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...

Starman #51

Midnight In The House of El

Story: James Robinson and David Goyer
Words: James Robinson
Pencils: Peter Snejbjerg
Inks: Keith Champagne
Letters: Bill Oakley
Colors: Gregory Wright
Separations: GCW
Editor: Pete Tomasi
Cover: Tony Harris
Cover Date: March 1999
Release Date: 05/09/1999


Lost in space and time, a spacecraft containing Jack Knight, Mikaal Tomas, and a hologram of Ted Knight generated by a Mother Box lands on Krypton in the near past. Upon exiting the ship, the trio are confronted by a large robot, which opens up to reveal a young Jor-El. Jor-El assists the group with re-plotting their course back to the present. Jack finds it hard to focus on the discussions, as he is obsessed with the fact that he is meeting Superman's father. Ted reveals the location of Earth to Jor-El, who is delighted to meet aliens and people from the future all in one. Jack shares the reason for his quest with Jor-El, causing the Kryptonian to compare reproduction on his planet with love on Earth.

The ship is discovered by other Kryptonians, who transport it to the nearest city. Seyg-El, Jor-El's father, splits the three travellers up and interrogates them about their intentions., suspecting them to be connected to the Black Zero terrorist group. Jack is easily able to resist the interrogation, as Seyg-El is rather poor at it (and Jack has had many experiences of watching police drama on television). 

That night, Jor-El breaks his own confinement to free Jack and Mikaal. They go to retrieve Jack's staff and the Mother Box so that they can all escape. Jack holds off Seyg-El's robot guards while the ship escapes the city. Landing outside the city to let Jor-El off, Jack gives him a data disc containing information and the co-ordinates of Earth. They then leave to continue their journey.

I am a big fan of this story. It doesn't matter to me that it's part of a larger narrative, both in terms of the 'Stars My Destination' story-arc, and in the larger story of Robinson's Starman. This is a great look at a young, naive and impressionable Jor-El, which in turn shapes the entire future of the DC Universe.

The tie-ins to World of Krypton and Man of Steel #1 are faithful and respectful. The costumes mirror the Mignola originals, and the image of Earth used by Ted Knight to represent his home is the one still obsessed over by Jor-El in Krypton's dying moments. The Krypton we are shown fits right in as well, a sterile, cold and infertile world where there is almost no direct contact between its inhabitants. In recent years the impression of Krypton given to us in the comics is one of a virtual paradise, and as always it is great to see that Superman's homeworld is a place of flaws and imperfections.

Despite all of this, this is very much a Starman story. Plenty of themes common to the wider Starman series are present. Jack and Ted share a little moment where they find new common ground and learn a little more about each other. All three Starmen react very differently to the interrogation by Seyg-El, taking apart the effectiveness of his questioning with ease but in their own ways. And throughout, Jack's reactions to his unusual situations are wonderful and so well realised, especially the moment where all he can focus on is the fact that he's talking to Superman's father.

Although this is just one part of a sweeping Starman story, it is a story that is well worth thinking of as part 2.5 of World of Krypton, as it fits very neatly into the WoK storyline and requires very little knowledge of the wider Starman story.

The Geeky Bits:

Estimated Diamond Pre-Orders: 28,122
Diamond Sales Chart Position: 84
Best-Selling Comic Of The Month: Uncanny X-Men #366