Adventures of Superman #443 (August 1988)
Adventures of Superman #443 (August 1988)
Clark and Jimmy go to Beirut to investigate the location of a US journalist supposedly executed by terrorists, amid rising political tensions. Naturally, they end up falling into a sand vortex and getting transported to a wacky Ancient Egypt-themed dimension, because this is a Superman comic and not a Tom Clancy novel.
This other dimension is populated by a race of freaky people who got exiled there thousands of years ago. Every once in a while the Exiles transport humans into their world and merge with them to achieve superpowers (that’s what happened to the kidnapped journalist). Jimmy is considered a rare commodity there due to his ginger hair, which somehow makes the merging process easier, and so the Emperor’s son wants to merge with him while the Emperor himself becomes one with Superman. I probably could have phrased that better but I have no regrets.
Anyway, Superman gets help from a gang of non-evil Exiles: Tehra (the lady who transported Jimmy and him there in the first place), her non-corporeal brother Husque (seen in the cover possessing some sand), and another guy named Zander. Husque temporarily merges his mind with Jimmy’s in order to possess a huge machine and take on the Emperor, stomping on his evil plans (and on him, literally). Having established the fate of the journalist they were looking for, Superman and Jimbo go back to our dimension. Meanwhile, Tehra is like “Yay, no more oppression!” for a moment, but then her pal Zander grabs the Emperor hat (it’s more of a mask, actually) and becomes the new evil Emperor. Dammit, Zander!
Character-Watch:
At the end of the comic we see the silhouttes of Tehra and a few other Exiles arriving on our dimension through a sand storm. They’ll be back to take on that jackass Zander, but not for a good while. Tehra’s bro Husque (who isn’t named in this issue, but I know his name anyway because I am from the future) actually reappears before those other guys and his connection with Jimmy is further explored.
Another first appearance is Clark Kent’s old buddy Jawad al Gurdan, an Arab reporter. When Clark sees him he’s like “JAWAD, HOW YOU BEEN YA OLD BASTARD?!” and you think “That guy is never gonna show up or be mentioned ever again” but he actually will. I don’t think Clark invited him to his wedding, though.
Plotline-Watch:
Various references are made to the time Superman destroyed Qurac’s entire army (in Adventures #427): apparently the whole kidnapping US journalists thing is an attempt by the terrorists to get Superman to come and break some shit again, so they can rally more people to their side. To my surprise, there’s also a brief mention to The Circle – I was sure everyone had forgotten about those guys by now.
This is a weird issue because it was originally intended as an annual, but when John Byrne gave DC his two weeks notice they were suddenly left with a hole in their schedule, so they had to repackage this as a regular issue. It’s also Jerry Ordway’s first as a solo writer and it’s… not an impressive start (understandable, considering he probably had to rush to finish it), but he’ll more than make up for it with his next issues.
See comments on Tumblr: https://superman86to99.tumblr.com/post/69625590802/adventures-of-superman-443-august-1988-clark#disqus_thread
Missed an issue? Looking for an old storyline? Check out our new chronological issue index!
This newsletter is free and always will be, but if you'd like to support us with $1 a month or more, you'll get access to extra articles about non-continuity '90s Superman stuff (shows, video games, Elseworlds, etc) and cool giveaways. Click here to become a paid supporter!