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Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comics



World Without a Superman TPB

World Without A Superman

Cover date: 1993

(The "Funeral For A Friend" Series, with pieces of "Legacy of Superman")

Writers: Dan Jurgens, Karl Kesel, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson and Roger Stern
Pencillers: Jon Bodganove, Tom Grummett, Jackson Guice, Dan Jurgens and Walter Simonson
Inkers: Brett Breeding, Doug Hazlewood, Dennis Janke, Denis Rodier, Trevor Scott and Walter Simonson

Reviewed by: Neal Bailey



AOS #498 PART ONE: The Adventures of Superman #498: Death of a Legend

Superman lies dead on the ground. Around him are Bloodwynd, Ice, Jimmy, Lois, Dan Turpin, Maggie Sawyer, Guardian, Dubbilex and the body of Doomsday. The climactic battle of Superman #75 is finished, and the hero of heroes is dead at the feet of his most beloved.

An SCU operative taps Doomsday. Maggie orders them back.

Dubbilex scans both Superman and Doomsday, and finds them both brain-dead.

Lois screams that they can't just give up. Guardian tries to give Superman mouth-to-mouth, but the lungs are too strong.

The EMTs arrive and start checking the vitals.

Turpin steps away, thinking Superman shouldn't have died, and he runs into the splattered body of Supergirl, in her matrix form. Lex Luthor II arrives to comfort Supergirl, and takes her away with a towel.

The EMTs are coming up with nothing, and one makes a comment about melting the paddles, which sends Guardian into a fit of anger.

Lois starts to panic, but Cat tells her she's a reporter, and a good one, and this is a story of stories. She acknowledges this. Jimmy also has some great pictures.

Jose Delgado, watching the fiasco on TV, snaps at Adam Grant, there with him, when he wants to watch cartoons. Adam runs, and Jose pulls out his Gangbuster outfit. He throws the helmet at the TV.

Ma and Pa Kent, aghast, try not to believe what they are seeing on the news. They embrace.

Cadmus techs arrive and begin taking the body of Doomsday. Turpin and Maggie Sawyer order them off. Westfield, the director of Cadmus, starts threatening them. Dan Turpin punches him in the stomach and tells him why he's called terrible.

Emil Hamilton arrives with an energy channeling unit and Bibbo Bibbowski. They plan to use Guardian's idea of using one of Cadmus' shock troopers to try and shock Superman's heart back.

Bibbo takes the paddles and shocks Superman. No reaction. Bibbo left the field up for too long, so he flies away. Emil takes the paddles and gives Superman a jolt. It doesn't work.

At the Planet, Perry encourages Jimmy to put the photos in despite the fact that it makes him feel like he's violating his friendship with Superman. It's a historic day, and it will remind people of Superman's sacrifice, he reminds Jimmy.

Lois turns in her story, and Jimmy and Perry turn to comfort her.

5Story - 5: I mean, who didn't read this issue and sit there clenching their fists wondering if they would be able to bring Superman back?

There are two ways to look at this issue. From now, as if you've never read it before, and from then, as I read it, one of the first comics bringing me back to the fold.

If you read it as a modern cynic, maybe you could snipe, sure, man, he's just gonna be back in a few issues, and in a few years, this death won't even affect the main characters any more. Heck, man, Lex Luthor isn't even called Lex Luthor the second any more! Who calls George W Bush by anything but Bush Jr.? But anyway...

As I read it, when I was a kid, I was absolutely scared out of my beans. I had no idea at this point that they would be bringing him back, and I thought Superman would die if these shocks did not succeed. At the end of this issue, Superman was dead, and dead for good.

To see Cadmus moving it to take Doomsday and Superman infuriated me. It was like sacrilidge. I thought that Luthor was a nicer guy at this point.

Lois is spot-on. She's distraught, but not overboard, and she honors her former fiancŽe by writing a fitting story. Everyone carries on, which is what most people want when they die.

A good beginning to a tense story about funerals and grief.

5Art - 5: From the beginning, I was the biggest Grummett fan. Certain images stick with you in comics. For this issue, there are several...all of the people surrounding the downed Superman, the image of Bibbo silhouetted over the blast of his defibrillators, Doomsday being lifter into a van, and most important, old, sad looking Kents embracing in front of the television. It's like they aged ten years in between the death of and this issue.

The Kents are modern, hip old people now, but they used to be all American old farts, and here they are at their best...Grummett deserves a good nod for that.

5Cover Art - 5: Just great. Odd, off angle photo of Superman defeated. We always see Superman triumphant, strong, successful, and her he is failing and dead. I mean, that's callus, but heck, it's the truth. It's a stark depiction of our hero destroyed, and it's hard to forget.



Action Comics #685 PART TWO: Action Comics #685, Featuring Supergirl: RE: Actions

Westfield attempts to take the body of Superman on Federal Authority. Guardian, though Security Director for Cadmus, refuses to help, and even insists on stopping the act.

Outside, in martial law, Cadmus goons shoot out a Lexcorp news source's dish.

Lex gets wind of it, and releases the dogs.

Team Luthor descends on the project, accompanied by Supergirl. Supergirl psychokinetic blasts the crew, knocking them out, and when Westfield awakes, he's told that the President has rescinded his authority in the Superman matter, and that Doomsday will be going to S.T.A.R. Labs. Luthor, now present, tells him he will overlook the damage to his property if they just leave, and now.

As Guardian escorts Cadmus away, Luthor makes a statement to the media, telling him that Lexcorp and Metropolis are partnering to give Superman a memorial and burial ground in Centennial park.

Meanwhile, Allie asks Lois what happened to Clark...Lois tells her that he is still missing.

Lana calls the Kents and they share their grief. In Gotham, Australia, Japan, the Middle East, Amhara and Russia they mourn Superman's passing.

Luthor sees the body of Doomsday, and smashes a chair over it in anger. Turpin thinks Luthor is sad, but Luthor is merely angry that Doomsday beat him to his life's work, a brainless monster.

Lois contemplates calling the Kents.

In jail, Toyman mourns the loss of Superman, even thought they were enemies. Parasite laughs and enjoy himself. Prisoners at Stryker's Island fight over whether Superman's death is a good or bad thing.

Goons rob a place, and Supergirl shows up. The robbers, thinking Superman dead, have decided to take advantage of the situation. Supergirl makes short work of them and apprehends them.

Bibbo arrives at his bar and sends everyone home. He kneels and asks God why a good man like Superman gets to die while he lives.

4Story - 4: Less monumental here, and more a study of the grief already begun in Adventures 498. We have some great moments here, to be sure. One of the best Lex characterizations, period. Going to Doomsday, and instead of congratulating him in death, attacking him. So driven by his bitterness and his need to be the best in everything (something a lot of people misunderstand about Luthor, wanting to make him a reluctant ally of Superman in MODERN times) he cannot even take glory in having been party to his goal being accomplished.

That was a big thing when this came out. "What's Luthor gonna do?" My buddies thought that he would gloat and laugh and throw parties. I did as well. This came as a surprise, and it introduced me to the depth of a character that at that point I'd only imagined as a purple and green maniacal genius, or Gene Hackman. It was an important turning point for me, as I widely regard Luthor as my favorite Superman character, and if I had carte blanche to write any Superman story I wanted, it would be an ongoing Luthor series.

Team Luthor vs. Cadmus was cool. It was neat to picture for the first time a tactical army owned by a private corporation...even as a kid, I thought, what if Donald Trump did that? What would happen? Who could stop him? Making Lex a president took that a step further (had they done anything with it as of this writing, 9-03), but precursors began here.

And Bibbo. Poor Bibbo, so selfless and loving and lost with Superman gone. A great moment.

4Art - 4: I was never really as fond of Guice as the others, but he got the job done, and came up with some great images in his time. And I can't lie, this is the first time I ever looked upon Supergirl as a growing boy might...she's just fantastic in this issue...I mean, who can watch the scene with Supergirl in this issue and not be stirred in some primal way?

Otherwise, things are a bit choppy and a little less memorable than they could have been, given the circumstances. It's just a bit too busy, and maybe that's because of the writing, covering so much in so little space as was necessary, but it just seemed stuffed into panels with a lot of information and less elaboration.

However, two memories here...the Supergirl scene, and Bibbo, in the shadows, wishing for his friend, make this priceless to me.

3Cover Art - 3: It's interesting, but even at this point it'd been done to death. Everyone homages Action 1, so let's keep doing homages and hope that they get interesting again, right? And even back then, ten years ago, the logic was silly.



INTERLUDE: Legacy of Superman: Waverider at Vanishing Point

At Vanishing Point, in the library of time, a place outside of time, Waverider is shown the Death of Superman. He sees Superman fight Doomsday, then die, but is helpless to stop it.

This, he is told, is the best and worst part of being a Linear Man. You can see everything, but you are forbidden to stop it.

He rebels, and goes to try and stop it anyway, but once he gets there, he realizes that even Superman is mortal and cannot be saved forever, with the help of the other Linear Men.

5Story - 5: This is an interesting little story, in that it puts the reader back in the shoes he or she wore when reading the Death of Superman. Who DIDN'T want to stop it, and who wouldn't have, given the chance.

It's also a good way for the writers to show that while the story was difficult to accept in many ways, it also can make perfect sense. They could have stopped it, but they didn't, because everyone has to die, right? A good point.

3Art - 3: Nothing really special here...Vanishing Point is interesting, but not particularly memorable, and the Linear Men are the Linear Men. Nothing jumps out as either great or horrible.



Man of Steel #20 PART THREE: Superman: The Man of Steel #20: Funeral Day

Lex Luthor II, amidst many advisors and leeching advertisers, plans Superman's funeral. When confronted with the problem of getting the monument he's commissioned to Superman to Centennial park, Luthor tells his men to bring in the helicopter. Supergirl asks if she can bring in the monument, and Lex agrees.

Ma and Pa Kent lament that they cannot be at the burial of their own son.

At the Planet, Jimmy is told that from now on he can write his own ticket with the picture he has of a dead Man of Steel. Jimmy isn't comforted.

Perry offers to give Lois his position of honor at the funeral, but she turns it down, not thinking she can take it. She goes up on top of the Planet globe, and at the last minute comes down to see her husband to burial. She stops and notices the plaque to commemorate Superman's death, and Jimmy appears, taking her to the front of the line.

The JLA procession marches Superman to his final resting place. All wear black armbands.

All around, people cannot understand why Superman is dead, including Keith. He sees a rotten kid saying he's glad that Superman is dead, beating his sister, and goes to comfort her.

Batman finds a man with a bomb trying to disrupt the scene, and ties him to a statue, playing it Superman's way in deference to his city.

Emil and his wife Mildred watch the procession from the rooftops, and the Cadmus Clones watch from below.

Bibbo happens upon a man selling shirts. He is about to assault the man, when the man tells him he's out of work. Bibbo buys his shirts up and offers him a job.

Rexy Leech offers Jimmy money to commercialize his photo. Jimmy punches him, so Rexy's goons pull guns and prepare to shoot. Robin drops down and stops them.

The JLA rounds up troublemakers as Ma and Pa watch on TV.

The Clintons give a speech, and Lois, in tears, goes to call the Kents.

Ma and Pa bury some of Clark's things, and Pa feels like there's nothing to live for.

At the funeral, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern cover the casket.

Ma and Pa answer the phone just in time, and tell Lois they'll be in Metropolis soon.

5Story - 5: Another great chapter. First, the CRISIS scale scene with all of the major heroes, with everyone pitching in to say goodbye.

Luthor commissioning the monument is something that I'd forgotten. It's amazing how things are glossed over that could make great plot points.what of the intrigue that is going on here, and how Lex moved right in after Superman died? A great example of what I've been talking about.

The scene with Ma and Pa is very sad, and very well done, as is Bibbo with the salesman. Another great moment, another great issue.

5Art - 5: Not only are things exceptionally dynamic in this issue, we have several of those unforgettable moments. Lois on the edge of the planet, Ma and Pa embracing over their son's monument, the casket being covered, and the scene with all the heroes.

Even Clinton looks good, and that takes work. ;)

4Cover Art - 4: It doesn't happen in the issue, but it's still very dynamic, and it shows, for the first time, a staple of continuity, the plaque, which will later factor very important in the first sighting of Cyborg.



Superman #76 PART FOUR: Superman #76: Metropolis Mailbag 2

A large contingent of the JLA arrive on top of the Daily Planet, determined to answer the mail as Superman once did in his absence. Batman reflects on death, and how it can be positive if viewed correctly, recalling Jason Todd.

Mitch, the young man whose house was destroyed in Doomsday's rampage, walks along the street in dejection. He feels responsible for Superman's death, as Superman could have put Doomsday down, but instead saved Mitch.

A woman announces that she was Superman's wife, a woman who is not Lois.

The press gathers. Lois leaves in disgust.

Jimmy meets Mitch, and offers to take him to get food. Mitch agrees.

At home, Lois misses Clark, and cries. The Kents arrive, and Lana arrives at about the same time. Things look better.

At the post office, Guy Gardner mouths off, but they begin to read mail. Many requests are read, and Guy, frustrated, goes off to fulfill a request to find a long-lost son.

They read a letter about a woman whose house was destroyed in the rampage, and agree that this is a good letter to respond to. It is Mitch 's house.

At the diner, Jimmy recognizes Mitch from his encounter and they talk about his responsibility in Superman's death, or, more appropriately as Bibbo points out on scene, his lack of responsibility.

Mitch tells them that his father has left the family. Bibbo helps Mitch get enough fare to get home.

Lois, Lana, and the Kents agree that Clark's secret should be kept, though it may eventually be uncovered.

At Mitch's father's house, Wonder Woman asks him to talk about the destruction of the house.

Maxima brings food to the poor with Nightwing.

Guy Gardner retrieves the long-lost son.

The JLA rebuild Claire and Mitch's house, and while they do, Mitch converses with Superman at his memorial. Jimmy hears a muffled drill...

Mitch tells Superman he'll do well by his family, and meanwhile, his father is reuniting with his mother.

Mitch wonders about Superman's family, just as the Kents arrive at the memorial.

Meanwhile, underneath the crypt, men remove Superman's body...Westfield has had it exhumed without permission!

5Story - 5: This is a great story, from all standpoints. Look at the structure. It's hard to tell three stories and have them come together in the end, but they do. And not only is it woven together in an extremely complex but working way, we get the added bonus of a horror of horrors at the end...Superman's body is being taken.

As a child, this horrified me. Why would someone steal Superman' s body, and what would they want to do with it...a great twist. Not too much for me to have wrapped my mind around then, and still a great twist now.

And hey, folks, where's this kind of mailbag now? Superman used to go out and care for people, didn't he? This was one of the best features of Superman, and now it's lost to the ages...

Sigh.

3Art - 3: This time, there was nothing particularly special about the work, though everything is rendered rather well, and I usually give Breeding better marks...and mostly it isn't his fault here. The colors just look strange. I mean, Lana is BLOND in one panel. Still, it has the great, memorable panel with Batman reflecting on Jason Todd, so maybe three is harsh. Take it with a grain of salt.

4Cover Art - 4: Minus one for not being in the issue, the actual action, but generally, a very dynamic angle with a lot of cool heroes, and an all around great cover.



AOS #499 PART FIVE: Adventures of Superman #499: Grave Obsession

An alarm goes off in the Lextower, and Lex Luthor II goes to his computer. The grave is being robbed. He sends Supergirl to investigate. Lex wonders if Superman is still alive...

While she's descending, a man disguised as a bum spots Supergirl and makes a call on a very 90s looking cell phone (reviewer giggle).

Supergirl turns the cover and finds the grave empty...she's hopeful that Superman lives.

Jose Delgado, thinking about how he's become Gangbuster again, visits the memorial, and from behind, a voice asks him about some personal information. Jose punches, before Inspector Henderson reveals himself. He sends the man with the cell phone back to his spot.

Pa and Ma Kent determine that the time to leave is soon. Pa seems increasingly disturbed at the lost potential with Clark's death.

Lex, meanwhile dismisses a woman he's probably having an affair with brutally, and checks on the situation with Supergirl.

Supergirl tells him that the walls are reinforced. Lex tells her to go in further.

Turpin arrives, and enters Lex's secret entrance to the crypt.

Bibbo, strolling down the street, sees a drug deal, and tries to stop it. He's about to be shot when Gangbuster arrives, taking the crew out. In pursuit, he falls off a car and lands hard on some garbage. The car crashes, and they save the criminals, who threaten to sue.

Meanwhile, underneath the city in the Underworld caverns, Supergirl and Dan Turpin meet up in the midst of a slew of Cadmus Clones, who attack. Clawster takes Supergirl, and Bog takes Turpin. Bog is about to smash Turpin when Turpin dodges. A clone with grenades drops one near Turpin, who reaches over to the clone's belt and pulls out the pins of his other grenades.

Supergirl arrives just in time to pull Turpin to safety.

They meet outside, where Maggie Sawyer awaits, and explain the situation.

On Cadmus, Superman sits on a slab.

3Story - 3: This is less important than the other stories in this series, generally, and reads like a point A to point B, largely because it's a story about Gangbuster and Turpin and less about Superman. A pervading sense of urgency makes us want to know what the heck happened to Superman from last issue, and all we see at the end of the issue is something we already know...he's at Cadmus. I suppose seeing Lex abuse Supergirl's trust is important, as is Terrible Turpin, who we all enjoy, generally, but the issue didn't get very far, and seemed the weakest in the plot thusfar.

3Art - 3: Pretty average. Nothing really stands out, nor is anything horrible. The picture of Superman on the slab is stark, but it is just a standard image, at that. Clawster's big picture is kind of cool, but not enough to elevate things beyond average. I mean, the whole story, as you read it, has far too many panels and extrapolation.

4Cover Art - 4: A really good cover, and one of my favorites, but I have to knock one, because it's nowhere near what's in the issue. Still, it's an amazing image, and an oft-copied one, so it deserves the 5 of 5 respect with the 4 of 5 deception, if that makes any sense.



Action Comics #686 PART SEVEN: Action Comics #686: Who's Buried in Superman's Tomb?

A van streaks down a city street with Guardian in hot pursuit. Guardian leaps from his bike to the van, telling the goons to drop their weapons.

They decide not to, so Guardian storms their van and pulls them over, throwing one goon onto his bike, which continues on auto-drive next to the vehicle.

When the police arrive, Guardian hands them a laserdisc which has recorded the whole encounter (laser disc, tee hee! Sorry. Reviewer titter).

Dubbilex calls Guardian telepathically, and Guardian rides off to Cadmus. Meanwhile, nearby, Luthor ruminates with Happersen as to whether or not Superman faked his death.after all, Luthor himself did, it is explained.

Guardian rolls into the Red Horse garage and sinks deep below it to the level of Cadmus labs. At the main door, the Newsboys reveal that Dubbilex can't scan the area, because of Director Westfield setting up Psionic dampers.

Luthor and Supergirl meet with Turpin to discuss what happened to the body.

Guardian breaks in, and finds Superman's body. Infuriated, he grabs at Westfield, but relents when he realizes that they are trying to re-create Superman, not dissect him. Unfortunately, Superman's body is just as invulnerable in death as in life.

Supergirl and Luthor, exploring the underground, find some explosives, and are nearly killed.

At Lois' apartment, she worries about Clark and the public finding out his secret, just before she takes the Kents and Lana back to the airport.

In the underground caves, the structure gives way and the river flows in, nearly washing away Supergirl and Lex. They retreat to the tomb in frustration, still not knowing where Superman is.

Meanwhile, the public, missing their hero, have created a Superman cult, and Supergirl and Luthor run into them.

Lex ponders ways to turn the situation to his advantage as Supergirl goes to further investigate.

Lois, meanwhile, says goodbye to Lana, Jonathan, and Martha. Lana especially stops for a moment, and both Lois and Lana realize the terrible loss they've suffered.

4Story - 4: Now you look at issues today, and you compare them to this one, and you realize several things. First, issues today may have more action, but this one has heart, and continuity. Enough heart to almost make it a great story despite the very little that happened here.

Look, there's a reference to the previous issue, an explanation of previous plot points with Lex (which may be old hat to someone who'd been following the issue, but even so, it's brief, and as a kid, it brought me up to speed with what had happened to Luthor, which meant a lot at the time.

And Lana, Martha, and Jonathan aren't just in Kansas again, they have to go to the airport. This is something the current comics lack. I mean, sure, things can be assumed, but sometimes there are moments to be had in airports that don't involve crummy new villains or even Superman. Luthor at his best, the supporting cast, and even the pet project of the creators, Cadmus, without disrupting the important things, like the mains. It CAN be done, people, and though this issue isn't particularly memorable, it illustrates that.

3Art - 3: Nothing special, but nothing horrible. This style grated on me at the time because it was a little too general, but then, who can't like the Guardian leaping into the van, the Luthor recalling, and even Superman laid out on a table. It tells the story, and it does it well, despite being a little out of tone.

4Cover Art - 4: Creepy, but exciting. And though it depicts something that happened LAST issue, it depicts something that does happen, and you recognize it, so it's not trying to trick you into buying the issue on false pretenses. Good stuff.



SECOND INTERLUDE: The Guardians of Metropolis.

Superman is laid out on the examination table.

Auron, nearby, is tested...a fully controllable cybernetic organism made with a bit of a clone of Jim Harper, AKA Guardian, and a jet pack. Westfield sends Auron to get Superman's DNA, and Guardian and the Newsboys try to stop him. The Newsboys make off with the disc as Guardian battles Auron, but Auron breaks off to follow the Newsboys, who are escaping in the Whiz Wagon.

The Whiz Wagon makes for the Habitat, and Auron chases them with unrelenting fury. Dubbilex mind blasts him, but he continues.

Once there, Auron retrieves the disc, but the Newsboys plead with the Jim Harper side of Auron to do the right thing. The Jim Harper part of Auron relents, and when Westfield arrives, he stores Superman's DNA, crushes the disk, and makes off for the reaches of space, promising to protect the Superman legacy.

4Story - 4: Now this is a cool way to bring an experiment character into being. Too often, Superman is a comic book showcase of some new, semi-lame villain or character. Auron was created in a side issue, Legacy of Superman, and to be honest, he wasn't too interesting, but unlike the villains these days, his story is resolved (IE, jail, dead, wandering the stars, in this case), he actually comes back (Unlike most plot points in the Superman universe now) for more action, introducing another lost but cool character, Massacre.

3Art - 3: This art was a little shaky, a little roughly hewn, but definite ly in the Kirby style, and I have to respect that. Still, it is a little odd, so I have to just say it's average, in that sense.

3Cover Art - 3: Legacy of Superman did feature an Auron cover, but it wasn't anything special. Nor was it anything horrible. It just was. It was dynamic, it featured the characters of the issue, but there was no scene, nothing too particularly special about it. Average.



Man of Steel #21 PART SEVEN: Superman: The Man of Steel #21: Ghosts

Lois Lane reports as Superman is caught in a water funnel. Superman tries desperately to reach the surface, but no one helps him. Lois continues reporting, only to wake up from her nightmare to the phone. It's Perry. Metropolis, underground, is flooding. The Underworlders cling desperately for dear life.

Arriving home, Jonathan and Martha Kent tell their neighbors that Clark's body still hasn't been found.

In the barn, Jonathan talks to a memory of Clark with Bessie, their cow. When Martha asks him what is wrong, he tells her nothing.

In Cadmus, Dubbilex and Guardian ponder ways to return Superman to life. The Newsboys arrive, demanding to know why Cadmus has Superman (this happens before Guardians).

Lois heads for the Metropolis stock exchange in a cab.

Ma and Pa have some oatmeal, and Pa remembers Clark eating and enjoying a toy airplane and the idea of flight.

Underground, the Underworlders figure out what happened, how Cadmus flooded the tunnels. Bubble takes Charlie under water, and they investigate, getting proof.

On the other side of the leak they find, Guardian decides to station some guards.

At the exchange, Lois finds out about the explosion beneath Superman's tomb.

In the Batcave, Batman remembers the Kryptonite ring, and Superman. He decides not to destroy the ring, to keep as a momento.

At the tomb, Lois confronts Maggie Sawyer about the explosion, and Maggie, after hesitating, tells her what happened.

Later, at a bridge, Bubble pops up, and Charlie tells Lois what' s happening. She sees their proof.

Pa Kent, in Clark's old bedroom, recalls the "They all wanted a piece of me." Talk he had with Clark, and Ma comes in to share his grief.

Lois goes down to the hole with Packhorse and Bubble and phases into the hole, where she confronts the guards with the rest of the Underworlders. Lois kicks one, and Teletype makes another tell them where Superman is.

The Newsboys join her along the way, and they burst into the room where Superman is, beat a few scientists, and take some incriminating pictures. Soon after, Dubbilex and Guardian arrive, but it is too late.

The next day, the article runs, and upon seeing it, Jonathan collapses with a heart attack, his heart broken from losing his boy.

5Story - 5: Now this is what a Superman issue should be. Main characters, a solid, cool plot, a touch of humanity and storytelling, and continuity.

Consequences? Yes. This leads to the end of Cadmus as we know it, among other things. Jonathan having a heart attack? Hello. Superman's body being stored, and the quest to find it? What's not interesting about that? This is an all around fun issue, and I miss issues like this.

Also, the peripherals, the Newsboy, Guardian, Dubbilex.they had heart. And Charlie and the Underworlders? Not just one-time people. They recur. In fact, they were there three or so issues back, when Superman died. Good continuity.

Lois rocks the house, showing her military training and not just being the witchy damsel she's become in the current comics.good stuff.

4Art - 4: Again, great work here, particularly in the Kirby respect, and what is more memorable than Jonathan in Martha's arms, mimicking Lois with Clark, after he's had a heart attack? The fighting is very believable, Superman's body is even spot-on, and the story is very well put-together and paced, with dynamic panel style and good all around characterization.

4Cover Art - 4: Four for being startling, and attention grabbing, and well drawn, minus one for not happening just that way in the issue. Sorry, but that's my policy, and my honest feeling. I know most people think covers should be exaggerating of key issues in a story, but I don't. I think the image in this issue of Martha with Jonathan was stark and attention grabbing enough, and the crux of an issue always should be.



Superman #77 PART EIGHT: Superman #77: The End

Lex Luthor spars with Sasha, his physical trainer, and ruminates on what Superman meant to him...and the hate Superman inspired. Sasha catches him ruminating, and kicks him in the head. Lex starts to threaten her when Lois arrives, with Supergirl. He stops.

Luthor reads Lois' newspaper indicating Superman's body in Cadmus' possession. Infuriated, he sets off to work.

At Smallville's hospital, Pa Kent is rushed into the Emergency room. As the doctors go to work, Pa's mind flashes to working on an old truck with Clark, and teaching him the lesson of taking care of things.

They take the paddles and shock Jonathan. Jonathan sees Clark pulling off his shirt and changing into Superman.

At Newstime, Jimmy Olsen seems wary of using his photos of Superman's death in their retrospective, so Colin Thornton tells him to choose the picture for the cover. He choses the torn flag (See the special for the cover...it's pretty cool.so says this reviewer).

In the locker room, Sasha Green changes her clothes. In the shadows, someone grabs her and pulls her in.

Lois rides into Cadmus on military cycles with the group from outside Haven (sorry folks, I forgot their name, and it's not listed here), only to find Supergirl with the body.

In the hospital, Jonathan struggles for life, remembering all the times Clark saved people, himself included.

At the tomb, they return Superman's body, and Lois says a private goodbye. Lex asks to be alone to say goodbye as well.

Lex glares at the casket once alone, and gloats at having defeated his nemesis. He tells the casket that he killed Sasha, and that there's nothing he can do about it. He is back on top, and Superman is dead.

Jonathan fades fast, and flatlines, reaching for Clark.

Martha cries over her dead husband.

5Story - 5: When I first read this issue, it was devastating, and though I know Jonathan survives (it took several months before, those evil B$#*%*s!), it's still disturbing to see Superman's father flatline and die, reaching for his son, just after Luthor declares victory. It's also very touching to see Clark and his father reunited in the afterlife, but, I mean...

Lex won!

I mean, now, a little older, a little more cynical, I revel in that a little bit, and any Superman run I would write would have that happen more than once, but here, it's just sad. Really, really sad.

An excellent read, and a good character study of Lex Luthor, perhaps one of the best.

5Art - 5: This good a story could not be told without an amazing art team, and there's no exception here. From Lex confronting Sasha to Jonathan's near death to the dynamic of the flat lines at the end, all around good work here.

5Cover Art - 5: It's not in the issue, but it's just such a darned good cover I don't care. This is one of my favorite Superman covers, and it just brings to a close one of the most disturbing and well done Superman runs, period, leading us straight into what became the new Superman, returning from the dead, just the next issue:



AOS #500 EPILOGUE AND RETURN: Adventures of Superman #500: Life After Death

As Pa Kent struggles for life, having flatlined, Clark reaches for him in the afterlife, turning to Superman before his very eyes. Superman tells him to turn back, that it isn't his time yet.

Wraiths arrive to escort Superman off, and Pa pursues him, angry.

Lois arrives from Metropolis to comfort Martha as the doctors let the medicine take its effect.

In the streets of Metropolis, Gangbuster stomps a few goons and thinks of Superman, finally back in action. To his horror, the goons he busts are a bunch of undercover cops. He tries to escape, and is shot in the arm on the way up a fire escape. He runs to the edge of the building as the police pursue, and leaps a long way down to water, where the cops assume him dead.

Pa Kent, hallucinating, thinks he's on a Korean battlefield again. He runs into an old friend, a dead friend, and realizes his position. A wraith moves in to remove him, and Pa decks him. He takes his weapon and renews his search for Clark.

At WGBS, Vincent Edge pinches Cat Grant's rear and asks her to dinner. She accepts, reluctantly, and agrees to go see Jimmy about not showing up for tapings of Turtle Boy.

In prison, Prankster's roommate watches a superhero television show, and so Prankster dumps water on his TV, killing him.

At the Planet, Ron Troupe and Jimmy Olsen talk about Superman and Clark Kent, and Jimmy leaves to go and take photos of Commissioner Henderson giving a speech.

Over Pa Kent, Martha and Lois worry.

Pa Kent falls in a enemy trap in Korea, and his father sends down a rope. Pa Kent comes up on it, only to find it being held by a demon servant of Blaze, from the Blaze Satanus war. She offers Clark for his soul, and he denies her, falling back into the hole and landing in the middle of Kismet, who sends him to an afterlife Krypton, where Clark, as Superman, is being led down a funeral path. Pa disturbs him, and wraiths grab him.

High-Pockets, a friend of Bibbo's, finds Gangbuster and gives him some hooch. They head to Bibbo's for help.

In the beyond, Superman realizes that his pall bearers are demons, and moves to fight alongside his father.

At the doorway out of the afterlife, Jor-El tries to bring Clark back, but they smash him and escape regardless.

In the hospital, Jonathan Kent wakes up, telling everyone he brought Clark back.

On the plane back, Lois sees a familiar cape streak by, and soon reports start coming in from all over of sightings of Superman.

Later, with Henderson, at the tomb, she finds that the body is gone, and Henderson suggests that Superman is back.

4Story - 4: A well-written comic, but not exactly what we were expecting, going in. Yes, we knew that Superman would come back, and that Jonathan would have to go and get him in the afterlife, but at the end, no teaser? Granted, some versions had a teaser, as I recall, and that made the issue better, but all in all, the intrigue generated isn't evaluated upon, and after this issue, I was frustrated, wanting to know what had happened. Was Superman indeed alive, and where was the body? I guess THAT is the point, but most of this issue was Gangbuster, Prankster, and a lot of filler designed to drive us batty. And for me, at least, it did.

4Art - 4: A little better than average, particularly with the filter effect of the afterlife and the vividness of imagery in the afterlife...distinctive, and certainly memorable.

5Newsstand Cover Art - 5: The legions of the underworld confronting a frightened and lost Superman and Pa Kent in the middle of the ether...nice. And close enough to what really happened in the issue not to lose a point.



5Trade Paperback Cover - 4: A good depiction of the most masterful scene in the issue, the funeral of Superman. Lois is central, as she should be, being the most affected character in the series...my only complaint is that there is nothing in the far background. Perhaps this is symbolic, but still, I might have liked the podium, the priest, maybe Luthor standing triumphant or the director of Cadmus...



5Overall - 5: A classic piece of coordinated Superman storytelling involving action, suspense, real ramifications, character, and, believe it or not, folks, CONTINUITY. Not as action packed as the death issues, but certainly Superman at his best. And certainly more cerebral than most comics, even today.


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