Superman: The Man of Steel #20 (February 1993)
Superman: The Man of Steel #20 (February 1993)
FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, PART 3! The actual funeral! In attendance are all of Earth's greatest defenders: Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Bibbo, Nightwing, Nightwing's ponytail, etc. This issue is actually a whole novel in itself, and might be my favorite thing Louise Simonson has written.
As Lex Luthor Jr. organizes a lavish funeral for Superman in Metropolis ("I couldn't kill him, but I'm sure as hell going to bury him"), Clark Kent's parents and fiancee are far away from that, going through some pretty dark times.
(Very nice of former President Nixon to offer Lois his spot.)
Lois Lane hasn't called Ma and Pa Kent yet because she feels guilty, and she feels guilty because she hasn't called them yet. When the funeral procession starts, Lois and hundreds of regular people decide to join up and walk behind Superman's coffin. Once they all reach Centennial Park (where Superman's giant statue/tomb is), the sad crowd erupts into a riot; because if there was one thing Superman loved, that was senseless violence. Fortunately, there are about three dozen superheroes in attendance, so the riot doesn't last long.
Meanwhile, Lois finally works up the nerve to call Ma and Pa from a payphone, but they're not home – they couldn't stand watching the funeral on TV anymore, so they decided to hold their own funeral for Clark at the field where they found his Kryptonian rocket [number obscured by piece of scenery] years ago.
The fake funeral doesn't help much: the Kents feel like they have no one to help and no reason to live anymore. That's when Lois finally reaches them on the phone, supposedly to comfort them about the death of their son, but it's her who immediately breaks down and cries. Ma and Pa end up comforting Lois and promising they'll fly over to be with her, feeling a renewed sense of purpose.
Character-Watch:
During the funeral/riot, Jimmy Olsen is pulled aside by this sleazebag:
That was no doubt supposed to be a throwaway character who would never show up again, but Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett will rescue him in a few months (naming him "Rex Leech" after Jimmy's dialogue), and he'll eventually become a long-running supporting cast member for another Superman-related series. COMICS!
Plotline-Watch:
The return of Jimmy & Robin: World's Raddest! When Rex's thugs pull out some guns, Robin jumps in to help Jimbo. Don Sparrow says: "It’s nice to see the Robin and Jimmy team reunited (though Bog’s massive Robin looks to be about 32 years old in appearance). There’s still something about their dialogue that I find a bit dated, but it must just be me."
There's a bit of meta-commentary in a scene where Bibbo catches a guy selling Superman t-shirts, armbands, and bagged Daily Planet "death issue" editions – which is a pretty subversive joke when you consider that that's exactly what DC was selling in real life. Then again, Bibbo ends up buying all the merch, so maybe not that subversive.
The box Ma Kent buries contains some of Clark's childhood possessions, plus her infamous Superman scrapbook (which led to two deaths and a Batman crossover). That thing should probably stay buried. As for the pain in Pa Kent's “stomach"… I'm sure that's nothing. No family would be that unlucky, right?
News of Superman's death has now reached outer space, and Lobo is devastated. Just devastated. More importantly, this leads to a cameo by our old pal Ralph K'raamdyn, the space cabbie! (Okay, a space cabbie.) Don opines: "This whole aside of Lobo finding out Superman’s dead is supposed to be comic relief, but is just a tad too bloody, and also a bit ribald (The Horny Sow? Yikes) to really pull it off. As it was, I’m surprised it passed the comic code!" Bogdanove does a mean Lobo, though.
Professor Hamilton and his darling Mildred watch the funeral procession from a rooftop while Superman's ugly, hobo, and ugly hobo friends do it from the Underworld. Look, just assume that every single character we've seen in these comics for the past 7 years is crying right now.
Keith the Unlucky Orphan is doing the same thing, when he sees the oldest son of Clark Kent's wife-beating ex-neighbor bullying his little brother. Even though Keith is sad, he goes over to the younger kid and shares his emotional support cat with him, because it's what Superman would have wanted. Awww.
Meanwhile, Batman expresses his sadness the only way he knows how: by manhandling criminals. Bogdanove does a mean Batman, though.
Speaking of Batman, click "Keep Reading" to see more from Don Sparrow, including his recreation of this moment! (Plus, the Hillary Clinton cameo I just realized I forgot to mention…)
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
A quietly beautiful cover opens this issue. I forgot to mention last week that all the covers in the "Funeral for a Friend" storyline have black bars around them, which, while also letting collectors know which installment this is, also gives the cover a sombre, elegant feel, perfect for a funeral. Interesting choices of character on the cover as well. I always love seeing Bogdanove’s Captain Marvel, but Mr. Miracle is a bit of a surprise. Bog also deserves credit for once again giving each character different body shapes and physiques.
Inside the issue, there’s generally a more rushed feel than the tighter, more polished issues of this title that came before, but there’s still some powerful stuff. The shadowy Ma and Pa Kent on page 3 really give the page some weight, and are a good contrast with the bright Daily Planet newsroom.
The two panel sequence on page 4 of Lois looking from under her hair at the phone is sad and powerful. Page 6 and 7’s double page spread is amazing, and the colourist did a great job here, of having the heroes pop against the dreariness of rain-soaked Metropolis.
And yes, that is the super team gathered in the corner in front of Lois and Jimmy. [Max: Plus Walt Simonson, Kal-El Bogdanove, one of Jerry Ordway's kids, and… not sure if the guy in the jacket is Neil Gaiman, but he's probably a Gaiman fan.]
I remember reading this for the first time, and being surprised by the old-fashioned nature of the funeral procession, horse, cart, flag and all. I suppose I’d imagined something sleek and futuristic like Spock’s funeral (forgetting they already did that when the pocket universe Superboy died) or maybe the glass coffin we see in other versions. It wasn’t until I studied the Kennedy assassination in school (it took a while to get to it, growing up in Canada!) that I realized the visual connection I suspect Bogdanove and Janke were going for.
All the reactions as Superman’s casket passes are wonderful and moving. Without making it too glaringly obvious, the mourners we see on page 8 are all of diverse ethnicities, and yet still claimed Superman as their own.
[Max: Man, I wish I hadn't put my old issues back in their boxes, because I'm pretty sure these are people we've actually seen Superman rescue: the black guy is a cabbie from around the George Perez/Krypton Man era, the deli owners are Little Qurac residents, and the Hispanic family is from a more recent Man of Steel issue. I think so, anyway.]
Keith’s sad, stoic face streaming with tears as he tries to be brave is so sweet and sad, and the kindness he shows poor Teddy, son of wife-beater Gary Johnson is just beautiful. And it’s that typical Super-team writing–nothing is overly simple. While Teddy mourns Superman and is thankful for his actions, Andrea’s other son blames Superman for taking his father away, after a fashion. The children’s understanding is complicated, as it would be in real life.
PANEL OF THE WEEK: This is the last one for a while that will feature my artwork. I started off wanting to do a piece for each issue of the Death storyline, but then continued so I could fit in characters like Guy and Ice. But in part because the action slows a bit in the weeks to come, and in part because I’m busy with other artwork gigs (hey, I take commissions, if anyone’s interested!) this is the last one we’ll see here for a while, though we do have something cool planned in a few months. ANYWAY the panel I’m re-drawing this week is when Batman plucks the would-be terrorist from the ground and disarms him. I couldn’t help but imagine how terrifying it would be as a wrong-doer to see Batman so close up, so I redrew that third last panel from page 11 from that exact perspective. And that’s the PANEL OF THE WEEK!
But while I’m on the subject, does anyone else think the terrorist looks a little like circa 1992 Paul Shaffer? Waitaminute–Kanad? Sounds a lot like Paul’s native Canada to me! [Max: You troublemakers! Have you no respect?]
The riot scenes are unfortunate, and story-wise, made me wonder why they went that route, other than to give the superheroes some action, and to heighten how awful everything is for the Kents. Page 18 features the Clintons, and the likenesses are pretty good. Rather prescient of the writers on this issue to have Hillary speak along with the President, almost as if she were Presidential herself! [Max: Plus, it's Hillary who inspires Lois to call the Kents. #ShesWithHer!]
I remember seeing an interview with Mike Carlin about this issue, and how, because the issue was put together about four months in advance, they were essentially guessing as to who would be President. I have strong doubts as to whether this is true or not (my guess is, they drew two versions, and then made the final decision at print-time) and would love to hear from any Super-team members who have input on this.
After this, it’s the saddest scenes I think we’ve ever seen in a Superman comic to this point, as the poor Kents, stricken with grief, but impotent to really do anything about it, have a symbolic funeral to memorialize the son they loved so dearly. The flashback, of Pa Kent in the very same winter coat he wears today, embracing Clark as he got out of the rocket is devastating, as is the image of little Clark’s teddy, ball glove and photo album that they bury. There’s also some grim foreshadowing, as, when Pa complains about his stomach acting up, he also clutches his left arm.
There’s a great documentary on the Death of Superman available online, and while it covers all these issues (which is why I hesitate to share this link until we’re through all the reviews), seeing Louise Simonson speak about these scenes is really moving. She explains how the Kents are at their lowest point, saying aloud that it feels like they have no reason to live. Right then, the phone rings, and the equally devastated Lois reaches out to them. She asks forgiveness for not contacting them earlier, and hearing the pain in her voice, the blame she wrongly takes on for Clark’s death, they immediately know their new purpose–to surround their would-be daughter-in-law with love and understanding that only they, the sharers of Superman’s secret, possibly could.
I can’t speak for Max, but this was a really tough review to write, because the emotion of the issue hit me so hard. I own around 13,000 comics (nbd) and there aren’t many of them that have reduced me to tears. This is definitely one of them. While the sadness of the Kents' small, private funeral always got to me, it’s a very different feeling I have, now that I’m a parent, as they are. Whew.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
Page 1: Ha ha! Lex peruses a pamphlet from "crypts” that reads W. Gaines, publisher of Tales From the Crypt. Also, this is the 90s, when a male hairdresser could only be depicted like… this.
While I’m glad that Batman’s intervention saved a life, how great would it have been if he stepped in and stopped Teddy’s brother from bullying him? But in another way, what happens is actually perfect–thinking of Superman’s example, Keith doesn’t respond with vengeance, as Batman might. He instead reaches out in kindness, and oh, here come the tears again.
Godwatch: Martha acknowledges Clark as their gift from heaven, and takes comfort, however small, that Clark has returned there.