Jack Kirby's Fourth World #20

Apologies for the lack of interior images, my scanner has let me down by producing wonderful static-filled scans. Gotta love the tech!
 
The Gods Themselves


Story, Pencils, Inks and Lettering: John Byrne
Coloring: Noelle Giddings
Assistant Editor: L.A. Williams
Editor: Paul Kupperberg
Creator: Jack Kirby
Based on the work originally appearing in Forever People #1 and Jimmy Olsen #149
Cover Art: Walt Simonson
Cover Date: October 1998
Release Date: 12/08/2008

Superman is flying through Metropolis, pondering his unknown alien origins. Flying into the Daily Planet and changing into Clark, he encounters Jimmy Olsen, who tells a tale of his meeting with a group of super people called the Forever People, and their mentions of a place called Supertown. Whilst out driving the previous night, Jimmy was surprised when a Boom Tube opened up and deposited the Forever People, causing him to drive off the road. The Forever People save him, apologise for their error, and let him take pictures of them.


Superman's interest is piqued, and he flies off to find the Forever People. So focused is he that he doesn't register being observed by an Intergang helicopter, which gives chase on orders from Darkseid. Superman locates the Forever People in an abandoned lumber mill. The Forever People can't decide wether Superman is an envoy from Supertown or a minion of Darkseid, but before they can choose, the Intergang 'copter attacks with alien weaponry, stunning Superman. Superman tries to down the chopper by hurling a tree at it, but he is stopped from further action by the Forever People, who tell him that they need to track the helicopter to find out where Darkseid is hiding Beuatiful Dreamer.


Superman offers his help, and by using his x-ray vision he discovers a non-terrestial metal under the ground. As the Forever People move in, Superman helps to defend them from a poison gas attack, but he finds himself pinned down by the Gravi-Guards. Realising that Superman needs more help, the Forever People combine their powers to call the Infinity Man, who makes short work of the guards. Infinity Man then calls out Darkseid who appears. Darkseid returns Beautiful Dreamer, deciding that he can extract the secrets of the Anti-Life equation from other minds, before vanishing. Infinity Man then vanishes, returning the Forever People, who greet their lost comrade.


In return for his help, the Forever People open a Boom Tube to Supertown. Superman flies through it and find himself in a floating city where everyone has superpowers. Seeing a young girl about to be crushed by a falling tower, Superman saves her, but is confused when the girl reveals her own powers, tossing the tower around like a toy. Superman is beckoned over by a bearded stranger with a staff, who tells him that his questions about his origins can only be answered on Earth. The stranger then returns Superman to Earth. Orion then appears to talk to the stranger - revealed as Highfather - and they confirm that Earth will be an important part of the war against Apokolips. Highfather tells Orion that the Source has directed him to Earth, but Orion has decided to stop on Apokolips first.

I'm always wary of retelling prior stories in current continuity. Sometimes it works really well, enhancing the bare bones of the story with material relevant to the concurrent stories. Two good examples of this are the two retellings of Hal Jordan's origin, as seen in the Emerald Dawn and Emerald Dawn 2 miniseries, and the in Secret Origins arc of Green Lantern that served to lay the groundwork for the Blackest Night crossover. At other times, the structure of the story being retold is followed to faithfully, resulting in an old-fashioned story being told for little more than nostalgia purposes. This issue of Jack Kirby's Fourth World pretty much sits between the two extremes, its excesses given structure and form by being very blatantly created as a tie-in with The Man of Steel from 22 years previously.

The caption on the first page references the fact that this story takes places before the final issue of The Man of Steel, and it's elements of Superman's character prior to the revelation of his origins that drive the story here. It's the strongest addition to the story, although having never read the issues in question I am unsure as to what the other additions comprise of. Apart from this character drive, it's hard to understand why this particular story needed to be told. Other than their status as one of the four titles that launched the Fourth World, the Forever People have never exactly been a strong component of the concept, especially in the Post Crisis continuity. The more incredible aspects of the team, such as their relationship with Infinity Man, goes pretty much unexplained, and the Forever People don't really make any impact on the reader. It would have been far more interesting to delve into Darkseid and Superman's history, as it is hinted in the Legends crossover that the two have faced each other before. Simply having the two foes share only two panels just doesn't feel like it's enough.

Byrne's artwork here is , in my opinion, his last great Superman work, as I am very much not a fan of his return to Action Comics in 2005. He shows us why he is such a strong intrpreter of the Fourth World - his Darkseid, although appearing in 3 panels, is imposing and menacing, especially on his physical entrance to the story, shrouded in shadow with the barest hint of the omega power issuing from his eyes. His Superman is both powerful and human, his face conveying his confusion and disappointement over his lack of knowledge concerning his origins.

The postscript to the issue reads awkwardly. This issue was the last of the series, and the scene attempts to round off the series with an Important Scene between Highfather and Orion. Sadly, it's a scene that attempt to be portentious without telling the reader anything they probably have learned over the past 20 issues. Orion's fate is to fight his father in the Armagetto. And Earth will be important. Right. Oh, and there's a great example of early CGI imagery in comic books in the establishing shot of Supertown, all awkwardly lit, stupidly designed, and bearing no relation to the designs of the city as rendered by Byrne.

The Geeky Bits: The Fourth World was a concept created by Jack Kirby and published by DC Comics on his arrival at the company in 1970. Comprising Mr Miracle, The Forever People, New Gods, and the pre-existing Superman's Pal: Jimmy Olsen, the four titles told the story of the battle between Apokolips and New Genesis, and introduced readers for the first time to Darkseid, one of Superman's most enduring villains.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World was a 20 issue series created by John Byrne that attempted to continue to story of the conflict between New Genesis and Apokolips. The series was followed by Walt Simonson's Orion series, and the two titles represent the most recent attempt by DC to create new, standalone stories for the New Gods without being tied into other titles or events.

Superman would get to know Darkseid more intimately before their first post-Crisis meeting in the Legends crossover. This meeting took place in a pre-Crisis Justice League of America story that has later been defined as 'having happened' post-Crisis. It's a little confusing, I know, but I'll be devoting a whole post to the sticky issue of 'What actually happened to the pre-Crisis stories' in a few weeks time. For reference's sake, the issues comprise Justice League of America #183-185, along with a couple of earlier stories that also fit into this unique category.

Next on World of Superman: The Man of Steel and the World's Mightiest Mortal meet for the very first time!

Legends of the DC Universe #6

Fear of God


Story: Kelley Puckett
Layouts: Dave Taylor
Finishes: Kevin Nowlan
Letters: Willie Schubert
Colors: Kevin Nowlan
Separations: Dicicham (Digital Chameleon)
Edits: Darren Vincenzo and Scott Peterson
Cover Artist: Christopher Moeller
Cover Date: July 1998
Release Date: 13/05/1998

Robin takes out a minor gang of thugs in Gotham City. Finishing the fight, he sees the Bat Signal in the sky, and goes to answer the call. Atop the Police HQ, Robin is surprised to discover that he has been summoned by Superman, who had been looking for the out-of-town Batman. Superman has tracked a gang who had stolen experimental EM pulse weaponry from STAR Labs into Gotham, and, respecting Batman's wishes, is asking for permission to finish the pursuit. Robin agrees.

Superman gives Robin a lift to the gang's hideout, flying him above the clouds. Poised outside, Superman uses his x-ray vision to identify the crooks' positions and formulate a plan with Robin. The two go into action, and during the fight the heroes realise that the EM guns are active. Superman absorbs the blasts, becoming temporarily charged and magnetised, easily disarming the gang and finishing the fight. As Superman shakes hands with Robin, he accidentally shocks him. He departs, leaving Robin awed and gently afraid.

Wow, that was fast. I think this might be my shortest review yet. So, this is a nice, little story featuring the first meeting between Superman and the first Robin. There's some nice work involving flashbacks to set up Robin's admiration of the hero, although the payoff to that does come off a a little trite, with Robin getting an electric shock and being a little cold to Superman after their fight.

But we're not here to talk about Robin, we're here to look at Superman. As far as the Man of Steel is concerned, he has his working relationship with Batman fairly well in hand at this point. He asks permission to work in Gotham, not because he needs to, but out of respect for his fellow hero. And with Batman out of town, that respect extends to Robin. Superman seems to enjoy himself in Gotham for possibly the first time. Maybe it's the lack of complications that arise from working alongside Batman, the fact that he know he completely outpowers the criminals, or that he's working alongside a young hero for possibly the first time, but Superman smiles a lot more in this issue than we've seen so far in his interactions with Batman, and he definately enjoys taking Robin for a ride above the clouds of Gotham.

I really like Dave Taylor's art here. He uses shadow wonderfully to portay the darker side of Gotham, without making the art or his renditions of Robin and Superman grim and gritty. There's a great flow and pace to his action scenes, but it's the quiet moments that really stand out, such as the aforementioned flight, or the whistful moment where Superman contemplates working with a partner. In these moments, the amount of detail on Superman's face really stands out. It's a shame that Taylor never got a chance to continue drawing Superman.

Superman and Robin isn't really a pairing that normally holds much weight in the DCU. This issue shows how a simple, art-led story can really make this pairing work, unlike the recent team-up in Superman #700.

The Geeky Bits: Kelley Puckett is best known as the creator of the Cassandra Cain incarnation of Batgirl, as well as for his work on the various Batman titles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His most recent Superman work was as the final writer on Supergirl before Sterling Gates arrived, the Way Of The World story arc.

The inclusion of the Dick Grayson Robin is always a continuity nightmare for projects such as this one. In Superman's timeline, we're approximately five years into his career. Batman started his career not long after Superman's first appearance, and in these five years has managed to fit in all of his Year One stories, his solo pre-Robin stories, the majority of his adventures from Legends of the Dark Knight, as well as taking Robin under his wing and training him up so that he can operate solo in the Caped Crusader's absence. If we're being really pedantic (and why shouldn't we?), the training of Robin has only occured in the months following World's Finest #2, where Batman was very much a solo operative. We'll be returning to the sticky problem of Dick Grayson when Superman meets the Teen Titans in Action Comics #584, which occurs after Robin will have transitioned to Nightwing...

Next on World of Superman: It's an official Man of Steel tie-in, published only 12 years later! Written and drawn by John Byrne, featuring the first time that Superman officially meets the inhabitants of New Genesis... it's Jack Kirby's Fourth World #20!

Legends of the DC Universe #3

A good week for friends helping out with this blog continues. Jon M. Wilson, who already spent part of an earlier podcast mentioning the blog, read out two of my e-mails, along with associated plugs for this blog at the start of episode 12 of Amazing Spider-Man Classics. And then, in a moment of utter awesomeness, I have just tuned into episode 58 of From Crisis To Crisis, to hear both Mike and Jeffrey give a very welcoming thumbs up to the blog. Many thanks to my friends out there, I hope my little back-links can go a little way to repaying your kindness.


And now, on with the show!


ULTRA Humanite Part III: Mad Scientist


Writer: James Robinson
Penciller: Val Semeiks
Inker: Paul Neary
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Kevin Somers
Separations: Digital Chameleon
Assistant: Maureen McTigue
Mad Scientist: Joey Calvieri
Cover Painting: Glen Orbik
Cover Date: April 1998

Two days before the LexCorp Tower opening, and thigns are still going poorly in Metropolis, with repeated LexCorp catastrophes, attacks by Madness, and technological thefts. Meeting with Drake, Superman discovers that he is now considering actress Dolores Winters as a viable host for the ULTRA Humanite. Whilst they talk, Luthor has one of his goons execute Merrit, the other original suspect.


That night, Superman takes Winters from her apartment and takes her to Lois, who will look after her. Superman isn't so sure about Winters being the ULTRA Humanite, and needs to get hold of Madness to question him about the timing of his attacks. But in order to do so, he's going to have to ask a favour.


Later on, as a blimp losees height and threatens to crash into Metropolis, Superman tackles Madness. He charges through the crowd of temporary insane citizens, careful not to hurt them and grabs the villain, lifting him into the sky. Superman is able to focus his madness into anger, intimidating Madness into agreeing to talk. As they fly away, Superman reveals that he had contacted Blue Beetle, who has saved the blimp from crashing. Superman and Madness arrive at the dockside hideout of the ULTRA Humanite, containing the mind-swapping machine. Superman accesses the computer and sees a list of people that Wilde had transferred his mind into, and realises who the ULTRA Humanite currently is.


Lois is driving through Metropolis with Winters, whilst under attack from LexCorp City Security, who Luthor has ordered to kill the other ULTRA suspect. Superman contacts her mobile, telling her to get to the LexCorp Tower opening ceremony. She pulls up just as Luthor is about to declare the tower open, and City Security back off, unwilling to make a direct public attack. Luthor demands to know what is happening, and Superman explains that the stolen tech had been installed into the tower to allow it to spread Wilde's soul throughout Metropolis at the moment of the opening. Superman flies to the top of the tower, destroying the transmitter and confronting the ULTRA Humanite - Drake.


Drake/Wilde is wearing a new prototype of the City Security armor, and the two fight for a while, Drake attempting to distract Superman enough that his backup plan to destroy the tower will succeed. Superman is able to direct the fight so that it destroys the supports of the LexCorp Tower, causing it to collapse inwards on itself. Drake/Wilde disappears in the confusion. Luthor is angry at Superman for destroying his dream, and as Superman leaves to try and find Drake/Wilde, he vows to build a new tower to remind everyone in Metropolis that the city belongs to Lex Luthor.


At the hideout, Superman finds Drake's body in the ULTRA machine. The computer records have been wiped, meaning that Wilde could be in any body. Alone in the night, the ULTRA Humanite plots his revenge against both Luthor and Superman.

 Following the rushed plotting and exposition of the last issue, the final part of ULTRA Humanite gives its story time to breathe, slowing things down without breaking the tension or ruining the pace. Stakes are raised, the ticking clock ticks away, but we are never rushed through the story. This is instantly an improvement, and whilst this issue still doesn't quite do it for me, or live up to the standards of the first in this arc, it makes for a much more pleasurable read.

I'm not a fan of this reinvation of the Ultra Humanite, but the paranoia over the identity of the ULTRA works well here, with red herrings being thrown at us with more credibility than in the second issue. I particularly like Dolores Winters as the most notable herring. Unless she has a fairly sever off-panel haircut, the sillhouette at the end of the story clearly isn't her, proving that whilst Robinson is happy to tip his hat to continuity, he doesn't feel the need to be beholden to it. Admittedly, killing off the two most notable suspects at the end of the last issue and the start of this one does make for a whodunnit with only one other main suspect, and the reveal of Drake as ULTRA is a little inevitable. The final battle is a little anticlimactic - Drake/Wilde/ULTRA turns up in a bigger battle suit that we've seen so far, and Superman smacks him into a building.


One nice little continuity touch is the cameo appearance from Dan Garrett, the original Blue Beetle. It's a small moment, but one that represents Superman's growing influence in the DCU, as well a nice bit of humility for the Big Blue - he knows he can't apprehend Madness by himself, and he's not afraid to ask for a favour. And talking of Madness... I rather like this villain and his MO, and especially the way that Superman overcomes his 'madness aura' by focusing his own personal madness into righteous anger and scaring the pants off the villain. I find it a shame that Madness has not reappeared since this series (based on the fact that there is quite literally no information that I can find on the internet, even at the normally very reliable DC Database). The idea of a villain that could never hope to go toe-to-toe with Superman but is able to fight him with chaos is an attractive one for me, and it's a pity that he's a one-shot villain.

Although Luthor has not muc on-panel presence, his villainous side seeps through the issue, from the opening page where he has an ULTRA suspect executed in his office through to his final vow to rebuild the tower as a testament to his power over the city. This is old-school-modern-era Lex (a classification of my own design, true old-school Lex is equivalent to new-school Lex, being pimped out in battlesuits and more of a mad scientist), a public smile but a private snarl.

I've avoided talking about the artwork across this series so far. There's a very simple reason for this - I have no feeling regarding the artwork at all. It does the job, tells the story, is pleasing to the eye, but very few images stand out. The most notable for me is the splash page of the Blue Beetle saving the blimp from crashing, mainly for the nice framing thaat simultaneously puts the focus directly on the Beetle whilst making him just about the smallest thing on the page. I do think that part of ambiguity towards the art comes from the fact that Glen Orbik's covers for these three issues have been absolutely superb. Nowadays, it's rare to see non-Alex Ross painted covers, so for me, these covers really stand out. There's a wonderful grace to the posing of Superman, especially in the cover to this issue, and his representations of the three classic descriptions of Superman's powers - Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound - make for a wonderful tryptich of covers.

The Geeky Bits: As far as I can tell, this 'reboot' of the Ultra Humanite never troubled the DC Universe again. Perhaps another brain jump went wrong and the consciousness of Professor Wilde dissipated into nothingness. Perhaps his surrogate body ate some dodgy chicken and died of food poisoning. We'll never know.

The real Ultra Humanite would keep a fairly low profile during the post-Crisis era. His origin was retconned so that he was a nemesis of the original Justice Society and other heroes from that era. His most notable 'current' appearance before Infinite Crisis was in the JSA story Stealing Thunder, where he occupied the body of Johnny Thunder, enslaved the Thunderbolt, and ruled the Earth for about five issues before he was defeated. Post-Infinite Crisis, he appeared in the Power Girl series.

ULTRA Humanite has never been collected.

Next Time on World of Superman: Superman finally joins the JLA.

Legends of the DC Universe #2

Just before we dive into today's review, a shoutout to Jon M. Wilson and Zach Henderson over at Teenage Wasteland: A Ultimate Spider-Man Podcast, who spent a bit of time at the start of their most recent episode giving some lovin' to this blog. Many thanks for the shoutout guys, and keep up the great work!

ULTRA Humanite Part II: Mad Science


Writer: James Robinson
Penciller: Val Semeiks
Inker: Paul Neary
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Kevin Somers
Assitant: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Calvieri
Cover Artist: Glen Orbik
Cover Date: March 1998

It's several months after the last issue. Luthor Towers is days away from completion, but the upcoming celebrations are marred by a series of setbacks to LexCorp. Software and equipment failures have resulted in huge losses for Luthor, and all the evidence points to internal sabotage, although Lex's investigations have failed to reveal the culprit. The latest catastrophe involves a construction droid going rogue, only to be taken down by Superman. At the same moment, Madness strikes the First Metropolis Bank, causing chaos and making off with a large amount of money.


Meeting up with Lois after the events, Superman learns that LexCorp had provided the software for the construction droid, and that Madness has struck again, following his trend of striking at the exact moment that a crisis strikes LexCorp. Also at the same time, a theft of high tech equipment takes place. Superman then meets up with the LexCorp City Security Commander Drake who gives him information about the attacks on LexCorp. Two suspects have been identified, Senior VP Edward Carlisle, and Junior VP Thomas Hewett, but Drake is afraid to act in case he has it wrong. Their conversation is interrupted when an urgent call comes through for Superman - Lois is in trouble.


Lois is being attacked in her apartment by two of Luthor's suited goons who are searching for the photograph given to her by Professor Wilde before he died. Superman arrives and takes care of them. Drake arrives on the scene, revealing that the order to attack Lois had been sent by the saboteur, and that Luthor had no knowledge of the photograph. Superman examines the photo with his microscopic vision, discovering a message in a microdot. The message details Wilde's research into a bioelectric field generate by all human beings, which he was able to monitor via a device he called ULTRA. The possible benefits of his research included a cure of Parkinsons, which was why LexCorp became interested. The message continues to explain that Wilde discovered that he could use his research to move the field from one body to another, effectively switching minds between bodies. They realise that Wilde survived the explosion and is the mystery saboteur. Their deliberations are cut short by a LexCorp-built bullet train running wild, which Superman heads off to save. At the same time, Madness strikes, and more tech is stolen.


After the crises, Drake confronts Edward Carlisle, revealing him to be Wilde, the ULTRA Humanite. As Superman and Lois arrive, they discover Carlisle dead having blown his brains out.

The middle chapter of the ULTRA Humanite story feels is a very different beast to the first part. The industrial sabotage plotline that drives the majority of the issue is completely new, and the Professor Wilde plot, so prominent in the first, is all but forgotten about until the latter half of the story. Madness, who had a great introduction in the first issue, is relegated to a couple of panels, his presence reduced to one element of the three-pronged attacks that occur rather than as a menace in his own right.

I found this issue very unsatisfying, due to the amount of information that is dumped upon the reader. There is a lot going on in this issue, and a gap of several months between this issue and the last only serves to highlight how much we have to be told rather than shown. From Lois' 'narration', which feels more of an extraneous narrative device than normal, through to the incredibly dense and awkward 'Superman reads the plot from some text in a microdot in a photo' scene that sets up the entirety of what this story is about, the reader is inundated with plot information that does not flow naturally from the story itself. The scene with the photograph is torturous to read and understand, and also features one of my pet hates when it comes to reinventing characters and concepts in comics and science-fiction - taking an established name and revealing it to be an acronym, in this case ULTRA.

If anything, this story is too condensed, and should have been spread across two issues. We could have seen things go wrong for LexCorp, whilst hints of the posession strand of the story come to the surface. Madness could have played a much stronger role. We are presented with a whodunnit in terms of the industrial sabotage plot, but with no insight into the characters of the two chief suspects, they might as well be anybody. In fact, the only difference between the two suspects is that one is a Senior VP and the other one is a regular VP. There may be a moustache involved. The cliffhanger to the issue is supposed to shock us that the main suspect has either comitted suicide or been murdered by Drake, but the climax is rushed, with Superman and Lois quite literally appearing out of nowhere, ruining the suspense.

The Geeky Bits: Val Semeiks makes a rare Superman pencilling appearance in this arc. Outside of LotDCU, Semeiks pencilled the 1999 Lex Luthor miniseries, and 1998's Adventures of Superman #557, as well as Grant Morrison's first DC crossover, DC One Million. Outside of Superman, Semeiks is best known for lengthy runs on Lobo and The Demon, paired with Alan Grant as writer.

Glen Orbik is an occasional cover artist for comics, graphic novels, and novels.

Next on World of Superman: We wrap up our coverage of the ULTRA Humanite arc, before putting it all behind us.

Legends of the DC Universe #1

It's been a quiet couple of weeks here at the World of Superman, caused in part by a period of nasty but not serious illness and the recovery which had left me unwilling to sit down and complete my posts. But the illness is gone, and the recovery is complete, and it's time to get back on track and take a look at the first direct Superman work from James Robinson. We'd make the most of it, because it will be a very long time before we return to Robinson's Superman work.

U.L.T.R.A. Humanite Part 1: Madness and Science

Writer: James Robinson
Penciller: Val Semeiks
Inker: Paul Neary
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Kevin Somers
Assistant: Maureen McTigue
Editor: Joey Calvieri
Cover Painting: Glen Orbik
Cover Date: Febuary 1998


Lois Lane sits at her computer, writing an article about the current new age of super-heroes, each protecting their city from multiple super-powered attacks. She notes that until recently, Metropolis had become unique in that it did not suffer from a pantheon of super-villains. However, this has now changed, and Metropolis' guardian, Superman, has stepped up to defend the city.


Superman is battling Professor Killgrave, who is once again attacking Metropolis in a flying ship. Superman gains the upper hand, but is interrupted by the arrival of LexCorp City Security, an armored, flying private security force paid for by LexCorp. As Superman debates the legality of their actions with the team's commander, Killgrave activates his boosters and makes a speedy escape. Pausing only to ask if their suits have the speed to keep up with the escaping Killgrave, Superman gives chase, leaving LexCorp City Security in his wake.


TV news reports on an unexpected delay in the arrest of Killgrave, before going on to report about Lex Luthor's relationship with famous model Delores Winters. Luthor, angered by the TV reports, throws a statue at the screen, before dismissing Delores from his office so that he can talk business. He demands that Luthor Towers should finish construction by the end of the year, before ordering a buyout of Morgan Wilde, a research scientist whose work could lead to a cure for cancer and Parkinson's Disease, amongst others.


Lois is interviewing Professor Wilde at his laboratory. His work involves manipulation of the human body's electrical field, considered by some to be part of the soul. Their interview is interrupted by the arrival of Luthor's men. Wilde refuses to sell his research, even in the face of some obvious threats to his safety. Wilde then finishes his interview, giving Lois a copy of a picture of him and his wife. Lois is concerned as she leaves.


Later that day, Superman attempts to apprehend Madness, a new villain who uses his powers to cause temporary insanity in anyone nearby. Superman is confronted by an insane crowd who try to overpower him. LexCorp City Security arrive, but are also sent mad, firing blindly at each other. An insane cop draws his gun, and Superman is only just able to break free of the crowd to catch the bullets. He uses a show awning to subdue the crowd, who quickly recover from their madness.


Luthor's men have returned to Wilde's laboratory, where they violently beat him. Wilde is unbowed, and he activates a self-destruct mechanism he installed. The lab explodes.

Ah, part one of a multi-part, completely continous story. Believe it or not, this is the first one we've had to date on the World of Superman (I'm excusing The Kents, as that is a currently incomplete project as far as I'm concerned, although I'm so keen to get back to it...). Sure, we've had complete mini-series to date, but each of those have had definite jumps in time between issues. With Legends of the DC Universe #1, we get our first true Part One, and what a celebration we will have!

Oh, OK, I'm filling for time. Could you tell? I'm struggling a little with focusing on just the opening part of a three part story, without reading ahead or referring to events that haven't happened. This is going to make things a little patchy in the review, and there'll be a bit more filler than usual. Like here... Oh dear, I really haven't got the hang of this!

Despite my stalling, I rather like this issue. It feels like it slots in naturally into the latter half of Man of Steel. We are very much in the new age of the super-hero, as nicely illustrated by Lois' article at the start of the issue. The use of Dr Thaddeus Killgrave works well, as he is mainly used as a recurring nemesis for Superman, before he had recurring villains. We have, for instance, never been given an origin for Killgrave, and his first canonical appearance in Superman #19 is bursting out of jail, already a villain that Superman has fought. Perhaps in a nod to the general usage of Killgrave, this is not his first battle with Superman.

As with Adventures of Superman Annual #7, some retroactive groundwork is laid for the 1990s status quo in Superman. Most notable here is the appearance of the LexCorp City Security, Luthor's first attempt at a private police force for the city. These are obviously the forerunners of Team Lex, who would flourish under Alexander Luthor II around the time of the Death of Superman. We also get Luthor's first attempt to build his own skyline-owning tower, a very literal way for him to express his power over the city, which will eventually give rise to the distinctive 'LL'-shaped towers that would stand above Metropolis for nearly twenty year's worth of comics.

This first part of ULTRA Humanite has very little to do with the traditional Ultra-Humanite setup. Although Dolores Winters is present, her role is little more than a cameo. The villain isn't even mentioned by name in this issue, and it's only the title of the story that suggests where this arc is leading. Whilst I understand the need to launch a new anthology series with a strong statement, I do wonder if the overall story would have been more effective if the reveal of the villain could have been saved for the end of issue 2, rather than being spoiled in the story title. I do like the concept of Madness, but I'll touch on him more in the next two parts as he takes a more central part in the plot.

The Geeky Bits: The Ultra-Humanite was one of the DC Universe's earliest villains, pre-dating Lex Luthor and first appearing in Action Comics #13. He is most commonly viewed as an opponent of the JSA, particularly in the wake of the Crisis that removed Superman from pre-1980s continuity, but his status as the first DCU villain is occcasionally called upon, such as in this story, and in John Byrne's Generations series.

This was Robinson's first Superman gig, and also his last for some time (a tangent into the World of Krypton notwithstanding). Robinson would return to Superman in 2008 to lead the World of New Krypton themed stories across 2009 and the first half of 2010.

Next of World of Superman: Part two of ULTRA Humanite, and things aren't going so well for Lexy. I hope the stress doesn't cause his hair to fall out or anything...

JLA Year One #12

Justice For All


Storytellers: Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, Barry Kitson
Inker: Michael Bair
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Colorist: Pat Garrahy
Separations: Heroic Age
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Art: Barry Kitson
Cover Date: December 1998

Chaos reigns in the Daily Planet newsroom as the staff try to keep up with the reports of the Apellaxian invasion. Suddenly, the wall turns to glass, and Alan Scott gathers the staff up in a green bubble. With the civilians clear, the fightback starts, as Hal Jordan and Human Bomb destroy two Apellaxians. In Washington, Black Canary and Starman help the Blackhawks to plant a symbolic American flag. In the oceans, things are not looking good for Aquaman and the Sea Devils, until Animal Man arrives to help with his animal powers. With the assistance of the Challengers of the Unknown and Cave Carson, several Apellaxians are defeated. In the skies, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Black Condor, Shining Knight and Martain Manhunter hold their ground, although Condor's recollection of how he was captured in his private life visibly disturbs J'onn.


At Stonehenge, Kalar rallies his soldiers before flying away. As his lieutenants discuss their plans, Vandal Savage appears and destroys them with the machine from last issue. Impressed with its power, Savage realises that he has the means to destroy both the Apellaxians and the Justice League.


In St. Louis, Flash, Superman and Atom destroy several diamond-based Apellaxians, although the strain of forcing diamond apart from between the molecules renders Atom uncoscious. In Paris, the Global Guardians fight on, but their leader, Dr Mist, realises that they need more powerful help - the Spectre. The Spectre has formed a truce with Wotan to fight the invaders, but Wotan takes the first opportunity to attempt to destroy the Spectre, but is imprisoned for his treachery.


The Flash returns to Central City, where Black Canary attempts to explain the kiss to him. Flash is not interested, as he hears Iris Allen searching for her husband. Changing back to Barry, the couple reunite. Returning to Canary, she explains that she won't turn out like her mother, she won't turn anyone into a cheater. As Flash races away, Canary is menaced by an Apellaxian, but is saved by Green Arrow and Speedy. As they fight on, Green Arrow attempts to get a date out of Canary. The fight conitinues at the Great Wall of China, where the Doom Patrol attempt to hold the line.

In the cave headquarters of the Justice League, Snapper Carr watches reports of the fights, realising that despite their victories, the sheer force of numbers of Apellaxians mean that the League will eventually lose. Simon enters, woozy and unsure, and informs Snapper of Vandal Savage's ownership of the machine. Snapper calls out for Martian Manhunter, asking for a meeting of the League. A short time later, Carr tells them all of what has happened, but before they can act, Savage appears, ready to attack. The League quickly subdue him, but immediately realise that they have only captured Clayface, posing as Savage. Through Clayface, Savage presents the League with a conundrum - they can use the machine to defeat the entire Apellaxian force in one move, broadcasting a lethal telepathic signal, but they would have to discard their morals in order to save the Earth.

As the barriers holding the defeated Apellaxians at bay weaken and require more and more support to maintain, Martian Manhunter activates the machine, using his own telepathic powers to weaken the broadcast so it merely incapacitates the aliens. Seeing J'onn's torment, Aquaman lends his support, followed by the rest of the League. With the Apellaxians incapacitated, Dr Fate opens a portal to another part of space, and the invading force is repelled. As Kalar attempts to resist, Snapper gets revenge for his uncle by whacking him with a sturdy piece of wood.


In the aftermath, the League forgives J'onn for the files he kept. Hawkman pledges the support of the Justice Society to the League if ever needed, and Superman leaves with a promise to aid whenever he can. Clark Kent writes up the story, introducing the Justice League to the world. Later on, the League votes on wether to admit Green Arrow to their ranks, whilst wondering who their mystery financier is. In an office block, Oliver Queen is revealed to be bankrolling the League. He reaches for his costume and bow.

Wow, what a rushed synopsis. I certainly learned the difference today between a comic about Superman and a comic which happens to have Superman in its pages. In the past two issues, Waid uses Superman as one of many heroes who are first captured by and later fight back against the invading Apellaxian forces. Superman's iconic nature is only really exploited in the first page of issue 11, where we are confronted with a battered and bruised Man of Steel. Otherwise, there is no real distinction between Superman and any of the many other heroes featured within. If you remove Superman from this book, then the story still holds up.

Looking at this from a non-Superman-obsessed point of view, we can see that this is a massive, sprawling fight. There are so many moments featuring guest-characters mixing it up with the League to fight the Apellaxians, almost too many, that the general thrust of the plot kind of gets lost underneath it all. Certainly the Martian Manhunter keeping files on everyone plot point does not end strongly here. There's a nice moment where Black Condor's recollection of his kidnap sparks a feeling of guilt, but the payoff is a bit muted, as he strains his mind a bit, gets some help, and is instantly forgiven. Waid would return to the suggestion that a distrustful Leaguer keeping files on his team-mates would eventually backfire two years later in Tower of Babel, and the idea would again be revisited in the runup to Infinite Crisis, especially in the OMAC Project miniseries.

I wish I had the time to grab and read the TPB of this maxiseries, as I'm sure I'm missing more than I'm gaining from these last two issues. But here is a promise to all the readers (both of them!) - unless it's an important issue or cornerstone to the main plotlines, if Superman is just guest-starring in a book without taking a major role, I'll be recapping and reviewing a lot more briefly to allow us to focus on the good stuff. My heart's just not been in this one, no matter how many times I've listened to 99 Red Balloons in both English and German.

And talking of the good stuff... we must be about due for a trip on a yacht courtesy of Lex Luthor, surely?

Next on World of Superman: Suicide at Christmas - we have jumping from the roof of the Daily Planet, and blowing yourself to smithereens. It must be the 1997 DCU Holiday Bash! Meh, guess we'll have to cancel those yachting tickets...

JLA Year One #11

Stalag Earth


Storytellers: Mark Waid, Brian Augustyn, Barry Kitson
Inker: Michael Bair
Letterer: Ken Lopez
Colorist: Pat Garrahy
Separations: Heroic Age
Editor: Peter Tomasi
Cover Artist: Barry Kitson
Cover Date: November 1998

In a series of attacks, the Apellaxians start their invasion of Earth by neutralising numerous super-heroes. Superman is severely beaten, the Atom is captured whilst exiting a phone line, Blue Beetle is ambushed in a tomb. The Metal Mens' responsometers are disabled, whilst Batman is captured in the Batcave. Hawkman, Johnny Quick and Doctor Midnight are all ambushed. All the defeated heroes are brought to the disused Blackhawk Island.

In Metropolis, the newly-formed JLA attempt to hold their ground against the invaders. Aquaman quizzes Snapper Carr about his Uncle Simon's involvement in the invasion, but quickly discovers that although the JLA defeated 7 Apellaians when they first formed, they are now up against a force of 7000. Green Lantern realises that the battle has been raging for so long that his ring is about to run out of power. Martian Manhunter telepathically directs the Flash to Coast City to retrieve the power battery, and Lantern is able to recharge. Despite this minor victory, the JLA realises that Metropolis is lost, and moves on to help out the next city.


In Gotham City, the entity inhabiting Simon Carr's body moves on to a more powerful, electrical form. Carr is left alone and confused, clutching a device that can destroy the Apallaxian consciousness. He is accosted by Vandal Savage, formerly an Apallazian ally and now their target.


In Midway City, the JLA fight their ground again. The heat of the battle causes Black Canary to kiss the Flash. Realising that they need help, Flash has a brainwave - the JLA need to access Martian Manhunter's files on other superheroes to summon help. However, when they reach Jonn's hideout, they find that his files are gone. Aquaman receives a message from the fish, who inform him of the heroes trapped on Blackhawk Island. As the heroes realise that they have been outmaneuvred, a group of Apellaxians prepare to ambush them. They attack, and quickly subdue the JLA.


On Blackhawk Island, the trapped heroes are dismayed to see the JLA arrive in chains. Suddenly, the JLA break free and attack their captors - they were only pretending to be defeated to be brought to the heroes. Mounting an assault on the armory, the heroes re-arm themselves. Led by the JLA, they prepare to take back their planet.

In the first of what will be a fairly regular occurence for this blog, we jump in head-first into a limited series already in progress, with little knowledge of the events that have led us to this point. I read JLA: Year One for the first and only time in late 2002, when I found a pretty battered copy of the trade paperback in the library adjacent to my student accomodation. I remember several pages being loose, and being pretty convinced that I was missing a couple. I enjoyed the book, but knew at the time that I had too little an understanding of the DCU, and that a lot of the series was going over my head. One day, I vowed, I would return and conquer the knowledge held within.

And I never did, until now.

So, what do I know about this series? Well, I remember some stuff with the Doom Patrol, that isn't really relevant to this issue. There was some stuff involving Green Arrow and him not being on the team, which iosn't really relevant to this issue. They fought some aliens, which is relevant, but is handily recapped by Aquaman. In fact, the only major plot point for this issue that doesn't come with a handy jumping-on-board point is the duplicity of Simon Carr, and the nature of the being that has inhabited him. Is he/it an Apellaxian, or something more?

There's some really fun moments here. I love the teamwork shown in the defence of Metropolis, where Martian Manhunter and Flash team up to save Green Lantern's backside. The Black Canary snogging the Flash moment is good, but is taken to a whole new level when he completely ignores her and has a brainwave that could save the Earth from invasion. And I just love the complete Silver Age moment where the JLA pretend to be unconscious to be taken to the captive heroes before turning the tables. It's a moment that if handled poorly can look cheesy and silly, but here works as a great moment of assertion for the League in front of their peers. It's no wonder that veterans of the JSA, the Doom Patrol, and the newer, more powerful heroes like Superman are ready to follow the Flash's lead at the end of the issue.

Unfortunately, from a Superman point of view there's not much to say - he gets beaten up at the start of the issue, and is ready to fight back at the end. This version of him meeting the JLA differs from the Man of Steel Annual in that this version of the JLA is less dependant on him to save the day, most likely as Superman here is a guest star in their book, rather than the League being a star in his book.

Oh, and I just love this cover. Seeing Batman, Superman, and the heavy hitters of the JSA all so helpless is very striking. And I love the defeatist pose of the first Green Lantern.

Next on World of Superman: The JLA vs the Apellaxians for the freedom of the Earth!