12 Hour Podcast

Just a quick note to say that I'm currently working on the next episode of the 20 Minute Longbox in a very different way. Having done nothing for it before this morning, I've set myself the challenge to create the entire episode from scratch within 12 hours, including reading the issue, writing the synopsis, the commentary, the 52 Relaunch Roulette, recording the episode, editing it and uploading it. I started at 10am this morning, and am 45 minutes into the challenge.

I'm keeping a commentary and updates rolling on twitter. I'm @quizlacey, and I'm using the hashtag #12hourpodcast.

Golden Age Superman

Hi guys, just a fast post, made mid-recording of my good friend Jon M. Wilson's podcast Golden Age Superman. Jon's recapping concurrent releases from the month, which features Superman #3 and Action Comics  #20.

I'm so very close to a new post, featuring Legends #3 and #4, then featuring Superman #3, this time from the second series.

Anyway, back to the podcast!

Action Comics #584

How are we all doing this evening? Really? That's great!

I'm feeling good, thank you for asking. I spent five hours a couple of nights ago with Jon M Wilson, Zach Henderson and Tyler Crone from Teenage Wasteland: An Ultimate Spider-Man podcast, talking about the first Stuart Immonen arc on the title, The Death of a Goblin. Well, at least, we did for some of the time. Along with thoughts on DCU Online (No, I don't have it yet, I need to become more self-sufficient in Cataclysm before I start to put a second MMORPG into the mix), the rise of Joe Quesada, just how bad Ultimates 3 was (hint: very), moments in Ultimate Spider-Man that make people cry, and more vulgar profanity than the most profane episode of South Park with all the non-profanity edited out.

The episode will be up in a month or so, and I'll be sure to drop a link here if you want to check it out. I'll be interested if only to hear what Zach manages to salvage from our random mumblings.

And talking of random mumblings, how about our review for today?

Squatter!

Storyteller: John Byrne

Embellisher: Dick Giordano

Colorist: Tom Ziuko

Letterer: John Costanza

Editor: Andrew Helfer

Cover Artist: John Byrne

Cover Date: January 1987

Release Date: 23/10/1986

A Superman sighting in Metropolis turns sour when the Man of Steel starts attacking skyscrapers. As the debris hurtles towards bystanders, Cyborg of the Teen Titans appears, using his sonic weaponry to disintegrate the rubble. He then heads to confront Superman, who is ranting and boasting about his superior powers. To get his attention, Cyborg hurls a metal sheet at him. The plan works, but a little too well, as Superman attacks the Titan. Superman rips Cyborg’s arm off, heavily injuring him. Cyborg temporarily blinds Superman with a laser, but is hurled off the top of a skyscraper and crashes heavily to the ground. With his internal communications systems damaged in the fall, Cyborg makes it to a telephone box where he contacts the rest of the Titans for assistance.

Wonder Girl and Changeling respond to Cyborg’s cry for help. Changeling goes up against Superman as an elephant, but is quickly batted to one side. Wonder Girl appears to subdue Superman with a wrecked car, but Superman fights back with a broken mains water pipe. Changing tactic, Wonder Girl binds Superman with her lasso. Meanwhile, Jericho breaks off from teaching American Sign Language to children when he hears a radio report of the combat. Cyborg recovers from his beating just in time to see Superman break Wonder Girl’s lasso, and leaps in to save her. Jericho arrives, getting Superman’s attention by throwing fruit at him. He makes eye contact and jumps into him, but Superman’s alien physiology prevents Jericho from fully taking control, although his presence quells Superman’s rampage. Suddenly, a man on crutches arrives and claims that he is Superman.

Flying across Metropolis, ‘Superman’ explains to the Titans what happened, whilst Jericho ‘pilots’ Superman’s body to keep him under control. Clark Kent had taken a phone call at the Daily Planet from David Gunderson, an amateur scientist who needed Superman’s help for an experiment. Arriving at Gunderson’s lab, Superman was tricked into a trap, and Gunderson was able to switch his mind with Superman’s. Gunderson then locked Superman in his basement whilst he went on a rampage in Superman’s  body, although Superman was able to escape. The Titans take Superman to back to Gunderson’s lab, where he is able to reverse the mind-swap by tinkering with the apparatus.

 In Paris, Lex Luthor reads Clark Kent’s report of the incident in the Daily Planet. Musing on the fact that Clark Kent seems to get all the good Superman stories, he decides to discover the connection between Kent and Superman.

In his column at the end of this issue, John Byrne talks about the genesis of the three post-Man of Steel Superman titles. He writes, “it would be in Superman and Marv’s title (Adventures of Superman) that we would explore Clark Kent’s place in the universe, his attitudes to the world and Superman. In the team-up title, then, the key would be… action” This definition between Action Comics and the other titles is marked, and exemplified by the contents of this issue. With the exception of the final page, none of Superman’s supporting cast appears, and no service is paid to the ongoing plots of Superman and Adventures of Superman.

Instead, what we get is action, and lots of it, featuring the stars of DC’s most popular team book at the time, the Teen Titans. First Cyborg, then the entire team, go up against the mind-controlled Superman, and this issue is little more than a very well-executed fight scene with a superficial plot tacked on. The mind-swap plot, such as it is, is pretty basic and non-descript, although the comparisons between the crripled Gunderson and the pinnacle of super-heroic ability that is Superman had more mileage than the simple homily of “It’s not you body that cripples you, Gunderson. It’s your mind!”. Unlike the similar fallen genius of Emil Hamilton, there is no on-page redemption for Gunderson, which is probably deserved thanks to his failure to disable the mind-control machine to ensure the switch would not be reversed, before going on a power-drunk rampage in Metropolis.

The action is well portrayed. Cyborg’s initial encounter with Superman is brutal and destructive. The fall from the top of the office building is painful, and the visuals of Cyborg without his cybernetic arm and leg are disturbing. The Titans fight with varying levels of success, with Changeling coming across as impulsive and a little reckless, whilst Jericho’s inventiveness to insert himself into the fight, using a piece of fruit, surely the least threatening item imaginable in the destruction of the fight, is deft and amusing.

This is a light issue, short on plot and resonance, but high on power, energy, and panache.

The Geeky Bits:

I mentioned that I would touch on this a while back, but the use of the Teen Titans as the guest stars in this issue tells us a lot about how compressed DC history is when compared to that of Superman. The last time we saw Robin was in Legends of the DC Universe #6, set between Man of Steel #4 and #5. Approximately three years or so passes between that issue and the January 1987 issues of the Superman titles, meaning that Robin has his entire career as Robin as well as some time as Nightwing, including leading the Teen Titans, in this time. Of course, Nightwing doesn’t appear in this issue, but the appearance of the Titans was intended to be contemporaneous to their current adventures in their own title, resulting in this comparison.

Talking of the Teen Titans, their hugely-popular title, The New Teen Titans, had launched in November 1980, written by Marv Wolfman and pencilled by George Perez. The success of this title meant that it was the only DC book to rival the popularity of Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men, and the two titles shared a crossover in 1982.

This issue of Action Comics was covered on episode 3 of From Crisis To Crisis.

Next Time on World of Superman: We take a look at the brilliance of Lana Lang.

Adventures of Superman #425

Welcome back to World of Superman. Things are moving rather smoothly here, and there's not a huge amount to report. So I'd like to take this pre-post waffle-space to introduce you to a new podcast out there, hosted by friend of this blog Jon M Wilson, called Golden Age Superman, and focusing, surprisingly enough, on the Golden Age Superman. I got the chance to have a sneak preview of this podast just before Christmas, and the first episode was a good listen, covering the entirety of Action Comics and not just the Superman story. I think this is going to be a really good listen, and I encourage all of you give it a try.

And with the podcast-pimping now over, let's turn our attention to the issue.

Going The Gauntlet

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artist: Jerry Ordway

Letterer: John Costanza

Colorist: Tom Ziuko

Editor: Andy Helfer

Cover Artist: Jerry Ordway

Cover Date: February 1987

Release Date: 20/11/1986

Emil Hamilton pleads with an unknown listener to hear his story and to understand how he came to be where he is.

A few weeks previously, Hamilton was summoned to a meeting by Lex Luthor. There, he reveals that the company Hamilton was working for when he created his magnetic force-field generator was owned by LexCorp, and that he owns the rights to the generator. He demands the blueprints in return for a paltry payoff to twenty years of Hamilton’s work.  Returning to his lab, Hamilton starts to destroy his work to keep it out of Luthor’s hands, but a visit from Luthor’s goons leaves him fearful for his life. With the police unwilling to assist, Hamilton approaches the Department of Defence, hoping that they will work with him this time, but he is turned down.

Hamilton is approached by Compucon Services, who are interested in helping Hamilton complete his work. A few days later at a public demonstration of the forcefield, industrial saboteurs arrange the death of one of the visiting businessmen.  Branded a thief and a murderer, Hamilton finds himself without any support.

In the present, Superman faces off against the combined Freedom League machine. He survives the first attack, and uses a steel girder to render the weaponry of the machine useless. A missile is launched, and Superman flies through the streets as a decoy, before returning to the machine where he tricks the missile into blowing up on the machine. The machine is crippled, but as Superman prepares to confront the Freedom League inside, Hamilton appears with his force-field generator, trapping Superman and the machine inside an impenetrable force-field. The machine still has some functioning weaponry, which Superman is eventually able to defeat. Bursting into the machine, he is shocked when the Freedom League soldiers inside choose to commit suicide rather than answer for their crimes.  The machine explodes, but Hamilton’s field prevents the explosion from harming Metropolis. However, his contribution goes unnoticed as the public lauds Superman.

A week later, Hamilton broadcasts a challenge to Superman, calling him to Fifth Avenue to save the life of an innocent. Arriving at the location, Superman discovers Hamilton with a gun to the head of a prostitute. Hamilton’s force-fields prevent Superman from flying, forcing him to walk through a series of traps.  Superman battles through the numerous traps, surviving each one but getting weaker with each challenge. His resilience shocks Hamilton, who prepares to detonate his generator, killing himself, his hostage, and Superman. Superman smothers the generator with his body, saving their lives, and shocking Hamilton into realising what he has done.  Hamilton hands himself over to the police, and is revealed to be in jail telling his story to a disinterested guard.

In a voiceover, Lex Luthor reveals that Compucon was another LexCorp subsidiary, and that he engineered the death at the demonstration to drive Hamilton to improve the generator, which he now owns.

The second part of this two-issue story is a great introduction and character piece for Emil Hamilton. Hamilton would later, after Wolfman’s departure from the title, become Superman’s unofficial ‘scientific advisor’, participating in his adventures up until his revelation as Ruin at the end of Adventure of Superman. Even if he had never been seen again, he would have stood out in Superman’s gallery of opponents, thanks to a sensitive and detailed portrayal in this issue.

The focus here is very strongly on Hamilton, opening with a flashback to show how Emil has reached his point of desperation, relegating the resolution to last issue’s cliffhanger to almost halfway through the issue. Emil is a victim of Luthor’s schemes. For the most part he does no wrong, only finally falling foul of the sin of Pride when the public of Metropolis ignores his contribution to the defeat of the Man O’ War. He is good enough to recognise his failings, and to cease his activities when it looks like Superman has seriously injured himself to save him from the exploding generator, telling the police to shoot him if they want, but to help Superman first.

 

Lex Luthor is a master-villain here. Although the gauntlet of the title specifically refers to Hamilton’s set of challenges for Superman, it can equally apply to the events masterminded by Lex. Every obstacle faced by Hamilton, with the exception of the newsmen who ignore his actions, is constructed by Lex, not only to gain ownership of the force-field generator (which he achieves within the first pages of the book), but to discredit Hamilton to the point where he won’t be able to gain funding to repeat his work. Like in the last issue, Luthor’s renown as a scientist is an element, but here it comes from Emil’s respect for Luthor that makes Lex’s takeover more personally galling. At no point in the issue does Luthor threaten Hamilton, but the physical threat of the bodyguards coupled with the assault immediately after Hamilton leaves Luthor’s office, clearly shows Lex’s colours in a way that cannot come back onto him.

The Freedom League and its attacks feels very much like a subplot within the issue. For Superman, the fight is testing, but the real defeat comes when the Man O’ War is disabled. Superman breaks into the machine, only to find that the members of the Freedom League within choose to commit suicide in the name of their goals. This failure is later partially-atoned for when Superman throws himself on the exploding generator before telling Hamilton that he wouldn’t let him destroy himself.

Jerry Ordway is on top form again here. He provides a strong, visually arresting cover, sadly an event not featured within the story itself, and the fight between Superman and Man O’ War really shows how much Superman is thinking on his feet and determined not to be beaten. There’s a highly detailed panel on the final page showing Hamilton’s nervousness and worry whilst in prison that really stands out, and contrasts nicely with the previous page where the height of his madness was depicted with his face basked in red light from the overloading generator. Also notable is the panel where a near-unconscious Hamilton is given the warning by Luthor's goons, as unusually for comics, the full extent of his beating, including several bleeding gashes across his face, is shown.

Although this title takes a breather in the next issue for the Legends storyline to play out, this issue marks a satisfying conclusion to the first act of Marv Wolfman's tenure on Adventures of Superman.

The Geeky Bits: Jerry Ordway is a writer, penciller and inker best known for his re-invention in the 1990s of Captain Marvel, in the Power of Shazam! graphic novel and ongoing series. Starting as an inker at DC in the early 1980s, Ordway’s most notable inking work was over George Perez’s pencils on Crisis on Infinite Earths. As a writer and artist, his work was notable during the 1980s on titles such as All-Star SquadronI and Infinity Inc, dealing with legacy characters most commonly associated today with the Justice Society of America. After Marv Wolfman departed Adventures, Ordway became the title’s writer, moving across to Superman when John Byrne finished his run.

The flashbacks in this issue take place prior to the events of Superman #1, most likely during the three-month gap between the conclusion of The Man of Steel and the start of the relaunched title. The Superman/Man O'War confrontation takes place immediately following the last issue, whilst Hamilton's gauntlet, occuring a week later, happens after Action Comics #584. Directly following his encounter with Man O' War, Superman follow up on his phone call from the last issue, calling on David Gunderson.

This issue of Adventure of Superman was covered on episode 4 of From Crisis to Crisis.

Next on World of Superman: When Superman goes out of control, it falls to the youngest team of heroes to halt his rampage.

Superman #1

Well, the December doldrums appear to have hit rather hard this year Despite my best efforts to keep to a schedule, I am almost a month behind schedule with these posts. I can only apologise and ask you to bear with me whilst the Christmas trading season runs its course and I can get back to normality in the new year.

Just a few notes on Superman-related projects that are in progress right now. From Crisis to Crisis is just about to enter the true Neverending Battle era with the launch of Superman: The Man Of Steel #1. Charlie Niemeyer has launched a podcast covering the Bronze Age of Superman, appropriately titled Superman in the Bronze Age. It's up to its third episode, and is doing a great job of presenting the final days of the Silver Age Superman, from the first issue that Julius Schwarz edited onwards. Also, the Superman Forever podcast has altered its format to include coverage of the post-Infinite Crisis Superman, starting with Up, Up and Away. They've just started this, and it makes a great jumping on point for a great podcast.

With all of this Superman attention, I can hear you asking, 'Shouldn't there be a podcast covering the Golden Age of Superman?' Well, I've heard about some plans for this that should be arriving in 2011. I know the people behind this podcast, and I've heard an excerpt from the first episode, and I'm really excited about this project.

But that's enough teasing and promoting. We have a comic to look at.

Heart of Stone


Story and Pencils: John Byrne
Guest Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Tom Ziuko
Editor: Andrew Helfer
Cover Date: January 1987
Release Date: 09/10/1986

Superman bursts in on an abandoned, lead-lined laboratory. He has spent three months searching for the missing birthing matrix. Working his way through the lab he discovers a sealed room, and on entering he finds that it is full of images and data concerning himself. Realising that his suspicions of being photographed (in Man of Steel #4) were accurate, he is then surprised to discover the six-week-old body of a scientist laid on a table, along with an acid bath containing fragments of human bone. To protect the data and to preserve the crime scene, Superman burrows around the laboratory, using his heat vision to fuse the silicates in the soil into steel, before lifting the entire complex into orbit.


Superman returns to Earth and changes to Clark Kent, to allow him to keep a jogging date with Lois Lane. As the two run, they hear an alarm from a nearby bank. Moving to investigate, they discover that the metal doors have been bent out of shape. Suddenly, Lois is grabbed by the bank robber. Clark attacks him, and rolls with a punch to get out of sight so that he can change back to Superman. The robber ignores him, bragging to Lois Lane that he is Metallo, and that he is as powerful as Superman. Superman arrives to contest this, but is surprised when he is hurled clean through a wall and across the street. He shakes off a moment of dizziness and returns to Metallo.


As the two fight, Lois climbs behind the teller's desk to find a tunnel in the floor. She rationalises that Superman tunelled Clark out of the bank to get him to safety. Turning around, she sees that Superman is losing the fight. Superman feels like his powers are draining away. He asks Metallo why he is doing this, but Metallo doesn't feel like answering his questions. He is interrupted by shotgun blasts from the MCU that knock Metallo back. Superman's strength starts to return, and he deduces that Metallo is dead, as he cannot hear a heartbeat. However, Metallo is not dead, and he gets the jump on Superman, telling him that he is going to kill him. The fight continues, with Metallo the stronger fighter.


In flashback, we see the origin of Metallo. He awakes in the laboratory from the start of the issue, and sees his metallic hands. A scientist explains that he has the power to kill Superman. The scientist had witnessed Superman's arrival on Earth in the birthing matrix, and had retrieved the matrix. There he witnessed a part of Jor-El's message, and became convinced that Superman was the vanguard of an alien invasion. He reveals a chunk of kryptonite, a material deadly to Superman, and implants it in Metallo's chest cavity. Realising that the kryptonite will power him forever, Metallo decides that he doesn't need the scientist and strangles him.


Lex Luthor is alerted to the fight between Metallo and Superman. He is angered when he discovers that Metallo could kill Superman, as he had promised to kill Superman himself.


The fight continues, causing the bank to collapse. Metallo emerges from the rubble, his synthetic skin destroyed revealing his robotic body, and grasping Superman's tattered cape. Superman surfaces as well, barely able to stand, but still determined to stop Metallo. Metallo responds by opening his chest cavity, fully exposing Superman to the kryptonite within. Superman collapses in agony, and is only saved when Metallo is inexplicably taken from the scene. Quickly recovering, he asks Lois what happened, but all she can say is that a black shadow fell over Metallo and he disappeared. Superman is concerned that his weakness to kryptonite has quickly become public knowledge, and he knows that someone kidnapped Metallo to get access to kryptonite.

There's a lot to like about this issue. Metallo becomes the first member of Superman's super-powered villains to be updated for the post-Crisis era (discounting the Bizarro from Man of Steel #5, which wasn't even called Bizarro). He bursts onto the scene, posing a credible and lethal threat, bringing Superman to his knees. He is unstoppable, and the city of Metropolis reacts to his attack on Superman in a way that reminds me of when Superman fought Doomsday for the first time. The moment where the bank has collapsed on top of Metallo and Superman, with neither surfacing, is a real heart-stopper. Before the relaunch, every reader would have known that Superman would be victorious, but this early in the post-Crisis era. there is a real feeling that anything could happen. When Superman does reappear, victorious is the last thing that he is. Wracked with pain, barely able to stand, the strength of his character is that he still does not submit, even when exposed to a large chunk of kryptonite for the first time. Even at the end of the issue, all is not well with Superman, and the final panel clearly shows a beaten and bruised Superman who has not fully weathered the fight.

There is a deus ex machina element to the climax of the issue, where an unknown force abducts Metallo, inadvertently saving Superman's life. The next issue reveals this force to have been Luthor (sorry for the spoilers guys, but this comic is twenty-three years old!), and the fact that he has succeeded where Superman failed only serves to strengthen his position and power in this new continuity.

The art here is fantastic. Byrne is no longer providing his own inks, with Terry Austin coming aboard as 'Guest Inker', but in reality staying around for the next three issues until Karl Kesel arrives. The art seems a little crisper than that of The Man of Steel. There's a lovely touch where Metallo's flashbacks to his creation are tinged with green, as if filtered through his kryptonite-powered body (although, considering that the kryptonite gets implanted in his chest just before the flashbacks end, there technically isn't any reason to do so.). Metallo is an imposing presence, especially when his full robot form is revealed (deliciously, with scraps of his fake skin still in place), and the decision to show him in silhouette when he opens up his chest to unleash the kryptonite really heightens his inhumanity.


If there is a disappointment with the issue it's that the minor plot threat that has run throughout The Man of Steel is underwhelmingly resolved here. The shadowy figure, Dr Emmet Vale, dies before he gets the chance to meet Superman, and the menace his unknown presence provided throughout the miniseries is revealed to be psychotic paranoia. His work to uncover as much about Superman as possible is lost when Metallo kills him, and Metallo never shows any sign of having absorbed that information in the future. My memory is being a little faulty, but I cannot remember the laboratory, so carefully placed into orbit, ever becoming a concern again. (As an aside, considering that Vale is willing to handle kryptonite and uranium with no more protection than rubber gloves, his body is probably so wracked with radiation that he is effectively a dead man walking.).

We also have an example in this issue of a Byrne-specific element of the rebooted Superman, that would fade away once Byrne left the book. When Superman is raising the lab into orbit, he notices that the mass has lost its weight once he starts flying, as opposed to being heavy when he was lifting it out of the ground. He then notes that it is as if he is moving the mass with the force of his mind. One of the trademarks of Byrne's reinvention of Superman was to look at how Superman's powers worked, and this is an example of one of those reworkings. Basically, the idea is that if Superman is standing on the ground lifting something, then it is really heavy and he is using his strength to lift it. However, Superman can fly, and when he does so, he uses his mind to make himself fly, at the same time, reducing his weight. Thus, if he is flying something heavy, such as a stolen laboratory containing illicitly-gained research about himself, then like his body it loses its weight. This re-evaluation of Superman's powers also includes the idea that Superman emits a bio-electrical field which prevents fabric sitting close to his skin from coming to harm, although this idea would outlast the pseudo-telepathic-flight one.

The Geeky Bits: As part of the relaunch, the decision was taken to cancel the first volume of Superman, transfer its numbering to the new title Adventures of Superman, and relaunch Superman as volume 2, issue 1. The decision was a fairly simple one - a hard reboot of the Superman numbering would be a strong message to readers, and allow the new ongoings to launch with a bang, as opposed to issue 424 of a 45 year-old comic. As Dick Giordano is quoted in John Byrne's column at the end of the issue, it was "History on the drawing board."

Dr Emmet Vale is pretty much a non-figure in the Superman universe. Other than a brief flashback in 1992s Adventures of Superman #491, his only other appearance is in an alternate universe in the Zero Hour tie-in issue of Action Comics (#703) where, in the other universe, he is the owner of the farm next door to the Kents. In the 2009 Secret Origin miniseries he briefly appears as the chief scientist on the METALLO armour project that leads into the first public appearance of Superman.

Clark here acts on his statement from The Man of Steel #6, where he vows to go after Lois Lane. Here, the two share a jogging date and the animosity from the Superman article of six years previously appears to be a thing of the past.

Metallo and the kryptonite next appear in Superman #2.

Want to know more? This issue of Superman was covered on the third episode of From Crisis to Crisis. It is collected in the second volume of the Man of Steel reprint series.

Next on World of Superman: The great Marv Wolfman and the great Jerry Ordway arrive to kick off their year together on Adventures of Superman with issues #424.

The Man Of Steel #6

If it's Sunday night, then it must be time for a posting. Hey, I kept to my schedule for an entire week!

I've been having a bit of a Superman-heavy week this week. I've been re-reading the entirety of Time and Time Again to allow me catch up with 3 weeks worth of From Crisis To Crisis, approximately 7.5 hours of podcasting. I had suffered one of my periodic itunes library crashes, and in the course of attempting to restore all my user-created data, especially my playlists, I accidentally deleted my podcast folder, along with all of my active subscriptions. I've got them back, but I had a wonderful bug with FCTC that resulted in every episode attempting to download at once, even though I only clicked the 'subscribe' button. So, Michael, Jeffrey, that huge volume of downloading that made your stats look good last week? That was me. Sorry!

Anyway, I got caught up, just in time for them to release another episode, so I had to do the reading and more listening. The blog got another brief shoutout, although I am a little concerned that my last two podcast shout-outs have resulted in the hosts forgetting the name of the site! This little mishap aside, the episode was great, and a rarity for FCTC as they got to spend the entire episode working with comics that they didn't like so much, which was a nice change of pace.

All this rambling aside, I've also been looking at the final issue of The Man of Steel, also the final issue before we hit the relaunched titles from January 1987. Come and take a look with me!

The Haunting


Written and Pencilled by John Byrne
Inked by Dick Giordano
Colored by Tom Ziuko
Lettered by John Costanza
Edited by Andrew Helfer
Cover Art: John Byrne
Cover Date: December 1986
Release Date: 25/09/1986

Superman returns home to Smallville, changing to Clark Kent at super-speed to give the appearance of him arriving at the bus station. As he and his parents make small talk on the way to the farm, Jonathan is quickly silenced before he can give something away. Over dinner, Clark lays out his problems with Lois, the fact that she both resents Clark for scooping her on the Superman story, and her gentle infatuation with Superman.


That night, unable to sleep, Clark sneaks downstairs for some pie. He is surprised to see a ghostly apparition in the kitchen that speaks to him in an alien language. The apparition reaches out for Clark, and as soon as it touches him, Clark finds himself on another planet, dressed in his Superman costume, and able to speak the alien language. A figure approaches him and mistakes him for Jor-El. Realising her mistake, the figure realises that Clark is her son. As Clark tries to process this, he suddenly snaps back to Earth and sees Lana Lang in front of him.


Clark has been sleepwalking during his experience and has ended up at Lana's house. As he gets his head together, he asks Lana what she is doing back in Smallville, as she had left years ago. Lana reminds him of the last time they met, years ago. On the night he discovered that he was adopted and an alien, Clark turned up at her house late at night. They went for a walk, and Lana started to wonder if he was going to propose to her. Instead, Clark took her in his arms and flew into the sky with her. Landing, he gently kissed her goodbye, and left Smallville. Unsure of anything, Lana felt lost and confused, and it took many years for her to come to terms with what had happened.


Parting on good terms, Clark changes to Superman and returns to the field where the birthing matrix crashed. He is surprised to discover that the matrix has disappeared. As he starts to investigate vehicle tracks, the apparition appears again. He touches Superman, causing him to collapse in pain as images and information streams into his mind. Jonathan and Martha arrive, having spent the day searching for Clark in the truck. Seeing the apparition apparently attacking Superman, Jonathan grabs a shovel and whacks the apparition, causing it to disappear in a flash. Superman reveals that the apparition called him 'his son', and flies away to think about what just happened.


As he flies, Superman realises that the apparition and the woman were his real mother and father, Lara and Jor-El. He discovers the story of Krypton, its tragic end, and the fact that he is the last survivor of his world. He can now speak Kryptonian, and has knowledge of Krypton's culture. He lands on a mountain and decides that although his true parents are Kryptonian, and it is his heritage that grants him his powers, it is his upbringing that makes him who he is.

And so it ends as it began, in the fields of Kansas. There's a lovely circular feeling to this issue. After spending most of the series in Metropolis cementing Superman's role in the city and the wider DCU, it's a strong choice to bring him back to Smallville and participate in what is ultimately a very small-scale story that completely defines Superman for years to come.

This issue has three objectives: Introduce and define Lana's place in the new Superman mythos, grant knowledge of Krypton to Superman, and redefine Superman in light of this new knowledge. The Lana scenes work very well. It is revealed that Lana is the person Clark goes to visit back in The Man of Steel #1, and we see what happened that night. Lana's conflict is well-portrayed. Her confusion comes across, even as she rationalises it with the benefit of hindsight. Hers is only a small scene, but it is one of the most important in the whole mini-series. Their discussion concerning Clark's dual responsibilities define his approach towards Lois Lane for the next few years, as he balances both sides of his life. It also helps give Lana definition beyond 'Superboy's Girlfriend', allowing her to move beyond her teenage attraction to Clark and be a strong supporting character in her own right.

The second objective is rather clever, and leads directly into the third. By this point in the series, the reader knew everything that there was to know at the time about Krypton, but Superman hadn't really confirmed that was extra-terrestial. The way that Byrne introduces this knowledge to Superman is deliberately non-specific, allowing for future revelations about Krypton's past, such as the contents of the World of Krypton series, to be available to Superman. It is this info-dump that most likely provides the information for Superman to relay to Lois Lane in that series. But this is more than just dropping the knowledge of a dead people into Superman's mind. The moment where he glimpses Lara and realises her identity is beautiful but brief, whilst the appearances of Jor-El plays into the fears we have seen across this project that Superman's presence on Earth is part of a larger plan (such as J'onn's fears in Martian Manhunter #20, and the drive Superman has exhibited at times to define his origins). Although we have seen that Jor-El's intentions are benevolent, Superman walks away from this issue unsure about his biological father.

The key scene of this issue is the climax where Superman flies around whilst debating the information he has just discovered. The final panel, where Superman declares that although Krypton made him Superman, it is the Earth that makes him human is the single most defining moment for the post-Crisis Superman. In effect, Superman is stating the key principle for Byrne's rebooting of Superman, that the human side, Clark Kent, is the primary definition of character; the hero, Superman, is one part of this character. For many fans, a story that deviates from this simple statement of principle is one that they would prefer not to read, and quite often I am one of them.

The art in this issue is fantastic. Byrne is at the top of his game. The contrasts between the futuristic Krypton and the urban Smallville are strong, and the faces of the characters, especially Lana, sell the words with utter conviction. But it is the final pages again that are the real highlight of the book. Byrne has given himself the opportunity to draw Superman in his element, flying across the globe. The panel at the bottom of page 20 where Superman briefly enters orbit is beautiful to look at, but even this pales in comparison to the final image of Superman standing tall on a mountain top, having reconciled his alien and human origins. Iconic is a word that is used far too frequently, but it applies to this image absolutely. Superman has rarely looked better.

The Geeky Bits: One plotline bubbling throughout The Man of Steel, the mysterious figure who observed Clark encountering the matrix for the first time, who took photographs of Superman in Metropolis, and who stole the birthing matrix, would be resolved in Superman #1.

The placing of this issue in context of the rest of The Man of Steel is hard to do, as no dating information is given within. However, Superman: The Man of Steel Annual #4, published in 1995, recaps this issue, and suggests that these events take place seven years after the events of The Man of Steel #3. Some people have taken this to mean that the span of the entire Man of Steel mini-series is 7 years from the first appearance of Superman at the end of The Man of Steel #1, but this actually suggests that the series lasts for the best part of 8 years, as Superman's encounter with Batman in The Man of Steel #3 takes place 8 months after Superman's first appearance. Ah, dating, ya gots ta luv it! However, I subscribe to the idea that no more than 7 years occurs between Superman's first appearance and the events of this issue, mainly because the idea that Superman was active for 7 years without encountering any major super-villains with the exception of the pseudo-Bizarro feels like stretching credibility enough without adding the best part of another year on!

As a side-note, one of the more interesting comparisons between Superman and Batman is that within months of Batman's first appearance, his major villains were starting to appear, both the psychos and the metas. In contrast, Metallo, Superman's first recurring super-powered villain, took seven (or eight, see above) years to appear. I find that an interesting statement on the nature of both Superman and Batman, and their respective cities.

This issue, along with issues 3-5 were covered on the second episode of From Crisis to Crisis, which can be found here.

The most recent printing of The Man of Steel in TPB form was the first volume in the six-volume series collecting the early issues of the post-Crisis Superman. (Yes, that's not the cover, but Amazon was being a pain and kept linking this, and I rather like its simple iconography).

Next on World of Superman: Phase one of the blog is over. Phase two begins. Superman #1. And at some point over the next few weeks, a special post for continuity nuts that will re-order some of the issues that slot in between individual issues of The Man of Steel. I've been busy!

Booster Gold #6

This blog post has had a pretty tortured history. I had a chunk of it written, and then blogger had a fit and deleted a bunch of it. I then tried to get it written again, but blogger wouldn't let me edit or create new posts. After quite some time, I discovered that my browser was at fault, having crashed whilst attempting to update. This happened whilst I was away from my desk, so I had no idea about the update, until tonight when a little popup informed me. So, we're back, but a little behind schedule.

One of the things I got the chance to do whilst not blogging was to take a look at the latest episode of Smallville. As normal, there were things I liked and things I disliked, and as normal, the big money-shot moments just seemed to come across as a bit flat. I really dislike this new version of Cat Grant. The super-bubbly-perky character, the relentless parroting of 'Godfrey' (if she's such a hotshot young reporter, shouldn't she have her own opinions?), the forced pairing with Clark. I would be happier if they wrote the character as a normal person with the views that she has, and let the performance lead the irritating side of the character. I also found the 'lifestyle' comments regarding vigilantes to be incredibly heavy-handed. It's been covered elsewhere in more detail, but I also need to point out that Deadshot and Jonah Hex are two different characters, and nothing is gained by combining the two. And the revelation of the new costume for Clark was spoiled by some really bad CGI, especially on the flags waving limply in the background.

What I absolutely loved about the episode was the Carter Hall/Lois Lane subplot. Michael Shanks was great in Absolute Justice, but playing the identity rather than the hero really gave him the chance to shine. I loved his annoyance at Lois in the first scene, but what really sold me was the closing scene where he wonderfully conveyed centuries of love and loss. Erica Durance as Lois Lane has come on by leaps and bounds since I last really saw her in the role, back when she was first introduced. For probably the first time since the early days of Lois and Clark (or The New Adventures of Superman, if you're British), I was watching the Lois Lane that I have read for years in the comics. I wasn't expecting to be this impressed by her, but she is something I will enjoy watching in future episodes.

I also read the recent JLA/JSA crossover, but if you want to know about that, check out this episode of The LanternCast. The poor guys did the episode once, then lost the episode before it could be released, so they had to do it all over again. And the only way one of them could cope was... well... let's just say he wouldn't have been driving that day!*

To Cross The Rubicon


Creator/Writer/Artist: Dan Jurgens
Inker: Mike DeCarlo
Letterer: Augustin Más
Colorist: Nansi Hoolihan
Editor: Al Gold
Cover Art: Dan Jurgens and Mike DeCarlo
Cover Date: July 1986
Release Date: 14/04/1986

Jason Redfern (Fern), a teenage boy, discovers a miniature spaceship in Centennial Park, long with a miniature alien. The alien’s language cannot be understood, so Fern calls him ‘Zee’. When Zee pushes him out of the way of the exploding space-ship, Fern is convinced of his good intentions, and takes him home. At home, Zee projects an image of Superman’s ‘S’ shield, which Fern interprets as Zee’s desire to locate Superman. Catching an advert featuring Booster Gold on the television, Fern realises how to get hold of Superman. He travels to Reilleau Towers, where he is able to see Booster and tell him his story. Booster then publicly calls Superman out through the media to meet him the next day.

The next day, the media is buzzing with Booster’s decree. Clark Kent hears about it at the Daily Planet, and sneaks away to become Superman. Booster Gold arrives at the rendezvous point, having stopped off at STAR Labs to grab a life-support suit for Fern. Although Skeets is sceptical about whether Superman will show, the Man of Steel arrives. Superman is disdainful of Booster, his publicity seeking ways, and the fact that his powers are artificial. Disappointed in the reactions of his hero, Booster walks away. Skeets speaks to Superman, and reveals the secret origin of Booster Gold.

Michael Carter was a prodigious football player, the biggest name in college football in the 25^th century. As he was on the verge of being signed up professionally, he was caught betting on his own games, and expelled from college. With no further hope as an athlete, and needing to make a living, he took a security job at the space museum, as well as enrolling as a student of 20^th century super-heroes. Whilst participating in the studies and his duties at the museum, Michael formulated a plan, cemented when he discovered Rip Hunter's time machine in the museum. Disabling the security robot Skeets, Michael steals various exhibits to create a power suit, then travels back to the twentieth century in the time machine, taking Skeets along with him.

Superman is shocked to hear this, and accuses Booster of theft, and using the stolen equipment to make himself rich. As the two argue, Zee starts speaking. Superman recognises snatches of the language, and is able to discover that a warship is chasing Zee. Suddenly, an energy burst renders Superman, Booster and Fern unconscious. Another miniature alien appears, abducting the heroes, Fern, Zee and Skeets onto his ship, which departs for space.

pre-dates The Man Of Steel #1 by three months, meaning that we have here the very first appearance of the post-Crisis Superman. Booster does it again! This also means that Dan Jurgens debuted his art for Superman before John Byrne, and it's great art. His first panel, featuring Clark changing to Superman in an interpretation of an iconic pose, is wonderful to look at, and as fans of this era know, Jurgens' Superman art is a real keystone of the next fifteen or so years of the character.

This is a great Superman issue, and fits neatly into the timeline between The Man Of Steel #5 and #6. Superman here is confident in his position in the world, having already met and worked with one wave of heroes. Now, with the appearance of Booster Gold several years into his own career, Superman is starting to encounter the next wave of heroes, people whose motivations lie in places other than benevolence. His outrage at Booster's self-centered money-making activities, all of which stem from theft, is entirely justified, and comes from a place of confidence in not only himself but his position in relation to other heroes. The first panel in which Superman appears, a one-page splash where he stands above Booster, looking down with an expression of derision, neatly sets up how he feels, and completely wrong-foots Booster, for who Superman is a personal hero.

Of the two parts of this story, I feel that this is the stronger of the two. We get the first revelation of Booster's origin, devoid of the later embellishments and cliches that Booster would add, and the force of Superman's anger towards Booster has a powerful effect on the reader.

The Geeky Bits: Booster Gold is pretty much the first post-Crisis superhero, despite his first issue being released before the Crisis had finished publication. He has been a mainstay of the DCU, thanks to his high-profile membership of various incarnations of the Justice Leagues from the JLI onwards. He was also the first solo creation of Dan Jurgens for DC, but as before, I'm going to hold off on a full bio of Dan for a bit longer.

The title refers to the Rubicon river, which was crossed by Julius Caesar in 49BC, initiating a civil war. In general, the phrase 'To cross the Rubicon' refers to the point of no return, in this case the moment where Booster travelled in time to the twentieth century.

Next on World of Superman Booster Gold: The second half of this tale where Booster smacks down with Superman. Unless you've seen the cover, in which case you'll see that it's more a case of Superman smacking Booster down. Ouch.

*worldofsuperman.blogspot.com does not condone excessive alcohol consumption for the production of podcasts, blog posts, tweets, or any other type of new media (unless it's Lit Beer: My beer).

Teenage Wasteland: A British Spider-Man Podcast

Did ya see what I did there?

Just a quick note to say that Teenage Wasteland: An Ultimate Spider-Man Podcast episode 37, focusing on the first half of the Hobgoblin story arc and featuring... well... me... is now available to download. Find the podcast here or on iTunes.

I'll see you all in a couple of days for the final part of Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder.

Spidey Podcasts

A big hello to you all. I'm currently in the very unusual position of listening to myself in podcast form on Amazing Spider-Man Classics Episode 13. Due to recording difficulties, the first twenty or so minutes were recorded a month before the rest of the episode, so I have little to no memory of what was discussed. And you'll be pleased to hear that when we remounted the recording, it started at about 10pm, not 3am. Although listening to the next three episodes, the record time gets later and later, and my fragile sanity very audibly starts to crumble...

This is actually my second podcast, although release schedules have made it my official podcasting debut. Later this week, probably Thursday or Friday, you'll be able to hear my debut on Teenage Wasteland: An Ultimate Spider-Man Podcast. That was a real blast to record, partially because it started at a very sensible time for myself, and also because I really put some effort into a couple of bits from my recap/summary for USM #75. Thanks to the hosts of both podcasts for letting play with their toys, and I hope you enjoy the results.

So, welcome to those new readers who have stopped by after hearing me on Amazing Spider-Man Classics. I hope you'll stick around.

The World of Podcasts, part deux

So, despite some pretty awesome promotion across the internet recently, posts have kind of dried up here. Rest assured, faithful reader, for I have not abandoned this project. Far from it - the next installment, featuring JLA Incarnations #2 by John Ostrander and Val Semeiks is almost ready to go.

It's just that I've been a little distracted by Spider-Man over the past week. Last weekend I received an invite from a good friend of this blog, Jon M. Wilson, to be a guest host on Teenage Wasteland: An Ultimate Spider-Man Podcast. I said yes, and then spent the next few nights reading, re-reading, recapping, note-taking. re-compressing and rhyming my way through the Hobgoblin storyarc. We recorded last night, a monster four hour session covering the entire arc and the following issue, Dumped, and you'll be able to hear the fruits of our labour in a few weeks, once they've removed the babbling, swearing, dribbling, and general unbroadcastable craziness from the show.

Having completed that, I vowed to sit down tonight after dinner and finish up the post, scan in some artwork (something I've been slacking on recently), and get the post up. But the best laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.



(Skip to four minutes in to find out more about that weird saying)

So, in five hours time, I'm going to be stepping in as a last minute replacement for the absolutely awesome Amazing Spider-Man Classics, which gives me 5 comics to reread and take notes on. I'll be recording from about 2am to 6am UK time, which means that by the end of it, I'll either be insane from the lack of sleep, or my bladder, stuffed to the brim with strong coffee, will have handed in it's notice and be clearing out it's desk.

So, Superman gets delayed by another day. But fear not, a new post will appear very soon, and something approaching a reasonable schedule shall be resumed.

Excelsior!

er...

Up, up, and away!

The World of Podcasts

It's been a very long week at work, a week which has seen me working for over 12 hours each day for the best part of two weeks. Just about everything in my life has ground to a halt, whilst this happens. I've got a massive stack of new comics just waiting to be read (including the finale to War of the Supermen), and unofrtunately, work on World of Superman also got placed onto the back burner. I'm finally getting back on track, working on my review of World's Finest #2, which should be up sometime over the weekend, but for now, in the spirit of whichever Kubert brother worked on the Richard Donner co-written run on Action Comics, here comes a fill-in post.

Today, I'm gonna trawl through my iTunes feed and have a look at the podcasts I listen to on a regular basis, some comics-based, others not, and share them with the wider world.

From Crisis To Crisis: A Superman Podcast

My first, and favourite, podcast. Michael Bailey and Jeffrey O'Brien tackle every issue of Superman published between The Man of Steel #1 in 1986 and Adventure of Superman #649 in 2006. They're currently sitting in early 1990, Day of the Krypton Man, and it's been a blast going through nearly five years worth of comics with them in just over a year's worth of podcasts. Along the way, they've stopped off for interviews with Marv Wolfman and Jerry Ordway, and my personal hope is that they will be able to sit down with other creators from this era before the podcast runs its course. As I wrote back here, this podcast is the inspiration for this project, although we have attacked the same material from two very different approaches.

Amazing Spider-Man Classics

A great podcast, only in its third month of operation. Takes a look at all Spider-Man appearances, starring, guest-starring and cameoing, from Amazing Fantasy #15 onwards. The regular presenting team (including Jon M. Wilson, who will pop up again before we're done with this list) have a great chemistry, and are joined for each batch of episodes by a special guest from the world of comics podcasting, including most recently by Jeffrey "Pants" O'Brien.

Teenage Wasteland: An Ultimate Spider-Man Podcast

Oh, we've already hit Jon M. Wilson again! Teenage Wasteland takes a look at the decade-long Ultimate Spider-Man series, examining the Ultimate mythology and its connections, homages and deviations from mainstream Marvel continuity. There have extensive side-trips into Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Six, and guest-starring spots for the Ultimate Spider-Man in other Ultimate books, meaning that nearly 30 podcasts later the hosts are approximately one third of the way through the run. Definately a podcast with legs, and one which has grown stronger by standing apart from the From Crisis To Crisis formula.

House to Astonish

No image, as they don't have one. Paul O'Brien, formerly of thexaxis, and Al Kennedy, of various internet comics journalism, team up to record their news, views and reviews every two weeks. A great podcast, and one that I suspect is not listened to by nearly as many people as it should be. They have a wonderful feature at the end of each episode called The Official Handbook Of The Official Handbook Of The Marvel Universe, where they dig into Marvel's list of disused characters and try and update one for the present day, with always interesting results.
 
Views From The Longbox

A great podcast, even though it is irregularly updated. Michael Bailey (of From Crisis To Crisis) is a great host, and his topics for each episode are always interesting. I'm kind of grateful about the irregular nature of this podcast, as episodes have been known to approach the three-hour mark, which can be a strain on the ears, even though Michael keeps things on topic and interesting. However, it's been a few weeks since the last one, and I'm starting to get hungry for the next.


Outside of comics, my other passion is for Doctor Who, a show I have loved since the early 1990s, when I chances upon the first published novel by Paul Cornell (soon to be of Action Comics fame), Timewyrm: Revelation. I have a few Doctor Who podcasts in my feed, all of which are working overtime at the moment as the 5th series heads into its final weeks.

The Doctor Who Podcast

Trev, James and Tom, formerly of the WhoCast (see below) produce their own podcast which is very much in the vein of their era on the WhoCast. A great listen, with 2-3 episodes a week at the moment. No image as I can't get it easily from their homepage!

The Oodcast

One of the best new Doctor Who podcasts going. The Oodcast is a wekly review of Doctor Who, supplemented by songs, sketches, and general mirth and merriment. The team have a great chemistry, very high production values, and talent by the bucketload. They even made Chip of the wonderful Two Minute Time Lord (see below) jealous of their talent!








Two Minute Time Lord

One of my favourite podcasts. Chip cuts the waffle out of everything he says, presenting great capsule reviews and commentary on Doctor Who. Love everything about this podcast, and it's a delight to listen to each episode.


The Doctor Who WhoCast

Original hosts Paul and Seb have returned to the Whocast to take it into the Steven Moffat era and beyond. Being produced by DWO Online, they get advance copies of the episodes, resulting in a rapid reaction to the week's episode, often up within hours of broadcast.







The final thing I like to do with my podcasts is to laugh, something I do regularly with the three below. The humour is very British, and reliant on events in the British media, so a warning to anyone outside the UK who wants to give these a go.

As It Occurs To Me

The groundbreaking free to listen live sketch and standup show, nominated for a Sony award, absolutely brilliant. Created, written, and performed by one of my favourite stand-ups, Richard Herring. A shaky first few episodes of the first season gave way to some inspired comedy later on in that season, and the second season is striding forward with confidence and support. You should be listening to this, or paying to see it live. I will be, this coming Monday, to celebrate my 27th birthday.


The Collings and Herrin Podcast

I've been a fan of Richard Herring since the days of This Morning With Richard, Not Judy way back in the late 1990s. Although he doesn't appear on TV so much anymore, he is forging a career not only as a pretty impressive standup comedian, but also at the forefront of the podcast as a means of releasing new material. This one is his regular team-up with broadcaster Andrew Collins, where they simply get together and riff off of each other for just over an hour. Sometimes the standard episodes can be a bit 'meh' (sorry Richard!), but the occasional live podcasts in front of an audience are fantastic.


 
The Friday Night Comedy Podcast

Depending on what's broadcasting on Radio 4, either the latest episode of The Now Show or The News Quiz, both of which are longtime favourites of mine. In fact, it is this podcast that has given me a backlog of podcasts to listen to, as during the recent UK elections, as well as an episode of The News Quiz, I was getting 3 episodes of The Vote Now Show every week, thanks to The Now Show's creative team going overboard in their election coverage.



Anyway, that's what's on my feed right about now. If you have any suggestions as to any other podcasts I might like to add, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll be back from this unscheduled interruption in my posting with a look at World's Finest #2 at some point this weekend.

The Man of Steel #2

The Story Of The Century


Writer/Penciller: John Byrne
Inker: Dick Giordano
Letterer: John Costanza
Colorist: Tom Ziuko
Editor: Andrew Helfer
Cover: John Byrne
Cover Date: October 1986
Release Date: 24/07/1986

As Lois Lane and Perry White have coffee, Superman flies past the window. Since saving the space-plane, he has acquired a costume, and this is the first time he has been seen in public since the save. Perry sends Lois after Superman; this is her next big story. As Lois heads across the street, a limousine pulls up, and the driver tells her that Mr Luthor will see her. Even though Lex is due to leave for South America that evening for over a year, Lois refuses to get in, and runs off to chase the story. Unfortunately, the distraction has meant that she has lost her quarry. Undeterred, she calls her friend Chuck and calls in a favour.


Ten minutes later, and Lois is in the skies aboard a LexCorp chopper, looking for Superman. Chuck tells her that they won't be able to see him as he is more than likely flying close to ground level amongst the skyscrapers of Metropolis. Lois tunes into the police radio, eager for a tip-off.


Meanwhile, a punkish-looking girl with a large beatbox becomes the victim of a purse-snatch. The thief runs off, but runs into Superman. Turning around, he finds that Superman is now behind him. Realising that he has met his match, he surrenders the bag. Superman returns the bag to the owner, and deposits the thief into a garbage can for the police to collect. The boombox has details of a hostage situation in progress, and Superman flies off, pausing only to suggest that the girl turns her radio down.


The SWAT team and the hostage takers are in a stand-off. Despite not recognising Superman, the SWAT commander agrees to let him attempt to resolve the situation, pulling his men back at Superman's suggestion to avoid ricochets. Superman walks slowly and calmly towards one of the gunmen, pinching shut the barrel of his gun with no effort. The other crooks open fire, but the bullets bounce harmlessly off Superman's chest. Next, Superman uses his heat-vision to heat up the guns until they are too hot to hold. Finally, he renders the gunmen unconscious, and disarms the dynamite strapped to one of their chests. He makes a swift exit.

Lois has heard about the hostage situation, but has arrived too late. Chuck lets her jump off onto the roof, and she makes her way down to the street. She is miffed that she has missed Superman. Her efforts over the next few days yield no results, as she is constantly behind Superman, arriving only to see the aftermath of his presence. At the Daily Planet offices, she vents her frustrations at being unable to report on the very man she has named. A casual remark from Jimmy Olsen gives her the inspiration she needs to track down Superman...


As Superman patrols the city, he notices a sinking car, and recognises the occupant - Lois Lane. He flies down and rescues her car from the docks, just before she runs out of air, and returns her to her apartment. Stunned by what has happened, Lois is about to let Superman go when she comes to her senses, yelling at him to come back. Later on, having dried up and got changed, Lois interviews Superman. He playfully resists her questions, but agrees that the name 'Superman' is a good fit. As she presses for more details, Superman decides that it is time to leave. Just before he exits through the window, he asks her if she always carries an aqualung with her. She realises that he knew all about her plan and was just playing along. Superman flies to the roof of the Daily Planet, musing over Lois' ingenuity, and wondering if he could have noticed the aqualung before rescuing her. He changes to Clark Kent, and goes to meet his appointment with Perry White.


Two hours later, Lois rushes into the Daily Planet newsroom, clutching her exclusive write-up on Superman. The wind is completely taken out of her sails when Perry shows her the latest edition, which already has the story. He then introduces her to the author, the newest Daily Planet reporter - Clark Kent!

Good gravy, I love this issue!

This is quite possibly the first Superman story I ever read. I didn't realise this until long after I had become an avid Superman fan. At my primary school, the library had a treasury of all different kinds of comics in one hardcover. Everything from newspaper cartoon strips, to excerpts from Tintin. There were also American comic-books, including an Incredible Hulk story and, as I found out years later, this issue of The Man of Steel. I would have read this at about the same time that the Lois and Clark series made its way to the UK, maybe slightly before, and the similarities between the Superman I had read in the comics and the Superman I was seeing on TV pretty much set me up to be a fan of this incarnation of Superman. Years later, when I finally resolved to track down The Man of Steel and read it, I was hit by a strange sense of familiarity, especially with the scene involving the hostage takers, and I realised that long before I had heard of the 1986 reboot, I had read a key part of it.

This is the Lois Lane issue. I don't think any other issue brings her to the heights of character that she hits here. A large part of that is that this is one of a handful of issues that deals with Lois as a reporter in her own right, not as Superman's girlfriend/fiance/wife. At this point, the only connection Lois has with Superman is that she gave him a name. She isn't a closely connected, both in private and in the eyes of the public, with Superman as she would later become, and it's great to see her in her element without her association with Superman.


The displays of Superman's powers and abilities in this issue are just great. The sequence with the mugger running into Superman in two different directions is strengthened by Byrne's decision to not show Superman's face until the mugger gives up; until then, all we see is what the mugger sees - a huge wall-like chest.

More exciting is the sequence with the hostage takers. Superman is clearly in control, not afraid to use a criminal's fear of him to his own ends. It is Superman's confidence that allows him to walk directly up to the gunman with the hostage and disarm him at close range. It is unlikely that Superman would have been able to use this tactic later on in his career, when his appearance is something to be anticipated, rather than an extraordinary occurence.

One of the best things that this issue does is to introduce Clark Kent to Lois Lane, not as a friend or a colleague, but as a rival. Clark's arrival at the Daily Planet is a massive snub to Lois, who finds herself in competition for her position as the top reporter, for her story, and for Perry's favour. Clark and Lois do not have a friendly relationship over the next few years, and this antagonism stems from the end of this issue. It takes Lois many years to get over losing the scoop, and the ups and downs of their relationship is a key point of the first years of the post-Crisis reboot. Most importantly, however, is that Clark is presented here as a strong reporter in his own right, not as a meek, shrinking violet-type figure that he was sometimes portrayed as pre-Crisis. This Clark is not to be messed with or ignored. and over the next few years of story, we'll see his role as reporter define him just as much as his super-hero adventures do.

The Man of Steel #1 & #2 have been re-printed several times over the years. The most recent printing of the series was in Superman: The Man of Steel vol. 1

The From Crisis to Crisis episode that deals with the first two issues of The Man of Steel is also their very first episode, and can be found here.

Next on World of Superman: If this is the first costumed appearance of Superman, then this must be considered to be Superman's Year One. Now, if only there were a series of annuals that had Year One as their theme... oh wait - there is! First up, The Adventure of Superman Annual #7.