The Forgotten Revival of Marvel's Classic G. I. Joe Series

 

This week at CBR, I revisit Larry Hama's long out of print return to G. I. Joe (the first one). He's joined by Dan Jurgens, and if nothing else, it looks great.

When Doomsday Hit Justice League Unlimited

 

At CBR this week, I'm revisiting Doomsday's memorable role in the Justice League Unlimited "Cadmus" arc...and that time Mike Parobeck rendered him in an oft-overlooked DC publication.

SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY: HUNTER-PREY #3 - June 1994

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story & layouts), Brett Breeding (finishes), Bill Oakley (letterer), Greg Wright w/Android Images (colors)

Summary:  Mother Box generates a new costume, equipped with weapons, for Superman to use against Doomsday.  He travels to Calaton with Waverider and soon faces Doomsday.  After Waverider enters Doomsday’s consciousness, Superman realizes that Doomsday was created on Krypton and that he was specifically drawn to Superman while on Earth.  Superman holds his own against the ever-evolving Doomsday until Doomsday hurls him into an energy containment vessel.  The ensuing explosion apparently kills Waverider.  Superman uses Waverider’s time-travel band to send Doomsday out of time.  There, they discover Waverider, who has already pulled together his energy form.  Waverider leads Doomsday to the end of the universe, where the monster is crushed by entropy.  Superman thanks Waverider for his help and returns home to Lois.  Thinking of his mother, he reflects on the love that’s enabled him to overcome his fears.

Continuity Notes:  Superman is shocked to learn Doomsday has very basic speaking skills.  He can garble out “Metropolis,” which is a word we saw him learn on television during the original “Death of Superman” storyline.

Total N00B:  I’m a little confused by the revelation that Doomsday was engineered on Krypton.  The last chapter did have Bertron point out that the baby was not from the same planet as the scientists he was working with, which initially came across as a random bit of info.  I assume this was done to explain why Doomsday doesn’t resemble a Kryptonian, and perhaps more importantly, to allow Superman to remain the “Last Son of Krypton” (back when DC still cared about that).  So, why did Bertron feel the need to use a baby from another planet?  Also, what about Bertron?  Why is he clearly an alien, while all of the scientists who work with him look human?  They’re Kryptonian, yes, but where did Bertron come from?  Has anyone established that there are various bipedal races on Krypton and not all of them resemble attractive humans?

I Love the ‘90s:  That new costume Mother Box designs for Superman…who knew Mother Box did freelance work for Wildstorm?

Review:  Hunter-Prey had a strong opening, and while I had some plotting issues with the second chapter, I hoped the third chapter would give us the proper conclusion that “Return of Superman” didn’t quite deliver.  And while the issue does live up to the promise of a massive Superman vs. Doomsday rematch, I don’t really buy the emotional catharsis, nor did I appreciate the new details regarding Doomsday’s past.  

The fight is the major selling point of the issue, so I’ll begin there.  Jurgens deserves some credit for acknowledging fan complaints and having Superman himself comment that he relied far too heavily on his fists during his previous encounter with Doomsday.  Superman does of course spend numerous pages punching Doomsday (and like everything else in the issue, they’re beautifully rendered by Jurgens/Breeding), but he knows from the beginning that brute force won’t win the fight.  However, while Jurgens does have Superman use his heat vision creatively in a few scenes, for much of the fight he’s relying on the gimmicky weapons generated by Mother Box’s new costume.  That means that not only does he look like a WildC.A.T., he’s using their absurd faux-futuristic weapons as well.  And time certainly has not been kind to that Jim Lee makeover.  (Just as time will not be kind to the actual Jim Lee makeover he received a few years ago.)  In fairness, the headgear we now associate with Gambit actually has its roots in Kirby’s early Fourth World material, so that accessory is defensible within the context of the story.  But when you add the headgear with the pouches, the glowing sword, the shoulder pads, the arbitrary arm-armor, and the million other pointless details (why do his boots need belts?)…it’s a mess.  Having Superman rely on technology that’s been magically gifted to him also cheapens his fight with Doomsday.  I understand the idea that Superman must now use techniques he ordinarily doesn’t employ during this fight, but it would be nice if acquiring these weapons required some effort on his part.  Even better, what if Superman began to use all of his existing powers in unique, cunning ways against Doomsday?  That would be a nice apology for his unimaginative strategy during their original fight.

One advantage Superman has in this rematch is the presence of Waverider, who by this point has totally forgotten his non-interference pledge and is actively working as Superman’s sidekick.  Waverider’s presence in this story is a bit of a mystery to me.  For plot reasons, he clearly has a role.  His power enables Superman (and the reader) to discover Doomsday’s origin, and he provides the means for Doomsday’s ultimate defeat.  Given the way Doomsday’s been set up in his previous appearances, I don’t have a problem with a resolution that involves time-travel.  And I'm not totally opposed to Superman requiring another hero’s aid in defeating Doomsday.  As a character, though, I have no idea what to make of Waverider.  I never bought into his angst regarding his oath, and don’t see any moment in the story that presents a real consequence for his actions.  If anything, he’s a jerk for not doing something about Doomsday earlier.

Waverider enables Superman to learn even more about the origin of Doomsday, a revelation that feels utterly gratuitous.  I was fine with the information we had on Doomsday’s origin last issue; I quite enjoyed it, actually.  But now, we discover that he’s a product of Krypton’s genetic testing, and that his reason for targeting Superman all along was that he sensed the presence of a surviving Krytonian on Earth.  For this to work, the reader has to accept the vast coincidence that Doomsday’s floating hearse would one day land on the only planet in the entire galaxy with a Kryptonian living on it, which is just insane.  I’m sure dozens of Silver Age stories relied on the coincidence of someone or something from Krypton that just so happened to appear on Earth, but I thought this was a concept John Byrne killed off in the modern age.  Another annoyance is the idea that Doomsday hates Superman because he merely senses Superman’s Kryptonian -- Doomsday hates everybody.  Does he really need a specific reason to hate Superman?  Doomsday didn’t treat Superman any differently than he treated anyone else; Superman was simply the only person strong enough to fight back.

So, as a concluding chapter, we have Superman facing his fears but only finding victory after he’s provided with plot device weapons and a poorly developed supporting cast member tags along.  The sentiment in the final pages (with Superman reflecting on his mother and realizing how much Lois means to him today) is nice, but it doesn’t feel as if any real price has been paid during this story.  Whatever consequence Waverider has for breaking his oath remains unrevealed, and Superman doesn’t seem overly concerned about repaying the debt.  Superman himself didn’t have to make any sacrifices during the story, and the only decision that leaves him doubting himself (briefly) is allowing Doomsday to die after stranding him at the end of the universe.  For a story that began with such a conflicted hero, he’s allowed to get off pretty easily by the final chapter.  

SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY: HUNTER-PREY #2 - May 1994

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story & layouts), Brett Breeding (finishes), Bill Oakley (letterer), Greg Wright w/Android Images (colors)

Summary:  Superman reluctantly allows his Mother Box to save Darkseid’s life, while the Cyborg continues his assault on Apokolips.  Suddenly, Waverider of the Linear Men appears.  He’s rethought his conversation with Superman and agrees to give him information that can be used to defeat Doomsday.  Superman learns that Doomsday is an ever-evolving creation of a scientist named Bertron.  Before landing on Earth, Doomsday was defeated not through physical force, but by an energy being on the planet Calaton.  Darkseid awakens, and during Superman’s fight with the Cyborg, uses his omega beams to eradicate the Cyborg.  Desaad reveals to Superman that he sent Doomsday to Calaton, hoping that the planet’s inhabitants could defeat him again.  Despite Darkseid’s taunts that he can’t survive another encounter with Doomsday, Superman remains determined to stop him.

Continuity Notes:  Doomsday’s origin, as revealed by Waverider, establishes that he was an infant cast out into the wilderness to be killed by savage beasts.  The scientist Bertron and his team cloned a new baby from the remains each day, allowed him to be killed again, and over the course of decades, the baby evolved into Doomsday.  Doomsday escaped the planet on a supply ship and eventually landed on Calaton.  The royal family of Calaton sacrificed their bodies to form an energy being called the Radiant.  After the Radiant defeated Doomsday, he was “suited and chained” and sent into space.  When his “astral hearse” was hit by an asteroid, Doomsday landed on Earth.

I Love the ‘90s:  In some panels Superman’s mullet is very visible, while in others his hair appears to be standard length.  You might argue that this is just an inherent aspect of the mullet, but I think his hair is being drawn inconsistently.  Maybe Jurgens/Breeding weren’t used to the mullet yet and the “party in the back” just slipped their notice occasionally.

Review:  More inner conflicts that would make Jim Shooter proud -- now Waverider enters the fray, debating whether or not to violate his Linear Men oath and aid Superman.  I realize that a time-traveler’s dilemma regarding changing fate is a classic genre trope, but it’s hard for me to invest in the conflict if I don’t know the specific rules governing time travel in this universe.  If time is fluid in the DC Universe and Superman’s actions are only going to create a new reality, then Waverider doesn’t have much of a conflict to begin with (unless there’s a specific reason why new realities shouldn’t be created).  If there’s only one timeline that must not be altered, then Waverider is just flagrantly breaking his oath and potentially destroying all existence.  In that case, Waverider’s an idiot who didn’t even understand the most basic responsibility of the job he’s taken.

Superman has a new conflict, whether or not to allow Darkseid to die after his battle with Doomsday.  Superman compares this to saving Atilla the Hun, but he does it anyway.  I wasn’t bothered by this scene while reading the issue, it’s exactly what I would expect Superman to do of course, but it’s hard to justify Superman’s decision in hindsight.  He’s not responsible for Darkseid’s injuries, so it’s not as if Superman would be directly accountable for his death, a death that would free the millions of inhabitants of Apokolips from a life of endless oppression.  Superman allows Darkseid to live because that’s what Superman does, but the story isn’t willing to dramatize the consequences of Superman’s actions.  Heck, even a copout resolution would’ve been better than what Superman does here.  He could’ve used the Mother Box to transport Darkseid back to Earth, where he could receive medical care and then be incarcerated by the Justice League or whatever the DC equivalent of SHIELD is meant to be.

Obviously, the real draw of the issue is the revelation of Doomsday’s origin.  I think Jurgens might be in the same corner the ‘90s X-writers were often in -- is the official resolution going to live up to the various theories already created by the readers?  Doomsday could’ve been anything in his early appearances; all we knew was that he was a horrific monster wearing a green jumpsuit and a stylish pair of shades.  Jurgens goes the “accident of science” route, which might initially seem a little cliché, but the execution is eerie enough to stand on its own.  The parallel of Superman and Doomsday both being “sent out” as infants by scientist “fathers” is honestly clever, and I have to admit that I was surprised by the sheer gruesomeness of the premise.  Doomsday is the millionth clone of a baby sent out to die every single day until he evolved into the perfect killing machine.  His hatred for his creator is bred into his DNA, and his instinct to lash out at any potential threats leads him to kill everything, because all he’s ever known is abuse.  I don’t know if this lives up to a thousand opposing fan theories, but it suits the character and, to Jurgens’ credit, the story doesn’t come across as a last minute retcon.  I can believe that this is the origin of the mystery character we met during “Death of Superman.”  And I’m sure there’s a joke to be made at Onslaught’s expense in here, but I’m going to let it go…

SUPERMAN/DOOMSDAY: HUNTER-PREY #1 - April 1994

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story & layouts), Brett Breeding (finishes), Bill Oakley (letterer), Greg Wright w/Android Images (colors)

Summary:  Superman is haunted by nightmares of Doomsday.  He visits Lois’ apartment to tell her that he has to find Doomsday for his own peace of mind.  Elsewhere, a space freighter comes across Doomsday’s cocoon.  They unwittingly release Doomsday, who immediately returns to life and kills the merchants.  The freighter rides on autopilot to its destination, Apokolips.  Doomsday causes havoc on the planet, as a small device on his back becomes active.  The device adopts the circuitry of one of Darkseid’s soldiers and immediately regenerates Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman.  Darkseid attempts to defeat Doomsday but loses the battle.  While on Earth, Superman contacts the Linear Men for help locating Doomsday, but they refuse.  Later, at the Justice League’s headquarters, he overheads the distress call Desaad sends to Oberon.  With the aid of Oberon’s Mother Box, Superman teleports to Apokolips.  He’s immediately attacked by the Cyborg.  While they’re distracted, Desaad opens a teleportation portal that sends Doomsday to an unknown location.

Continuity Notes:  This story was published a year after Superman’s return from the dead.  This era is famously associated with Superman’s mullet, even though Jurgens keeps his hair at fairly standard Superman length.  In fact, it’s longer during the flashback to Superman #75 than in the present day scenes.

Not Approved By The Comics Code Authority:  Doomsday has quite a few on-panel dismemberments this issue.

Production Note:  This is a prestige format miniseries, forty-eight pages with glossy paper and square binding.  The cover price is $4.95.

Review:  One of the common complaints during “Death of Superman” was that Doomsday appeared suddenly, with no origin or motivation.  He existed merely as an instrument of destruction, or more accurately, a plot device specifically conceived as Superman’s murderer.  Any comics fan had to know that an origin would be coming sooner or later, and that Superman would also have his rematch against the monster.  That brings us to the Hunter-Prey miniseries, the big return of Doomsday, presented in the prestige format.  The average Superman comic at the time costs $1.50, while Hunter-Prey is five dollars an issue.  Like I said, the ‘90s aren’t over yet, folks.

Is the comic only a cash grab, though?  I have to say that the first issue is honestly enjoyable.  Jurgens opens with the emotional hook of the series, as Superman flashes back to his childhood memory of a “monster” in the basement, before the literal monster responsible for his death overtakes his dream.  Everyone must face his fears, even Superman.  The premise turns Superman into a very Marvel hero, questioning himself and fighting against his own insecurities throughout the story.  This type of self-doubt is tricky to pull off in a Superman story, but Jurgens handles the material very well.  Yes, the death of Superman was a marketing gimmick, but within the context of the character’s history, it’s a legitimately traumatic moment that can’t be easily forgotten in time for the next story.  Superman’s such a Marvel hero this issue, he even questions if he subconsciously allowed Doomsday to escape at the end in order to avoid facing the villain again.  That’s a beat straight out of Spider-Man, but Jurgens makes it work within the context of this story.

Jurgens is also able to efficiently assemble the pieces of the story in the first issue, while not losing sight of the fact that much of the appeal of the series is watching Doomsday just destroy things.  At the start of the story, Superman’s on Earth, he has no idea how to locate Doomsday, Cyborg Superman is dead, and Doomsday’s floating within a rock in space.  At the end of the issue, Doomsday’s revived himself and landed on Apokolips, the Cyborg has also been revived via a backup plan, and Superman lands where he needs to be for his big fight scene.  Along the way, Jurgens gets to pencil numerous double-page spreads of Doomsday wrecking things and killing people in a way you’re not likely to see in a DCU comic pre-Geoff Johns.  While it’s still hard to argue that Doomsday isn’t a walking plot device, it’s also hard to deny that watching him fistfight Darkseid isn’t inherently entertaining.  The opening, which has two space merchants collectively wetting themselves when they realize what is actually inside the cocoon they’ve discovered, is the best introduction to the character yet.  Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding find a nice blend between polish and grit, and deliver some highly enjoyable horror/action scenes throughout the course of the issue.  For fans of the mindless violence of the original Doomsday appearances, it’s a worthy sequel.  If you grew bored of the violence, and I’m admittedly in that camp, it’s much easier to forgive this time.  Hopefully the rest of the miniseries won’t grow as tedious as the original Doomsday story, because the first chapter shows a lot of promise.

SUPERMAN #82 - October 1993

Back for Good

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story and art), Brett Breeding (finishes), John Costanza (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Superboy meets Eradicator outside of Engine City.  Inside, the heroes regroup and face another attack from Cyborg Superman.  Eradicator locates Superman and convinces him that he also wants to defeat the cyborg.  Cyborg Superman tricks Superman and Eradicator inside the chamber that houses Engine City’s kryptonite power source.  Eradicator sacrifices his life, transferring the radiation into a form that won’t harm Superman.  The cyborg is weakened by the kryptonite, which enables Superman to smash him into pieces.  After he’s reunited with the other heroes, Supergirl uses her telekinetic powers to recreate Superman’s original costume.  Revitalized, he flies to Metropolis.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• The design of Green Lantern’s emerald armor doesn’t match the previous chapter.
• Eradicator reveals that he saved Superman’s life following his battle with Doomsday:  “The death of the last Kryptonian awakened me…your termination actually compelled me to visit your body.  My powers and the technology at your fortress were able to do the impossible.”

I Love the ‘90s:  Green Lantern’s battered appearance makes Superboy want to "hurl."

Gimmicks:  Apparently there are foil variants and chromium variants for this issue.

Production Note:  The title and credits for this issue are missing in the Return of Superman trade.  Also, two pages clearly by Tom Grummett (featuring Superman's reunion with Lois) are added at the end of this issue.  I’m assuming they’re from Adventures #505, which the inside front cover claims to reprint but is otherwise missing.

Review:  And we’re still in Engine City.  As is the case for most chapters in this arc, as an individual issue it’s decent, but when read in succession with the rest of the storyline, you’re left with the sense that you’re trapped in the third act of a movie that will not end.  What Superman has going for it, as usual, is lovely art from Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding, who go the extra mile and truly sell the scope of Engine City.  Since Jurgens seems to enjoy Cyborg Superman more than the other creators, he comes across as a more tolerable villain this chapter.  Jurgens throws in a few clever bits during the excessive fight scenes, such as the cyborg possessing Steel’s armor, but there’s only so much that can be done to maintain the reader’s interest in a fight that’s dragged on for several issues.  The non-fighting pages seem to be going down a checklist of things that need to be addressed before the story finally ends.  Everyone’s brought together, the Eradicator’s heroic arc is completed, and there’s finally some explanation for how exactly Superman’s alive.  It’s not a great one, however.  The resurrection boils down to Eradicator using Kryptonian technology to make Superman better, then warning him that it was a unique circumstance that could never be repeated.  That’s a pretty feeble way of getting around a clear problem with this storyline -- once Superman is killed and resurrected, you’re confirming to the audience that he is immortal.  While DC gained all the publicity it could’ve ever wanted out of killing Superman, the resurrection is never going to match the drama that surrounds the death.  And once the readers know that DC has no real commitment to killing the character (something any fan older than ten should’ve known anyway), it’s even more difficult to sell the concept of Superman ever being in a life or death situation again.  Throwing in a line or two about these circumstances being unique isn’t really going to address these problems.  

SUPERMAN #81 - September 1993

Resurrections

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story and art), Brett Breeding (finishes), John Costanza (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Superman emerges, but with weakened powers.  When no one believes he’s telling the truth, he takes Lois aside and recounts private moments only she would know.  He kisses her goodbye and asks to borrow a pair of boot-jets from one of Luthor’s men.  He flies off to Coast City with Superboy and a skeptical Steel.  Meanwhile, Cyborg Superman punishes Mongul for a perceived slight.  Two of the aliens serving Mongul discuss the cyborg’s origin.  Cyborg Superman was once Hank Henshaw, an astronaut with a grudge against Superman who could project his consciousness into metallic objects.  He discovered Mongul, who also hates Superman, on a distant planet and possessed his ship.  After torturing Mongul, the cyborg forced Mongul over to his side.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• Hank Henshaw began life as an obvious Reed Richards parody.  The details of his origin are found, according to the footnotes, in Adventures #466 and #468.  It’s revealed that Cyborg Superman was able to duplicate Kryptonian DNA because he once grafted himself on to the birth matrix that Superman arrived on Earth in.
• Superman’s hair isn’t as long as it was in the previous chapter’s final splash page, although it’s still all the way down his neck.  The style isn’t obviously a mullet until Jurgens draws Superman from the side, then it’s clear he’s going full Uncle Jessie.
• Lois’ ridiculous pants from the previous chapter have been toned down this issue.

Total N00B:  I had no clue who Hank Henshaw was, so the extended origin recap is definitely appreciated.

Review:  Superman finally makes his real return this issue, and while it would be easy to have all of the characters obey the plot faithfully and just accept it, Jurgens adds an element of realism to the plot.  I like the fact that no one, not even Lois, is one hundred percent convinced this is the real Superman by the end of the issue.  The return of Superman also means the debut of his new look, and while I think the black and silver color scheme is kind of cool, it’s impossible to ignore the mullet.  If you want to say that Superman’s hair grew while in his rejuvenation pod, fine, but there should be some internal consistency here.  If his hair has grown, that means he should also have a scruffy beard and long fingernails.  (A more masculine, less groomed Superman isn’t necessarily a bad idea anyway.)  More importantly, his hair wouldn’t have grown into a specific style!  One that was already going out of fashion in 1993, as I recall.  Why would his hair only grow on the top and back but not the sides?  Was there a Billy Ray Cyrus setting in his regeneration matrix?

The attention is split this issue between Superman’s return and the origin of Cyborg Superman.  I’ve complained about the casual way past continuity is introduced in many of the DC titles I’ve reviewed, but Jurgens goes out of his way to make sure that any reader, regardless of his of her familiarity with specific Superman continuity, knows who the cyborg is.  Established readers might complain that the flashback drags on for too long, but actually seeing the details of previous stories, along with the new backstory, fleshed out in a deliberate, coherent way is a welcome gesture towards the casual fan.  And speaking of that origin…how crazy is it that the main villain in the “Reign of the Supermen” event turns out to be a Reed Richards parody?  It’s never played for a joke, but it is an utterly insane idea.

SUPERMAN #80 - August 1993

Deadly Alliance

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story and art), Brett Breeding (finishes), John Costanza (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Lex Luthor’s satellites detect the approach of Mongul’s ship.  He sends word to the authorities, and soon Cyborg Superman is contacted by the White House.  Cyborg Superman travels to where the ship has landed, Coast City, and immediately accuses Eradicator of being in league with the aliens.  As the two Supermen fight, Mongul drops “Carnage Globes” throughout the city.  They detonate, killing the seven million citizens of Coast City, and reverting Eradicator to his energy form.  Eradicator travels back to the Fortress of Solitude, while Mongul’s ship releases cybernetic seeds that create a new city.  Cyborg Superman enters Mongul’s ship and is greeted as Mongul’s master.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• Carol Farris (who isn’t in Coast City during the bombing, but talking to someone on the phone as it happens) went through an unnamed “weird experience” in Green Lantern Annual #3.
• Lex Luthor’s leg is in a cast once again, although it was gone in the previous chapter.

Review:  It’s the destruction of Coast City, an event that will have ramifications on DC continuity into the next decade, although I’m not sure if the creators at the time knew it.  Destroying Green Lantern’s hometown in a Superman issue might initially seem like a strange decision, but I’m under the impression that Green Lantern was not much of a priority for DC at this time.  (If you're interested in this odd era of Green Lantern history, check out this CSBG article.) DC was looking for a way to reignite interest in the Green Lantern series, the Superman books were in the middle of a high-profile event, and something big needed to be blown up.  So, Coast City is destroyed as a part of the villain’s scheme during the Superman crossover, which sets the stage for Green Lantern to soon receive its own speculator-friendly event.  And, boy, did DC get that one wrong.  Turning Hal Jordan into a villain and then abruptly introducing a new Green Lantern was an utterly insane idea, one that anyone who’s read comics for more than a year could see wouldn’t last.  To be fair, DC showed a lot of commitment to Kyle Rayner (he even replaced Hal Jordan in Hal Jordan’s origin story on the Superman cartoon) and he did develop a fanbase, but there’s no way DC’s deconstruction of Hal Jordan’s character would stand.  DC eventually had to backtrack, and once the tide of nostalgia had firmly turned in Hal Jordan’s favor, he was reinstated as the Green Lantern.

None of this is relevant to the “Reign of Supermen” event, of course.  This specific issue is more entertaining than most of the recent chapters; the big action scenes suit Jurgens’ art, and the misdirection of which Superman is behind the attack is well played.  Destroying Coast City is almost certainly not a good idea (not only due to its damage to the Green Lantern mythos but also because the creators can’t possibly communicate the impact of losing seven million people), but that’s a problem for future chapters of the event.  As the story opens, we discover that Eradicator has taken Steel’s words to heart and is trying to be a true hero in Coast City, but it isn’t long before Cyborg Superman arrives and accuses him of being in league with the mystery spaceship.  Cyborg Superman has essentially acted like Superman, only with memory gaps, up until this point, so there’s no obvious reason to think that he’s lying.  The revelation that he’s the one behind Mongul’s arrival is perhaps a bit of cheat, since Cyborg Superman hasn’t exhibited any villainous behavior yet, but it makes for a great cliffhanger.  I’m not sure how Jurgens plans to reconcile this with Cyborg Superman’s narration during his debut in issue #78, since it contains a few first-person narrative captions that would pretty much have to be Superman’s.  Hopefully, there’s a clever solution behind this and not a total copout.

SUPERMAN #79 - July 1993

Prove it.

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story and art), Brett Breeding (finishes), John Costanza (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Ronald Troupe challenges himself to take Clark Kent’s spot on the Daily Planet roster.  The story he’s chosen to prove himself is the mystery surrounding Cyborg Superman.  Ronald travels to Washington DC to interview the Justice League’s civilian liaison, Max Lord, who is meeting with the President.  Shortly after he arrives, terrorists from Qurac attack.  Cyborg Superman arrives and faces the terrorists.  Ronald bravely takes a genetic identifier from inside the White House into the battle in order to verify that this Superman is real.  After Cyborg Superman’s identity is confirmed, he accesses the White House’s computer system in order to learn more about the terrorists.  The President shakes Cyborg Superman’s hand, and receives a special communicator from him.  Soon, Ronald’s story is on the front page.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Accessing the White House’s computer network means that Cyborg Superman can now “tap into virtually every computer system in the world.”  Presumably, this will become important later.

I Love the ‘90s:  Ronald’s giant desktop computer has two slots for floppy discs.  He also has one of those plastic floppy disc containers that flipped open at the top.  And, of course, the president at this time is the newly elected Bill Clinton.

Total N00B:  My only familiarity with Ronald Troupe comes from the ‘90s Superman cartoon, which featured him as a background character.  I didn’t know the comics version was in his early twenties and about a hundred pounds lighter than his animated counterpart.

Review:  Jurgens shifts narrative techniques this issue, using Ronald Troupe’s article as the text for the vast majority of the story, eschewing word balloons in favor of typographic print and silent panels that illustrate the narrative.  The theme of the story is that anyone who claims to be the best has to prove it, illustrated with an opening narration that lumps Abraham Lincoln and MLK in with a baseball player probably more famous now for beating his wife than his accomplishments on the field.  Troupe is determined to prove he can replace the believed-dead Clark Kent, which is a potentially tasteless motivation for the story, but Jurgens is able to establish Ronald’s admiration for Clark in a convincing way.  Later, Cyborg Superman appears and, as Ronald makes clear to the audience, must be given a chance to prove himself too, when he’s targeted by the White House’s automated security forces.  The basic premise behind the issue is fine, and I do appreciate the break from the standard layout of a traditional superhero comic.  However, any time a writer presents his own writing as a marvelous piece of work that fictional characters in the story just have to swoon over…that’s dangerous.  Ronald Troupe’s prose in this story is not inspiring or provocative.  It’s occasionally clunky, has a few grammatical errors, and could stand at least one rewrite.  The article’s readable, and probably on the level of the average writing found in a newspaper, but it’s not breathtaking by any stretch of the imagination.  Another problem is the use of Cyborg Superman to make a point about giving everyone a chance to prove himself.  Cyborg Superman turns out to be a horrific supervillain.  He shouldn’t have been able to prove himself -- now he has access to every computer network on Earth!  He’s probably the worst replacement Superman you could pick to star in a story like this.  Why choose a character that’s just going to undermine the meaning of your story?

SUPERMAN #78 - June 1993

Alive

Credits:  Dan Jurgens (story and art), Brett Breeding (finishes), John Costanza (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Cyborg Superman rescues a group of scientists at LexCorp from a nuclear accident before he begins his quest to find Doomsday’s body.  He battles Project: Cadmus’ guards and retrieves Doomsday from their underground lab.  In orbit, he ties Doomsday to an asteroid and hurls him deep into the void of space.  Back on Earth, Cyborg Superman meets Lois Lane and explains to her that most of his memories are gone.  She takes him to Professor Hamilton, who confirms that his metal is Kryptonian and his DNA matches Superman’s.  In deep space, Doomsday awakens and laughs.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Dr. Meyer from LexCorp met Superman back in Superman #51.  Later, Professor Hamilton says that he has experience with Kryptonian technology because he examined “that Kryptonian artifact,” the Eradicator.

Review:  It was an inevitable that one of the early ‘90s reinventions of Superman would turn out to be a cyborg, right?  He’s even got that half-robot face from Terminator 2, which was still all the rage in 1993, I guess.  If we’re to believe that Sunglasses Superman is the true Superman based on what we see with our own eyes, this issue uses a series of off-panel tests to prove that Cyborg Superman is the real McCoy.  It’s hard to imagine anyone thought that this was a more convincing method than providing the reader with a first-hand account, as seen in Action, but it’s all irrelevant anyway.  None of these guys are real, and the two most likely to be the authentic Superman turn out to be villains.  (The other two get spinoffs because, hey, it’s the ‘90s.)

Cyborg Superman doesn’t exhibit much of a personality at this point, but his single-minded determination to deal with Doomsday once and for all is a nice excuse for an action-heavy issue.  Jurgens and Breeding do an excellent job with all of the big action pieces, creating very clean images that evoke a mix of classic John Byrne and the bombast of the more competent early Image material.  I don’t think the design of Cyborg Superman has aged particularly well, but I think his look was always intentionally derivative anyway.  If the kids wanted to see Superman as a cyborg because cyborgs were hot, there he is.  He could’ve just as easily been Ninja Superman, but they went for Cyborg instead.  Were this published a few years later, he’d probably be Mecha Superman.  The design might seem dated now, but it doesn’t drag down the overall look of the issue.  Superman always looks exceptionally polished under this creative team, so even when the lead character turns into a T2 riff, the book is still visually attractive.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 - June 1993

Life and Death

Credits:  Jerry Ordway (writer), Tom Grummett (penciler), Doug Hazelwood (inker), Albert de Guzman (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Jonathan Kent has a near-death experience in the hospital.  He sees Superman walking towards the light and tries to talk him back.  Jonathan pursues Superman and in the process, relives traumatic events from his own life.  The entity Kismet sets Jonathan on the proper course, and he soon finds Superman in a Kryptonian funeral procession.  When Jonathan tries to awaken Superman, the Krypotonians are revealed as demons.  Jonathan and Superman escape into a tunnel.  When Jonathan wakes in the hospital, he’s convinced his son is alive.  On Lois’ plane ride home from Smallville, she sees a flying caped figure.  Various news reports later claim Superman has returned.  She visits Superman’s tomb with Henderson of the Metropolis police.  They discover his casket is empty.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Subplots this issue include Vincent Edge sexually harassing Cat Grant (who doesn't seem terribly offended since she later accepts his dinner invitation), Jimmy Olsen avoiding the filming of his “Turtle Boy” TV show, the Prankster annoying his cellmate, and the Metropolis police attempting to arrest Gangbuster after he blows an undercover sting operation.  A homeless man helps him get to safety.  Also, Gangbuster has a warrant for his arrest because a group of drug dealers he previously busted filed charges against him.  A footnote points to the Legacy of Superman one-shot.

I Love the ‘90s:  Cat Grant tells Vincent Edge that “this is the nineties” and she doesn’t have to accept his sexual harassment.  Even though she does.  Later, the Prankster’s cellmate tells him that “Turtle Boy” is so bad it’s good.  “It’s, y’know, very nineties.”

Production Notes:  This issue was published after a two month gap in which the Superman titles suspended publication.  The World without a Superman trade only reprints the main story in Adventures #500.  The next trade in the series, Return of Superman, reprints the final stories, which are all vignettes introducing the four new Supermen.

Gimmicks:  Three versions of this issue exist.  A standard newsstand edition, and two collector’s editions, one in a white polybag and one in a black polybag.  The collector’s editions have a holographic cover. According to comics.org, the newsstand version didn’t have eight story pages that were in the collector’s editions.  The Fortress of Baileytude blog has a collection of the "deleted scenes."

Review:  Adventures #500 was the first big issue following the death of Superman, although apparently the sales didn’t live up to the hype.  How do you follow up on the death of your most famous character?  DC was stuck in an impossible position; this stunt was only supposed to be a temporary replacement storyline to delay Superman’s wedding, but now a large portion of the general public actually believed Superman was dead.  DC rode the wave of controversy, embraced the publicity, and went out of its way to sell the death as being genuine, but how exactly could the creators get out of this hole?  Feeding the hype only made Superman’s inevitable return a larger problem for the creators to handle.  Adventures #500 is a logical choice to feature Superman’s return, since it is the next anniversary issue, but how exactly should Superman be revived?  Bringing Superman back to the living and just returning to normal so soon after his death would be perceived as a cheap move.  Maybe DC could’ve gotten away with that if only comics fans had been paying attention, but when you’ve made the New York Times and the CBS Evening News?  Can you backtrack so quickly with the world watching?  DC’s solution ultimately turns out to be this: hint that Superman’s alive, introduce a gimmicky storyline with four replacement Supermen, kill time, and finally, bring back Superman.

It’s hard to imagine any scenario where Adventures #500 doesn’t disappoint some portion of the readership.  Anyone who actually thought Superman was dead wouldn’t want to see him revived so quickly, and the readers who wanted him to return probably didn’t appreciate being teased in such a fashion.  Luckily, hindsight makes it easier to simply judge the issue on its own merits.  And it’s actually a strong anniversary issue.  Jonathan Kent is the real star of the issue, with Ordway taking the reader on a tour of his life, reliving traumatic moments from his childhood on to his stint in Korea.  I’m not familiar enough with Superman continuity to have a feel for how Jonathan Kent was normally portrayed in this era, but Ordway does a great job of making Jonathan fit the mold of what you’d expect Superman’s dad to be while also giving him a bit of a specific personality.  He’s not just a generically nice old man, he’s a veteran who’s lived a hard life filled with loss.  When Jonathan is pitted against Superman’s birth father in this ethereal recreation of Krypton, you’re genuinely rooting for Jonathan to win.  There’s also a great idea about Superman accepting his “death” and entering the afterlife simply because he was taught by the Kents to believe in an afterlife.  As a yellow sun charged Kryptonian, who’s to say his mortality is analogous to a human’s?  Superman's been conditioned to believe he has to go into the white light, but how can be entirely certain that he's dead yet?

As always, Tom Grummett’s contributions can’t be overlooked.  Everyone’s on-model while being slightly stylized, the panel layouts are creative, and the action scenes look just as good as the conversation scenes.  Doug Hazelwood also does an incredible job on the added tones during the afterlife scenes.  I’m not sure if he’s using the same technique John Byrne used on Namor, but it’s a very similar look.  I love the unique texture zip-a-tone provides, and it’s a shame that look has died out over the years.  I have no idea if Photoshop can recreate it, but I wish someone would try.

First Sighting…

Credits:  Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, Karl Kesel, & Dan Jurgens (writers), Jon Bogdanove & Tom Grummett (pencilers), Jackson Guice & Dan Jurgens (breakdowns), Dennis Janke & Doug Hazelwood (inkers), Denis Rodier & Bret Breeding (finishers), Bill Oakley, Albert de Guzman, & John Costanza (letterers), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Steel emerges from the debris of Metropolis during a gang fight between the Sharks and Dragons.  The Eradicator kills a carjacker.  Superboy escapes Project: Cadmus with the help of the Newsboy Legion.  Cyborg Superman flies into Metropolis and destroys a Superman memorial plaque in front of a family of tourists.

Irrelevant Continuity:  The back-ups in Adventures #500 introduce the four replacement Supermen.  Since DC was unwilling to admit in the beginning that none of these characters actually is Superman, it takes a while for some of them to develop code names.  For simplicity’s sake, I’ll be referring to them by the names they’re now associated with.

Review:  Overlooking the debate over whether or not transferring the titles to four fake Supermen was a good idea, I do think it was a pretty smart decision on DC’s part to give a teaser for each new character in Adventures #500.  It makes the anniversary issue feel like an even bigger event, and of course, serves as a commercial for any curious fan about what’s happening in the rest of the line.  In retrospect, it’s impressive that DC has continued the “event” sensation for so long after the start of the Doomsday storyline.  Obviously there’s no way this issue was going to sell the same numbers as Superman #75, but I remember that a lot of enthusiasm remained for the books at this point.  People who would never look at the Superman comics were openly debating over which Superman was the “real” one; a great hook for the next chapter of the story, even if the resolution is ultimately a copout.

There isn’t a lot of story in the backups, just enough to give readers a sense of what to expect in each character’s respective title.  Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove are going urban in Man of Steel, Roger Stern and Jackson Guice play off the ‘90s vigilante cliché in Action, Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett are exploring a lighter tone with Superman’s teenage clone in Adventures, and Dan Jurgens provides an ominous introduction for the Cyborg Superman that’s taking over Superman.  It seems rather obvious that two of these characters are explicitly not Superman, regardless of what the pre-release hype might’ve lead us to believe.  The two most likely candidates as the real Superman are given the most mysterious introductions, indicating that DC wants at least a few more months to string us along.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you’re not turned off by excessive hype and just willing to accept the “Reign of the Supermen” era as simply the next chapter of the story.