Adventures of Superman #494 (September 1992)
Adventures of Superman #494 (September 1992)
Superman meets his destiny! And his destiny is a giant lady made of space, called Kismet. Maybe I just have a sweet spot for stories featuring Superman standing dramatically on asteroids, but I think this is one of the best issues of this era. The last time we saw Superman, he was drifting away into nothingness after defeating a she-devil called Blaze in another dimension. As this issue starts, he's reliving the events of classic Man of Steel #1: you know, that issue when a younger Clark Kent saw an experimental space plane about to crash into Metropolis, and… did nothing. Yep, he just stood there and watched the death of everyone in that plane, including some reporter called Lois Lane.
"Damn, if I'd know she was hot…"
Yeah, that's not how that issue really went. Superman awakes in a place that looks an awful lot like outer space, where a disembodied voice muses about the "what ifs" of life. Superman asks the mysterious speaker to show herself, only to realize he's been looking at her all along. (More specifically, at her boob area.)
Kismet, as she calls herself, explains that she “exists between light and dark, illuminating the pathways to both." She's neither with the Lords of Order nor the Lords of Chaos, meaning that she stands firmly in the DC Universe's political center. As it happens, Superman is going through a bit of a crisis because of the way Blaze manipulated him during the past few issues. What if every decision he's made has actually been predetermined by some higher being? Like some guy sitting in front of a computer? You've been reading too much Grant Morrison, Superman.
Anyway, Kismet shows Superman possible outcomes for different decisive moments in his past, present and future: What if he hadn't allowed his friend to drive drunk when he was a teen? (The kid would be an NFL player, but Superman wouldn't have such a big sense of responsibility.) What if he hadn't killed Zod and his cronies? (He'd be dead himself, probably.) What if Lois and him aren't… "careful"? (She'd die, and he'd end up with making out Maxima.) Or what if he just goes nuts one day? (Don Sparrow says: "He'd create a[n even] more sinister version of the plot from Superman IV.")
Superman is pretty fed up with Kismet at this point and kind of lashes out at her. In reality, he just feels crappy about the fact that stopping Sam Foswell's suicide kicked off Blaze's invasion of Metropolis. What if he hesitates the next time he has to save an innocent person, thinking that it's all just part of some evil plan by a dickish supernatural entity? Kismet reveals that, much like Dorothy, Superman can leave this "place" any time he wants, so he does. When he materializes back on Earth, Superman finds himself near a family that's about to crash their car… and he saves them without even thinking about it. The family says they're pretty lucky that Superman was around, and naturally he can't pass up the opportunity for a good pun: "Luck? No, you might call it Kismet, though." END!
Character-Watch:
First appearance of Kismet, who will have a small role in an awesome storyline coming up, and then a bigger role in a not so awesome one much later on.
Plotline-Watch:
No subplots! Seriously! Superman's plot takes up the whole issue, which is a rarity in this era (usually, you have at least two pages of Jose Delgado slipping in the shower or something). Also, how about that clear"THE END" at the end? No continueds: just a nice, self-contained story that still feels like part of a bigger picture. I love the twist on the flashback scenes, too: we've seen some of these scenes retold lots of times (the "Superman kills Zod" one has probably broken some kind of record), but the "what if" scenarios make them feel fresh. Also, it's always cool to see Tom Grummett's take on classic moments.
There's still a lot more to say about this issue, though, so move over to Don Sparrow's section after the jump…
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
This is one of my favourite issues from this era, which is a bit of an odd choice for me. After so many issues from this era (especially Marv Wolfman’s run) where the action all took place in Superman’s head, or it was a hallucination, or a psychic attack, you’d think I wouldn’t have much affection for an issue that, again, largely takes place in fantasy form. But the way it’s handled really sets it apart, from the gorgeous art (which we’ll get to) to the way we’re reminded of the touchstones in Superman’s life, and how they’ve shaped him.
We begin with the cover, and it’s a great one. I always like Grummett’s outer space stuff, in part because his stars are so bright and large, and even look hand-placed (rather than the usual masking-fluid on a toothbrush spatter trick–not that I’m knocking it). We also get our first look at Kismet, which is such a weird, and cool idea for a character (and, perhaps, Grummett’s attempt to compete with usual winner Jon Bogdanove in the nakedest character sweepstakes).
The first few pages are great too, nice large panels showing us familiar imagery in a new way, and with jarring consequences–that explosion on the top of page 3 made all the more disturbing by the fact we know that Lois Lane was aboard.
Sometimes the flashbacks in stories like this can be a bit irritating to me, as it is so familiar to me, and other Superman die-hards. But then I remember that the events they’re showing took place 6 years ago in real time, and this was long before trade paperbacks were readily available. They had to have reminder issues every now and then, in order to catch up the new readers. Plus, this particular writer artist team does such a great job.
Then on page 4, we have an amazing splash page, with a hallucinating Superman clinging to an asteroid in what appears to be outer space.
I like the detail of his cape wrapping around the edge of the rock, conveying a spinning motion that makes us share Superman’s disorientation. As mentioned, I love Grummett’s large size starry backgrounds, and particular that a few blink brighter than others. As Superman gets his bearings, the summary image of Blaze getting disintegrated is a great visual in the last panel of page 5.
As Superman continues his summary of everything that’s happened in the Blaze storyline, we get a great, moody panel (and one I almost chose as panel of the week) in the middle of page 7, where a shadowy Superman contemplates dark thoughts. We’ve had about 7 pages of essentially just internal monologue, and thanks to Grummett’s staging, really, none of it has been boring, thanks to the visual interest he adds to his pages. Just awesome.
As the story progresses, Kismet shows Superman’s most agonizing choices, giving them each a different ending. The visual of the non-depowered Kryptonian villains torching Superman is a disturbing one on the top of page 12, and Grummett wisely doesn’t show us much of Superman’s charred remains in the following panel.
Speaking of disturbing images, the nightmarish fantasy on page 16 of a chained Lois being tortured by Blaze is about as upsetting a depiction of her as I’ve seen since, well, I learned about Joe Shuster’s sideline in fetish art. (NSFW link!). [Max: Click with caution, the guy who wrote that article is clearly depraved too.]
Still one more upsetting image is actually our PANEL OF THE WEEK: a look at a possible future where Superman goes off his nut. The panel of him battling his Justice League allies is well drawn–and upsetting–enough to be our panel of the week! Extra kudos that Batman is wearing his Dark Knight Returns Superman-fighting armour. (For all the good it did him)
In that same possible future, Lois can pull off even traditional Kryptonian garb and look pretty fetching (though her facial expression betrays she’s not too keen about the man he’s become).
On the whole, a very cool issue, even for a flashback episode. Kismet gets Superman to think about the big picture by asking him pointed questions, knowing he won’t have the answer. She also reminds him of his own beliefs and upbringing, and how those values help keep him from being manipulated for evil. Superman may face what seems like no-win situations (like the one he just faced with Foswell) but his instinct to do the right thing will usually prevent too much damage from being done.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
Guys, enough with the panels were Superman sees the back of himself. Then again, I don’t know a quicker way to let people know his powers aren’t working typically.
GODWATCH: I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on this feature, both good and bad, and also curious. The main idea behind it is to find evidence, pro or con, for the beliefs of the characters in these stories, as we find it in the issues. There are entire websites devoted to the belief and non-belief of comic book characters, though sometimes their research is a bit suspect, going by interviews with writers, or even just popular vote, rather than what actually appears in the books. So where I see evidence of a character’s adherence–to whatever belief system– I’ve been trying to document it here. And this issue in particular makes a pretty solid case for Superman having been raised in traditional values, while at the same time shaking them up a bit with the very presence of a character like Kismet. As Superman questions his experiences with powers like Blaze and LS, he asks himself, on page 7 "Is there a force even bigger than Blaze controlling my choices?” to which Kismet answers, “Not controlling–but instead guiding” which is a nice thought. As Superman ponders whether good can come from bad choices, or the inverse, he explains on page 8:
GODWATCH (cont.): And, importantly, in the next panel, he admits moments of doubt and question, whether the path he has chosen is the wisest. This is some pretty heady stuff for a traditional Superman comic, but I appreciate this kind of storytelling existed in the superhero comics of this era–these kind of questions seem to be relegated to the mature reader line of books, where, quite frankly, they’re rarely as sensitively handled as we see here. Great, great stuff.
What’s going on with Superman’s tights in that big splash page where he’s fighting the other heroes? Did they aim exclusively at his crotch, darkening his uniform with char?
Is that Alfred the butler representing England at the UN? Or Manuel from Fawlty Towers representing Spain?
This is it! The official crossover between my favourite comic strip (sorry Mary Worth!) Calvin and Hobbes and my favourite comic book! It’s Calvin’s family that Superman saves from getting t-boned on page 21-22 of this issue. Sneaky Calvin and Hobbes references would become a hallmark of Ordway in the years to come, particularly in his wonderful Power of Shazam series, where Billy Batson was even taught by Calvin’s old school marm, Miss Wormwood. [Max: This is one of my "I feel so dumb for never noticing it" moments. The dad even calls the kid "Cal".]
It’s also a cool callback that Superman, freshly reminded of his actions with the drunk drivers in the issue where he melted their tires to prevent them from tragedy, does the same to the bandits trying to escape from their caper using rural roads.
