Supergirl #10 (September-October, 1974)
"Death of a Prez!"
"Her Brother's Keeper!"
Writer - Cary Bates
Penciller - Art Saaf
Inker - Vince Colletta
Letterer - Ben Oda
Cover Price: $0.20
Let's take a trip to Earth-12! I know what everybody (okay, nobody) is thinking... "But, I thought Prez lived on Earth-72!". Well, for whatever reason, The Crisis Compendium that came as part of the Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths (2005) has designated this story as having occurred on Earth-12!
So, I guess we can imagine that our old pals Bob Hope, Super-Hip, Jerry Lewis, Binky, and the Inferior 5 are all watching this go down!
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We open our first story with the President of the United States, Prez Rickard giving a speech at a Supermarket. Well, how 'bout that? The event is being televised, and watching from the dorms at Vandyre University is Linda Danvers. She spies a man approaching Prez to shake his hand... but thanks to her x-ray vision, sees something the rest of the viewing audience cannot. She suits up and rushes to Rosedale before the fella can assassinate Prez with his hidden gun.
After the police haul the creep away, Supergirl suggests that Prez be a bit more careful. Ya know, as leader of the free world, he might wanna invest in some security detail... if only Presidents were armed with like a service, that was secret or something. Anyhoo... a young boy approaches the President to ask if he can fix his father's watch... which had stopped when he was killed in Vietnam. Prez pulls a dime from his pocket and fixes it right up... ya see, if he were an actual adult, he'd have pulled the dime from the boy's ear first for extra "magic".
Prez heads back to the White House, however, along the way he sees some signage for a Rare Antique Clock Auction in some barn. Well, that's like catnip! He pulls over the Presidential Caravan and hops out to take a look. Worth noting, the other folks at the auction don't seem to be terribly moved as the President of the United States saunters in. Anyhoo, he finds the one clock that doesn't work and decides he'll bid on it. Just then... Supergirl swoops in, snatches the clock, and flies it clear before it goes boom!
She lands to again suggest he be a bit more careful. We learn that Prez is being watched by a buck-toothed Gabe Kaplan (the Master Killer) and a voodoo witch named Hepzibah. Mistuh Kottuh is pleased with how day has proceeded thus far, and has the witch use her Supergirl voodoo doll to make her kill the Prez.
Meanwhile, Supergirl suggests she fly Prez back to Washington DC straightaway to throw any potential observers off the scent. When they get high enough in the sky, Supergirl is overcome by the suggestion to kill the Prez. She dodges a pair of military jets before dropping the boy-leader into the drink.
We wrap up back at Master Killer's lab, where Supergirl swoops in and socks him in the mush. He's disappointed to be caught, however, happy that Prez is dead. Well, not so fast kemo sabe... Supergirl informs him that when she actually dropped Prez at the Fortress of Solitude... and the body she dropped was a (convenient) plastic Prez replica! Ay yai yai.
Our second story opens at Vandyre University where Supergirl is visiting with a Dr. Forte who is conducting research on human cells to attempt to draw correlation between their cellular makeup and their physical traits... which, I thought was already a thing? Anyhoo, Supergirl thinks it's a great cause... however, poor Forte has been refused University grant money. He hints that Supergirl might be able to "find" him a fortune... but spoilsport that she is, she refuses. Suddenly his electron-scope begins to spark...
Supergirl yanks off her indestructible cape and smothers the equipment before it can go boom. She tells Forte that she'll return later and help him rebuild his equipment. He thanks her, but says it doesn't really matter... without the University funds, he can't conduct his research anyway. She flies off... feeling a sudden sharp pain on the back of her right hand.
Well, it turns out that Dr. Forte rigged a phony electron-scope to explode knowing it would grab Supergirl's attention long enough for him to enact his real plan. As she smothered the stuff, a hidden Proto-Creator fired a beam into her right hand... grabbing a single Super cell, from which the Doc could create a duplicate Supergirl... well, sorta.
We jump ahead to the next day where in the skies over Vandyre University... a flying blonde can be seen! One of the witnesses happens to be Linda Danvers, who knows something strange is afoot. She hits the skies and meets her... identical twin brother?!
After a very short chat, Superlad (which I guess we're calling him) flies off into town. Moments later, he returns with sacks of money from the bank he just robbed! Supergirl tries to reason with him, quickly learning that he doesn't appear to know the difference between right and wrong. The Superblondes briefly tussle... ending with Superlad pounding the ground, opening a fissure which Supergirl falls into.
After freeing herself, Supergirl spies a trail of dollar bills fluttering in the sky. She knows that if she follows the bucks, she'll find the mastermind behind Superlad.
It's not long before she crashes through the wall of Dr. Forte's lab, where the Bad Doc has just finished telling Superlad that he's a synthetic being. Forte commands his charge kill Supergirl... with a very wacky looking little pistol. Supergirl tries to reason with the Lad that his creator is an evil man. This is all really heavy for poor Superlad, who ultimately decides... rather than shoot Supergirl or Forte, he'll just blow his own brains out! Wow, that ended on a dark note!
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Woof. A couple of pretty "ehhh" stories.
I think I might've built this one up in my head... thinking it would be cool seeing Prez interact with one of our "real" superheroes... buuut, it was pretty lame. This whole book felt kinda like a Saturday Morning cartoon. Silly plots, outta nowhere "fixes", and abrupt/clean endings.
The Prez story ended with a ridiculous bait and switch. It's like, oh yeah... that Prez that was dropped was a plastic figurine which just happened to be at the Fortress of Solitude. I mean, how many decoys do they have at the Fortress? And, when did she make the switch? Master Killer and Hepzibah were watching everything go down via their monitors... wouldn't they notice a few frames where she disappears and reappears with a no-longer struggling Prez? Yeah, I'm thinking wayyyy too hard on this. For a silly story, it's fine... for anything more than that, ehhhh.
The second story is also super-convenient... and ends with (sorta) super-suicide?! I know the Comics Code had already gone a bit lax by this point, but still. I mean, Superlad actually held a gun up to his head and pulled the trigger! Of course, he's just a dupe... but, still a weird scene that I wasn't expecting to see!
Really not a whole lot more to say. These were very convenient Supergirl stories... where things just "worked out". Saturday Morning cartoon is really the best way I can put it. The art was nice... and despite the silliness, I guess it was kinda fun to see Prez in a more mainstream book. Probably worth checking out just for that novelty... (sorta) surprisingly, this is available digitally!
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Superman (vol.2) #201 (March, 2004)
"Strange New Visitor, Part Three"
Writers - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Artist - Karl Kerschl
Colorists - Tanya & Richard Horie
Letterer - Nick J. Leighpez
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.25
Whatever Happened to the City of Tomorrow?
Let's find out...
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We open with a bit of history for Mr. Majestic (Lord Majestros if you're nasty)... and, whoa... is that Grifter? And a Wildcats mention? Wow, wasn't expecting that. Not sure why I wasn't... considering our guest-star, but still! Back in the present, Majestic is cleaning house... seems he was rather peeved to have been exiled to the Phantom Zone. Kitty Faulkner runs in to try and keep the peace, and winds up going into full-on Rampage mode!
She bee-lines it to Majestic... and with a single left hook, is put down. John Henry and Lois are off to the side arguing... John's irritated that she let him out, however, she is still steadfast in her position that he is here to help. Majestic tells the former-Steel that the Emboitement bomb will actually embolden the Time Storm and trigger the collapse of Metropolis. Sooo, I guess it didn't go off last issue? Could'a fooled me! Anyhoo... he heads off to stop the Eradicator.
It isn't long before Majestic catches up. Natasha Irons attempts to stop him, and catches a bellyful of eye-beams before plummeting to the ground. Superboy has to chose whether or not he will stay and fight, or catch Steel before she goes splat. Majestic continues on and catches up with Eradicator, who has just released the C.V.E. bomb into the Time Storm's vortex.
Majestic attempts to head it off before it goes boom, but the Eradicator catches him in a headlock. After a brief skirmish, Majestic breaks free... and fires an eye-beam at the C.V.E. causing it to blow before reaching its intended target.
Back at S.T.A.R. Labs, John and the white-coats are frantic. Their only hope of survival has just been yanked away. A guilt-striken (and oddly chubby-cheeked) Lois runs outside, just in time to see a giant explosion. Her City, Metropolis, has gone boom... and it's all because she let Mr. Majestic do his thing.
We bounce around Metropolis and see how the explosion has rocked the Daily Planet, Jimmy and Lena, and also Lana Lang. Lois, in tears, drops to her knees... the last thing she says is "Clark, I love you..."
Just then she is swept up by... Mr. Majestic!
He takes her high into the sky to show her... Metropolis?! Like, the old Metropolis... before the B-13 Virus stuff.
Ya see, Majestic was right all along! He realized that the Time Storm, though violent, just needed to pass. The B-13 Virus was a temporal anomaly... the technology wasn't for this world/time, and was being purged. The people of Metropolis celebrate the fact that, ya know, they're still alive... though the Eradicator still smells a rat. Majestic drops Lois off atop a building and gives her the old Superman speech of "If you ever need me, just look up" before abandoning her on some random building.
We close out the story with an epilogue... revealing that Mr. Majestic wasn't the only being that popped through from the WildStorm Universe...
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Well, there we have it... after about four-years (our time), Metropolis is no longer a literal "City of Tomorrow". While I definitely enjoyed the futuristic aesthetic, and sorta miss having it in the background, it was was probably about time for it to go.
This issue really illustrated the use of "inaction" as a means of getting something done. I think that so often in superhero comics, the characters are preoccupied with "being the change" that they sometimes lose sight of the potentially detrimental result of their actions. Bringing in an outsider like Mr. Majestic is a really good way of playing with that notion.
An outsider who nobody can truly vouch for suggests the heroes do... nothing... while a horrendous Time Storm rages above the city. You can see how "off" that sounds. Would it make any sense to simply trust Mr. Majestic and take him at his word? Probably not. Just because he sorta sounds like Superman, doesn't mean that he's got the same moral code. Hell, he doesn't even really explain his theory either... not in any fleshed-out kinda way, anyway.
It's hard to imagine the white-coats at S.T.A.R. just standing back and letting this "happen". It's like, streets, overpasses, buildings, and tram stations are just vanishing... how much sense does it make to just let this go down? That's probably the key strength of this arc. Nobody is "wrong" in their position... except maybe Lois, who is basing Mr. Majestic's "goodness" on a severe bout of projection. Luckily it all works out... but, consider this... it just as easily might not have. What if Majestic was a terrible villain? What if he was a messenger from the WildStorm Universe with designs on/orders to destroying the DC Universe?
I know we have him acting heroically when we meet him... but it could be argued (or at least posited) that, at that point, Majestic didn't realize he was on an alternate Earth. It isn't until he notices the "smell" of the air halfway through the story that he realizes he's not "home" anymore. All's I'm saying is... this could've gone badly, and all because he reminded Lois of her husband.
At our conclusion, I thought it was pretty cool that Majestic would be remaining in the "real" DC Universe for a spell. I pictured him joining up with a team or something... but it really wasn't to be. This came out in 2004, not too far before Infinite Crisis which reestablished the Multiverse, where WildStorm would be designated as Earth-50. By then, Majestic would have already had his miniseries and had made his return "home".
The art here is still kind of a mixed bag. I really don't like the way many of the characters look... like, especially Lois... however, I will say that as far as backgrounds and architecture are concerned, they knocked it out of the park! We get several one-and-two page spreads here, however unlike Part One, they actually felt necessary here... and they were great!
Overall, this was a really good little three-parter, and a fun month of Superman comics (which don't actually feature Superman!). Well worth a read, especially if you were turned off by the "City of Tomorrow" era of Metropolis and wanted to know how and when that all went away!
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Homage "Lenticular":
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Adventures of Superman #624 (March, 2004)
"Strange New Visitor, Part Two"
Writers - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Pencillers - Karl Kerschl & Renato Guedes
Inker - Oclair Albert
Colors - Tanya & Richard Horie
Letterer - Nick J. Napolitano
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.25
After all that build up yesterday, we get one page of Mr. Majestic? C'mon, we can do better than that!
By the way, how 'bout that cover? If this story happened today... you can bet that between this and Action #811 there'd be a lenticular variant (see below for my sad attempt)!
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Picking up where we left off, Majestic is carrying Lois to safety... and rather than being, ya know, thankful... she's got questions. He notes a vaguely different smell in the air and deduces that he is on a different Earth... likely a result of the Time Storm. Before he can go much further, he hears people screaming and speeds off to help them. Lois 'lone, heads to a phone booth and calls into the Planet, reporting to Perry on this strange new visitor.
The Chief tells her to stay away from Uptown, ya know for her safety... and so, we know exactly where she's about to head. We rejoin Majestic... Uptown, where he's holding up buildings!
After getting one securely stood up, instead of being thanked... he gets another "who the hell are you?" Man, Metropolitans are jerks. Finally some emergency service folks arrive and do thank "Superman" for the assist.
We shift over to S.T.A.R. Labs where John Henry is a bit incredulous that the Eradicator is there to help. Natasha and Kon vouch for the Artifact, claiming that hes provided access to Kryptonian Technology... which appears to be the only tech not affected by the Time Storm. We again hear that the B-13 tech (and it's rejection) is at the bottom of this... and they concoct a plan to create a way to "blow out" the storm before it destroys Metropolis.
We return to Majestic as he rescues a boy and his (horny) grandmother. Everybody is still referring to him as Superman... just thinking he's had a change in costume. I will say, at a glance, dude could very well be the Man of Steel. Anyhoo, it's now that a trio of baddies decide to strike. It's the Masters of Disaster, Shakedown, Heatstroke, and Coldsnap... ay yai yai. Majestic drops them with ease.
Lois returns to the Daily Planet where Lena Luthor reveals that she lost all connection to the B-13 technology. Now, I suppose it's worth mentioning that "Lena Luthor" is an artificial intelligence. Jimmy decides it'd be best to get her to S.T.A.R. Labs... I dunno, Jim... they might have their hands full already!
The Daily Planet building is hit by lightning, and as it begins to crumble Mr. Majestic swoops in. He orders an evacuation, however, the staffers are far too enamored with him to do much. He can tell that Perry is the man in charge, and asks him to take over giving orders. While the gang evacuates, Lois and Majestic continue their chat from earlier. He covers his Supermanly origin, and describes his Earth as only being slightly different... comparing their Earths to Pepsi and Coke. Hmm, those can be quite different... I mean, just looking at a can of Pepsi will give me a day's worth of heartburn! As they walk and talk they wander past some Superman newspaper clippings... and things being to make a bit more sense to Mr. M.
Lois takes Majestic to S.T.A.R. Labs so he can help the super-brains. Some lab grunts run up to him with tachyonmeters, finding that he is off the charts with chronal energy. John Henry shares their plan... they have assembled a Charged-Vacuum Emboitement using some Imperiex (from Our Worlds at War) tech along with a Phantom Zone Projector. Majestic's all... Cool story, what's your Plan-B? Ya see, he doesn't think this is going to work all that well.
This really seems to irk the Eradicator, who isn't used to being second-guessed. And so, he... exiles Mr. Majestic to the Phantom Zone?! Wow, talk about an overreaction.
John Henry appears annoyed at the Eradicator's antics, but realizes now's not the time for infighting. Lois, on the other hand, is ready to throw down. Irons then turns to her... and suggests she might be projecting a bit of Clark on Majestic, which... as you might imagine, she resents. The All-S.T.A.R. Squadron then decides to move forward with their Emboitement-bomb plan.
The Eradicator, Superboy, and Steel head out with the bomb... and wouldn'tcha know it... it doesn't work! Instead of blowing out the storm, Metropolis itself begins to collapse into itself! Amid the madness, Lois is able to free Majestic... who, with a scowl on his face, informs her that they're all going to die!
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A very good middle chapter to the Time Storm story.
I feel like Abnett and Lanning really captured the feeling of Crisis for the Metropolitans... from the folks on the street, to the Daily Planet staffers, to the whitecoats at S.T.A.R. Labs. Hell, even the frickin' Masters of Disaster, who I probably could've done without, picked the right time to strike... or so they thought.
I appreciated Mr. Majestic's presence. He was depicted as having a similar soothing and calming aura as Superman. I think his being there added some hope to a hopeless situation... and made people feel safe. He clearly wasn't there to loiter... he really made a difference in his short time in Metropolis. As someone with very little Mr. Majestic experience, I gotta say, I really liked him here.
I really liked John Henry's accusation that Lois might be projecting a bit of her husband onto this Strange New Visitor. I mean, it stands to reason... and projection is one of those things that we don't always know we're engaging in... until it's pointed out. I really dug how quick Lois was to take offense... it was a knee-jerk reaction... she didn't allow herself to think about it. Fitting in times of crisis... compounded with the idea that it might not be something she wants to consider in the first place.
The art for this chapter sees some improvement. Early on Lois still looks "bubbly"... almost a cartoony "fetal" look. Around midway through, however, it really tightens up.
Overall... I'm having a pretty good time with this story, though I might guess that it's not going to be everybody's cup of tea. I will say, if you're buying a Superman title to see, ya know, Superman... you might be disappointed.
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My Sad Attempt at a Morphing Cover!
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Action Comics #811 (March, 2004)
"Strange New Visitor, Part One"
Writers - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning
Art - Karl Kerschl
Colorists - Tanya & Richard Horie
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Associate Editor - Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.25
Over the past few weeks I've been researching some turn of the century Superman for an upcoming episode of Weird Comics History. It's been a lot of fun revisiting some of these stories... Y2K, Emperor Joker, Our Worlds At War, President Lex, Return to Krypton (I and II), and of who could forget... Time Storm?
Time Storm is a particularly interesting little curiosity because it played with the concept of multiple Earths in a time between Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. I doubt this is the first and/or only time this had been done, but it definitely didn't happen all that often. Better yet, this story has to do with DC's acquired WildStorm Universe!
Let's get right to it!
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We open with the Time Storm tearing through Metropolis... a young boy looks as though he's about to be swept into it, however, just in the nick of time he is rescued by... Mr. Amara? Well, it couldn't have been Superman, as he went missing a week earlier when the Time Storm began. We join Mr. Amara at the Daily Planet where he is giving an interview to Lois Lane... who is day-dreaming about the first time she'd experienced "Superman". We're going allllll the way back to Man of Steel and the Space-Plane incident for this one.
Once she comes around she thanks Amara for his time. Across the office, she sees Jimmy and Perry having a... sorta heated conversation. More like Perry's annoyed and Jimmy's trying to cool him down, so, ya know... Tuesday. Lois informs the Chief that she'll hopefully have a story for him later on that evening... and we follow her to S.T.A.R. Labs where the former Steel, Dr. John Irons and his team of geniuses are trying to get to the bottom of the Time Storm event. John sends his niece Natasha, who is the "new" Steel skyward with a sensor... and is hit by (time?) lightning!
She begins to plummet, but is luckily caught by Superboy. This leads us into another Lois Lane-flashback... this time to the Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen. She can't help but to think, what if this time Superman doesn't come back? What if this time, she loses her husband?
She hops a cab and heads into Suicide Slum... more specifically, the Ace O' Clubs, where she decides to have a chat with our favorite salty barman, Bibbo Bibbowski who has been dispensing his own version of "street justice" in Superman's absence. I'm always a fan of that! She wraps up her interview by asking if Bibbo believes Superman will come back... and, duh... of course he does. Lois, unfortunately, isn't convinced.
We shift scenes to the apartment of Lana Lang as she tries to quiet her son Clark. She is on the phone with her ex-husband Pete Ross... who I can't remember if he's still President of the United States at this point or not. I'm pretty sure Lex has already been ousted... but can't recall if they'd moved on completely from Presidential affairs. Anyhoo... Pete's calling to discuss custody. Uh-oh.
We hop to the Fortress of Solitude, where Superboy and Steel (Natasha) are trying to sway the Eradicator to their cause in stopping the Time Storm. It's deduced that it is likely a residual result of Brainiac's B-13 virus from the Y2K storyline. That was the event/virus that transformed Metropolis into a literal "City of Tomorrow"... all high-tech and futuristic. We'll talk a bit about that below, suffice it to say... it's divisive among Super-fans, but I really dug it. Back to the story... the trio (and Krypto) decide to use a Phantom Zone Projector in hopes of containing the anomaly.
On her way back to the Planet, Lois conducts several "man on the street" interviews. She had initially feared that there wouldn't be enough stories to tell... and now finds herself with too many to even attempt! She stands at a station waiting for the sky-tram to arrive, when suddenly... the ground begins to disappear! It's as though Metropolis is rejecting the B-13 virus. Lois attempts to outrun the disappearing ground, however cannot! As she teeters from a beam she finds herself rescued by... Mr. Majestic?!!
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Really enjoyed this! I feel like this era in the Super-books is a bit underrated... though, to be fair, I am picking and choosing what I'm checking out. Perhaps if I made an effort to read through the "Berganza-era" in toto, I'd feel a bit differently. I mean, we haven't yet discussed things like Cir-El here on the blog... and there is that Chuck Austen run... annnnd, the Jim Lee/Brian Azzarello story. Okay, maybe the era (as a whole) is rated about right... but that isn't to say it can't be a whole lot of fun!
I'm a big sucker for "shared universes" which apparently extends to "shared multiverses". I really dig the appearance of WildStorm characters in a main-line DC Universe book. It makes the story feel a bit "grander"... more important. Silly as it sounds, it's almost like we're witnessing history. This isn't a Prestige Format out-of-continuity one-shot... this is actually happening within Superman's "monthlies".
Let's hit up a bit of background. The B-13 Virus transformed Metropolis into the futuristic "City of Tomorrow" back in the Y2K arc. I've heard folks criticize this... claiming it makes Superman appear "less special", and I totally get that. Flying cars might take a bit of the wind out of the sails of a flying man. I totally agree, but cannot deny that I loved the look of the city on an aesthetic level. It just felt different from everywhere else in the DC (and Marvel, for that matter) Universe. While I feel it ran it's course pretty quickly, and probably overstayed it's welcome... I was still kinda sad to see it go!
For the issue itself... while I enjoyed it, I do tire of using a writer's notes as narration. This is a Lois-centered issue, which I suppose lends itself to being narrated by an article she's writing... but it kinda feels played out. Also, wasn't terribly keen on the art... Lois in particular. She looked a bit too "bubbly", which isn't to say "upbeat" but more a descriptor on the shape of her head. We did perhaps get a couple too many full-page spreads here too. Didn't feel warranted... but whatayagonnado?
Overall... despite the last paragraph, I had a good time with this. I'd say it's worth checking out... though, you'll likely get more out of it if you're already familiar with the World of Metropolis post-Y2K. It is available digitally, and has been collected as part of Majestic: Strange New Visitor.
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