DC Infinite Hallowe'en Special #1

Small Evil


Writer: Steve Seagle
Art: John Paul Leon
Color: Trish Mulville
Letterer: John J. Hill
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover: Gene Ha
Cover Date: December 2007
Release Date: 31/10/2007

This story was published as pages 45-49 of 2007's Infinite Hallowe'en Special.

Hallowe'en in Smallville, and Clark, Lana and Pete have been asked by Pa Kent to take local boy Tyler, whose truck-driving father is out of town, trick or treating with them. Entering Tyler's house, the trio find Tyler prone on the ground, with blood all around him. As Clark deduces that the blood is mouse blood, Tyler gets up, having played a Hallowe'en prank on them.


As they walk through the fields into town, Tyler winds up the friends by teasing them about a mythical beast, the Manticore. They find what appears to be a blood-stained human corpse, and again, Tyler cries out about the Manticore. Clark shoots him down, pointing out that the Manticore is a Persian myth, and that the bones have been stolen from the Biology lab at school. Tyler admits to another prank. Fed up with the lack of sense of humour, Tyler leaves to find his own fun. As Clark and his friends walk away, they hear Tyler cry out that the Manticore has him, but they ignore him, which is a shame, as Tyler has been caught and killed by the real Manticore.

Before we get into this, I would like to point out that I make no apologies for treating a 5-page mini story with the same critical eye as I would treat a full issue. Besides, it's kinda fun having a go at this story...

What we have here is a Superman-flavoured telling of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with Tyler as The Boy, the Manticore as The Wolf, and Clark, Lana and Pete as the uncaring villagers. Does anyone see the problem with this? Yeah, that's right. Clark Kent, the future Superman, doesn't care when an acquaintence of his is ripped to pieces by a monster. We're talking Clark Kent, who at this point has some of his powers, who walks away from the strange new kid who has been playing a series of bad-taste Hallowe'en pranks, without casting a glance back with his telescopic vision or super-hearing to check that the guy is actually alright. Or who we are expected to believe will notice the absence of Tyler later that night or the next day, and do nothing about it.

If you're going to retell a common folk tale/fable with characters from Superman, either have the characters match their counterparts in the fable, or twist, subvert or change the fable to match the existing characters. Don't paint Superman as the kind of person who would abandon someone he doesn't really like to a vicious and horrible death without so much as caring. It's disrespectful to the character and insulting to the reader.

The Geeky Bits:

No sales information available. The lowest entry on the Diamond 300 for October 2007 was Glister #1, from Image, with pre-orders of  2,501. This comic sold less than that.

Next on World of Superman: The secret origin of Perry White!

Action Comics #794

Invaders From Space!


Writer: Chuck Kim
Artist: Kano
Colors: Moose Baumann
Letters: Comicraft
Assistant Editor: Tom Palmer Jr.
Editor: Eddie Berganza
Cover: John Paul Leon
Cover Date: October 2002
Release Date: 28/08/2002

12 years ago...


Clark sits in the Smallville movie theater watching a B-movie featuring the Justice Society fighting off an alien invasion. The rest of the movie-goers react positively towards the routing of the alien invasion, and this continues once Clark, Lana, and their friends leave the theater. Clark is concerned that he can never reveal his aliene heritage in case it causes more negative reactions and alienates his friends.


His dilemma is observed by the Quintessence, a group of powerful figures who include Zeus, Shazam, Highfather, The Phantom Stranger, and a Guardian of the Universe called Kontross. The Quintessence observes that Clark is at a crossroads, and fear that should he head down the wrong path he would end up leading an army of supermen and women against the Earth.


That night, Clark confides in his parents, and Pa tells him that he is meant for bigger things than Smallville. The next day, Clark struggles to escape a blood drive, knowing that the needle would be unable to pierce his skin. He is observed by shadowy figures who identify him as the one they want. Back at home, a note tells Clark that his parents have been taken. Pete Ross arrives to pass a letter to Lana via Clark. Clark manages to get rid of him before the shadowy figures arrive. The figures are bio-suited CIA agents who have been searching for Clark. As Clark surrenders in return for his parents' safety, Pete watches in amazement from the window - his friend Clark is an alien!


Clark is held in restraints in an underground facility. He is telepathically contacted by J'onn J'onnz, who has also been captured, and undergone forced amputation of his arms and legs. Clark is rescued by his parents and Lana, who have managed to break free and, with J'onn strapped to his back, the fiveattempt to escape, only to be stopped by Green Lantern and the Justice Society. The two groups fight, but Clark and his family are eventually subdued.


In fear and rage, Clark lashes out with all his strength, rendering the Justice Society unconscious. Pete arrives witrh a mob from Smallville, baying for Clark's blood. Lana stands up for him, but fires from the battle have spread and have trapped the Smallville townspeople. J'onn reminds Clark that humans will always want to study and dissect him, but Clark chooses to save them, in the hope that a more positive outcome can be reached.


Suddenly, Clark wakes up - his experience was a dream planted by the Quintessence who wanted to see his reactions. They are now satisfied that Clark will use his powers for good and to forge a new future for the Earth.

Oh wow, this is bad...

There's a run of Superman comics from (roughly) a few months prior to Superman: The 10c Adventure through to Superman #200 that are just really, really bad. It's the point after the Jeph Loeb Superman run and before Godfall where the comics really lost their way, with an ill-advised fake-Supergirl and the most obvious attempt to shoehorn Birthright into continuity, and creators who just didn't seem to get Superman. And this issue is one of the worst published in that short era.

What does this story achieve? Well, it shows that some very powerful people need assurance that Clark Kent won't grow up to a big bad nasty man and destroy the Earth. Except that as one of the very powerful people points out at the end, they know who he will become, when he intones with as much sombreness and authority as possible 'The Earth is in good hands. The world has its Superman'. Unless Chuck Kim is trying to convince me that the concept of Superman is a universal one, or that there is some kind of Superman Corps whose members need vetting by five very powerful people with nothing better to do with their time, then they are just pointing out how pointless the whole episode is. And lets face it, if they don't know Superman's future, then why put a representation of J'onn J'onnz into the nightmare scenario? It could be absolutely anyone, and if their fears are real and immediate, then they won't know of J'onn's importance or his future connections with Superman.

The tragedy of this issue is that there is actually a pretty decent idea for a story buried in here. The idea that Clark is afraid of his alien heritage (even if, continuity speaking, he won't discover this for years to come, having merely suspected it until Man of Steel #6), especially in terms of how his friends will come to view him, is a worthy one, and one that doesn't really get explored within the comics. It's a shame that it's coupled up with a pretty lame B-movie-inspired nightmare, capped off with an 'it was all a dream' finale.

I really dislike this book. Unlike Starman #51 and Martian Manhunter #20, it has nothing new to say about the origins of Superman and the early life of Clark Kent. The Quintessence never bother with Clark Kent again, except in the context of universe-threatening events where their attention is mainly on other things. Clark doesn't grow up to be evil and destroy the world. If this issue had never been printed, Superman's life would have turned out no different. This is an irrelevant comic seeking a misguided sense of importance and for that reason alone it should be left in a dark corner and forgotten about.

The Geeky Bits:

Estimated Diamond Pre-Orders: 34,854
Diamond Sales Chart Position: 57
Best-Selling Comic Of The Month: Transformers: Generation One #5

Next on World of Superman: Spooky tales of fright and horror... it's a pretty lame short story for Hallowe'en with Superman tacked on...