Adventures of Superman #497 (December 1992)
Adventures of Superman #497 (December 1992)
Superman and Doomsday punch the crap out of each other! Maxima helps (Doomsday).
Last time we saw Superman, he had a bit of a Sophie's Choice situation going on: he was trying to decide if he should go after Doomsday, or save a kid and his family from dying in a fire. This issue begins with him going "Wait a minute, I'm Superman! I can do both!" – he pushes Doomsday into the bottom of the ocean to keep him busy for a while and goes save the family (and most of the Justice League, with whom Doomsday had just mopped the floor). Before the fight resumes, Superman's non-pal Guy Gardner offers some words of support:
Awww.
Doomsday ends up crashing into a nearby town and making a big-ass mess. At this point, the Justice League's Maxima rejoins the storyline (she'd reluctantly stopped fighting Doomsday to take the comatose Blue Beetle to the hospital), but she seems to be enjoying the carnage a little too much. When Superman tells her to be mindful of the non-invulnerable people around, she takes a swing at him. Then, as she and Superman fight Doomsday in a destroyed gas station, she breaks off an electric pole and sends sparks flying all around, and…
Why am I suddenly reminded of Zoolander? Anyway, Superman and Maxima fall unconscious as Doomsday walks off to mess someone else's shit up. Superman is eventually awoken by yet another superhero, the Guardian, who's slightly late to the party. However, Supes says that it's clear to him by now that he has to face Doomsday alone. (Poor Guardian is probably devastated.)
Plotline-Watch:
We haven't talked about Jimmy Olsen in a while, so let's keep it that way.
Just kidding (unfortunately). Jimmy is shooting his new "Turtle Boy" TV series at WGBS when Lois Lane comes to grab him by the ear so they can go cover the Doomsday story. Don't they have any other photographers at the Daily Planet? What about that nice Eddie Brock fellow? Anyway, the most interesting part of this scene, to me, is seeing that the media is following Doomsday across the US like they'd follow a devastating hurricane (or a murderous celebrity's car chase). I think this brings a sense of scale that other Superman stories don't have.
Speaking of which, Lex Luthor Jr. and Supergirl are among the people glued to their TV screens, following the action. Supergirl says that maybe she should go there and help against Doomsday, but Lex is like "naaaaaaah" (adding some bullshit about protecting Metropolis). I'm starting to think that guy might be a bad influence.
I also like that the writers are taking the time to show us the impact of Doomsday's rampage on the little people. Last week Dan Jurgens devoted some pages to a single mother struggling with her turd of a son before Doomsday crashes into their kitchen, and now Jerry Ordway shows us how a local police department deals with three superstrong aliens punching their way through their town.
But wait, there's more! Click through to read the great Don Sparrow's section, with the occasional rude interruptions from me:
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
Much has been made, in the years since these books came out, about the subtle psychological effect caused by the number of panels in each issue. As the Doomsday storyline has progressed, the number of panels on each page has shrunk, so in this issue, each page has roughly four panels, then next week, there are three, and the week after that, two, etc. [Max: Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that, even after I made a big deal about how they got this technique from Walt Simonson's Thor comics.] One consequence is that the stories become much quicker reads, which might mean that our reviews get a little shorter. But, as we saw last week–maybe not!
This week’s cover is a good one. Once again, Doomsday’s face is kept more or less a mystery to the reader who only sees the cover, and Superman’s unorthodox attack also indicates to the reader that this is not a typical story. The brutality of a head-butt is a good visual metaphor for the out-of-character brawling this story will embody.
Inside we’re quickly brought up to speed on the events of last issue through narration from Mitch Anderson–the opening page has a great look at a leaping Doomsday, courtesy of this week’s art team, Tom Grummett and Doug Hazlewood, followed by a terrific two-pager of Superman clocking Doomsday, who he has managed to catch, despite the desire to go back and help the Andersons.
One thing that Tom Grummett does maybe better than any artist is making kids look like kids, likely due to his years of experience on New Teen Titans (and around the same time as these issues, Robin) and Mitch is no exception, looking every bit like the high-schooler he’s supposed to be. [Max: They'd dropped the "Teen" by the time Grummett got into New Titans, though.]
The panel of Superman dunking Doomsday into the soft silt of the lake floor is both a great tactical idea, and well drawn–I dig the subtle zip-a-tone gradient as the water deepens and of course, I love any panel of Superman rescuing a child, particularly when they’re as well-drawn as the top splash on page 7.
The sky battle is well drawn, particularly since we seem to be able to keep track of all the moving parts, with the different characters and military equipment. Doomsday then leaps to Houston, Idaho–er, I mean, Kirby County (sorry, but this police chief and his deputy just look so much to me like Clifton James and Peter Whitman in Superman II, right? I half expect the little guy to say he’s going to try the fish!). The action really kicks into high gear when Maxima arrives, and for a born and bred Warrior like her, I liked seeing the coolness and subtlety of bothering with the shoulder tap before she uppercuts him. I dig this moment so much, I re-drew the uppercut as my PANEL OF THE WEEK!
It’s interesting how much the colouring shifts, week to week. Superman’s uniform looks to be a very light blue this issue, moreso than in the other books, and there are panels where there’s a lot of bluish, purple tones in Doomsday’s containment suit, much more than in other books.
The fight scenes with Maxima, Superman and Doomsday are very powerful, and again, they highlight Doomsday’s dangerous speed, as Maxima and Superman aren’t really able to coordinate well. Finally the very John Byrne-looking silhouetted explosion is an eye-grabber, even if the tattered cape being in-tact a few panels later is a minor continuity error. At the end of the story we’re left with more dark foreshadowing, with an already weakened Superman coming to the realization that it’s up to him, and him alone to bring Doomsday down.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
GODWATCH! Plenty this issue! On page 6, Superman prays he has time to save the Andersons from the burning house, and on that same page, Mother Anderson (whose hair has apparently been singed so back it has changed from brown to black between issues!) thanks God that Bloodwynd has returned to save her from–of all things, considering who he really is–flame. Bloodwynd mildly corrects her, saying she should thank Superman, who comes in for the save on page 7 (take it easy, Bloodwynd–just who do you think SENT Superman? Sheesh) Lastly, Lois Lane thanks God for Cat Grant’s familiar face.
There’s room for some levity, even in a story like this. I laughed at the Deputy character mentioning the cartoon bomb sound, first when Doomsday arrived, and then when Superman landed on him. [Max: Also, the Jaws reference!]
Could the helicopter pilot’s “Bubba” codename for Doomsday be early propaganda for the then nascent Clinton campaign?
This is an early appearance of Lois into the story, and my heart skipped a beat when I recognized her outfit.
I’d never before considered how alike Maxima and Superman II’s General Zod are, until I heard her utter the same phrase as Terrance Stamp, on page 18, but they’re definitely cut from the same haughty cloth.
The exchange between Maxima and Superman (and later, Guardian) about trying to limit collateral damage seems very prescient, and reminds me of pleas from Superman fans to director Zack Snyder. [Max: I wonder if in these panels, Guardian is voicing Ordway's own reservations for doing such a violent story.]
Lex keeping Supergirl out of the fight is classic Lex. Though, if Superman can’t stop Doomsday, then how will you, Lex? What’s your plan? (Also asking Jesse Eisenberg) [Max: Zing!]
I’m still a bit confused about Doomsday’s trajectory. The GBS reporter theorizes he’s making a bee-line for Metropolis, and his path definitely seems that way. But, with some spoilerific future knowledge, we can theorize that Doomsday is more likely to be seeking out a Kryptonian–so why does Doomsday appear at certain parts of the story to abandon Superman–the only living Kryptonian on Earth–to continue his straight line to Metropolis? Especially since he hasn’t yet seen any dumb wrestling commercials. Any thoughts? [Max: I think the explanation that was eventually given was that Doomsday sensed Superman's residual energy in Metropolis, which I guess surpassed the energy in Superman's own body? Has Superman been pooping on every corner of the city?]