By Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Roger Stern, George Pérez & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1-56389-193-9
Once the 1987 John Byrne re-imagining of the Man of Steel had stripped away much of mythology and iconography which had grown up around the Strange Visitor from Another World over fifty glorious years, succeeding creative teams spent a great deal of time and ingenuity putting much of it back, albeit in terms more accessible to a cynical and well-informed young audience far more sophisticated than their grandparents ever were.
This slim but exceedingly effective tome, collecting material from Action Comics #651-652, Adventures of Superman #460, 464-465 and Superman #41-42, provides fascinating insights and fresh revelations into the long-gone world of Krypton as well as introducing new character-concepts which would inform and affect the entire mythology of the World’s Ultimate Superhero.
After a lengthy period of self-impose banishment in deep space (for which see Superman: Exile) the Man of Tomorrow returned to Earth carrying an incredibly powerful artefact which had survived the destruction of Krypton. The Eradicator could reshape matter and was programmed to preserve, or indeed, resurrect and restore the heritage and influence of the lost civilisation at all costs.
After a number of close calls Superman realised the device was too dangerous to leave loose so he buried it in an Antarctic crevasse and assumed that ended the affair…
‘Be it ever So Deadly’ by Dan Jurgens & Andy Kubert, found the Metropolis Marvel hurtling to the South Pole to rescue a survey team transformed into slaves of an automated fortress built by the Eradicator to emulate Krypton on Earth. Investigating the alien citadel, Superman discovered the Eradicator had been built by his own ancestor and was attuned his own genetic structure. A spectacular battle ensued…
‘The Nature of the Beast’ by Jerry Ordway & Dennis Janke saw a far calmer hero adopt the Fortress as his secret base, whilst light years away the infallible bounty hunter Lobo got really drunk and was conned into travelling to Earth to destroy Superman. The Czarnian had no idea it was a betting scam by gamblers who didn’t want to see War World Gladiator Draaga bankrupt them by killing the Man of Steel…
Clark Kent had been made editor of glossy magazine News-time, but the pressure was clearly affecting the once affable and easygoing guy. Lately he’d become a cold, calculating, nitpicking martinet…
Even Superman seemed distant and aloof, especially with loved ones such as Ma and Pa Kent…
Still pickled, Lobo reached Earth before Draaga and promptly started throwing blockbusting punches…
‘Blood Brawl’ (Jurgens & Art Thibert) pulled all the clues together as Lobo and his entourage invaded the Antarctic citadel. When the Action Ace responded his uniform momentarily converted to Kryptonian apparel… As Superman and Lobo cataclysmically clashed, the Eradicator openly continued reprogramming the Man of Steel’s mind converting him into a ruthless, passionless Kryptonian science-warrior, who deemed it more expedient to avoid combat rather than strive against one of the most dangerous killers in the universe…
The tension increased in ‘Not of this Earth’ by Roger Stern, George Pérez, Kerry Gammill & Brett Breeding, as alien warrior queen Maxima returned, determined to make Superman her mate. When he again rejected her, their blistering battle allowed the Eradicator to take full control of the embattled Kryptonian.
Ordway & Janke then described how Kal-El the ‘Krypton Man’ began reshaping the chaotic, emotion-afflicted Earth into a world of cold logic just as Draaga arrived, hungry for a decisive return match…
A catastrophic combat almost decimated Metropolis before scientist Emil Hamilton forcibly moved the fight to the Moon, resulting in a turning point for ‘The Last Son of Krypton’ (Jurgens & Thibert) as Clark Kent’s foster parents, realising the horror their boy has become, risked everything to help him shake off the influence of the alien artefact, culminating in a magnificent victory of love over logic in Stern, Pérez, Gammill & Breeding’s stirring finale ‘Wayward Son’.
When they were first published these tales of the post-Crisis Superman continually confounded old fans (like me) and industry pundits (me again, I suppose) simply by being, against all expectations, the very best in good, old fashioned four-colour fun, crafted by creators who went above and beyond to deliver cracking good reads week after week. These little gems are an absolute must for any lover of Fights ‘n’ Tights wonderment.
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