Superman #72 (October 1992)
Superman #72 (October 1992)
Superman vs. domestic abuse: round two! The previous week in Man of Steel #16, Superman tried to help a neighbor of Clark Kent who was being beaten by her husband, but she actually sided with her abuser and told Supes to get lost. This makes Superman nostalgic for the time, years ago, when he threw another wife-beater out of a window to scare him. In this issue we find out the rest of that depressing story: it turns out Superman's intervention inspired that abused wife to try to leave her husband… who prevented that by murdering her.
Back then, Superman spent several days looking for that guy (instead of eating or sleeping or shaving) and when he finally caught him, the killer actually blamed Superman for not killing him before he could kill his wife. As a result, Superman has decided not to intervene in the current wife-beating drama unless his neighbor Andrea wants him to get involved. Lois Lane, on the other hand, has no patience for bullshit and just goes up to the neighbors' apartment to tell the wife-puncher he sucks.
At this point, Andrea finally asks for help, causing Clark to go into "Heeeere's Johnny" (but for good) mode.
"Hey, I'm beating my wife here! Where are your manners?!"
As Clark persuades the husband to go away, Lois stays with Andrea and gives her the number of a women's shelter where she can stay if she wants to end her marriage. In the end, this is up to Andrea herself, so all Lois can do is hope she'll make the right decision… or she can spy on her through a radio. That works, too.
Later, Superman finds Andrea's husband about to jump off a bridge (it's bridge-jumping season in Metropolis, apparently). The two have a talk and the man ends up admitting he has a problem and needs help, too. The issue ends with a reinvigorated Superman flying off with the man, presumably to get him the help he needs and not to drop him from a great distance. You're a terrible person for even thinking that.
Beard-Watch:
Is this the tragic origin of Superman's beard? I can't think of an earlier story (chronologically) that features it. What's clear by now is that the beard mostly emerges when Superman is distraught, such as when he auto-exiled himself to space, or when he went to Hell, or when he auto-exiled himself to space again.
Hey, that long hair looks pretty good, too. He should consider keeping it.
Plotline-Watch:
The flashback sequence also includes Clark's first meeting with Inspector Henderson, who, according to the keen celebrity-lookalike-spotting eye of our pal Don Sparrow, "looks for all the world like Robert Loggia as Mancuso." (Scroll up and compare for yourself.) And just to make it 100% clear that this part of the comic takes place many years ago, at one point Clark rides a cab and guess how much it costs. Go on, guess.
Another important milestone: I believe this is the first time since Superman #1 that we see Clark Kent and Lois Lane going jogging together. In the same scene we find out that Superman apparently regards Toyman as being as big of a threat as Lex Luthor and Brainiac, which, okay, sure.
But wait, there's more! Join Don Sparrow in his section for all the stuff I missed or was too lazy to comment on:
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
We begin the second part of this now-famous Superman storyline with a classic iconic cover, depicting the powerlessness of even a Man of Steel against evils such as domestic abuse. The simple design, and minimalist colouring make this cover really stand out (it’s even neat to see the Comics Code seal inverted).
Inside the book, Brett Breeding gets a breather as Dan Jurgens is inked by Brad Vancata. While the rendering isn’t as fully realized as Breeding’s usual touch (Vancata doesn’t tend to feather his edges with hatching, which can at times make living figures resemble statues) the heavy, large areas of black ink serve the story well, as it’s literally a darker, moodier story than most capes and tights fare.
The early scenes at Kent farm between Superman and Pa Kent are very well done. Superman is consistently clouded in shadow, perhaps symbolically showing the weight of what he’s dealing with, as well as memories of other, similar situations in which he’s failed. Tellingly, by the end of their exchange, the sun has come up (major kudos to colourist Glenn Whitmore for his ever changing sunrise sky) and Superman is in the light again, after getting the usual sage advice from Pa Kent. The panel of Superman leaping into the sky on the bottom of page 5 is a great piece of drawing.
The exercise scenes are great, it’s neat seeing a near-empty early morning Metropolis. Plus, this whole scene is essentially just one conversation, but the changing perspectives and backgrounds make it a lot more interesting than it could be. Plus, Lois looks great in workout gear!
The central flashback storyline is also well-done, with both rounded panels and muted colours denoting it takes place in the past. Cool to see Inspector Henderson's first meeting with Clark Kent, and the photostat repeating panel has an effectively horrifying feel as Clark sees the shooting victim.
The image of an unkempt Superman soaring maniacally is pretty shocking on page 10, followed by his murderous heat-vision eyes on page 12. A mother’s tears snapping Superman out it is also very effectively drawn on that same page.
The scenes of Lois intervening in Andrea’s situation are some of my favourite in the entire run of Superman. I love it when even Superman can take lessons in decency, and Lois is about as good an example as the DC Universe has. And she’s completely right–any good neighbour should intervene, powers or not. Lois is almost immediately vindicated as Andrea gasps for help.
This isn’t a situation where a superhero is needed. It’s one where a very human friend is required. I realize that domestic violence is much more complicated even than it is presented here (and that the last page has Superman a liiiiittle too chummy with someone who minutes ago nearly murdered the mother of his children). But it’s still presented in a much more realistic manner than you might expect in a comic book–and certainly more nuanced than the done-in-one domestic abuse storyline from Action Comics #1. [Max: Agreed! The only thing that bugs me is that last week we saw the impact of the violence on the couple's kids (especially the bully-ish older one), but that's not addressed at all in this issue. I would have liked a scene of Superman talking to them.]
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
GODWATCH: Pa Kent prays, very earnestly on page 5, for God’s help in Superman’s situation. And, tellingly, he prays that Lois’ be a help to him as well, a cool detail showing tacit approval of Clark’s fiancée. Later on a raging Clark, in flashback, demands of the murdered how “in God’s name” he could blame Superman for the killing of an innocent woman. Lastly, Lois prays thankfully on page 20 that Andrea is indeed seeking the help she needs.
The Kent men clearly have no compunction about waking up the women they love. Pa Kent suggests they wake Ma Kent up and “talk her into making us a stack of flapjacks!” but Clark instead wakes Lois up two hours early so they can go jogging.
As a contributor of this blog, I’m looking forward to next week when the subject matter isn’t so serious. It’s tough to be goofy about stuff with these past two issues! [Max: I'm sure it'll be all light-hearted stories from now on! No sadness or death at all.]