Action Comics #683 (November 1992)
Action Comics #683 (November 1992)
Superman vs. a werewolf vigilante! Or at least I think he's a werewolf. I mean, the guy's all hairy and stuff, but I don't think he ever turns into a non-hairy person. Do you need to transform back and forth to qualify as a werewolf? What is the term for a dude who's always in wolf form? Alwayswolf? Permawolf? …wolf?
Anyway, Superman stumbles across the mess this guy left after he murdered a bunch of drug dealers in Ohio – it looks like the end of a Fargo episode. Turns out the permawolf calls himself "The Jackal" (so maybe that's the correct term) and has been leaving a trail of mutilated criminals across the US. Superman decides to ask Batman for help in tracking down the Jackal, but unfortunately he isn't home, so Supes has to settle for the bite-sized version.
"…and TOTALLY RAD!"
With Robin's help, Superman is able to find the Jackal just as he's about to kill two inept arsonists. At first, the Jackal is like "Whoa, big fan!" and pretty much asks Superman for an autograph, before slowly catching on to the fact that (believe it or not) the Man of Steel doesn't like it when you dismember people right in front of him. The Jackal catches on by the time Superman throws him into a dumpster, though.
The Jackal calls Superman a wimp for not killing the arsonists, and even trusting one to go call the cops by himself. The obligatory tussle ensues, ending with Superman kicking the guy's ass pretty effortlessly. As the Jackal is being arrested, he's surprised to see that the arsonist Superman released did, in fact, go and turn himself over to the police. As the man says: it's smart to know that "it don’t matter how tough ya are, there’s always someone out there who’s bigger and stronger."
And on that note, on the last page we see…
Uh-oh. That looks expensive.
Character-Watch:
I was gonna say the Jackal was another Guy Who Never Showed Up Again, but I took the time to check the DC Wiki this time, and it turns out that he appears in at least two other comics! See, I'm learning. Also, when he first meets Superman, the Jackal thinks for a second that maybe they want to recruit him into the JLA. This might seem like a silly idea right now, but it won't seem so outrageous in a few weeks, considering the state of the team after they meet those spiky knuckles above…
Plotline-Watch:
If the last issue of Action was all about establishing Superman's physical limitations before the big storyline coming up, this one is about reminding us of his moral ones. When the Jackal calls him a wimp, Superman informs him that he has killed his enemies before, but he wasn't a fan of it. Still, Superman concedes that there are times when "we must kill in defense of ourselves or others" – emphasis mine. I think Roger Stern includes these details for himself as much as he does it for the readers. Either way, this re-read has made me realize Stern has to be one of the cleverest comic book writers ever.
Superman sees the mess in Ohio because he was flying back from visiting his mom in Smallville. Awww.
Don Sparrow points out that there's more foreshadowing in a scene where Lois Lane is "a little more concerned for Clark’s well-being than usual" – I think pretty much every issue these past two months has had a little moment like that. It's kinda in the nose, but effective.
And I have nothing more to say, but don't miss Don's section after the jump!
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
We begin with the cover, which is a pretty standard, but nice, look at the story’s villain in battle with Superman. Extra points for the very long, billowy cape, and that it’s being shredded–I still miss the vulnerable cape era! I also like seeing a moon depicted as an actual drawing–lately they’re virtually all just photoshopped images.
As we get inside the cover to the story, it’s a pretty unique layout, which didn’t jump out at me right away. Perhaps because of the larger than usual amount of caption narration, all provided by The Jackal, there’s a pretty consistent, staccato pattern to the page layouts.
We get a good idea of the Jackal’s power set in these early pages, and his bestial appearance is also pretty well disguised–the plastic-y look of his facemask on page 1 is really well executed, and it must have been tricky, to have it be recognizable as a human face, but still unreal enough to come across as a mask.
The reveal of the Jackal on page 3 looks great–love the detail on the wispsof hair at the edge, but he reminds me a little too much of a character from my favourite basketball movie to be as fearsome as I think we’re supposed to feel.
The truck breaking through the wall is a great visual, and the broken boards really convey motion without the use of motion lines.
As the story moves along, Jackson Guice (and Roger Stern, for the way he writes them) continues to be the go-to guy for steamy Lois and Clark canoodling.That detective-looking shadowy panel on the top of page 9 is particularly nice. I also love the scenes of Superman working with Robin–I love that in Batman’s world, Superman is the “cool uncle” to the stricter, more parent-like Batman. Story-wise, their exchange about vigilantism gone too far is very interesting, and that last panel of Superman smiling is a good one.
Some clever colouring makes the seedy scene at the Cowboys strip club a little less so, on page 13–if coloured naturally, that’s quite a bit of skin.
Speaking of nice colouring, that shadowy panel of Robin at the bottom of page 14 has a nice,computer-screen green glint that’s quite effective. He also looks more like a teenager here than in his earlier appearance in the issue.
The discussion Superman has with Jackal is a very interesting one, both in the time where it was written (as a noble, squeaky clean hero like Superman was struggling in sales relative to juvenile “bad-ass” characters with guns and pouches and swords) and also for today, when debate about whether heroes (like say, a Man of Steel) should ever kill rages on. This issue manages to capture both sides of the argument, and beautifully. The gravity of the discussion is apparent on Superman’s very well drawn face as he reveals that he once also had to make a painful choice to end lives to save lives. And, perhaps as importantly, when the Jackal calls Superman’s thoughtful, and measured position “bull” Superman puts it another way, that honestly gave me goosebumps–“deadmen can’t make restitution”. These scenes almost have a meta-narrative quality about them. Perhaps knowing that because of the upcoming storyline, people will be paying extra attention to Superman, they fill these final pages with affirmations of who Superman is, and what he stands for. [Max: It's also fitting that Stern will soon be writing a version of Superman that's way closer to the Jackal's philosophy…]
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
GODWATCH: Superman invokes the Lord on page 5, surveying the damage of the Jackal’s crusade. And then again, when talking sense into the Jackal, Superman reveals that “the idea of turning some crook’s head all the way around is tempting–Lord knows, I’ve been tempted.” on page 21 (how perfect and weird is it that he literally describes the way Superman killed Zod in Man of Steel?) [Max: Ha! Can't believe I missed that.]
Turns out Darwin Jones is a real DC guy. I always like it when they use established characters in bit parts. [Max: Huh! Never would have guessed that was an established character. I wonder if "clumsy yet wise arsonist" is actually from an old Firestorm comic or something.]
The taggers of Metropolis are known for their love of prog rock, and, of course, the art of Alex Toth and Joe Simon.
In addition to being a murderer, the Jackal also appears to be a hypocrite–how else could he get to a surplus shop early enough to not be bothered by a clerk, other than breaking and entering? Is he paying for the clothes?
Unusually crass humour for Superman in the bathroom stall graffiti. GODWATCH UPDATE: Bob’s a God, not.
“Making bandages” is a great line, and an awesome way to contrast how different Superman is from the Jackal.
[Max: Seriously, if Agent Liberty and Black Condor made it into the post-Superman JLA, I'm surprised this guy didn't.]