to track down the Ripper in the sewers, much to the chagrin of SCU head Maggie Sawyer, who is forced to work with him. At the Planet, Dirk is upset because he hasn’t heard from Ashbury in over a week. When Clark tries to comfort him, saying that Scorn will keep her safe, Dirk snaps back that he can’t understand because he’s not a father, a remark which visibly disturbs Clark. Damn, the Superman writers were REALLY leaning into that angle, weren’t they? It almost makes me wonder if they were planning to do a super-baby storyline way back then, but then it got sidelined for some reason.
Superman joins the SCU and the Hunter in the sewers where they manage to find the Ripper. Hunter kills it while the creature is clearly trying to communicate, and Superman is left wondering what more there is to the Ripper that Hunter is trying to hide.
Action Comics #741 brings back the time-tossed Legionnaires one last time. In their efforts to return home in their own comic, they’ve kinda sorta accidentally created a malevolent AI that’s taking control of tanks and other heavy machinery and causing havoc. Fortunately in the real world AI is totally benevolent and can only do good things. In the comic, though, they wind up struggling against out of control aircraft – which Brainiac 5 discovers aren’t being controlled by his C.O.M.P.U.T.O. after all, but from a signal coming from LexCorp Tower, because of course it is. They find Lex in the middle of telling his new daughter a rather slanted version of Chaucer’s tale of Chanticleer the Rooster (great segment there by the way) and end the issue with a particularly nice dig against Luthor. Superman doesn’t get petty often, but when he does, he finds a way to hit you where it hurts.
This would be the last time we saw the Legion before they went home, by the way. Their search for C.O.M.P.U.T.O. continued from this issue into issue #100 of their own series, which featured them finally returning to the 30th century. It was nice while it lasted, though.
In Man of Steel #76, Bogdanove does a nice take on his own over for Superman: The Man of Steel #1 (a trick he repeated a couple of years ago for the first issue of the Steelworks miniseries), and we pick up on Jimmy’s group, now on a quest. The DNAliens Simyan and Mokkari, meanwhile, are cooking up a new creation in a kind of weird meta-story. The two storylines collide with the release of a monster in midtown Metropolis. Superman takes care of it fairly easily and Ashbury is finally returned to her father…but Simyan and Mokkari are picked up by Morgan Edge, who hears they have a habit of creating monsters. It’s a really weird issue – visually fun, but it feels like they’re trying to cap off the Ashbury thing quickly to move on to what’s next.
Pictured: Next.
What’s next, you ask? Why, that would be Superman Red/Superman Blue #1, the beginning of the final act of the electric era. So important that it even had a 3-D variant cover! On Christmas, the Cyborg returns yet again, teaming up with the Toyman (who, at this time, was in his child-murdering phase) with a plan to destroy Superman. They capture him in a sort of energy bottle, with the Cyborg planning to rip his energy-body apart and store it in a thousand containers. At the same time, Toyman has Lois captive, and takes her away. As Superman’s body is dispersed he panics and explodes, the Cyborg’s machine splitting him into two – neither of which is aware of the other. “Blue” rushes off to save Lois from the Toyman, while “Red” brutally battles the Cyborg and traps his electronic consciousness inside an orbital antenna. The two villains disposed of, both Supermen return to the Planet office, switch to Clark Kent, and proceed to make an entrance…I gotta tell ya, that’s the way to do a cliffhanger that isn’t a life-or-death situation. The story itself is a little surprising, with such a big change in the status quo happening really quickly with absolutely no buildup. Unlike the transformation to Electric Superman, which was seeded and hinted at for months, this just HAPPENS.
Even odder, this issue spends a lot of time on the ongoing subplots of the Superman saga. Scorn is captured by a hologram controlled by Lex Luthor, who wants to study him to learn more about Kandor. Jimmy returns to his ransacked apartment to find the medallion he got in the Pulp Heroes Superman Annual, which freaks Misa out. There’s really a shocking amount of stuff happening here that ISN’T directly related to the Red/Blue split, but that does help it to feel like a significant chapter of the ongoing saga, which is a good thing.
Tues., Sept. 16
Comic Books: Superman Vol. 2 #132, Adventures of Superman #555, Superman: Man of Tomorrow #10, Action Comics #742, Superman: The Man of Steel #77, Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite #10
See what they did on those bottom two covers? Idn’t that NEAT?
Notes: We’ll finish up this week with the first month’s worth of the adventures of Red and Blue. I know I’ve been on this storyline for three weeks now, but it doesn’t feel like it to me – I feel like I’ve whipped through this much faster than I expected, and I think I’ll be able to finish it off next week. Fortunately I’ve still got several other themes lined up to get me to the end of the year.
We’re starting things with Superman #132, picking up right where the cliffhanger at the end of the Red/Blue special left off. The two Clark Kents both return to the Daily Planet building at the same time, with Blue coming down from the roof and Red entering from the ground level. Blue goes off to a lunch meeting with Perry, while Red finds Lois and effusively shows his joy that she’s okay, even though he doesn’t know how she escaped the Toyman. Most of the issue is taken up with Three’s Company style shenanigans, with the two Clarks narrowly missing each other at the Planet office, at the JLA Watchtower, or Dooley’s restaurant, but the JLA quickly discovers that there are two Supermen. Their genetic scanners, furthermore, confirm that BOTH of the men are genuine, something Blue doesn’t accept, leading to the two Clarks confronting each other in the alley behind the restaurant on the last page.
It’s subtle, but this issue also lays the groundwork for the way these two are going to differentiate from one another, aside from the color. As we see Red bounding around Metropolis, he’s very energetic, free-wheeling, and emotional. He cracks jokes like Spider-Man and has no hesitation dropping a friendly put down on Green Lantern. Blue, on the other hand, is already coming across as colder and more stoic, with a short but clear moment of rudeness to a waiter who spills some coffee on his tie. There are a lot of stories about a character splitting into two that pull this same trick – each version gets PART of the character’s personality. In Superman’s case, Red is his emotional side, Blue the logical, and it’s going to be very clear soon that neither of them is as effective without the other.
Adventures of Superman #555 continues with the fight in the alley, both Clarks swearing to be the genuine article. As they argue, a lunatic with a pair of guns and dynamite strapped to his chest barges into Dooley’s. Red punches out Blue and rushes in to tackle the attacker, scared for Lois’s safety, without even changing to Superman. The bomb is still ticking, though, and Blue switches to his energy form to whisk the bomber out of the restaurant. He manages to contain the explosion and save the bomber, but winds up confronting Red again, each of them convinced that the other is the Cyborg pulling some new scheme. When they touch each other, though, something happens…
Meanwhile, Jimmy and Misa make their move to rescue the captive Scorn, a plan that gets slightly derailed when the Black Crucible – the cult Jimmy took the Medallion of the Damned from – shows up in an attempt to reclaim it. They get him free and the three of them, along with Ashbury, are on the road again.
Man of Tomorrow #10 picks up with Lois confronting her husbands at home. When they came into contact their minds temporarily fused together, making them realize how the Cyborg’s machine split them. Unfortunately, they don’t know how to merge into one again, prompting them to zip to the Fortress of Solitude to look for a solution. When they get there, though, they find that the Fortress has been invaded by Dana Dearden, aka Obsession, a highly-powered woman who is…well…obsessed with Superman. To make matters worse, Maxima shows up at the same time, hopefully convincing Superman that he’s gotta work harder in this continuity to hide the Fortress. The two women fight over him, trashing the Fortress and nearly destroying Kandor before Maxima tricks Dana into leaving via a telepathic trick, and the Supers capture Maxima and drop her off at Belle Reve. It’s a pretty good issue, but true to the Man of Tomorrow ethos, it doesn’t really have any major plot momentum in the Red/Blue saga, except for Maxima confirming that both Red and Blue are really Superman (which we already knew) and that Kryptonian tech isn’t going to fix the problem.
Action Comics #742 is next. Red and Blue split up, Blue being more concerned with finding a solution to their problems, but Professor Hamilton is nowhere to be found. In the meantime, an eco-terrorist calling himself Kirichitan releases all the animals from the Metropolis petting zoo, with Blue zipping in to fight him. Meanwhile, the home where Luthor has been keeping his wife under sedation since the birth of their daughter mysteriously burns to the ground. Meanwhile, Man of Steel #77 shows us what Red is up to at the same time, zipping home to be with Lois, but being called to investigate the fire that seems to have consumed Erica. Red and Scorn wind up, through timey-wimeyness, fighting some dinosaurs and robots in Suicide Slum, and Scorn decides that his presence is too dangerous for Ashbury, leaving her behind and breaking her heart.
There’s a fun little trick with these two issues, taking place simultaneously and showing some of the same events from different perspectives. It’s not quite a Rashomon situation, but writers Stuart Immonen and Louise Simonson have a little fun with the conceit, as do Immonen and Jon Bogdanove on the two covers that match each other as a single image.
Oh yeah – also, at Cadmus, something is happening to the Dragon’s Tooth artifacts. We’re on the cusp of the Millennium Giants, and the end of this era.
When I started the Year of Superman back in January, I decided early on that I wasn’t going to spend the entire year reading stories from the “Triangle Era,” even though that is hands-down my favorite period of Superman comics. I did decide, though, that I would allow myself two indulgences. I would give myself a few weeks to delve into the epic and game-changing Death and Return of Superman storyline in the early part of the year. Then, later, I would allow myself to read the longer and more divisive saga of “Electric” Superman. The period where Superman’s powers and costume changed so radically was a major point of contention for a lot of readers at the time, although I feel that — like many stories of the era — it is looked back upon more fondly than it was initially received. But I have never gone back and read that era as a whole since it first came out.
I think it’s time.
That said, there’s a question that must be answered: exactly WHEN does this saga begin and end? It’s not as cut-and-dried as the Death of Superman, beginning with Doomsday’s appearance in Man of Steel #18. This story doesn’t begin in the issue where he gets the new costume. Superman’s power change is at least partially a result of an attempt to restore his powers after they are lost during the Final Night crossover. And after he is returned to “normal,” that issue ends with a cliffhanger that dovetails into a time-travel adventure against the villain Dominus that lasts several months before things are finally reset. Along the way he participates in more than one crossover event, is a regular member of the Justice League, and makes multiple guest appearances in lots of comics, including the Ultimate Access miniseries I read last week. All told, were I to read EVERY comic book with Electric Superman, it would be more than double (possibly triple) the number of issues in the Death and Return saga. That’s a LOT.
So here’s what I’ve decided:
I’m going to read all of the issues of the regular Superman titles from the beginning of Final Night to the end of the Dominus storyline. I’ll read the main issues of any crossover in which Electric Superman appears, as well as crossover chapters in which Superman or members of the family appear. I’ll also read the annuals with Electric Superman. I’m going to skip the JLA issues, because after all, it’s part of Grant Morrison’s run and that whole thing is really one massive story in and of itself. And I’m not going to get into every guest-appearance he makes just because I think it would be a pain to try to track them all down, but I reserve the right to sneak one in if I really want to.
Even shortened like this, it’s still going to be the single largest endeavor of the Year of Superman. And I’m kind of excited to get into it.
All of this is to say, buckle up. It’s time to get sparkly.
Comics:Final Night #0-4, Power of Shazam! #20, Superman Vol. 2 #117, Adventures of Superman #540, Supergirl Vol. 4 #3, Action Comics #727, Superboy Vol. 3 #33, Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 4 #86, Superman: The Man of Steel #62, Green Lantern Vol. 3 #81
Notes: It was a weird time in DC Comics. Hal Jordan had gone mad after the destruction of Coast City and took on the villain name Parallax following Zero Hour. Kyle Rayner was Green Lantern. Half of the Legion of Super-Heroes was stranded in the 20th century. And Lois Lane had ended her engagement to Clark Kent. Then, as if things weren’t bad enough, some idiot turns out the lights.
In The Final Night, by Karl Kesel and Stuart Immonen, an alien identifying herself as Dusk crashes her ship into Metropolis, where she is confronted by Superman, the Special Crimes Unit, and the time-tossed Legion of Super-Heroes. Dusk warns that a Sun Eater is approaching Earth, and that she has rushed ahead of it from world to world, trying to save people from its devastation, but thus far she has always failed. Superman quickly rallies the world’s heroes (and even some of the villains – they’ve got just as much to lose if the sun is eaten as the heroes do) and they take to space to try to stop the Sun Eater, but despite their best efforts, at the end of the first issue, Earth’s sun is consumed and the world is plunged into darkness.
Issue two begins in rather dramatic fashion, when Lex Luthor – who has been in hiding – appears to offer his aid to the Justice League and Earth’s heroes in saving the world, including a powerful splash page of Superman and his worst enemy shaking hands in the face of a common threat. Meanwhile, the worlds’ heroes are in overdrive trying to protect people both from the drastic climate crisis as well as from each other. It soon becomes apparent, however, that with the sun gone, Superman’s powers are declining rapidly. Amidst all of this a new hero appears: a young man calling himself Ferro.
In issue three things go from bad to worse. Turns out the sun isn’t actually GONE, but cut off inside the Sun Eater, where it’s trying to heal itself, but Luthor and Brainiac 5 realize that they have less than 24 hours left before the sun goes hyper-nova, wiping out everything in the solar system. Dusk makes plans to leave Earth before the end, as she has so many times before, but the Phantom Stranger takes her on a whirlwind Ebenezer Scrooge-like tour of the Earth, allowing her to witness our heroes’ refusal to give up, even in what is literally the darkest of hours. And as everyone begins making preparations for the bitter end, Guy Gardner is surprised by the appearance of a bright, beautiful green.
Final Night #4 brings us to the brink. Luthor and Brainiac 5 have constructed a series of force-field bombs they believe will contain the nova and destroy the Sun Eater, but their chosen pilot, Green Lantern, disappears. Superman insists on going himself, and takes a moment to write a farewell letter to Lois, from whom he was estranged at the time. As he’s writing, through, Ferro steals the ship with the intention of making the suicide run on his own. As they try to stop him, Parallax arrives and offers to save the sun. Despite the reservations of some of the heroes (especially Batman), he does so – at the cost of his own life. Hal Jordan, once and future Green Lantern, falls as he dispels the darkness within.
The end of the story doesn’t quite hit the same now as it did in 1996, knowing as we all do that Hal would eventually return and become Green Lantern again. But as a way to end the arc he had been on since the Death of Superman it was fitting. Also fitting was the reaction of the other heroes: Superman chooses to believe that Hal Jordan found redemption in the end for the atrocities of Parallax, whereas Batman believes a moment of good at the end can never erase the slate. It says quite a bit about each of these heroes, and the book seems to recognize that. At the end of the issue, as Clark and Bruce debate Hal’s sacrifice, Karl Kesel writes a caption that has always stuck with me: “They are the world’s finest heroes, and all the rest follow the lead of one or the other.”
It’s an interesting perspective on the philosophy of the DC Universe, isn’t it?
Let’s talk for a moment about the assorted spin-off chapters. As I said, I didn’t read all of the assorted spin-offs, only those featuring Superman or a member of the family, but that still added an additional nine books to the five-issue main series. I’ll hit the high points in order, as dictated by the reading list on the DC Infinite app:
Power of Shazam! #20: As the weather begins deteriorating with the loss of the sun, Superman and the Marvels go into first responder mode while the wizards Shazam and Ibis try to find a magical solution to the problem. Superman’s presence here is minor, but there are interesting notes. First, this happens right after the sun is lost, so Superman’s powers are only beginning to wane. Second, there’s an amusing moment where Captain Marvel promises Superman “I won’t be distracted like when I faced that Thunder God,” a funny and oblique reference to the events of DC Vs. Marvel.
Superman #117: This one is a cheat. Despite the banner on the cover, it’s not really part of the crossover. The issue wraps up an ongoing story with Superman and Professor Hamilton in the Fortress of Solitude and advances a few subplots, but it only ties in to the Final Night on the last few pages, when Superman receives word that something is approaching Earth. If you’re doing a readthrough of the story, this is utterly skippable.
Adventures of Superman #540: Perry White fights valiantly to put out an edition of the Daily Planet, reasoning that failure to do so would be like giving up and admitting defeat. Emil, still in the Fortress of Solitude, starts transmitting his own research to S.T.A.R. Labs in an attempt to help. And in Metropolis, as Superman’s powers continue to dwindle, Ferro gets a rather heartbreaking origin. The Perry stuff is great, and the Ferro stuff sets the character up nicely for his future with the Legion.
Supergirl #3: Peter David’s epic run was interrupted pretty early by this crossover appearance. Supergirl (this is the Matrix version, remember), has very recently found herself bound to a mortal girl named Linda Danvers, and in her new home of Leesburg, people are beginning to fall apart as they beg for the return of the sun. The issue is mostly spent developing subplots for the series in the context of the crossover, and skippable if you just want to read Final Night, but it reminds me as always just how good David’s run on this character was. I may not be able to fit it in before the end of the year (it’s a total of 80 issues, plus assorted crossovers, annuals, and specials), but so, so worth reading.
Action Comics #727: A somewhat quiet, subdued issue. As Metropolis is blanketed with snow, a Superman whose powers are nearly gone struggles to keep the peace. Meanwhile, a desperate man finds new hope. Inconsequential to the main story, but this is actually one of those times where I really feel a crossover event works well, telling an emotional self-contained tale against the backdrop of the greater events.
Superboy #33: In Superboy’s home of Hawaii, people are gathering at the base of an active volcano for warmth. Roxy Leech, his manager’s daughter and Superboy’s best friend, decides that with the world ending in 24 hours there’s nothing left to lose and confesses her love for him, which is kind of awkward, as his girlfriend Tana Moon is on TV reporting on the crisis just as the volcano erupts. Turns out it’s a monster with the inventive name of Lava causing trouble. The ending here is particularly bittersweet, and surprisingly effective.
Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 4 #86: Ferro proves his mettle (get it?) by offering to dive into the sun with an enormous bomb to get it going again. Luthor and Brainiac already have devised their plan to send Green Lantern instead, though, but when he mysteriously vanishes (whisked away by Parallax, as it happened), Superman steps up to do it instead…something that doesn’t sit too well with Ferro.
Superman: The Man of Steel #62: An interesting little side-trip. Almost de-powered, Superman tries to help a power plant stay functional to keep people from freezing in the dark. Meanwhile, Hamilton discovers that imminent destruction of the sun and sends word to the Daily Planet, while learning about the last days of Krypton and how eerily reminiscent they are of the current situation.
Green Lantern #81: An epilogue to the Final Night story featuring the funeral of Hal Jordan. Kyle Rayner is nervous, finding himself in the position of being asked to speak the death of a man he never met until he turned bad. Superman begins the ceremony, calling Hal a hero, before calling up other speakers who knew him best: Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Black Canary (speaking in the stead of the also dead-at-the-time Oliver Queen), the Flash, Carol Ferris, and finally Kyle. The heroes travel to the Coast City memorial, where Alan Scott turns the eternal flame green, and then Swamp Thing (making a rare non-Vertigo appearance for the time period) brings life back to the desolated landscape. In the end, even Batman finds it within himself to forgive.
A lovely story, although of course, it wouldn’t be the end at all. Nor is it the end for Superman because – as you may have noticed – I haven’t mentioned anything about his powers coming BACK yet. After the sun was restored, he – and everyone else – assumed his powers would go back to normal. But as we’re going to see soon, that isn’t what happened at all.
Thur., Aug 28
Comics: Superman Vol. 6 #29, Justice League Unlimited Vol. 2 #10, Justice League: Dark Tomorrow Special #1, Green Lantern Vol. 8 #25 (Superboy Guest Appearance)
Notes: Gonna take a quick pause from the burgeoning Electric storyline to read some of the new Superman comics that dropped this week. Superman #29 continues the “Legion of Darkseid” story as Superman plans a trip to the future to save the Legion of Super-Heroes with the most unexpected partner of all time.
It’s going to be hard to talk about this issue – I don’t really want to spoil anything, so can I just talk about vibes? As in, “I freaking love the vibes from this book”? Superman going into the future to save the Legion is exactly what I’ve been thirsting for. What’s more, writer Joshua Williamson is showing respect for EVERY incarnation of the Legion to date, weaving them all into this story (somehow) whilst still tying everything in to the ongoing “DC All In” saga. Again, without spoiling anything, if you haven’t read last year’s DC All-In Special or the Summer of Superman Specialthat came out in April, you’re missing out on the building blocks of this story. Superman even gets one of his trademark rousing speeches in which he espouses exactly what I’ve always felt is true: he may have been the inspiration for the Legion, but the Legion was every bit as much an inspiration to HIM.
Despite the darkness of this story, something about it is feeling…right. It rings true. And by the time the tale ends and the dust has settled, I feel like we just might finally have a true Legion again.
Justice League Unlimited #10 actually takes place before the “Darkseid’s Legion” storyline, and involves the League trying to protect the Doomsday Time Trapper, who feels the encroachment of Darkseid and his Legion. Meanwhile, the Trinity have a little heart-to-heart about what happened with Air Wave (the whole “tricked by Grodd” thing) and how they need to approach Justice League recruitment in the future. As always, Mark Waid proves just how well he knows these characters, placing Superman and Batman at odds with one another on this matter, with Wonder Woman as the mediator between the two. Clark also gets in a pretty sharp jab at Bruce, which I don’t think he gets to do quite often enough.
Also, Dan Mora drew both of these issues, and he’s phenomenal. Really, any time these days I read a comic book where I don’t feel the artwork is up to snuff, I wish that they could clone Mora and have him do all of it.
I also read the Justice League: Dark Tomorrow Special, which came out a few weeks ago but, somehow, I’d missed. I’m glad I grabbed it, though, because it feels pretty significant to this whole All In/Darkseid story that’s going on. Someone is hunting down and killing time travelers, which puts roughly half the Justice League at risk – especially those time-lost heroes from the “We Are Yesterday” crossover. A mysterious time-traveler calling himself “Legend” partners up with Air Wave and the lost heroes to try to save them. The issue is both an epilogue to “We Are Yesterday” and a prologue to future stories (including “Darkseid’s Legion” and the upcoming “DC KO”), and although the Super-family participation is minimal, it definitely feels significant, and if you’re following the ongoing saga of the DCU these days, you should pick it up.
Fri., Aug. 29
Comic Books: Superman Vol. 2 #118, Superman: The Wedding Album #1
Notes: I only briefly mentioned it when I read Final Night the other day, but at this point Lois and Clark were separated, she having called off their engagement and taken an assignment in Asia to get away from him. It was a bit of a delaying tactic – Warner Bros wanted corporate synergy and refused to allow DC Comics to have the two of them get married until they were also married on the then-running Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman TV show. It was actually that edict that led to the Death of Superman in the first place, when they had to scrap their plans to marry them off in 1992. Here, four years later, after one delaying tactic after another, they finally got married on the show, and DC had to quickly follow suit.
In Superman #118 we pick up on her, chasing down a heroin ring in the far East. Back in Metropolis, meanwhile, S.T.A.R. Labs is working on the fact that, despite the sun coming back, Superman’s powers are still gone. After a seemingly-pointless reiteration of his origin, Wonder Woman and Lori Lemaris convince Superman to try to get Lois back. Lois, meanwhile, encounters a young man who tells her a lesson he learned as a child from an American stranger. It’s pretty clear where this is going from the very beginning, but Lois is still taken by surprise when she learns who her new friend’s old friend happens to be, and she makes a decision to return to Metropolis. Short? Abrupt? Hell yeah. But DC wasn’t given a lot of time to get things back in order – they needed to have the wedding of the century align with the TV show.
And this brings us to Superman: The Wedding Album, an event nearly 60 years in the making. This 88-page whopper told a hefty tale written by the five writers of the Superman comics of the era (Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, David Michelinie, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern), with art by the regular teams and several other artists who had worked with Superman over the years, including John Byrne, Gil Kane, Paul Ryan, Tom Grummett, and a flashback sequence using pages by the great Curt Swan. It’s a nicely fitting tribute to the characters, kicking off with Lois being Lois – pretending to want to marry the head of the drug trafficking ring as a way to both bust him, at the same time, hitch a ride on his private jet back to Metropolis. She storms into the Daily Planet office wearing a ragged and torn wedding dress, then has it out with Clark. He fills her in on what’s been going on in her absence: he’s acting as Managing Editor of the Planet while Perry recovers from chemotherapy, oh yeah, and his powers are gone. (There’s a particularly funny line here: “Remember when the sun went out a while ago, Lois?” As if that’s the sort of thing a person could just forget.) The sequence ends with the entire Planet staff crowding around, trying to peek through the door, and seeing the two of them in an embrace, back where they belong.
The bulk of the special, after that, is all about wedding preparations: Lois’s bridal shower, the happy couple picking out their dress and tux, and house-hunting. And while it’s all fairly normal, non-superhero stuff, the writers manage to really infuse it with character. Lois’s mom is desperate to control things while her father makes no effort to disguise his distaste at his daughter’s choice of partner. Clark’s parents, meanwhile, do their best to play mediator. A fight breaks out at the Ace O’Clubs during the bachelor party, and Clark gets a visit from a friend to tell him that Metropolis will be taken care of during his honeymoon. Oh yeah – and the apartment that Lois fell in love with but couldn’t get is now theirs, courtesy of the building’s owner, one Bruce Wayne.
I’m really glad that they avoided the typical superhero wedding episode, where the ceremony is disrupted by a villain causing havoc or some natural disaster. The closest thing we get is Mr. Mxyzptlk popping in right before the blessed occasion to tell Clark he’s looking forward to screwing around with Mr. and Mrs. Kent very soon. Then it all closes off with a nice, simple, uneventful wedding that is heartfelt, sincere, and lavishly illustrated (with several members of the creative team in attendance).
It’s a sweet issue, one that finally puts the will they/won’t they of six decades to rest and allows us to move on to something new.
Turns out they were saving the chaos for the honeymoon.
Sat., Aug. 30
Podcast: Back to the Bins Episode #685: Superman S.C.O.R.E. III
Notes: It’s finally here! Regular blog readers may recall a while back when I joined Paul Spataro to record an episode of his Back to the Bins podcast, each of us discussing comics about the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. The episode has finally dropped, so make sure you check it out. It’s available on the Two True Freaks Podcast Network page, or you can find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you download your podcasts. Join us for a chat about this unique super-couple.
Comics: Taste of Justice #6, Adventures of Superman #541, Action Comics #728, Superman: The Man of Steel #63
Notes: A quick peek at Taste of Justice #6 – a short but fun story in which Martha Kent is injured (mildly – this series seems to specialize in minor mishaps most of the time), leaving Clark and Jonathan to try their hand at making her famous rhubarb pie. Interestingly, whereas most chapters of this online serial comic have led up to a triumphant dish being prepared, this one takes a different tack – the resultant pie isn’t up to Martha’s usual standards, a fact which she clearly finds somewhat amusing. I didn’t see that coming.
That done, it’s a dive back to 1996, where we’re going to read the comics that make up Lois and Clark’s honeymoon. After a surprisingly low-key and uneventful wedding, their trip to Hawaii makes up for it. Adventures of Superman #541 picks up at the wedding reception, after which the happy couple whisks off to the island paradise, where their celebrations are interrupted by an explosion. With Superman still powerless, fortunately, they happen to be on Superboy’s home turf. The explosion was caused by a creature that claims to be an island spirit called a Menehune, and the happy couple wind up meeting up with Superboy and his own reporter girlfriend, Tana Moon. The story is okay – more like we’re seeing a “Lower Decks” style peek in an issue of Superboy really. But the side quest is derailed on the last page, when Clark is shot and kidnapped by men in a speedboat. Of course, these guys don’t seem to realize that they’ve just made the biggest mistake of their lives: they’ve pissed off Lois Lane.
Action Comics #728 picks up with Clark waking up in the custody of the brother of the very drug trafficker that Lois captured in the Wedding Album. Apparently Rajiv, as his name goes, holds something of a familial grudge. I have to admit, I found this issue kind of underwhelming. Clark spends most of the issue engrossed in a flashback to another time when his powers weren’t of any use, facing a terrorist armed with a chunk of Kryptonite. The flashback really adds nothing to the story, save for eventually reminding Clark that he has studied techniques to make it appear as though his heart has stopped beating – techniques that work just as well if he has powers or not. He uses his little trick to attempt an escape, only to learn that any such effort will be futile, as he’s being held captive on a submarine at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Good reveal, but it leaves us with about two pages of plot progression for the whole issue.
Superman: The Man of Steel #63 picks up with Clark being brought to a private island belonging to Rajiv as Lois begins the task of doing what she does best: following leads. In this case, she’s trying to track down her missing husband, which takes her all of four pages before she begins a guerilla assault on Rajiv’s compound. (And they call Batman the world’s greatest detective.) As she attempts her rescue, Clark learns that Rajiv isn’t tracking her out of petty revenge: when she bested his brother, Lois made off with a knife that, unbeknownst to her, has hidden in its hilt computer codes capable of hacking satellite technology and bringing down aircraft at will. As Clark stalls for time, trying to convince Rajiv that Lois found and sold the codes, she breaks in and saves the day.
The honeymoon arc as a whole is okay. You all should know by now how much I love a story where Lois has a chance to kick some ass, and she most certainly does that in the Man of Steel issue. For all the times Clark has saved her over the years, it’s really great to see how capable she is when the need arises. My beef really comes with how quick the whole thing is, especially the sequence where Lois tracks down Rajiv’s island. It just comes far too easily, even for someone as smart and capable as Lois. Considering that she only appeared on one page of Action #728, that issue feels even more superfluous than it does at first blush. It would have been far more satisfying, in my opinion, to truncate the flashback sequence in that issue and devote those pages to showing Lois hunting down Clark. It would make the Action issue feel far more relevant and the Man of Steel issue feel less rushed. It’s all about the pacing, people.
Still, kudos to Lois and Clark for having a honeymoon they could never forget. But when their vacation to paradise ends, it’s going to be time to get down to the real issue at hand: finding a way to restore Superman’s missing powers.
Sun., Aug. 31
Comic Books: Superman Vol. 2 #119, Adventures of Superman #542, Action Comics #729, Superman: The Man of Steel #64
Notes: With the honeymoon over, it’s time to figure out what’s up with Clark’s powers. In Superman #119, Superman and the time-tossed Legion of Super-Heroes both arrive at LexCorp looking for help with their respective predicaments. They take a ship to the same orbital platform we saw back in the Superman/Aliens crossover (a rare instance of such a crossover being addressed as canon, helped no doubt by the fact that Dan Jurgens wrote both of them) and Brainiac 5 attempts to draw solar energy to jumpstart Clark’s powers…an effort met with failure. And in the midst of this Lex gets some surprising news: he’s going to be a daddy.
In Adventures #542, Superman heads to Project Cadmus for help but, again, finds himself stonewalled. Instead, he simply winds up on a brief psychedelic adventure with some of Jack Kirby’s stranger creations, the Hairies, before borrowing Guardian’s Whiz Wagon. He flies it down to Action Comics #729, where – en route to his Fortress in the Antarctic – he winds up at an energy research station where the crew has unwittingly unleashed a strange entity from the center of the Earth. Superman manages to best the creature even without his powers (paralleled with a subplot about Perry White going through chemotherapy) before finally making it to the Fortress where Emil Hamilton has been all this time. But even all his Kryptonian tech doesn’t restore his powers before Mr. Miracle and Big Barda pop in via Boom Tube, saying that the fate of the universe depends on Superman’s powers.
Finally, “Power Struggle” concludes in Man of Steel #64. The New Gods tell Superman that their world of New Genesis has somehow been destroyed, and the only hope of finding the truth is to retrieve the datacore in Metron’s suit…a datacore that can only be accessed by melting the suit in the heat of the sun itself. Metron assures Superman that their dive into the sun will recharge his powers quickly enough to pull them both out of the star before they’re killed…and miraculously, it works. Superman’s powers are restored, Metron is saved, and the data is retrieved. It all seems just so…neat and tidy. TOO neat and tidy, if you catch my drift.
Getting his powers back, as it would turn out, was just the beginning.
Bonus: Comics in the wild!
Notes: Some time ago, DC announced that they were going to start selling comics at Dollar Tree locations. The comics would all be reprints, of course: most of them either the first issue in a story that is available in graphic novel form or a standalone comic, including many aimed at kids. The program expanded to reach various convenience stores, grocery stores, and other outlets. But today was the first time I ever actually saw any in the wild. After my son’s birthday party, we stopped for gas and I saw the rack inside the station. I had to go through it, fascinated by some of the choices for their reprint specials. The first appearance of the modern Supergirl from Superman/Batman is in the mix, as well as at least two current issues of Mark Waid’s World’s Finest series (each the beginning of a storyline, of course), and the first issue of Christopher Priest’s Superman: Lost. They weren’t ALL Superman comics, of course – there was the expected assortment of Batman comics, Harley Quinn comics, and Scooby-Doo comics, some of them all at the same time – but the very existence of this rack out there, outside of comic book stores where they can be seen by anybody…it was heartwarming to me.
Of course I had to get a couple. I picked up the reprint of John Byrne’s Superman #1 from 1987, as well as the reprint of the first issue of Batman Adventures Vol. 2. Like the Compact Comics, I feel like it’s important we support these things, friends.
Mon., Sept. 1
Comics: Superman Vol. 2#120,Adventures of Superman #543, Action Comics #730, Superman: The Man of Steel #65, Superman Vol. 2 #121,Adventures of Superman #544, Action Comics #731, Superman: The Man of Steel #66, Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite #6, Gotham City Sirens: Unfit For Orbit #5 (Power Girl guest appearance)
Notes: There was a bit of a lull in the Superman comics after he got his powers back but before they transformed. Let’s see what we can get through today. In Superman #120, Lex Luthor has a dream about his oncoming child idolizing Superman, a dream that chills him to the bone and opens up an issue of different characters talking about what they would do with Superman’s powers: Lex, Emil Hamilton, Jimmy Olsen, Cat Grant, Perry White, and a random kid who gets locked out of his house and needs Superman’s help. It’s a cute little breather of an issue, which was probably due at this point, although it had been entirely too long since we saw Lois. She hadn’t had a significant appearance since the honeymoon ended, and it’s time to really get into the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Superman. There is one significant piece of foreshadowing, though: when Emil studies Superman to make sure that his powers are, indeed, back to normal, the scanner he’s using shorts out due to an unexpected electrical surge.
In the immortal words of C+C Music Factory, “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm…”
Adventures of Superman #543 shows us the newlyweds finally settling into their new apartment and Superman checking into a couple of escaped villains. Turns out the villains in question are being recruited for a new version of the good ol’ Superman Revenge Squad. A strange figure watching from the shadows has pulled together Anomaly, Barrage, Misa, Riot, and most troublingly, Maxima. When DC released this year’s Superman Treasury Edition I mentioned that I was disappointed to see Maxima reverting to her old villainous ways. I guess I’d forgotten that this wasn’t the first time she’d suffered from a bout of recidivism. The Squad makes its attack in Action Comics #730, but not before one of the very-frequent scenes of Superman flying over Metropolis pondering recent events to bring any casual readers up to speed. I never noticed until this read-through just how frequently that happened in the Triangle Era. I suppose they clung to the idea that any comic book could be somebody’s first, and they were doing their best to make sure that everyone knew what was going on. Admirable – but these days I’m very curious as to whether that old adage still bears any truth at all. Anyway, the fight goes poorly – the five villains, used to working on their own, wind up stumbling over each other and stabbing each other in the back, but by the last panel they manage to have Superman down, his head covered with a slime that Misa is using the block his powers. Geez, Misa, he JUST got them back.
Man of Steel #65 wraps the story up as the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit arrives on the scene and joins the fight. For a full-issue fight scene, it’s not bad. It’s really nice to see the SCU used to the top of their intelligence, being legitimately effective in a fight against superpowered villains instead of just coming across as the useless cops that so often populate superhero comics. As the Revenge Squad is rounded up, their mysterious benefactor watches and plans his next move. I’ll tell you what I REALLY like here – it’s been so long since I read these issues that I’ve completely forgotten who the mysterious bad guy is that pulled the Revenge Squad together. I don’t know when the reveal is going to come, but I hope it lands.
Superman #121 has writer Dan Jurgens once again pick up penciling duties (a rarity for this era) for a “very special issue” about Clark Kent befriending a ten-year-old girl who witnessed a gang shooting. When Superman tries to eliminate the guns from her housing project, thinking it will make it safe for her…well, let’s just say I’m kind of surprised that Jurgens would have written Superman as being so naive.
Adventures #544 starts off with what I’m comfortable calling a controversial moment: Clark Kent is gunned down in the middle of a busy streetcorner. If that’s not confusing enough, it gets weirder when Lois arrives on the scene at the same time as…another Clark. Turns out the doppelganger is tied into the return of Intergang, which no doubt is going to cause trouble later on. Action #731 features another return: Lois and Clark are trying to enjoy an evening at home together when word comes of an attack by an old foe of his Cauldron – but he’s different than before. While Clark holds him off, Lois helps unravel the mystery of who is controlling the cyborg villain this time.
Finally (for today) let’s look at Superman: The Man of Steel #66. Remember Rajiv, the creep who messed up Lois and Clark’s honeymoon trying to get his hands on codes that would allow him to take over a satellite defense network? Well, seems like he got the codes, because in this issue he starts raining fire all over the world, demanding a billion-dollar ransom to stop. The story cuts between Superman taking to space to stop him and scenes on the ground where various people, including Bibbo, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White’s family, try to help in their own way. It’s an interesting little experiment by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, a story ostensibly about how the S-shield itself stands for something to people and the power it has even on its own. It would be another decade before the concept of the shield being the Kryptonian word for “Hope” came about, but this has some of that same feel to it, and I like it on that level.
It’s odd, in retrospect, how these stories feel so disconnected from what’s coming. Except for the electric spark in Superman #120, there’s really been no buildup to the power switch. The news had already come out that the story was coming, of course, people knew that Superman was about to get a new costume and new power set, but they didn’t expend a lot of shoe leather on the concept for the first two months after the wedding storyline ended.
That’ll change very soon.
Tues., Sept. 2
Comic Books: Superman Vol. 2 #122, Adventures of Superman #545, Action Comics #732, Superman: The Man of Steel #67, Superman Vol. 2 #123
Notes: The final month before the big switch begins in Superman #122. At this time, DC was still under the edict that Kal-El was to be the ONLY Kryptonian who survived the destruction of Krypton. That said, they had found ways around that with alternatives to the Kryptonian characters and concepts of the past: the Matrix Supergirl, an Earth dog Bibbo named “Krypto,” and most recently, a new version of the city of Kandor. In this continuity, Kandor was still a miniaturized city in a bottle that Superman was keeping safe in the Fortress of Solitude, but rather than a Kryptonian city, it was a town made of aliens from various worlds, all collected by an entity named Tolos before Superman saved them. In this issue, his powers start to go wild, causing electrical devices to explode and his body to phase in and out. Superman takes Lois to the Fortress to try to get to the bottom of it, wondering if the dimensional phase that had brought him to Kandor could be responsible, but inadvertently winds up releasing a blue-skinned, horned alien called Ceritak. In Adventures #545, things just get worse as Superman’s powers go out of control. He sparks uncontrollably, falling through walls and losing the ability to fly, all of which contribute to a power outage that goes across the city and frees the Atomic Skull from prison. The Skull, suffering from the delusion that he was the hero of an old movie serial and that Superman and everyone else were characters in the serial, winds up in battle against Superman, seeming to atomize him.
Action #732 continues the battle because, obviously, Superman isn’t really dead. His energy was somehow dissipated by the skull, and he finds himself reconstituting at that Antarctic energy research station he stopped by when he was powerless a few issues back. Lois plays along with the Skull’s delusion as a delaying tactic and, making his way back to Metropolis, Superman starts to learn some of the capabilities of his new powers. He isn’t strong anymore and can’t fly, but he can bound around like energy, control magnetic waves, and access computer systems by touch. Eventually, he manages to bring the Skull down, but he has no idea what’s happening to him.
Superman: The Man of Steel #67 is next, although the title has become highly inaccurate at this point. (This is a good opportunity to talk about how, were this story to be told today, it would reach this point and then DC would likely cancel all four series and re-start them with new first issues, including changing the title of this one. Man of Energy doesn’t really have the same ring, though. I don’t know what they’d call it.) As news of Superman’s mutating powers starts to leak out, Lois clashes with the Planet’s new sensationalist circulation manager over their coverage. Meanwhile, Ceritak has made his way to Metropolis, where he’s inadvertently sewing some chaos. In the midst of the battle between the two Superman’s powers go absolutely haywire, causing a citywide blackout.
A quick aside before I move on to the main event: Jon Bogdanove. He’s one of my favorite Superman artists, mostly because his style has a sort of classic, old-fashioned sensibility that meshes perfectly with Superman. He gives us a huge, barrel-chested, squared-jawed hero that not only fits, but practically DEFINES the classic Superman mold. As Superman shifts from his traditional status quo to the electrical version, you’d think it would clash with his style…but somehow it doesn’t. Along with fine art and color work by Denis Janke and Digital Chameleon, he makes a creature of pure energy still invoke the core of Superman. That, along with several well-placed and highly amusing visual gags in this issue, call to mind some of his best work on Marvel’s Power Pack. I don’t think Bogs gets enough credit in general, and I wanted to call out this issue in particular as being a high point.
Finally, after a week of reading, we come to the book that I started this journey for: Superman #123. As Superman fights with the confused Ceritak (who Bibbo accidentally renames “Scorn”), he winds up in Hamilton’s lab, unable to control his new energy-body. Hamilton is approached by Erica del Portenza, wife (at the time) of Lex Luthor, who has an experimental cyber-woven polymer that she believes may be of assistance. Loath as they are to accept help from Luthor, Hamilton sees no choice and uses the fabric to create a containment suit. In his new duds, Superman finds that he can control his power while in energy-form as well as shift back to a fully human (and powerless) Clark Kent. As he says on the last page, “there’s a new Superman in town.”
This is such a wild story so far. After a rather slow buildup, we’ve got a Superman now with a completely different power set and costume, and while I don’t think I believed even then that this change was intended to be permanent, DC did their best to pretend this new status quo was going to last. So looking ahead to reading more of this, I’m expecting to see the sort of subplots and side-stories that defined the Triangle Era while, at the same time, continuing the story of the electro-Superman, leading up to the era of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue.
And despite feeling a bit of scorn (no pun intended) for this storyline for a very long time now, I find myself kind of looking forward to it.
I spent last week dipping my toes into the DC Vs. Marvel crossover, as well as the first wave of Amalgam Comics titles. But I’m not done yet: I’ve still got over half the huge Amalgam Age Omnibus to get through, including two sequel miniseries and the second wave of Amalgam Comics. Not only that, but after a few weeks where the beginning of the school year has kept me busy, I finally get a chance to sit down and catch up on more recent Superman comics. Oh yeah – and Peacemaker season two drops this week, and while I don’t expect to see Superman to show up, James Gunn has promised that the story of this season follow on from the film, so there’s a pretty good chance I’ll have some thoughts to share about that. Let’s begin, shall we?
I had the same look on my face as Access when I read Civil War II.
Notes: I’m going to say something that may be controversial here. I actually like the follow-up miniseries, like DC/Marvel: All-Access, better than the DC Vs. Marvel event itself. DC Vs. Marvel was a fun experiment, but the plot was really just a flimsy excuse to show off fights between the characters and frame the Amalgam specials. All-Access, on the other hand, has an actual STORY to it, and I appreciate that. Written by Ron Marz with art by Butch Guice, whom you may remember passed away earlier this year, All-Access starts out with Axel Asher, the man who straddles the line between the Marvel and DC Universes as Access. A psychic flash warns him that Venom has somehow hopped universes, and if anyone from either universe stays in the other one for too long it could cause the worlds to fuse into the Amalgam Universe again, so the cosmic hall monitor has to get to work. He comes across Venom in Metropolis, where he’s throwing down with Superman, and so Access decides to get some backup by calling in someone who knows what Venom’s deal is: Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man.
This is all in the first issue of the miniseries, by the way, which almost works very well as a standalone Superman/Spider-Man team-up. There’s no gratuitous hero-on-hero fighting here, just two good men teaming up to take down one bad one, and Marz plays them both perfectly. Re-reading this issue is where I started to realize that this is kind of what I had hoped DC Vs. Marvel would have been all along.
Superman doesn’t show up again until the last page of issue #3, but in the meantime, Jubilee convinces Access to take her back to the DC Universe because when she and Robin were supposed to be fighting each other, they kind of fell in love. (To this day, it’s probably the best relationship Tim Drake has ever had.) Their reunion is interrupted by an encounter with Two-Face, then again when the Scorpion appears, once again mysteriously having been pulled from the other universe. Access recruits Batman to help him solve the mystery of the “crossovers,” and Batman suggests that they track down the man who, in the combined universe, was supposed to be its defender: Dr. Stephen Strange. Batman approaches Strange, suspecting that he’s causing the crossovers somehow, and Jubilee calls in the X-Men to hold him off. Issue three ends with Access once again calling in the cavalry, bringing in the rest of the Justice League.
Issue four is X-Men vs. JLA, at least at first. Things change when Access discovers that Dr. Strangefate has been hiding in Strange’s subconscious ever since the merger and used him to cause the crossovers in an attempt to restore the Amalgam Universe. He fuses Wonder Woman and Storm once again into their Amalgam counterpart, Amazon, but when he realizes he doesn’t have the right parts to put together anyone else, he starts creating NEW Amalgams: Superman and Bishop! Iceman and Aquaman! Jean Grey and the Martian Manhunter! Things get wild!
The story ends with a nice little promise, the Amalgam Universe restored as a sort of pocket universe where Strangefate is locked away, and the Marvel and DC Universes get to remain separate. But this miniseries was so much fun, seeing the characters actually interact in ways that didn’t go straight to the fisticuffs. The Robin/Jubilee stuff in particular was fantastic, and I loved seeing Superman and Spider-Man working together again.
It’ll never happen, but I’d love to see a longer Access series, say a 12-issue event in which he’s trying to solve some sort of mystery that encompasses both worlds. And I’d love if, during this year, he appears not only in his own series, but in the ongoing comics of both companies, bringing surprise guest stars with him. But seeing as how the original plan was for DC Vs. Marvel to end with She-Hulk and Martian Manhunter swapping universes for a year until that plan was nixed by the lawyers, it’s doubtful that anything like that could happen. It’s not like the world has gotten LESS litigious since 1996, after all.
Thur., Aug 21
Comic Books: Super-Soldier: Man of War #1
The amalgamated Snyder Brothers fans get SO angry that they gave Super-Soldier his trunks back.
Notes: A year after DC Vs. Marvel, a second wave of 12 Amalgam one-shots were released, six of them continuing adventures of the characters from the first, six of them with all-new Amalgamations. What’s interesting is that even the books that carried over didn’t continue the STORIES from the original. Some of them were unrelated stories, some made brief reference to the previous, and some went REALLY wild, like Dark Claw Adventures giving us an adventure of the Amalgamated Batman/Wolverine combo in a Batman: The Animated Series style. For our first visit with the Super family, Super-Soldier: Man of War dipped back in time to give us an adventure of the character from World War II. Mark Waid and Dave Gibbons reunite for this story, which kicks off with Super-Soldier at a meeting of the All-Star Winners Squadron. But he’s only there long enough for us to notice some new Amalagams (such as the Human Torch/Green Lantern mashup Human Lantern) before it’s off to join Jimmy Olsen for a special undercover Daily Planet assignment overseas.
On the ship to Europe, Clark and Jimmy make the acquaintance of Sgt. Rock and the Howling Commandos, and Clark is later chagrined to find that Winston Churchill has fallen for the do-gooder act of his arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor, husband of Lois Lane. In a way, Luthor’s involvement actually makes this a prequel to the previous story, as the issue ends with him unveiling the plans for the Ultra-Metallo that Super-Soldier fought the first time we read one of his adventures. Kinda makes you wonder why it took Luthor 50 years to get it together.
As before, Waid and Gibbons do a great job lacing together the Superman and Captain America characters, this time bringing in the World War II-era heroes of Easy Company and the Howlers as well. Peggy Carter, for instance, shows up here as a member of the French Resistance (although I couldn’t figure out which member of Easy Company she was supposed to be mashed up with). The appearance of Major Zemo and his War Wheel pushes this over the top – silly and gleeful. These Amalgam books, when done well, are just an enormous amount of fun. Is it too much to hope that the new DC/Marvel crossover books that are about to come out will open the door for the return of this mixed-up universe?
Fri., Aug 22
No, you give YOUR dog an invisible bone!
Last night was the premiere of Peacemaker season 2. I thought that meant I would be able to watch it when I got home from work, but apparently, it dropped at 8 p.m. EST, by which time my sports fanatic son was engrossed in a preseason game between two teams that nobody in our house has any personal connection to. But that was okay, I figured that I would just watch it the next day. I guess that was pretty stupid of me, though, to assume that I could wait a whole 20 hours and not have anything spoiled for me. Before the game was even over, though, posts were appearing on social media that spoiled something that really pissed me off. You see, season one was made BEFORE James Gunn was given the job of revamping the DCU, and was intended as part of the previous iteration of the DC Extended Universe. With the new DCU that began in Creature Commandos and continued into Superman, though, there were questions as to which parts of the season were still canon. Gunn has been exploring that in the official podcast for the show, but there was a moment in the finale that they were going to have to work a little bit to reconcile.
Naturally, looking at Facebook last night, I was spammed with different pages that I don’t even follow sharing a screenshot that ruined a pretty amusing moment. How dare I assume that people wouldn’t make it into a headline? It had been an entire 180 minutes since the show dropped! What are they, made of stone?
Here’s the rule: If you’re posting spoilers about a show on the day it airs, you’re an asshole. That goes for individuals as well as all of those pages that I have since blocked.
By the time you read this it will have been nearly a week since that episode, and I STILL wouldn’t talk about it without giving you a warning. So in the next paragraph I’m going to spoil a few things about the end of Peacemaker season one and the beginning of season two. If you haven’t watched them and want to remain pure, skip ahead to Saturday.
TV Show: Peacemaker Season 2, Episode 1: “The Ties that Grind.”
Season one of Peacemaker ended with the titular hero and his team, the 11th Street Kids, saving the world from an invasion of alien butterflies. It’s more impressive than it sounds. But in the battle, Emelia Harcourt was nearly killed. Towards the end of the episode, Peacemaker is carrying her to safety when, lo and behold, the Justice League appeared – too late to do any good. The League, in this case, included silhouettes of Superman and Wonder Woman, as well as Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Ezra Miller as the Flash. It was a funny scene, but as that Justice League doesn’t exist, that scene clearly was no longer canon.
Gunn promised to explain it away and he did at the very beginning of the episode, in the “Previously on…” montage, where the League was replaced by the Justice GANG from the movie. The silhouettes of Superman, Mr. Terrific, and Supergirl all appeared, as well as a quick and the cameos have been replaced by Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner. It was a funny bit. But I bet it would have been funnier if not for the asshats on the internet posting it the night before I got to watch it.
Fillion and Merced appear later in the episode as well, alongside Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord allowing Peacemaker to audition for the Justice Gang. Watching the episode, it’s clear why DC put out the digital version of Superman last week – there are a lot of things in this show that build directly on that movie, although it’s still Peacemaker’s story of course. Rick Flagg shows up, worried about another dimensional rift like the “Luthor Incident” that happened this summer. Besides the connections to Superman, the show also starts trickling in new characters, like a surprising cameo by White Rabbit and references to the likes of the Ultra-Humanite and Captain Triumph. Rick Flagg is even working with Sasha Bordeaux, a supporting character from Greg Rucka’s Batman comics. Gunn seems to be using this season of Peacemaker to lay in chunks of the history of the DCU that Superman only hinted at, and I’m really quite excited by that.
Look, it’s not a HUGE Superman link, and it’s DEFINITELY not a show I’m gonna watch with my seven-year-old like the movie, but this show is starting to look like it’s going to be part of the fundamental fabric of the new DCU, and that would make it worth watching even if it WEREN’T really good.
Comics:Jon Kent: This Internship is My Kryptonite #5
Notes: The beginning of a new school year traditionally keeps me busy, and today was the first time I’ve made it in to pick up my new comics in a few weeks. As such, I’ve got a hefty nine Superman or Superman-related comics sitting in my stack, waiting to read and discuss, including the much-anticipated Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1. This Black Label series is by W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo, the creative team behind Image Comics’ incredible existential horror series Ice Cream Man. That’s the only thing of theirs that I’ve read before, however, and while I’m a big fan, I’ve been curious ever since this was announced as to just how their sensibilities would translate over to the Man of Steel.
As it turns out, they translate wonderfully.
In this story, Superman discovers four new strains of Kryptonite beyond the usual colors we’re aware of, and recruits Batman to help him experiment with them and find out what they do. The first, a Purple K, distorts Superman’s perception of time – something that is especially concerning as Lex Luthor chooses just that minute to unleash Solomon Grundy in Metropolis.
It would be fair for someone to question whether a creative team best known for a cosmic mind-tripping horror comic would be an appropriate choice for a Superman story, but Prince and Morazzo acquit themselves right away. The Kryptonite Spectrum isn’t a horror story by any stretch, but when Superman’s concept of linear time is skewed, we get a story that drifts into the kind of psychological twists that make Ice Cream Man so compelling while skipping the actual terror. Prince uses this conceit to play with the reader’s concept of time as well, and the script even twists Superman’s interactions with his friends, with a few scenes with Lois Lane dipping into the very real anxieties that Ice Cream Man so frequently mines for pure horror. Here, though, rather than terror, Prince uses them for character drama, displaying things about the relationships between the characters that feel very true, very human. This may not have the “Elseworlds” label, but the story clearly isn’t set in the mainstream DC Universe, with Superman and Lois’s relationship framed in a way that doesn’t fit that world, but feels quite appropriate for the story that Prince and Morazzo are telling. This is a great first issue of a very different kind of Superman story, and I enjoyed it heartily.
Remember this the next time one of you wants to give me grief for putting up my Halloween decorations in September.
Dan Slott and Rafael Albuquerque are back with Superman Unlimited #4. With the Daily Planet expanding to a global operation, Jimmy Olsen has been tasked with helping set up their Gotham City office. While he’s in town, he and his ape city sidekick Tee-Nah run across Man-Bat and wind up summoning Superman for help. What they don’t know, though, is that this is a new Man-Bat, one who can transmit its curse via a bite…and a chance encounter with all the Kryptonite on Earth these days has left Superman just vulnerable enough to get nipped. Soon it’s Robin and the Birds of Prey vs. Superman-Bat!
This book is really turning out to be just what I wanted. There’s an ongoing storyline – that of the Kryptonite meteor that fell to Earth and the consequences of that – however, each issue feels like it’s telling a complete and self-contained story. The A-plot, the “Superman-Bat” thing, is done in one and it’s over. The background story of the Kryptonite and the expanded operations of the Planet continue. Although it’s a single monthly comic, in a lot of ways it feels like the structure of the glorious “Triangle Era” of the Superman comics, and I love it for that. Slott also works in some nice tidbits regarding Superman’s interaction with the Batman family, which – coming right on the heels of having read The Kryptonite Spectrum #1 – makes it feel as if DC is using the month of August to make sure everyone remembers that Superman and Batman are best buds. Which, of course, I approve of wholeheartedly.
This is what happens when you don’t use fluoride.
Supergirl #4 continues Sophie Campbell’s new(ish) take on the Woman of Tomorrow. Having defeated her doppelganger Lesla-Lar last issue, this issue Supergirl takes her back to Kandor where she does something her cousin would most certainly approve of wholeheartedly: she goes to bat for her. Supergirl argues that Lesla has the drive to become a real hero, if only given the proper guidance, and volunteers to take that task upon herself. That’s the very beginning of the issue – afterwards we see Lesla make earnest attempts to prove her worth, leading up to a strange but entertaining encounter at a Goth club where she makes a mistake in judgment that winds up having the Supergirl squad face the forces of Decay.
I just adore Campbell’s take on Supergirl. This issue in particular feels so true to the character – she comes off as someone who has demons in her past but, having largely conquered them, is sworn to help other people do the same. And following Lesla in this issue just magnifies that fact, demonstrating the effect that just being in proximity of someone like Supergirl can have on a soul that’s not truly evil, but merely lost. It’s such a good look for her and for the entire Superman family, and Campbell is nailing it in a delightful way. I also appreciate how Campbell is mining Supergirl’s past – the “new” villain, Decay, is a new version of an obscure character from Supergirl’s ‘80s series who, to the best of my knowledge, hasn’t reappeared since then. She knows this character’s history and she’s using it to her best advantage, which makes for a really rewarding read.
Sun., Aug. 24
Comics: Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #3, Action Comics #1089, Justice League Red #1
Notes: After a busy Sunday of groceries, shoe shopping, making my weekly LitReel and, of course, a required stop at Spirit Halloween, it’s nearly 7 pm before I have a chance to sit down and read anything. Fortunately, I’ve still got six more new Superman-related books to dig into. Let’s see how many I get to this evening.
Beware the fetch.
Krypto: The Last Dog of Krypton #3 is first. Wandering alone after abandoning Lex Luthor, Krypto is stumbling through the woods when he comes across a little girl who’s as lost as he is. Roaming through the freezing woods, Krypto takes it upon himself to take care of the child, and in the process, proves just what a good boy he really is.
The first two issues of this miniseries blew me away. This one… DAMN it, Ryan North. Three issues in a row – THREE ISSUES IN A ROW – and you’ve got me in tears reading about KRYPTO THE SUPERDOG.
Honestly, if you’re not reading this comic book I don’t know what even is wrong with you.
When a teenager loses one of his contact lenses.
Action Comics #1089 may not have me sobbing over the adventures of a dog, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. Last issue, young Clark Kent was surprised when his history teacher showed up on his doorstep and revealed that he knew Clark was Superboy. This issue, Mr. Blake has a reveal of his own and, frankly, I’m kind of irritated with myself for not picking up on who he was in the first place. Mark Waid is being Mark Waid here, tapping on his seemingly infinite awareness of the DC Universe to bring back a character who hasn’t been seen in a while and recontextualizing him in the world of Superboy’s Smallville. I can’t get much more specific without spoiling anything here, and in case you haven’t read the issue yet, I don’t want to do that But Waid is doing really interesting stuff in this issue.
My one complaint is actually the cover by Ryan Sook. It’s a great piece of art – evocative and certainly sure to get a reader’s attention…only it doesn’t seem to actually fit anything in the story. I hate when comic book covers are dull, generic pin-ups, but it may be even worse when the cover is of a scene that doesn’t even appear in the book.
Wait, some of these costumes need more red.
The last book I squeeze in before I’m alerted by my child that he’s hungry and he has expectations of something called “dinner” is the first issue of the latest DC All-In era Justice League spinoff, Justice League Red. Ever since the Justice League re-formed, Red Tornado has been serving as the computer intelligence running the operations for the team. This issue, Power Girl and Green Lantern Simon Baz get a red alert on their League ID cards that summon them to a satellite Red Tornado built without the knowledge of the rest of the League. His computer mind has been running millions of simulations and has determined that the new League is somehow going to lead to a catastrophe on Earth, and he needs a few trusted members to handle secret tasks the rest of the League cannot learn about in order to stop it.
Writer Saladin Ahmed is taking an interesting path in this book. The story leads us to believe that Red Tornado is unstable, and that all of these predictions and algorithms he’s run are unreliable. Even as Power Girl and Simon carry out their first mission, they’re skeptical as to whether they’re doing the right thing and whether they can trust their robot teammate. But to play that hand so early, to make it seem from the very beginning that Red Tornado may be going off the rails…it feels kind of like a feint to me. I’m willing to bet that we’re going to find out along the way that things are even worse than believing Red Tornado is wrong: we’re going to find out that somehow, he’s RIGHT. Interesting set-up, and I look forward to seeing where this goes.
Mon. Aug. 25
Comics: Absolute Superman #10, Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #42, Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. Kong 2 #3
Confirmed: I still can’t see John Cena.
Notes: Time to wrap up my catch-up weekend (plus one day) with the final three Superman-related comics from my visit to the comic shop. I’m kicking it off with Absolute Superman #10. The battle continues between the Omega Men and Ra’s Al Ghul’s Peacemakers, with Peacemaker Smith on the front line in the hunt for Kal-El. With a Kryptonite bullet in Smith’s gun, Kal-El is faced with a decision, and a reflection onto a hard choice his father once made brings about a surprising result.
The conceit of the Absolute comics is that this is an entire universe tainted by Darkseid, where hope is the eternal underdog and the sort of values that characterize the traditional DC heroes are absent. This issue, Kal-El is faced with the kind of choice that Superman inevitably comes down to at some point in his career, and it’s a testament to Jason Aaron’s writing that, right up until the choice is made, I’m not entirely certain which way I think he’s going to go.
I like the way the Absolute world plays with characters as well. Concepts like the Omega Men, Peacemaker, and especially Ra’s Al Ghul are not traditional elements of the Superman corner of the DC Universe, but they work in the story we’re getting here. Overall, it’s a good chapter in this saga.
This am bad serious book.
In World’s Finest #42, Superman and the Dynamic Duo have been summoned to Bizarro World to help with a plague. The Bizarros (including Bizarro Superman #1 and Batzarro) who are infected find their minds realigned to a more Earth-like way of thinking. Such a danger can’t be allowed to spread, so they’ve turned to our heroes to save them…but together, they find that the danger may be greater than even the plague seemed to be.
Mark Waid is doing some really interesting things with the Bizarros here. He plays with the notion of how science and physics don’t really allow for something like a square planet and what the consequences of such a world would be. At the same time, he tackles the Bizarro philosophy of things being “backwards” as well, in a way that makes me feel slightly abashed for my criticism of the Bizarro story in the recent Kal-El-Fornia Love summer special. There’s also a great moment for Batman here – Robin (understandably) questions why it would be such a bad thing if the Bizarros all had their minds reversed to what we think of as “normal.” Batman’s response is a little unexpected, at least until he gives his reasoning, displaying a depth of compassion that Batman isn’t often given credit for. It’s a good look on Bruce.
So they’re sitting around watching Japanese movies, so what?
I finally get to the end of the new Superman titles (less than 48 hours before this week’s comics go on sale) with Justice League Vs. Godzilla Vs. Kong 2 #3. At the center of the Earth, Superman and Lex Luthor are forced into an uneasy alliance as they come across a herd of giant gorillas. (A herd? A pride? What are a group of gorillas called? I should probably look that up.) On the surface, meanwhile, Supergirl and Wonder Woman get to work liberating a Monarch base being held captive by Task Force X, and Harley Quinn gets involved in a rather…unique therapy session.
Obviously, I love crossovers, and seeing the League facing off against the Kaiju of the Legendary Monsterverse is a lot of fun. I particularly like bringing in the Suicide Squad as an alternative antagonist in this story. But it’s the sort of thing that’s a little hard to hold in your head from month to month. Waiting for the trade isn’t a practice I care for, but this is probably a situation where the story will read better in collected form than issue-to-issue. Once it’s over, I’ll have to re-read the whole thing in a lump.
Notes: We’re going to end our journey through the Amalgam Universe and the DC/Marvel Omnibus today with Spider-Boy Team-Up #1, and the subsequent Unlimited Access miniseries. The final one-shot, written by Roger Stern and Karl Kesel (cleverly Amalgamated into R.K. Sternsel) with art by Jose Ladronn, features the return of the Arach-kid with a special guest appearance by his pals in the Legion of Galactic Guardians 2099, and that in and of itself should tell you that at this point they were going WILD with the Amalgamations. At Cadmus, as preparations are made for the Kid’s upcoming nuptials to Mary Jane Watson, aka the Insect Queen, the Kid is plucked from the timestream and brought to the far-flung future, where the Legion is about to elect a new leader. Will it be Vance Cosmic? Martinex 5? Cannonfire? Multiple Mai–you know what, there’s too many, I’m not going to list them all. But it’s pretty interesting to note that there are so many Legionnaires that there aren’t enough Guardians to Amalgamate them all (or at least, there weren’t at the time) so they wind up mashing together with virtually any Marvel character that fits: Dream Girl and Destiny made up Dream Date, Matter-Eater Lad and the Trapster made Paste-Eater Pete, and my personal favorite, Bouncing Boy and Speedball mashed into Bouncing Ball. Unfortunately, Spider-Boy’s time displacement is causing stress on the time stream, and he winds up falling into different time periods, meeting different incarnations of the Legion.
The book turns out to be a real celebration and gentle parody of the Legion, poking some lighthearted fun at the various reboots the team has undergone over the years, a topic with which I have some passing familiarity. Even Ladronn’s artwork works really well, emulating the different styles of Keith Giffen’s Five Years Later era just as neatly as he does the Chris Sprouse-inspired Reboot Legion. The ending is a really nice touch, tying together the “2099” part of the melding with the only Legionnaire that it could possibly have been. Even divorced from the rest of the Amalgam comics, Spider-Boy was a glorious, joyful, wild experiment. Man, I hope the upcoming facsimile edition is just a precursor of things to come.
Something about Thor-El is kinda…compelling…
The last gasp – both for the Amalgams and for the Access concept of Marvel/DC Crossovers, came in the 1998 miniseries Unlimited Access by Karl Kesel and Pat Olliffe. The story starts with Access, the “Cosmic Hall Monitor,” popping back to his home in Marvel’s New York after sorting out a recent encounter between Spider-Man and Batman. Kesel implies here that this particular crossover had Access looking on from the background trying to keep things straight. As a concept, it actually would work to explain EVERY Marvel/DC crossover – Access, or someone like him, keeping an eye on temporary fusions between the worlds, which the respective heroes forget after the fact. If they decided to run with it that way.
Access has to untangle the appearance of Mantis – one of Darkseid’s lesser goons – in battle with Spider-Man, a fight that gets escalated when Juggernaut and Wonder Woman wind up in the mix. Things get even crazier when he takes Diana home only to find himself tangled in a fight between a still-savage Hulk and Green Lantern Hal Jordan…who is DEAD.
Superman doesn’t actually show up in the first few issues of this miniseries, so I’ll cut to the chase: as it turns out, Access doesn’t just bounce back and forth between universes, but discovers he can bounce back and forth in TIME as well, allowing him to meet the different versions of the Marvel and DC heroes from any point in the timestream (including the “Days of Future Past” X-Men from the distant year 2012). He’s also got the ability to create Amalgams, merging characters from the two worlds into one, which comes in handy when it turns out he’s being tracked by Darkseid, who wants his ability to traverse the worlds. By issue three, Amazing Grace has hypnotized the original Avengers and Justice League into battling each other, and Access decides to reach out for the only hero who stands a chance of fixing this mess: big blue himself, Superman. And I mean Superman during his electric blue era. It takes literally seconds for Superman to jolt everyone back to their senses, then he and Captain America mobilize the two teams to fight off Darkseid’s invasion of the Marvel Earth. But the crazy just keeps coming with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the original X-Men, and a group of teen heroes who – just months later – would wind up getting their own title as Young Justice.
By issue four, Darkseid and Magneto are teaming up to take over the world (this is early Magneto, when he was still into that kind of thing) and the heroes decide to combine their powers – literally – into a single strikeforce of Amalgams. Black Canary and Jean Grey: Jean Black! Giant-Man and Green Lantern: Green Goliath! Captain America and Captain Marvel Jr.: Captain America Jr.! I know, I didn’t write it. And of course, Superman and Thor are fused together as Thor-El.
The fun part here is seeing these new Amalgams throw out casual references to help the reader to understand what they’re like in their own minds: Captain America Jr. possessing the “wisdom of Lincoln,” for example, or Thor-El referencing the Valhalla Zone. The series, and the history of Access, end with him accepting the truth about himself, beating Darkseid, and swearing to prevent a future he doesn’t want to experience.
Reading this story again now, there’s so much potential left in this concept, and thanks to the nature of Access’s powers, there’s no reason that Marvel and DC couldn’t pick up on it again at any time. With new crossovers (finally) on the horizon between the two of them, the chance is right there. I don’t know if they’ll take it – I certainly hope so.
But for now, at least, our journey with Superman and the heroes of other worlds has come to an end. And I think it’s time to rededicate myself to stories focused around Clark Kent himself. That in mind, next week, I’m going to embark upon my re-read of the longest Superman saga I’ll have yet tackled for the Year of Superman blog. See you then!
Blake M. Petit 