Superman: The Man of Steel #11 (May 1992)
Superman: The Man of Steel #11 (May 1992)
So begins the event that changed the DC Universe forever: FLASHPOINT! Yes, Flashpoint, the fat guy from another dimension who shoots fire from his mouth. Why, what Flashpoint did you think I was talking about? Anyway, we met Flashpoint a couple of weeks ago in Adventures #489, when Professor Hamilton was accidentally transported into his dimension by a guy called Husque (an old friend of Jimmy Olsen). In this issue, Jimmy finally finds Husque and tells him to bring Hamilton back into our dimension, but due to a mixup, Husque ends up bringing Flashpoint instead. The confused Flashpoint accidentally burns down an old building in Metropolis, which is the perfect excuse to show off some cool Superman rescue scenes.
While Superman Supermans the situation, Flashpoint falls in with a pair of bumbling arsonists (Arnie and Freddy) who convince him they're his friends, but only want him for his fire-spitting powers. Later, Arnie and Freddy get the good-hearted Flashpoint to burn down a taxicab stand by making him think the gas pump in front of it is a free meal for him. Superman comes to assist with the resulting giant explosion, but Flashpoint's powers are out of control and the fire starts spreading.
Eventually, Superman manages to blow hard enough to put out the fire, causing Flashpoint to land on top of Arnie… just as Husque and Professor Hamilton switch places with their fiery overweight friend again.
So, Hamilton is back home and Husque gets to stay in our dimension to finally go looking for his missing sister. Everyone's happy! Except Arnie, who is now stuck in the other dimension as Flashpoint's new unwitting best friend/human pet.
Plotline-Watch:
Don Sparrow says: "Superman isn’t in this issue all that much, and it’s a strange choice, as the issue mostly follows the odd couple, Arnie and Freddy, who we’ve never seen before." Or since, so I'm assuming Arnie accidentally burnt to death 15 minutes after the end of this issue.
Hamilton managed to survive in the other dimension thanks to the help of Dad Olsen Clone #1, who is still a complete badass and, I'm happy to report, still shoots killer rainbows out of his robot eye.
Meanwhile, Hamilton's girlfriend Mildred is recuperating in the hospital after having passed out when she saw Husque's abs the other day. Since Ham isn't around, Bibbo comes to visit her. Uh-oh. First they dance together and now he's bringing her flowers? I'd be very worried if I were the Professor.
There's a very short scene (literally just three panels) of Lana Lang telling some lady she wants to get a "real" job, since she's too good to be a dress store attendant now that she's engaged to a Senator. Hopefully it takes her less than ten months to find one, unlike Jimmy Olsen.
More commentary from Don Sparrow below the jump!
Art-Watch (by donsparrow):
We start with a great cover from Bogdanove and Janke, that would have been a cool addition to the Superman goes to Blazes storyline from a while back. Inside, we get a really diverse story in terms of art demands, but Bog seems to handle all of it with ease. Whether it’s highly realistic city-scapes (some great grease-pencil shading on the clouds on page 2) or the bizarre creatures of the void-world, they’re all handled well, with great surface texture (the rumbled skin on Flashpoint–rather a waste of a cool character name–really helps ground in reality what is a pretty cartoonish character design on page 4).
Speaking of cartoons, few artists do slapstick better than Bog & Janke, and Arnie chasing after Flashpoint on page 9 seems very early Mad Magazine. I know the “whoop whoop whoop” on that panel refers to the police siren, but it also puts me in the mind of the Three Stooges.
The ink-less colouring on page 15 is very well done, as Flashpoint engulfs the gas station. And it’s a very Batman-esque rooftop Superman who hears the blast on page 16. [Max: Since Don didn't pick a PANEL OF THE WEEK, I'm declaring that this is it. It reminds me of the cover of Man of Steel #39, which is one of my favorite ever.]
The shading on the pillars in the void-world Turkish spa is very cool to look at (and no, I didn’t think I’d ever type the phrase “void-world Turkish spa”). [Max: Really? I say it three times a day.]
Lastly, more slapstick: it’s an extremely Looney Tunes finish as Flashpoint takes Arnie back with him to the void-world, recalling the Abominable Snow Rabbit from Looney Tunes in his affection for his “pet”.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
The “No Smoking” sign on page 4 is a pretty good gag.
GODWATCH: Aside from the devil references to Flashpoint throughout the issue, when Superman rescues the victims of the tenement fire, they literally thank Heaven. Which brings me to another thing I love about Simonson and Bogdanove’s comics–is there any better visual than Superman rescuing children? Especially plucky, smart kids like the ones he rescues on page 7 (and on page 8, when he comes out of the flame–awesome). [Max: The little boy with the cat confused me as a kid, since he's clearly not Keith. "There are TWO black kids who own white cats in Metropolis?! What are the odds?!"]
Lana Lang has great posture on page 13. Nice that they catch us up with her adventures in Washington.
The panel of Hamilton yelling (about Husque no less) recalls another panel, from Superman #38–though there are only so many ways to draw Hamilton yelling, I suppose.
