Superman: The Man of Steel #6 (December 1991)
Superman: The Man of Steel #6 (December 1991)
“Blackout” Part 3: THE WEDDING OF SUPERMAN! To a nudist cavewoman in a time-forsaken island! What? How? Why? Because Supes has lost his memory and become stranded in said island with his new best friend: the immortal villain Mr. Z, who doesn’t remember who he is either (luckily, because he was a jerk). Last time we saw them, in Part 2 of this saga, they were about to get trampled by a dinosaur stampede. While escaping from the dinosaurs, Superman and Z end up in front of a group of half-naked natives who decide to capture them. Z, of course, comically misreads the situation.
While Z unsuccessfully attempts to impress the cave-people with his flowery language, Superman keeps saving a sexy native called Lola-La from situations where she didn’t need to be saved – first from a triceratops which turns out to be her mascot (“Fluffy”) and then from the brutish leader of the cave people, who is actually her dad. Superman intentionally loses the fight with the leader when he realizes he only grabbed Lola-La by the hair and dragged her through the ground to show his love (awww), and the leader is so impressed by Superman’s honor that he allows Lola-La to… um, “have” him.
Superman stops the scene before it can go over PG-13, but when he and Lola come out of the cave, they find themselves in some sort of ceremony. It’s only after Lola has already said “I do” that Superman realizes he’s getting married to someone who isn’t his (forgotten) fiancee. Hey, at least the initials are right.
And then… TO BE CONTINUED! (Yes, the cover of this issue spoils the cliffhanger ending, but it's hard to get angry at that Lola-La drawing.)
Character-Watch:
The amnesiac Superman and Mr. Z continue their transformation into a superpowered Abbott and Costello. While escaping from the dinosaurs, Z gets snatched by a pterodactyl and this happens:
Superman catches Z, but then a giant dinosaur foot lands on them (Monty Python style) and Z’s brilliant plan for getting the dinosaur to step off them is to hit it with a twig. The natives eventually come and shoo the dinosaur away, but Z remains convinced that it was actually his vigorous slamming that did the trick. See, you don’t even need that soul-stealing crystal, Z!
Plotline-Watch:
The Metropolis blackout continues, so Lois Lane and Professor Emil “Blackout-Causer” Hamilton’s attempts to get across the city turn into a real odyssey:
First they come across the Daily Planet strike, which devolves into a full-on riot when Whit (the Planet version of Creed from The Office) breaks a placard over a goon’s head. Lois actually joins forces with assholish strike organizer Jeb Friedman in fighting off the angry workers – Hamilton tries to help too, but isn’t so effective.
Lois and Hamilton seek refuge in Bibbo’s Ace O'Clubs, but they’re not as safe as they think: first the looters throw Bibbo’s bike through the bar’s window and then they throw the Guardian, one of many powerless heroes trying to preserve the order in Metropolis in Superman’s absence (and sucking at it, apparently). That’s the third new bike Bibbo loses since last month, for those counting
The Guardian then offers to fly Lois and Ham to the spot in the Antarctic where they lost track of Superman, using his Kirby-tastic Whiz Wagon. Once there, they overhear a radio transmission about the French scientists Superman met in Part 2, who have been rescued from their raft, and learn that Superman is amnesiac. Now they just have to find the guy.
For more commentary/Jeb Friedman hate from the great Don Sparrow, and more Lola-La art, click “Keep Reading”!
Art-Watch (by donsparrow):
We start, as always with the cover, which is one of the all-time greats, in terms of “what the–?” covers, with Superman in a clinch with Lola-La. We also see the most visually troubling element of the issue, her very ape-like father, but more on him later. I can’t remember a Superman cover before or since with as much skin revealed. Of course, the pages long nudist scenes in Superman #10’s Daily Planet springs to mind, but in terms of a cover, I can’t place any!
Very quickly (page 2) we get the amazing visual of a stampeding herd of dinosaurs, very intricately rendered by Bogdanove and Janke–the detailed skin texture really gives a sense of realism, so tremendous job on that! The angle on Superman’s take-off is also really cool on page 4.
Page 6 has the return of my nemesis Jeb Friedman, in the most 90s tight jeans possible. It appears he brings the worst out of everyone, as after only a few minutes of listening to him on the bullhorn, our beloved, usually silent Whit physically attacks another striking worker (I wonder what beat this Leviathan has at the paper?).
(A word about Jeb Friedman: Yes, I hate him, but I think the strong reaction he gets from me, and other Superman fans of the era is by design, and a testament to Louise Simonson’s writing–we’re supposed to hate him, as despite his ponytailed Ricardo Montalban looks, is the closest thing to a romantic rival Clark has for Lois’ hand. So I commend Simonson and Bogdanove for making him so effectively grating.)
Page 9 has our big reveal of the bodacious Lola-La, and her whole crew is a tad troubling, visually. Her conventional beauty might actually be the issue here. If she looked more simian in appearance, like the rest of her tribe, then we could just assume these islanders are a missing-link, cave person-like tribe (with Guardian’s overlapping line about Neanderthals, I do think that’s the intent here). But she looks beautiful, and typically Pacific-Islander, giving the very ape-like inhabitants of the island an uncomfortable racial tone. Obviously this is unintentional, given this comic’s great record of sensitive portrayals of people of colour. But it still make sme feel a bit itchy, and Mr. Z’s repeated assertion that they should be worshiped as gods by these distinctly non-Aryan islanders isn’t helping anything. Once a Nazi, always a Nazi?
Back to the art, page 14 has Superman using his farmboy skills to ‘rodeo’ the Triceratops to the ground impressively, and again, the dinosaur is amazingly well-drawn. The webbing on its jaw, and the pachyderm-like skin texture really make this feel like a scene out of Jurassic Park (still a year or two away, when this issue was released) and it’s just awesome. I also like the reminder that Clark is comfortable around large beasts, not because of his powers alone, but because of his time around them in his rural upbringing.
The would-be seduction scene is pretty steamy for these pages and the puritan in me wants to believe that it’s both subconscious memories of Lois AND Superman’s strong commitment to chastity that keeps the amnesiac Man of Steel from some cave consummation.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS:
Hamilton hair watch– Professor Hamilton’s hair is REALLY long compared to last issue. Is this some scientist radiation side effect?
Is page 9 some play on Was Not Was, as Superman “Wak"s the dinosaur? [Max: It would make sense since we already know Superman's a Was Not Was fan, but that's actually Z with the twig.]
The translation of Yddad for "Daddy” is a bit on the nose. Maybe this tribe is where Zatanna gets her magic spells from?
Guardian’s winter coat costume looks awesome on page 16, and completely goofy on page 18.
I love the Whiz Wagon. (page 16)
Superman snapping those ropes on a stone table has a real Aslan feel and it’s a great, great visual.
Did the electric feedback that fried his memory also remove his chest hair? Superman is bare chested again!
Is Jon Bogdanove making a joke about Mr Z’s weight, by having him in the grass skirt that only the women on the island wear? Because the men seem to wear animal-hide loin cloths exclusively. Could they have mistaken his flab for a woman’s curves?
Speaking of women’s curves, this issue is the Citizen Kane of gratuitous butt-shots. Too many to list! [Max: I almost picked a shot of Jeb Friedman's butt as a joke, but that would have been too cruel. Plus, I did promise more Lola-La…]
