Superman #54 (April 1991)
Superman #54 (April 1991)
“Time and Time Again!” Phase Three – Superman versus Actual Nazis! Superman is currently stuck in one of the worst places and times you could be in human history: the year 1943, in the middle of Warsaw, surrounded by Nazis. Superman sneaks around the ghetto for a while, not wanting to screw with the time continuum too much, until he runs across a little Jewish girl who tries to help him. At this point Superman basically goes “Screw the time continuum” and decides to bust some Nazi heads.
Superman’s timing was pretty great, because it turns out that the Nazis, not satisfied with all they’ve done to the Jewish people so far, are planning to nuke a bunch of them in an experiment with an atomic bomb. The SS general in charge of this project turns out to be none other than… freaking Psi-Phon and Dreadnaught! No, just kidding, it’s the immortal Mr. Z, whom Superman met for the first time a few issues ago, but who is meeting Superman for the first time here. Because time travel and stuff.
Anyway, after Superman has smashed up all of Mr. Z’s nuclear equipment, his way of further helping the Jewish people is to intentionally derail a Nazi train full of them. Yeah, he didn’t really think that one through.
Luckily, no one seems to die in the crash, but there’s still the matter of the atom bomb about to be dropped on everyone. Superman intercepts it in the sky and it blows up on his face, which means that… CONTINUED!
Bonus Story!
This issue also includes part one of a three-part backup series about the Newsboy Legion and the Cadmus gang by Karl Kesel, which is sort of a continuation to Kesel’s Secret Origins issue from last year. This time, the Newsboys watch as their nanny, The Guardian, fights a giant, green Jimmy Olsen clone whose powers include turning to metal, stretching his arms and generating fire, but who lacks the power to form coherent sentences (so he’s barely more intelligent than the real Jimmy). Apparently, the Clonesen was created to stop Superman in case he ever goes evil, which makes about as much sense as anything they do at Cadmus.
The Guardian fights off the deranged clone with some help from Dubbilex, but then the thing heads for Cadmus’ nuclear reactor, which means that… DOUBLE CONTINUED!
Plotline-Watch:
So, this solves the mystery of how Mr. Z knew Superman in that other issue if Superman didn’t know him yet. Z even showed Superman a picture of the train he himself derailed back then. Jerry Ordway, you clever bastard.
I guess that mention of “giant green Jimmy Olsens” that baffled me in the Secret Origins issue was foreshadowing for this. We also see Floyd Barstow 2.0, the clone Cadmus created from the DNA of a gangster to prove that evilness can be cured. It’s interesting that “turning to metal” will also be a power this guy will have when he inevitably turns against Cadmus, but we’ll have to wait until 1996 for that.
Bibbo’s butt-crack update: We do not see Bibbo’s butt-crack in this issue. Repeat: no butt-crack. Butt-crack rating for this issue is 0. We do, however, see him getting drunk, so that’s something. Meanwhile, Jimmy wishes he was drunk.
The stress of the LexCorp Lawyers intensifies as they attempt to run the corporation without Lex or his mysterious, unfindable heir. I have a feeling this subplot will end with everyone jumping out the window like it’s 1929.
And finally, I like this panel of Lois feeling down because her fiancee is lost in time. I feel like Lois has never been as likeable as she was in this period, probably starting with this very storyline.
Plug-Watch:
Hey, the guys who make the From Crisis to Crisis Superman podcast I mentioned recently are on Tumblr now! Besides examining every Superman continuity comic between 1986 and 2006, they also make me look lazy by examining Elseworlds stories, collected editions and even the Lois & Clark TV show. So, even if you’re afraid of seeing spoilers for future stories this blog will cover (they’re a few years ahead of me), you still have no excuse to check out all that other stuff. Here’s the link again: http://fortressofbaileytude.tumblr.com/