World of Smallville #1 (April 1988)
World of Smallville #1 (April 1988)
While visiting Smallville, Superman finds out the Kents’ dark family secret: Ma Kent was married to another dude before Pa Kent. Also, as you can see in the cover above, she was quite the looker and her maiden name was Martha Clark. That means that if Ma had found Baby Superman as a single woman, she would have named him Clark Clark.
Ma and Pa tell the whole story to their shocked Superson: back in the swinging ‘40s, Pa was pronounced missing in action after being captured by Japan in World War II. Believing him dead, his sweetheart Martha found herself another dude, a rich guy named Dan Foreman. Pa is heartbroken upon his return to Smallville, until he finds out that Foreman is conveniently dying of cancer… and wants to Pa to inherit his wife. All he has to do is spend one night insid- no, bad joke.
The issue ends with Superman reacting to that revelation in the swinging '80s.
Character-Watch:
We meet Pa’s Pa, Sam Kent, and his aunt Sal, who I think is Sam’s wife but not Pa’s Ma. I don’t think they were ever shown or mentioned again, but I may be wrong. There’s also the first mention of Pa’s brother Harry Kent, who died in a farm accident. He will come back again, during a crucial moment in Superman history.
Plotline-Watch:
This is the second “World of…” miniseries, and it’s kind of a letdown after the epicness of World of Krypton. It’s drawn by Silver Age artist Kurt Schaffenberger, whose somewhat stiff style is a stark contrast with sweet sweet Mike Mignola’s art in the Krypton series, but it does fit the old-timey tone of this issue.
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