Superman #4 (April 1987)
Superman #4 (April 1987)
A guy named Bloodsport has been going around Metropolis, shooting guns and yelling about Vietnam. He’s basically Walter from The Big Lebowski only black. When Superman tells them to cut that out, Bloodsport makes a special gun materialize in his hand (which is a thing he can do) and shoots Superman with a kryptonite bullet. Superman is about to get executed Saigon style, when he’s saved by his pal Jimmy Olsen.
After getting rid of that pesky kryptonite bullet, Superman goes at it with Bloodsport again and beats him, but the guy has an ace up his sleeve: he’s carrying a bomb that will blow up like half the city. That’s when Jimmy saves the day again by bringing Bloodsport’s crippled brother, causing the villain to collapse in grief. So for the record that’s Jimmy 2, Superman 0.
Character-Watch:
We meet Captain Maggie Sawyer, the head of the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit and, I think, the first openly lesbian character in mainstream comics (though this isn’t stated in this issue, just implied by her haircut). Also appearing for the first time is Dr. Sanchez, the surgeon who removes the k-bullet from Superman’s body and saves his life. Dr. Sanchez would treat Superman a couple more times, including right after the Doomsday fight in Death of Superman (two out of three ain’t bad, doctor).
Then there’s Bloodsport himself, who wouldn’t appear again for ten years and then died right away (along with his neo-Nazi successor). But the real star of this issue is Jimmy Olsen, in his first sizeable appearance. I was surprised to see Jimmy’s piece of shit car show up this early; it’s the same car he would end up sleeping in during the “Jimmy’s homeless” storyline in like 1992.
Plotline-Watch:
Luthor’s Kryptonite: Obviously Lex Luthor was the one behind Bloodsport, since he’s the only one with kryptonite (acquired back in Superman #2). To his credit, about halfway through the issue Lex goes “Wait a minute, I didn’t know the crazy guy we gave unlimited weapons to would start killing people! Shut him down!” and sends a team to help Superman defeat Bloodsport. He’s a softie.
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