I remember the day I learned Superman was going to die. I was in some comicbbook store I had never been in before and the guy working the counter pointed to a small article they had posted up. I don’t know where the article was, but definitely some sort of trade magazine (Comics Buyers Guide, perhaps?) that announced DC was going to kill off Superman in the 75th issue of his series. It was a small article, and it seemed so unbelievable that DC would truly kill one of the most widely recognized characters in the world.
A few months later my friend Scott Miller and I were at the Freehold Raceway Mall, checking out the mall’s comicbook store, Comic Relief. Superman #75 had been released and there was a massive line leading into the store. I think the size of the mob was also due to fact that the issue’s inker, Brett Breeding, was there to do a signing, although my memory may be playing tricks on me with that one. But the line was unforgettable. People who never read comics before were lining up to get a piece of history. To witness the death of Superman.
Of course, it wasn’t really death. Oh, I’ll bet you money that if you asked everyone involved in the comic—the writers, the artists, the editors—everyone will say “but Superman really did die!” But death—real death—is a palpable loss. Death, for those still living, is the absence of presence. And when the supposed deceased shows up less than a year later, looking the same and acting the same, and everything associated with him being the same thing as it always has, then were is that loss? Where is that absence?
Because “The Death of Superman” storyline ran through four separate titles, and because I have the entire storyline, I’ll be visiting this topic three more times over the course of this blog. (It’s as absurd as Monty Python's Cardinal Ximinez: “You will read this story three times: Once in Action Comics, once in Adventures of Superman, once in Superman and once in Superman: The Man of Steel. Four! Four times! Oooh, I’ll come in again!”) With so many opportunities to discuss this, I’m not going to delve much further into the existential questions that a story like this provokes. For right now we’ll just focus on, literally, the issue at hand: Action Comics #684. And it isn’t pretty.
To be fair, I am reading only one part of the story here. This issue was part five of the seven-part storyline that culminates in Superman’s death. This issue is a perfect example of the difficulty in reading my comics alphabetically, rather than in each storyline, because it is clearly not meant to stand alone. If I read the whole storyline in its proper order, this issue would probably be more effective within the context of the larger narrative. But I am not doing that and I can only judge this issue on its own merits and there aren’t any. Superman fights Doomsday, which is how the story begins and ends. Admittedly, there is a sense of escalation as Superman tries to defeat the monster; of course, no matter what he tries, he fails. But this is so clearly a manner of convenience for the writers. There have been plenty of epic struggles for Superman, and he has triumphed over them all. There is nothing about Doomsday that shows us why he is different from all other threats, except for when Superman explicitly say things like “we’ve never faced anything quite like this before,” or “I’ve never seen anything on earth or off it to equal him for sheer brute strength.”
The problem with it is: nothing Doomsday does in this issue supports that. Yes, he beats up the Justice League, but a) it’s a League of B- and C-list heroes and b) that’s been done plenty of times before regardless. While the story goes out of its way to portray Superman as being beat-up and tired from fighting Doomsday, he’s gone up against so many heavy hitters in the past that it’s hard to really believe that this guy is different. They demolish a city-sized housing complex (given the amazingly original name of “Habitat”) as a means of showing how powerful Doomsday is, except city-wide destruction is super-hero comicbook stock and trade. So after reading this, I’m still left to wonder: why is this villain so much more powerful than all other villains? This issue doesn’t address it and, from what I remember of reading this the first time, the story itself never does.
(Ironically, the inevitable rematches between Superman and Doomsday that occurred over the years did a much better job in giving their conflict a sense of drama . Of course, part of the reason for that was that we had prior evidence that Doomsday could kill Superman, which meant that all their conflicts had that as a reasonable outcome, even though each reader knew that Superman wouldn’t actually die in any subsequent rematch. How’s that for paradox?)
After Superman became an ex-Superman, the real story can begin: Originally titled “Funeral for a Friend” (then re-titled the more apropos “World Without Superman” when reprinted as a collected edition), the next two issues of Action Comics dealt with how Superman’s supporting cast has to pick up the pieces and deal with the loss of their hero/friend/partner/son. If the internets are to be believed, it’s this aspect of Superman’s death that the writers were most excited to explore, and if that’s true it explains why these issues are much stronger than the one leading up to his death. In the middle issue #685 there is a truly moving scene where Lois breaks down crying, then we cut to the Kents consoling each other, just as Lana Lang calls, tears streaming down her face. Here we have a story, here we have pathos. Hell, even Bibbo manages to tug at the heart strings as he crouches down in a darkened room and asks God why Superman had to die. Yes, the inpact is lessened because you know it’s just a matter of time for Superman to return. But if Doomsday was all tell, this issue succeeds because it shows the effect Superman’s death has, and it gives the reader something to latch on to.
The next issue, 686, is a little more rote, dealing with Superman’s missing body, although that plotline feels perfunctory; as if the writers didn’t think the title could support two full months of people morning and emoting. I suppose they’re right. But my interest picked up significantly when the story switches focus from the missing body plot to focus on how Lois et. al. are getting by. Of course, this is my reaction now as an adult. I suppose it’s no surprise that my 35-year-old self is less interested in the more superhero-y aspects of the story. At least in that respect the story holds and for a moment you can suspend disbelief and believe that Superman is really dead and the world will have to find a way to get by without him.
One last thing to comment on: Action Comics #685 – 686 put Supergirl’s name in the marquee spot, replacing Superman, as if this was now a showcase for her character. Unfortunately it isn’t. Though she’s an active participant in the story she’s hardly in the spotlight. In fact, she’s actively being manipulated by Lex “faked my death and came back as my illegitimate son” Lutheor. At this point in the Superman Comics, Supergirl was in a relationship up with Lex, believing him to be the nicer son.But in these three issues alone, we see Lex in control. He Supergirl to stay away from fighting Doomsday, he tells her when to go out patrolling. Despite the few moments in the comic when Supergirl does her super-thing taking on whatever villain she faces at the moment, she’s utterly at Lex’s beck and call. Obviously this is meant to show was a prick Lex is and give the readers another reason to dislike him. But for a woman who calls herself “Supergirl”, she is essentially Luthor’s plaything, and that story lasted for some time within the comic without controversy. And while I don’t want to stay too long on this soapbox, let me end with he following question: how acceptable would it have been if an evil Wonder Woman kept Superman in her snares for month after month in his comics?
Up Next: After these issues, all the Superman titles went on a brief hiatus to lend credence to the idea that Superman was really dead. And by sheer coincidence, this break in the title’s run coincides with a little break of my own, as my wife and I are about to head off for a vacation. So take that potty break and get that refill on your drinks and snacks, and I’ll see you in a few weeks.
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