For the past few months, I’ve been re-reading ‘The Death and Return of Superman’ in pieces, and this week, I was preparing to write about ‘Reign of the Supermen,’ the storyline about the four ‘new’ Supermen that popped up after the real Superman’s death. However, as I read the first four issues in the collection – the four introductory issues – I felt that those four issues, in and of themselves, offered more than enough for an article.
Action Comics #687
Written by Roger Stern
Penciled by Jackson Guice
Inked by Denis Rodier
Colored by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Bill Oakley
The first of the four Supermen that we meet is the Eradicator, though he’s not called that here. For each of these characters, there was a common Superman title attached to him, so he is billed as “The Last Son of Krypton.” Of all of the Supermen introduced, the Eradicator’s origin is seemingly the most plausible, in terms of actually being the reincarnated Superman. Superman’s essence (his mojo?) is captured in the Fortress of Solitude, and he is materializing as a creature of pure energy, until he travels to Superman’s tomb, where it appears that he puts the energy into the dead body and revives it.
This Superman is presented – even called by this phrase in a later issue – as a fascist, and we see him have no compunction about killing or severely injuring people in his quest for justice. Jackson “Butch” Guice does a really nice job here, having to illustrate a large chunk of the issue focusing on an energy blob, and yet he makes it work. He also does a nice job differentiating his pencils of the present to the past, aided in no small way by Rodier’s inks and Whitmore’s colors, but he makes the issue feel expansive and captures many tones. I absolutely love this panel that shows all three artists working beautifully well together.
Of course, this is the early 90s, so there’s an unfortunate shot of Supergirl bending over, revealing her panties, which is gross for about 400 reasons, but isn’t exactly shocking, given its timeframe. Guice is the only penciler of this quartet that still gets major work at a regular pace as an artist – Dan Jurgens has become far more of a writer, and I have no idea why Jon Bogdanove or Tom Grummett aren’t getting more regular work. Guice handles the emotion of the Lois and Eradicator scene incredibly well, showing Lois as both cautious and hopeful, and her body language sells it all.
Lois’s role in each of these issues changes, but here, she’s Lois Lane, Superman’s partner. She’s looking for him to embrace her, kiss her so hard she forgets shit, and tell her its going to be ok. Unfortunately, she’s face to face with a militaristic, black and white Superman. This Superman is obsessed with justice, but without the heart and kindness that Superman usually brings to each action.
For the most part, Roger Stern and Guice create an issue that could, plausibly, be the new Superman’s origin – they play it straight for the most part, showing lots of circumstances that look fishy, but no smoking guns in terms of ‘this is certainly not Superman.’
Superman: The Man of Steel #22
Written by Louise Simonson
Penciled by Jon Bogdanove
Inked by Dennis Janke
Colored by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Bill Oakley
One of the big lessons I’ve taken from re-reading all these Super-book is that I need to go back and read “Superman: The Man of Steel,” because Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove did some really interesting stuff here, especially in this issue. Bogdanove gives an artistic tour de force here, creating a variety of tones, and nailing each one. This issue feels massive, chock full of interesting beats, new characters, and a pleasant dose of weirdness.
The story, especially for 1993, could have very easily been in danger of feeling pandering or co-opting of Black culture, but aside from some very small moments (like naming a local kid ‘Zoid’), the book doesn’t give a hint of offense. For those that weren’t buying comics when this came out, there was a large chunk (or, at least a vocal chunk) of comics readers who were outraged by the idea that Superman could be black. I distinctly remember being in my local shop, a boy of 11, hearing grown ass men whine about this possibility.
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But the story here is the most Superman-y in tone – John Henry Irons (though going by an assumed name) is a truly good man, a man who wants to help, and the only one of the four Supermen that doesn’t claim to be Superman. But that is why his story is the best of the bunch by a country mile: he doesn’t have to say anything to get people to recognize that there’s something Super about him. Sure, he wields the S on his chest, but it is his actions that get people to take note of him. There’s some talk about his body being inhabited by Superman’s spirit or soul, but he doesn’t even buy that. But he’s an inspiration – he’s the only truly inspirational figure among the four, and for my money, would have made, by far, the best story if he was actually Superman.
Lois’s role here is that of a survivor – an old friend named Jeb (not Jeb!) tries to pick her up, saying essentially “Clark is dead baby, we’re alive!” She is not falling for his horseshit, but it does illustrate an interesting situation for her: when, if ever, will Lois ‘get over’ Clark’s death? Sure, people remarry all the time, but could you really find someone better, or even equal to, Superman?
Superman #78
Written and Penciled by Dan Jurgens
Inked by Brett Breeding
Colored by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by John Costanza
This story shows Lois Lane as a reporter, and Jurgens frames the entire issue around that concept. Lois comes upon the Cyborg Superman, who looks most the part in many ways, and tries to use all the tools at her disposal to decide whether or not he is legit. Like the Eradicator, “The Man of Tomorrow” has some memory loss, and seems to have a bit more of “shoot first and ask questions later” type attitude, but doesn’t have the mercenary edge that the Eradicator has. If the Eradicator is obsessed with justice, we see the Cyborg obsessed with proving that he is telling the truth – he can get Doomsday out of Cadmus, he can have bio scans that prove he’s Superman, he can remember some key details about Superman’s life.
But Jurgens does a nice job of making the Cyborg Superman appear menacing, if not in action than simply by appearance. The clearly Terminator 2 inspired design is off-putting, both to Lois and to the reader, and is probably the sole reason why most fans did not believe that this could be Superman. Unfortunately for the reader, this is the most drab of the issues, story-wise. You get a bit of the Jurgens Doomsday obsession popping up, but nothing really happens here that is all that interesting. Jurgens, long seen as the architect of this event, gave himself the most visually interesting of the four Supermen, but the most dull – at least early on.
Adventures of Superman #501
Written by Karl Kesel
Penciled by Tom Grummett
Inked by Doug Hazlewood
Colored by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Albert DeGuzman
This issue feels the most dated of the bunch, in part because Karl Kesel’s teenage dialogue is not exactly subtle. Kon-El, as we will eventually know him, is cocksure and arrogant, but in many ways, inspires hope in this issue. He comes right out and says “I’m a clone!,” so he’s not exactly trying to trick anyone, and his youth represents the most hopeful image of Superman yet. Superman never quite looks old, but seeing him as a teenager renews the concept of Superman as not just powerful, but likely to outlive us all. We will never again know a world without a Superman.
The young Kon also casts Lois interestingly in a motherly role, one that she wouldn’t really develop for another decade plus, but seeing her clearly, visibly, shaken by the young Clark in front of her, along with her admonishment of his manners, really gives her something new to do. Lois is the only character to get real focus in each of these four issues, and each writer handles her quite differently.
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For as much shit as I gave Kesel about his teenage talk, this issue does a lot of really interesting things, including commentary on the ethics of the news industry, and setting up this Superboyman in a way that slides him into classic tropes. He finds favor with a reporter, whose name (Tana) happens to rhyme with Superboy’s girlfriend’s name (Lana), he calls Jimmy Olsen his pal – you get the idea.
Grummet’s work is probably the most dated of any of the artists featured here, but that sort of works, as the character is the most dated as well. The earring, the haircut, the attitude – it all reads so ‘early Clinton administration,’ but while it feels dated it, more or less, feels authentic.
After reading these four issues, I was left with a few stray thoughts:
– I had forgotten that, of the four candidates, two of them more or less disqualified themselves as being actually Superman in their first full appearances.
– These were among the most over-ordered comics of all time, if my circumstantial memories can be remembered, but much less over-ordered than “Adventures of Superman” #500, which was a white polybagged issue, to complement the black polybagged “Superman” #75. One of the comic shops I would frequent, for years, had a basket of those, still polybagged for a quarter next to the register.
– Has any character ever changed more from their first appearance to their ‘death’ than Kon-El?
– Steel is a legitimately great character who doesn’t get used nearly enough. DC loves giving character’s creators minis where they get to come back to their creations – someone get Louie Simonson and Jon Bogdanove on the phone to DC, stat!
