Superman #75 (January 1993)
Superman #75 (January 1993)
I don't even have to tell you what this issue is about, because statistically speaking, you or someone you knew owned it. And if you don't know what happens in it then, uh, don't look at the cover ‘cause it's a huge spoiler.
Just as we did on the last issue with the words "The Death of" on the title, we'll do something special for this story: a page-by-page analysis! Or a two-pages-by-two-pages analysis, since this is an oversized issue and if we wrote something about each page, we'd be here all day.
Pages 1-2:
The bloodied Superman battles Doomsday in the middle of Metropolis as the cannon blasts from Cadmus' flying soldiers rain down on them from above. (They don't seem to be helping much, beyond making the whole thing look cool.)
Don Sparrow points out something I never noticed: "We’re thrown into the heat of the battle from panel one, and each page reads like a photograph, as, for the most part, Jurgens and Breeding eschew motion lines, so in the first page when Cadmus’ flying soldiers’ shock cannons break up the pavement, the chunks just hang suspended in the air. It’s a small subtle choice not to use motion lines – Jurgens often had in the past – but it really helps sell the rest of the issue’s narrative conceit that we are viewing history in the making."
Pages 3-4:
Doomsday grabs Supes and throws him at the press helicopters that have been following the fight for the last few states. The WGBS pilot wants to get the hell away from there, but Cat Grant tells him "No way! We are NOT missing the story of the century!" – which I always find a little weird. I mean, that sounds like setup for a later scene where Cat's imprudence has tragic consequences, but nope, nothing happens. (Uh, to her, I mean.)
Pages 5-6:
Superman prevents the Daily Planet chopper (and his concerned fiancee inside) from crashing down. Unfortunately, he also saves Jimmy Olsen in the process, but such are the sacrifices of the heroic life. This reminds me of the helicopter scene from Superman: The Movie, since, you know, a helicopter is involved.
Don says: "Page 5’s shot of Superman shuttling Lois’ and Jimmy’s disabled helicopter to safety is an interesting one, and literally the only time the clouds part in this issue. We get a good sense of Superman’s weariness, in his body language and even what he says. It also leads up to probably my favorite moment of the issue…"
Pages 7-8:
"…page 7’s tearful goodbye kiss to Lois, which has emerged as an all-time classic of comics."
Pages 9-10:
Ignoring Lois' desperate pleas to abandon the fight (let Gangbuster or someone deal with this mess), a reinvigorated Superman jumps back into action and tackles Doomsday, promising to send him back to whatever hole he crawled out of. It is pretty badass.
Pages 11-12:
Superman's tackle takes the action to the front of the Daily Planet building, where Doomsday turns things around by performing a move I call "The Ostrich" (see below). Meanwhile, one of the flying Cadmus guys laments that he can't shoot at Superman and Doomsday anymore because they're moving too fast. Poor guy. He's the real victim here.
Don says about this shot: "I remember when this issue came out, and watching a story on it on Entertainment Tonight, and the report featured some artwork, including the full spread of page 11, where Doomsday is jamming Superman’s head into the ground. As a kid, I was sure this was the moment Superman died, because who could survive that awful, Gwen Stacy-like sound effect? So when I read the comic I was surprised that moment only occurred about halfway through the story. Importantly, though, and in a subtle piece of storytelling, this is the moment when Superman loses his cape, which becomes an important symbol to this story."
Pages 13-14:
With Superman temporarily buried and out of action, Lois decides she's gonna help him against Doomsday… somehow. She approaches the beast, who stumbles at her and Jimmy. Don again, with another detail I always missed: "There aren’t as many outward signs that Doomsday is as weakened as Superman in this story, but there are clues. The main one being, in the previous issues, virtually every character has mentioned Doomsday’s speed. But when Lois tries to help Superman on page 12, and then turns his attention to Lois and Jimmy, he lumbers at them seemingly very slowly, especially compared to previous issues, or even earlier in the story."
As Doomsday gets closer to Lois, Superman's fist emerges from the ground and…
Pages 15-16:
OK, that looks painful.
Superman follows that up by blasting Doomsday with his heat vision at full, Cyclops-like capacity, saying that to defeat the monster, he must be as ferocious as him. Lois disagrees, as Don explains: "Interesting that even in what can only be described as a life-or-death situation, there’s still a voice (Lois, on page 15) reminding Superman that he doesn’t kill. This seemed a bit odd to me, especially in a story where Superman indeed kills the monster. I guess it showed the stakes, and also reminded new readers (of which there would be plenty, for this issue) that Superman typically won’t cross that line."
Pages 17-18:
Doomsday retaliates with a knee blow so strong, it even breaks the sound effects (and the panel borders, since the pages go into gutterless, full-splash mode from now on).
Don: "Page 17’s left hook from Doomsday is probably the most painful looking panel of the entire issue, and does such a great job of showing the intense pain and exhaustion Superman is feeling."
At this point, Superman is struggling to remain conscious, but he makes an heroic effort to remain awake because someone has to stop Doomsday. I turned in an article at 5 AM the other day, so I can relate.
Pages 18-19:
Superman figures out he can hurt Doomsday by breaking his "bony protrusions" (lol) (sorry). Speaking of breaking things, they then destroy every window in the Daily Planet building just from the strength of their punches.
Don points out: "Page 19’s window shattering blows, right in front of the Daily Planet building, is another stirring visual (super-people punching each other so hard that glass shattered was one of the many things the Matrix films stole from Superman comics) and gives us an update on Superman’s cape location."
Page 20-21:
Oh, geez. Here we go. The big moment. After several issues of continuous fight, Superman and Doomsday come at each other with all they've got – and their final, deadly blows connect simultaneously. It might sound silly or awkward when you read about it, but in Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding's art, it's the most dramatic death scene ever drawn:
Pages 22-23-24:
Reactions to what just happened, from those present and those watching on TV. Don: "As the story closes, the action seems to stretch into slow motion, as Superman and Doomsday fall lifelessly to the ground. The horror of what’s occurring dawns on the witnesses to the scene (echoing the historical-sounding narration). Page 23’s Ma and Pa Kent holding each other, as Lois holds Superman, Ma unable even to look at the screen, and Pa unable to look away."
The non-hospitalized members of the JLA, Ice and Bloodwynd, also show up at this point… slightly too late, as they themselves admit.
Pages 25-26:
Double-page spread of Lois holding the battered Superman, who weakly asks if Doomsday is dead. Lois, crying, assures him that the danger is over. It seems like a good enough moment to end the issue, until you realize that the final page folds out to reveal…
Pages 27-28:
OH SHIT, SUPERMAN DIED.
Well, that's it for the blog, everyone! Thanks for reading! Bye.
Wait, that's not the end of the story? There are other issues after this?! Yeah, and in fact, we've got more on this issue from Don Sparrow right now, after the jump…
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
This is it! Pretty much the defining moment of the modern era of Superman comics (if not comics in general) is here. It starts with what as at the time a pretty mind-blowing trompe-l'oeil cover depicting Superman’s headstone (once you get past the “weeping” polybag cover, which we all know is blood). [Max: Don is talking about the "Memorial Edition" cover, which I now hate him for owning.]
To our modern eye, it’s a corny word-art digital monstrosity, though, especially since the memorial for Superman’s death looks nothing like this. Though, it worked on me enough to have made my high school e-mail address earthsgreatesthero@hotmail.com (still works, it turns out!) so it was pretty powerful in the day.
As we’ve now reached the climax of the storyline, this whole issue is full page spreads (We’ve previously mentioned that the issues counting down to this one featured pages with four panels, then three, then two, and now one) and in one sense, that makes the story move pretty quickly. But in another way, it slows it right down, so the reader can really take in the full depth of the pages Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding have put together. And it’s a stunning issue, likely the best art this combination has ever produced (though a later sequel series gives it a run for its money–more on that in a year or so!)
It’s hard to isolate the “highlights” of this issue, art-wise, because it’s all so good. But the early pages establish the tone very well. The sky clouded over with smoke and soot really illustrate the disaster that has come to Metropolis. On every page, Doomsday is damaging Superman, even casually at times–anytime Superman is grabbing Doomsday, he’s being cut or hurt in the process.
PANEL OF THE WEEK:
Honestly, this entire issue could be the panel of the week, it’s all so iconic and well drawn. But for me, the moment I found most fascinating is the instant, on page 20, when Superman leaps into the air to deliver the final blow to fell this monster that has taken so many lives, and will only take more. What struck me about it is that as he jumps up to axe-handle Doomsday, he’s not thinking violent thoughts, as he was earlier in the issue when he said things like “Doomsday gets his!”. He’s thinking of the city he loves, and the people he loves. For this reason, I chose this panel to reinterpret, from a different angle. The moment I’ve redrawn is a few ticks of a second after the panel we see on page 20, and from a different angle.
In my image, Superman is descending, and instead of his expression of grit teeth and exertion, I’d like to imagine a peace came over Superman. He’s done everything he can, given everything he has, to save others, so as he expends the very last of his energy, he knows he is protecting the people he loves, and so a brave, weary smile comes to his face. And that’s the panel of the week!
In the final foldout spread, as Lois cradles Superman, he looks so limp, and vulnerable. Perhaps my favourite choice that’s made, storywise, is that Jurgens hauntingly, avoids the cliche of giving Superman a cool, or meaningful last word. His goodbye to Lois was pages ago, and so in this moment, literally beaten to death, all he cares about is whether he was successful–whether the danger that Doomsday presented has been stopped. The woman he loves tells him words he’s heard countless times in his life, that he has saved them. And so he dies peacefully in that knowledge. And at last, we see Superman’s cape, whipping like a flag around a piece of rebar, symbol of the great cost of this battle. Chills!
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
As well know, I’m a pretty ardent defender of Jimmy Olsen in these comics (though I don’t think he adds much to the currently airing Supergirl show, oddly) but this is one issue where I have to side with Max–Jimmy is a selfish creep this whole story. I guess I could stretch and say that the thought of something actually being a lethal threat to Superman just doesn’t occur to someone as young as Jimmy, who idolizes Superman so much. But his lack of concern for Superman, compared to Lois’, really jumps off the page in a callous way. Even at the end of the story, Lois, certainly the best journalist in these pages, abandons her post as impartial observer, and shows kindness to the man who has saved them both, so many times. Jimmy just snaps away. [Max: Yeah!]
Page 10 hints at the destructiveness of Superman’s battle with Doomsday, as one of Cadmus’ agents (they have their own army now?) remarks on it. I think the difference between this issue and some recent films is that Superman is almost single-mindedly concerned about innocents, and the danger Doomsday presents to them. The story is careful to remind us that it’s not just a slugfest for this Superman.
Page 18, where Superman snaps off Doomsday’s knee bone protrusion could be a bit of a continuity error. We later learn that Doomsday has no organs or nervous system, as he’s evolved past that–wouldn’t that also mean he has no proper skeleton? And also wouldn’t feel the pain he appears to feel in this panel? (But then in a way later storyline, Doomsday does seem to have a skeleton, so who knows?)
Each time I read this story, I hate that stupid Bugs Bunny on the little girl’s shirt a little more. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bugs Bunny, and it’s likely that a girl her age would wear something like that. But without that image, these pages would be perfect. People of all ages, and races, all united in their grief over Superman’s death. But instead, Bugs looks right out at us with raised eyebrows, almost as if to say “ain’t I a stinker?!”