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.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #499 - February 1993

 

Grave Obsession

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

Summary:  Lex Luthor’s sensors detect that Superman’s casket is missing.  Supergirl investigates underneath the tomb, arousing the suspicion of the Metropolis police officers monitoring the memorial.  Dan Turpin follows Supergirl through a subway ventilation shaft entrance and soon finds himself in Underworld.  He sees Supergirl is under attack for trespassing and tries to help.  Eventually, Supergirl carries Turpin to safety after one Underworlder drops several grenades.  Meanwhile, Gangbuster returns to action and teams up with Bibbo to stop a gang of drug dealers.

Review:  Superman is still dead, although only two pages are dedicated to Lois and the Kents mourning, re-establishing what we’ve already seen in other chapters.  This issue moves the focus to the peripheral characters surrounding Superman, such as the street-level vigilante Gangbuster.  I have only a vague knowledge of who Gangbuster is supposed to be, but there’s enough information in the reprint collections to infer that he’s a retired vigilante who admires Superman.  And now he makes clear he’s Cat Grant’s ex-boyfriend.  I’m not sure why the Superman titles felt the need to establish such a character, and I recall some readers complaining about the introduction of more heroes within Metropolis when Superman is already there, but I always have a soft spot for the street-level hero.  Gangbuster’s design isn’t exactly elegant, but the basic idea seems to be he’s taken a cop’s riot gear and repurposed it for vigilante work, which is a reasonable starting place for a costume.  There are far worse examples of ‘90s vigilante fashion, of course.  I’m assuming Gangbuster was created as some form of down-to-earth contrast to Superman, so bringing him out of retirement to deal with Metropolis’ criminal element following Superman’s death is a decent idea.  Not that the books really go anywhere with it, since the four false Supermen are soon to be introduced, quickly followed by the actual Superman’s return.

Following the lead of Action Comics, Supergirl turns out to be the star of this issue.  There isn’t a lot of depth to the story, it’s essentially killing time until the next chapter reveals Cadmus’ plan, but there are some entertaining action scenes.  Tom Grummett helps a lot, drawing a very attractive Supergirl and a host of monsters that aren’t exactly Kirby-esque but do evoke a fun Silver Age feel.  Dan Turpin is also thrown in, partially for comic relief, but also to fulfill the role he always plays, that of the tough-as-nails cop who refuses to back down to any superhuman menace.  Much of the issue is arguably filler, but it’s never dull and the action scenes look great.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #498 - January 1993

Death of a Legend

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

Summary:  Paramedics attempt to revive Superman, but receive no response.  Westfield arrives with Cadmus employees to take away the bodies of Superman and Doomsday, but he faces resistance from Dan Turpin, who knocks him out.  Guardian watches as Dr. Hamilton and Bibbo use a high-power energy device to resuscitate Superman, but Dubbilex declares that he senses no brain activity.  Meanwhile, Lex Luthor recovers Supergirl’s body.  Eventually, she morphs back into her human form.  Later, Cat Grant broadcasts the news of Superman’s death.  Jimmy Olsen and Perry White realize that Clark Kent is among the missing and attempt to comfort Lois.

Irrelevant Continuity:  A character named Kitty Faulkner at S.T.A.R. Labs has examined Superman in the past, according to Lois and Jimmy.  A footnote points to Superman #4 and #40.  Gangbuster mentions a previous encounter with Metallo in Adventures #491 that lead to him retiring.  

I Love the ‘90s:  Cat Grant’s son is watching a Ren & Stimpy parody called “Rat-tat-Tooey”

Total N00B:  Cat Grant has a son?  And she’s apparently dating a retired vigilante named Gangbuster.


Miscellaneous Note:  This storyline was originally billed as "Funeral for a Friend," but was later reprinted in trade form as World without a Superman.

Review:  I’m continually amazed at how non-pretentious these ‘90s DC event comics can be.  What do you do in the issue after you kill Superman?  You follow up on the very next second and just present a straightforward story about people trying to resuscitate the guy.  There’s no pretense of art or of a meaningful statement being made here, it’s simply the next chapter of continuity in the story.  In a way, this is admirable (and evidence that the creators didn’t know that the mainstream media would turn the stunt into a national news story).  There’s no illusion that this is anything other than a superhero comic, which means there are a few emotional beats, but it’s certainly not an examination of the grieving process or a deep reflection on the death of American innocence.  Much more thought is put into the practical applications of how Superman could receive CPR.  The only commentary in the issue is another scene of a ‘90s kid rejecting the “big weenie” Superman, which is more of a parody of comic fans of the time than any grand statement about society.  I consider this a legitimate way to continue the storyline, although a bit more reflection would’ve been nice.  The tone of the story is oddly unsentimental, and doesn’t seem to be putting a lot of effort into selling the idea that Superman is Dead.  The Kents and Lois Lane have some nicely executed mourning scenes, but overall, the issue feels like it could’ve been the middle chapter in any number of big superhero comic events.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #497 - December 1992

 

Under Fire

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

Summary:   Superman plows Doomsday into the bottom of a lake, then returns and  rescues Mitch’s family, with the aid of Bloodwynd.  Doomsday leaps out  of the water and attacks a nearby helicopter.  Superman returns to fight  Doomsday and their battle takes them to rural Kirby County.  Maxima  arrives to help, but inadvertently causes an explosion when she pulls up  a light pole.  Superman regains consciousness as Guardian arrives on a  motorcycle.  Meanwhile, as Luthor and Supergirl watch the news coverage,  Jimmy Olsen is given orders to accompany Lois Lane on the Doomsday story.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Bloodwynd refuses to be treated by paramedics and instead teleports away, arousing Superman’s suspicions. 

Total N00B: 

• There’s no explanation of who Guardian is, although in fairness, he only appears on the final page.
• Jimmy Olsen is apparently working part-time as a kids’ TV character called Turtle Boy (an homage to an old Silver Age story).
• Lex  Luthor is…a redheaded Australian?  And he’s dating Supergirl?  Luthor  warns her not to get involved like she did in “that Satanus business” (a  footnote points to Action Comics #680) and to stay in Metropolis with him.

Review:   Superman cursing himself for continuing the fight against Doomsday  while a family is trapped in a burning building is the greatest moment  of angst the story has seen so far…and then the rest of the issue  reverts back to mindless violence.  Superman also gets off easy, as he’s  able to bury Doomsday in the lake’s silt just long enough to go back  into the town and effortlessly save the family.  Actually letting the  young single mother and her baby die would’ve surely been too dark, but I  think more time could’ve been spent dealing with the repercussions of  Superman’s decision.  Every second Superman spends rescuing people left  in Doomsday’s wake is a second that isn’t spent actually stopping the  monster from hurting anyone else.  It’s like the flight attendant’s  instruction to secure your own oxygen mask before helping someone else.   It might seem cruel, but it’s for the best.  Yet, how could Superman  live with himself if he knowingly let someone die, regardless of the  reason? 

Ordway  rushes past the dilemma and gets back to the action as soon as  possible.  So, Superman and warrior-woman Maxima fight and fight and fight while some subplot pages touch base with the rest of cast, doing  very little to explain whatever the current status quo of the Superman  titles is supposed to be.  The saving grace for much of this issue is  Tom Grummett’s art, which is very loyal to the look established during  the John Byrne years while also managing to work in a Russ Heath  influence.  Grummett’s great with fight scenes, and he’s so skilled with  panel layouts that it’s almost impossible to notice that every page  this issue has four panels.  This begins the countdown to the final  installment, as each chapter has one fewer panel each page, culminating  in the all-splash page Superman  #75.  A remit of four panels per page could’ve easily produced a staid,  repetitive pace throughout the issue, but Grummett’s pages are  genuinely exciting from beginning to end.