Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comics

Superman #57

Superman #57

Cover date: July 1991

"Return of the Krypton Man"

Writer: Dan Jurgens
Penciller: Dan Jurgens, Art Thibert, Jon Bogdanove, Bob McLeod, Tom Grummett
Inker: Brett Breeding, Art Thibert, Dennis Janke, Denis Rodier, Jerry Ordway

Reviewed by: Jeremiah Boor

Click to enlarge



Superman learns that the mysterious assailant from the "Superman: The Man of Steel #1" is the Eradicator in physical form. They fight, recap, and fight again. The Eradicator escapes.

Lois and Clark see Ma and Pa Kent off on their cruise. The Kents unknowingly meet Perry and Alice White.

Jimmy learns of his firing and storms out of the newsroom. Lois and Clark take issue with Jimmy's job loss and Foswell's endorsement of the Eradicator.

Clark walks home and witnesses emergency crews cordoning off a crime scene. He attributes the rising crime rate to the death of Lex Luthor.

Pete Ross and Lana Lang admire the Lincoln memorial in DC. A devastating earthquake hits.

Superman flies Prof. Hamilton to the Fortress of Solitude. Before experiments can begin on Mr. Z's gemstone, Superman is hit with a crippling headache. Hamilton suspects the Eradicator is behind this and the natural disasters worldwide. He modifies some Fortress equipment to pick up satellite feeds. The two watch as the world experiences more weather disruptions. This is a job for Superman.

Jimmy rushes to his new apartment and meets Lucy. He breaks the bad news to her.

Lois is at the hospital with her father waiting for Mrs. Lane to be discharged.

The Kents and Whites meet again.

Two Eradicator induced earthquakes rock Metropolis. The Eradicator destroys, then remakes a low income housing apartment into a sleek new Kryptonian structure. The tenants are happy, but Superman arrives and questions his motives.

A fight ensues. The Eradicator burns Superman's face, encapsulates him in pure energy, drags him into outer space, then hurls him into the sun.

4Story - 4: Though not billed as such, this is essentially part one of 'Return of the Krypton Man.' The story works well. We get our first confrontation between Superman and the Eradicator in corporal form, and we see the differences between the two.

These differences are what makes the story particularly interesting. Aside from fighting Superman, the Eradicator only does three things in this issue. One is violently attempt to remake the Earth in Krypton's image. Clearly this is good old fashioned super villainy, but the other two actions deserve a closer look.

First off, he kills (or more specifically defends his choice to kill because it actually happened in MoS #1). The person he killed was the triggerman in multiple bombings around Metropolis. He was a terrorist and killer himself. If this terrorist existed in real life, either in 1991 or today, he would likely receive the death penalty (depending on the state he was tried in). The second noteworthy action the Eradicator takes is the destruction and restructuring of an apartment complex.

In each case, the Eradicator was cheered by everyday citizens. Acting Editor in Chief Sam Foswell even refers to him as a hero and plans to write an editorial endorsing the Krypton Man. In both the murder and the remodeling, one could effectively argue that he made each situation significantly better. A tenant of the building even labeled Superman a killjoy.

It would have been so easy for Jurgens to litter this issue with fist fights and world domination rhetoric, but he didn't. Even though it's easy to see the injustice of the Eradicator's actions, the inclusion of these more complex conflicts make the story infinitely better. What's more, Jurgens doesn't dwell on these points or force them on the reader. He presents the idea and moves on. It's a nice mix of depth and action.

Not to dwell on the point myself, but I like the idea of the Eradicator trying to force his ideals on society instead of Superman brooding over where the line is. We've seen plenty of stories, even from this era, where Superman must decide whether or not to intervene. But introducing a villain to force his will on people clearly illustrates why Superman must inspire personal responsibility instead of doling out wishes like a magic genie. Simply put, it examines the same idea, only in a much more entertaining fashion.

There was one problem with the main plot. On page four, Superman quickly comes to the correct conclusion that the Eradicator is responsible for the changing sun and the natural disasters. Soon the Eradicator gets away, and later Clark says he doesn't even know where to look for him. Then on page twenty, Superman mentions the Eradicator to Prof. Hamilton. The professor then makes the connection between the Eradicator and the weather, as if it had never occurred to Superman previously. Hamilton hacks into a satellite feed and they are both surprised at the violent weather patterns even though they were both already aware of them. Suddenly, Superman agrees that it must be the Eradicator and whisks away to the final showdown.

In other words, nothing changed from the initial confrontation to the last. If Superman was outraged enough to hunt the Eradicator down when he left the fortress, then he should have done this in the first scene. It seems like Jurgens realized he needed a stimulant to bring about the third act and forgot to delete Superman's deduction from page four. Erasing that one line early on would have fixed the writing problems in this issue almost entirely.

The only other minor carp was Clark telling Lois he didn't even know where to look for the Eradicator, then when he was mad enough, he flew out and seemed to find him pretty quick. Again, if the original line to Lois were simply deleted, the problem really wouldn't exist.

The subplots move along nicely here. The Jimmy story line only gets better, and as most fans of this era seem to agree, it's nice to see the Kents and Whites vacationing together.

The only question I have concerns the Pete/Lana subplot. Not much happens here. They are together in Washington, then an earthquake hits. I guess it's a good way to prime the characters for an upcoming story line and show the natural disasters expand well beyond Metropolis in the same scene. I for one, appreciate the supporting cast and the attention they commonly receive in this era of Superman comics, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

All and all, this is a very good issue. I wish Jurgens would have avoided the mistakes I noted earlier. Because he didn't, it's difficult to give the story a five. They are the only flaws in a strong story, but I think Superman figuring out the solution to worldwide natural disasters and then... forgetting... I guess? Is a little beyond nitpicking.

4Art - 4: The more I look at these issues critically, the more I realize why Jurgens and Ordway were, and remain, such popular Superman artists. As the grind of producing four 38-40 page comics in one month seems to show - a little - among some of the other artists, Jurgens and Ordway don't seem to have missed a beat.

The reason for the 4 is Thibert's pencils at the Fortress of Solitude. Thibert doesn't seem to blend in with the other four pencillers. It's a tad jarring, but I can easily forgive it. The problem is mainly blocking and posing. Superman in particular is shown as stiff and oddly postured. Also, when Hamilton brings up the satellite feed, we see a shot of Metropolis with multiple buildings cracking in half and falling over like a scene from an ID4 or 2012. It's minor perhaps, but inconsistent with what actually happened in the story and I think a bit lazy.

4Cover Art - 4: This cover does not have an instant appeal. Superman's face is covered in odd looking burn marks and the background is bare with motion lines. With that said, it is a nice image of the Man of Steel being attacked. The Eradicator overpowering Superman, terror in his eyes. The Metropolis cityscape behind him might have made this a five.


Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comic Book Reviews

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