ACTION COMICS #692 - October 1993

And, Who, Disguised as Clark Kent?

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Karl Kesel (co-plotter), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Albert de Guzman (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  In front of a news crew, Superman saves Clark Kent from a pile of debris.  Clark explains that he’s stayed in the building’s civil defense shelter while waiting to be rescued.  Superman flies through the city, encountering Lex Luthor in his helicopter.  Lex demands to know where Supergirl has been, but Superman refuses to answer.  Later, at Clark’s home, “Clark” morphs into Supergirl.  Superman and Lois thank her for her help and then embrace.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• According to the news report, Doomsday’s rampage was only a little over a month ago.  Think of all of the Superman stories that have been crammed into that timeline!
• The news report also leaves Eradicator’s fate ambiguous, even though the previous chapter seemed like a clear death scene to me.

Production Note:  The Return of Superman trade only reprints eleven pages of this issue.  It’s placed in the back as an “epilogue.”

Review:  It’s not hard to guess why this portion of the story has been reprinted -- the reader needs to know how exactly Clark Kent explains his absence during Superman’s “death.”  The explanation is perfectly reasonable within the context of this era’s continuity, although I wonder now how DC explains this away in the re-re-revised canon.  (Surely Supergirl was never a shapeshifting pile of goo in the current continuity.)  With this dangling tidbit addressed, that closes out the Death and Return of Superman epic.

On a basic level, it’s hard not to view the entire stunt as a success.  It brought more attention to the titles (more than DC could’ve ever expected), increased sales, and enabled DC to compete against the birth of Image Comics and the increasing expansion of Marvel’s X-titles.  Marrying Superman and Lois off would’ve caused a blip in sales and a smidgen of publicity, but killing him off, duping the audience with four possible replacements, and finally reviving him kept attention focused on the books for almost two years.

Creatively, the storyline has a few problems.  The initial point the story tries to prove, that Superman is a true hero that will endure past any fad, seems to fade in and out as the months continue.  A few characters learn lessons about true heroism over the course of the event, but the stories seem more and more concerned with gigantic fight scenes than making any metatextual statement about the public’s perception of heroism.  And those closing issues, the big fight scene that draws all of the characters together, seem to drag on forever.  It’s a shame that the creators couldn’t have devised a more satisfying conclusion to the event, rather than stranding the reader on Engine City for what feels like an eternity.  If you want to see Superman fight Doomsday, his actual killer, in a rematch, then you’re out of luck.  That comes later, in a different set of higher-priced bookshelf format specials.  It’s the ‘90s, folks.

Following the resurrection, DC felt obligated to indicate that not everything has returned to the old status quo.  You can’t take your flagship character and put him through this kind of experience without some acknowledgment of what he’s endured, right?  So, now Superman has a mullet.  And Clark Kent has a ponytail.  What can you even say?  I can understand the creators’ desire to return to a more traditional Superman, with only a small cosmetic change thrown in, but it seems like a wasted opportunity.  If you’re ever going to redesign Superman’s costume, this is the time to do it.  Why couldn’t he keep the black and silver look?  Who’s to say he even needed to return as Clark Kent?  For that matter, why is Superman even returning before the next big anniversary issue (Action #700)?  Even after the gimmick of which Superman is the real one has been exhausted, I think Supergirl, Superboy, and Steel could be able to carry the titles for around a year.  Why create a massive marketing event around Superman’s death, but only leave him dead for one month in the timeline?  Why couldn’t Superman return to a very different Metropolis?

Despite my gripes, I have to say there has been a level of, at the very least, professionalism throughout the event.  The Superman titles never reach the nadir of the Azrael solo stories the audience had to endure during “Knightfall,” and we should all thank the heavens for that.  It’s obvious the creators have genuine affection for the Man of Steel, and even if it’s easy to view the event as a cynical stunt, I think there was a sincere effort all along to tell an entertaining story.  There seems to be a decent amount of nostalgia for this era of Superman, and I have to acknowledge that most of these stories have aged pretty well.  Trust me, as far as ‘90s gimmick storylines go, the audience dodged a bullet on this one.

ACTION COMICS #691 - September 1993

Secret Weapon

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Superman and Steel continue to fight against Mongul and the Cyborg’s foot soldiers.  During a break in the fighting, Superman reveals that Supergirl has been aiding them the entire time in her invisible form.  However, she’s soon separated from the others during their search for Engine City’s power supply.  Mongul declares to his personal followers that he isn’t taking orders from Cyborg Superman any longer.  He orders them to start the kryptonite-powered engine, which will destroy the Earth.  Meanwhile, Lex Luthor discovers a semi-conscious Superboy, who’s fallen in a landfill after stopping the Engine Bomb.  He’s furious that Superboy doesn’t know where Supergirl is.  Elsewhere, Eradicator absorbs the Fortress’ energy, nearly destroying it, so that he has the power to return to the fight.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Superman says he hasn’t felt this vulnerable since Mxyzptlk cancelled out his powers.  A footnote points to Superman #49.

Mom, Apple Pie, etc…:  A series of narrative captions explains that Eradicator didn’t understand the concept of humanity, of complex ways of thinking and feeling, until taking on the form of Superman.

Review:  Apparently, we needed yet another chapter of this Engine City fight.  To his credit, Roger Stern breaks up some of the monotony by throwing in Supergirl’s surprise appearance, and he’s able to portray Superman’s use of machine guns in way that doesn’t feel like gratuitous shock value.  The action isn’t necessarily bad, it just feels redundant at this point.  There are only so many pages of Superman and Steel plowing through armies of alien goons that I’m willing to tolerate.  The only real plot advancement comes from Mongul’s decision to turn on Cyborg Superman, which has been telegraphed for what feels like six months now.  The rest of the issue consists of getting the remaining cast members in place for the big finale, which would be a welcome relief right about now; however, it’s still a few issues away.  I understand that this story was inevitably going to end with all four replacement Supermen and Superman, along with Supergirl, gathered together for a big fight...but honestly, I was expecting something a bit more creative than this.

ACTION COMICS #690 - August 1993

Lies & Revelations

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Cyborg Superman places Superboy in restraints so that he can be studied.  In order to get rid of the Justice League, Cyborg Superman sends them on a fraudulent mission in space.  Superboy overhears the Cyborg and Mongul’s plans to create a second “Engine City” in Metropolis and vows to escape.  Meanwhile, a weakened Eradicator reaches the Fortress of Solitude.  He discovers the regeneration matrix is empty, and the Fortress robots reveal his true identity.  The actual Superman has already been released from the matrix and is heading towards Metropolis in a Kryptonian war-suit.  In Metropolis, Lois tells the authorities that she believes Cyborg Superman is a fraud.

Irrelevant Continuity:  The origin of Eradicator is revealed.  The basic idea is that he’s a Kryptonian artificial intelligence that has gained sentience.  His consciousness lived inside the Fortress and, following the “death” of Superman, sought to steal his body.  Superman’s consciousness fought against him, however, leaving Eradicator to somehow use the mass inside the coffin to form his own faux-Superman body.

Total N00B:  The cutaways to the Justice League emphasize that Jade is Alan Scott’s daughter.  I have a vague idea of who Jade is but I’ve never heard of this before.

Review:  The mysteries surrounding “The Last Son of Krypton” (or “Visor Superman”) are resolved, in what I’m just going to assume was a satisfying payoff for regular readers of the Superman titles.  I’ve never read the original Eradicator storyline, so it’s not as if I could’ve seen this coming, but it seems as if Roger Stern has put a lot of thought into this and placed a decent number of clues in Action over the past few months.  Since Eradicator was designed as a weapons system, it seems logical that his response to crime would be lethal, and adopting the moniker “Last Son of Krypton” does make sense given his origin.  The specific details of what happened “behind the scenes” in Action #687 are revealed, showing us how what we assumed was Superman retaking his body was anything but, so Stern is playing fair with the reader.  Stern’s setting up the idea that Eradicator actually wants to follow Superman’s example now, which I guess is going to lead to a dramatic redemptive moment later on.  Some of this is fairly predictable, but the execution is compelling enough to fend off any real boredom.  And the cutaway to Superman, the real one, this issue is actually the dramatic slow-reveal that I assumed was going to happen last issue. Reading it now the sequence feels odd -- why does he get a slow reveal after already returning last month? -- but now that I understand the proper context (Stern wanted the readers to think that Superman was the Eradicator last issue), this makes sense.

ACTION COMICS #689 - August 1993

Who is the Hero True?

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (art), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Superboy and Supergirl unite to rescue the citizens on Hobsneck Bridge, but Lex is furious to discover that Superboy has signed a deal with Rex Leech.  Meanwhile, in the Fortress of Solitude, Superman awakens from his regeneration matrix.  After the Fortress’ robots show him news reports of the four new Supermen, he declares that he’s going to Metropolis as soon as possible.  In Metropolis, Steel and Eradicator get into a brawl after Steel accuses Eradicator of manslaughter.  Eradicator flies Steel into orbit, forcing him to leap off and rely on his boot-jets to reach Earth.  Before he lands, Eradicator dive-bombs him.  In deeper space, Mongul approaches Earth.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• The Kents are irritated by news coverage of the new Supermen, and for Supergirl for siding with Lex Luthor.  According to the footnotes, they took in Supergirl in Superman #22, and she “ran off” in Action #644.
• When Superman emerges from his regeneration matrix, he does not have long hair.

Review:  Wait a minute…this is how Superman returns?  In a docile subplot scene tucked into the middle of a seemingly random issue?  No giant splash page, no lengthy buildup, no breathless purple prose…he just wakes up inside his pod and decides it’s time to come back?  That’s insane.  I’m tempted to believe that there’s a chapter missing in the reprint collection, yet these Superman trades have been pretty good about reprinting almost all of the material, and it’s hard to imagine why a scene building up to this one would’ve been skipped.  It’s amazing to think that the “Reign of Supermen” era was so short (it’s painfully obvious by now that none of these “heroes” is truly Superman); my memory as a kid was that the four Supermen gimmick lasted for several months.  It’s a shock to realize that it barely lasted for two full months, and that the mystery was dismissed so casually.

Ignoring Superman’s totally blasé resurrection, what else is going on this issue?  The cliffhanger from Adventures is resolved, a few subplots are touched upon, Eradicator and Steel get into a pointless fight, and there’s a cliffhanger set up for the next chapter in Man of Steel.  In a way, it feels like a busy issue, even though most of these threads aren't particularly exciting.  There’s a cute bit that has Eradicator and Steel getting served by a process server because Rex Leech has already copyrighted the Superman emblem, but the rest of the issue is fairly dull.  The Return of Superman should’ve livened things up, but the bizarre execution of that scene is shocking in how utterly non-dramatic it is.  It’s truly a strange issue; I wonder what was going on behind the scenes at this point.

ACTION COMICS #688 - July 1993

An Eye for an Eye

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (artists), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Annoyed by the emergence of four new Supermen, Guy Gardner decides to prove them as frauds.  He first targets the Eradicator, who’s recently broken all of the bones in a thief’s hand.  Guy and the Eradicator fight, and Guy is stunned at Eradicator’s strength.  When Guy witnesses the Eradicator’s ruthless treatment of the Dragon street gang, he decides he supports this Superman.  Guy publicly gives his endorsement of Eradicator, which unnerves him.  Meanwhile, Maggie Sawyer is promoted to Inspector.  At a press conference, she promises to apprehend the new, lethal Superman.

Review:  I assumed the Eradicator stories would focus on him acting like the Punisher in an updated version of Superman’s costume, but Stern is instead going in a more traditional direction.  This issue is largely a slugfest between Guy Gardner and Eradicator with a few brief acknowledgments of the ongoing subplots thrown in.  There’s little here to differentiate this from any other brawl that might occur between Guy and Superman, just a different justification for why they’re fighting for eighteen pages.  It is amusing that Guy Gardner gives his public endorsement to one of the Supermen that turns out to be a villain, but of course the story’s going out of its way to make Guy Gardner look bad.  I’m not familiar enough with DC continuity to know how Guy should be written, if he’s supposed to be a likable grouch like Jonah Jameson or just a caricature of what the creators think a “Joe Six-Pack” hero would be, but I accept that he’s supposed to be the jerk of the DC Universe.  He’s not particularly entertaining in this issue, however, leading me to believe that he either works best within the context of a Justice League story or that Stern doesn’t have the best grasp on the character.  Guy serves his purpose as a punching bag, yes, but I don’t see any real reason for him to be the focus for so much of the issue.

ACTION COMICS #687 - June 1993

Born Again

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (artists), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  A being made of energy emerges inside the Fortress of Solitude.  After learning of Superman’s death, he travels to Superman’s memorial in Metropolis.  The being possesses the body, although his eyes are now sensitive to the sun.  Donning a pair of sunglasses and a new costume made by the robots inside the Fortress of Solitude, he returns to Metropolis to fight crime as the new Superman.  Lois Lane confronts him, and is shocked by his cold demeanor.  The new Superman remembers Clark’s dual identity, but tells Lois that only Superman remains.  Meanwhile, Bibbo decides to continue Superman’s legacy, while Supergirl questions why Lex hasn’t informed her of the new Superman.

Irrelevant Continuity:  

• This new Superman, a.k.a. the "Last Son of Krypton," is later identified as the Eradicator.  Aside from a lethal attitude, he possesses the ability to shoot energy beams from his hands.
• Lex mentions that four people dubbed “Superman” by the media have debuted in recent days.  The continuity of where these stories are taking place in relation to one another becomes less clear in future chapters.

Gimmicks:   Every Superman title this month has a newsstand and a direct-only cover.  The direct-only editions have die-cut, cardstock covers and it seems both versions have fold-out posters inside.

Review:  Well, I guess the mystery of which Superman is the real one is already resolved, right?  This is clearly Superman -- he remembers the dual identity, his spirit has reemerged after “a battle” right inside the Fortress of Solitude, and he’s able to float right into Superman’s casket and take possession of the body.  Yeah, he’s killing people left and right, but it’s the ‘90s and that’s what a hero has to do these days.  His brain’s a little frazzled after the near-death experience, so he’s still figuring some things out; maybe he’ll stop frying people after he gets a better sense of his self, but it’s cool to see Superman act like the Punisher now, right?  And thank God those awful undies on the outside are gone now!  This is the Superman of the ‘90s, folks!

Now, obviously, Roger Stern is doing all of this to make a point.  Not every new Superman turns into a lecture on what Superman isn’t supposed to be, but using one of the titles to explore a fake Superman as the stereotypical Chromium Age vigilante is a legitimate choice in my eyes.  One of the reasons why this storyline was approved in the first place was to make the audience of the time more appreciative of what makes Superman unique, so it’s easy to see what they’re going for.  This is all rendered irrelevant in the days of the New 52 and Man of Steel, of course, but it’s a nice flashback to a time when DC was honestly protective of what Superman is supposed to represent.  I do question giving Superman Cyclops glasses, though.  If the goal is to make this Superman more stylized and (I’m assuming) Image-esque, I don’t see how those big dorky glasses are supposed to work.  He should’ve had a cowl with Wolverine ears, of course.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #500 - June 1993

Life and Death

Credits:  Jerry Ordway (writer), Tom Grummett (penciler), Doug Hazelwood (inker), Albert de Guzman (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Jonathan Kent has a near-death experience in the hospital.  He sees Superman walking towards the light and tries to talk him back.  Jonathan pursues Superman and in the process, relives traumatic events from his own life.  The entity Kismet sets Jonathan on the proper course, and he soon finds Superman in a Kryptonian funeral procession.  When Jonathan tries to awaken Superman, the Krypotonians are revealed as demons.  Jonathan and Superman escape into a tunnel.  When Jonathan wakes in the hospital, he’s convinced his son is alive.  On Lois’ plane ride home from Smallville, she sees a flying caped figure.  Various news reports later claim Superman has returned.  She visits Superman’s tomb with Henderson of the Metropolis police.  They discover his casket is empty.

Irrelevant Continuity:  Subplots this issue include Vincent Edge sexually harassing Cat Grant (who doesn't seem terribly offended since she later accepts his dinner invitation), Jimmy Olsen avoiding the filming of his “Turtle Boy” TV show, the Prankster annoying his cellmate, and the Metropolis police attempting to arrest Gangbuster after he blows an undercover sting operation.  A homeless man helps him get to safety.  Also, Gangbuster has a warrant for his arrest because a group of drug dealers he previously busted filed charges against him.  A footnote points to the Legacy of Superman one-shot.

I Love the ‘90s:  Cat Grant tells Vincent Edge that “this is the nineties” and she doesn’t have to accept his sexual harassment.  Even though she does.  Later, the Prankster’s cellmate tells him that “Turtle Boy” is so bad it’s good.  “It’s, y’know, very nineties.”

Production Notes:  This issue was published after a two month gap in which the Superman titles suspended publication.  The World without a Superman trade only reprints the main story in Adventures #500.  The next trade in the series, Return of Superman, reprints the final stories, which are all vignettes introducing the four new Supermen.

Gimmicks:  Three versions of this issue exist.  A standard newsstand edition, and two collector’s editions, one in a white polybag and one in a black polybag.  The collector’s editions have a holographic cover. According to comics.org, the newsstand version didn’t have eight story pages that were in the collector’s editions.  The Fortress of Baileytude blog has a collection of the "deleted scenes."

Review:  Adventures #500 was the first big issue following the death of Superman, although apparently the sales didn’t live up to the hype.  How do you follow up on the death of your most famous character?  DC was stuck in an impossible position; this stunt was only supposed to be a temporary replacement storyline to delay Superman’s wedding, but now a large portion of the general public actually believed Superman was dead.  DC rode the wave of controversy, embraced the publicity, and went out of its way to sell the death as being genuine, but how exactly could the creators get out of this hole?  Feeding the hype only made Superman’s inevitable return a larger problem for the creators to handle.  Adventures #500 is a logical choice to feature Superman’s return, since it is the next anniversary issue, but how exactly should Superman be revived?  Bringing Superman back to the living and just returning to normal so soon after his death would be perceived as a cheap move.  Maybe DC could’ve gotten away with that if only comics fans had been paying attention, but when you’ve made the New York Times and the CBS Evening News?  Can you backtrack so quickly with the world watching?  DC’s solution ultimately turns out to be this: hint that Superman’s alive, introduce a gimmicky storyline with four replacement Supermen, kill time, and finally, bring back Superman.

It’s hard to imagine any scenario where Adventures #500 doesn’t disappoint some portion of the readership.  Anyone who actually thought Superman was dead wouldn’t want to see him revived so quickly, and the readers who wanted him to return probably didn’t appreciate being teased in such a fashion.  Luckily, hindsight makes it easier to simply judge the issue on its own merits.  And it’s actually a strong anniversary issue.  Jonathan Kent is the real star of the issue, with Ordway taking the reader on a tour of his life, reliving traumatic moments from his childhood on to his stint in Korea.  I’m not familiar enough with Superman continuity to have a feel for how Jonathan Kent was normally portrayed in this era, but Ordway does a great job of making Jonathan fit the mold of what you’d expect Superman’s dad to be while also giving him a bit of a specific personality.  He’s not just a generically nice old man, he’s a veteran who’s lived a hard life filled with loss.  When Jonathan is pitted against Superman’s birth father in this ethereal recreation of Krypton, you’re genuinely rooting for Jonathan to win.  There’s also a great idea about Superman accepting his “death” and entering the afterlife simply because he was taught by the Kents to believe in an afterlife.  As a yellow sun charged Kryptonian, who’s to say his mortality is analogous to a human’s?  Superman's been conditioned to believe he has to go into the white light, but how can be entirely certain that he's dead yet?

As always, Tom Grummett’s contributions can’t be overlooked.  Everyone’s on-model while being slightly stylized, the panel layouts are creative, and the action scenes look just as good as the conversation scenes.  Doug Hazelwood also does an incredible job on the added tones during the afterlife scenes.  I’m not sure if he’s using the same technique John Byrne used on Namor, but it’s a very similar look.  I love the unique texture zip-a-tone provides, and it’s a shame that look has died out over the years.  I have no idea if Photoshop can recreate it, but I wish someone would try.

First Sighting…

Credits:  Louise Simonson, Roger Stern, Karl Kesel, & Dan Jurgens (writers), Jon Bogdanove & Tom Grummett (pencilers), Jackson Guice & Dan Jurgens (breakdowns), Dennis Janke & Doug Hazelwood (inkers), Denis Rodier & Bret Breeding (finishers), Bill Oakley, Albert de Guzman, & John Costanza (letterers), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  Steel emerges from the debris of Metropolis during a gang fight between the Sharks and Dragons.  The Eradicator kills a carjacker.  Superboy escapes Project: Cadmus with the help of the Newsboy Legion.  Cyborg Superman flies into Metropolis and destroys a Superman memorial plaque in front of a family of tourists.

Irrelevant Continuity:  The back-ups in Adventures #500 introduce the four replacement Supermen.  Since DC was unwilling to admit in the beginning that none of these characters actually is Superman, it takes a while for some of them to develop code names.  For simplicity’s sake, I’ll be referring to them by the names they’re now associated with.

Review:  Overlooking the debate over whether or not transferring the titles to four fake Supermen was a good idea, I do think it was a pretty smart decision on DC’s part to give a teaser for each new character in Adventures #500.  It makes the anniversary issue feel like an even bigger event, and of course, serves as a commercial for any curious fan about what’s happening in the rest of the line.  In retrospect, it’s impressive that DC has continued the “event” sensation for so long after the start of the Doomsday storyline.  Obviously there’s no way this issue was going to sell the same numbers as Superman #75, but I remember that a lot of enthusiasm remained for the books at this point.  People who would never look at the Superman comics were openly debating over which Superman was the “real” one; a great hook for the next chapter of the story, even if the resolution is ultimately a copout.

There isn’t a lot of story in the backups, just enough to give readers a sense of what to expect in each character’s respective title.  Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove are going urban in Man of Steel, Roger Stern and Jackson Guice play off the ‘90s vigilante cliché in Action, Karl Kesel and Tom Grummett are exploring a lighter tone with Superman’s teenage clone in Adventures, and Dan Jurgens provides an ominous introduction for the Cyborg Superman that’s taking over Superman.  It seems rather obvious that two of these characters are explicitly not Superman, regardless of what the pre-release hype might’ve lead us to believe.  The two most likely candidates as the real Superman are given the most mysterious introductions, indicating that DC wants at least a few more months to string us along.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you’re not turned off by excessive hype and just willing to accept the “Reign of the Supermen” era as simply the next chapter of the story.

ACTION COMICS #686 - February 1993

 

Who’s Buried in Superman’s Tomb?

Credits:  Roger Stern (writer), Jackson Guice & Denis Rodier (artists), Bill Oakley (letterer), Glenn Whitmore (colorist)

Summary:  The Guardian patrols Metropolis after receiving time-off from Cadmus.  Dubbilex mentally contacts him, telling Guardian to return to Cadmus immediately.  Guardian discovers that Paul Westfield has stolen Superman’s body and is planning to clone it.  Guardian is indignant, but eventually realizes that the plan could have merit.  Meanwhile, Lex Luthor joins Supergirl and the Metropolis Police in investigating the tunnels underneath Superman’s tomb.  A bomb left by Cadmus floods the tunnel, but Supergirl rescues her companions.  Both Luthor and Maggie Sawyer suspect Cadmus stole Superman’s body.  Elsewhere, Lois sees the Kents and Lana off at the airport.

Irrelevant Continuity:

• Dubbilex absorbed "mental impressions" from Superman in Superman #58 and Adventures #485.  Cadmus plans to use Dubbilex’s powers to recreate Superman’s personality.
• A Superman cult appears outside of his memorial.  A footnote says they previously appeared in Action #638.
• Maggie Sawyer had a prior encounter with Cadmus in Superman #34.
• Dr. Teng, “terminated” by Luthor in Action #678, used Cadmus’ data to create a new body for Luthor.  Luthor says he’ll have to find someone else to infiltrate Cadmus.
• A news report lists 189 confirmed casualties in the Doomsday assault, with nearly 900 still missing.

I Love the ‘90s:  Guardian’s high-tech motorcycle records a laser disc of his fight against a group of car thieves.

Total N00B:  This is the first story in the Death of Superman and World without a Superman trades to reveal that Lex Luthor, Jr. is actually Lex Luthor in a younger, cloned body.  I also discovered this issue that former Cadmus head Dabney Donovan created the Underworlders. 

Review:  This is the unofficial Tribute to Jack Kirby issue, featuring several characters he created for DC that were eventually grafted on to the Superman mythos.  Roger Stern is legendary for his knowledge of continuity, and this issue he manages to merge the Kirby material with numerous post-Crisis Superman storylines, all in logical and occasionally provocative ways.  Stern also has fun giving “Terrible” Dan Turpin an excessive amount of quotation marks in his dialogue, a reference to one of Kirby’s oddest scripting quirks.  Most readers today would probably get the joke, but I wonder now what the average fan in 1993 thought of this.

Guardian receives much of the attention this issue, serving as yet another Superman replacement on the streets of Metropolis, before getting dragged into the drama surrounding Superman’s stolen corpse.  Guardian’s initial disgust at Cadmus’ actions is minimized when he realizes that Paul Westfield’s plan isn’t too different from what happened to his own body.  How could a man whose life has been extended through cloning object to Superman getting the same opportunity?  This is Superman, after all, so how could he possibly argue that the world doesn’t need him to return?  Speaking of cloning, Lex Luthor has his own ties to Cadmus’ work, and he’s certainly smart enough to deduce what their plan is.  Tying up last issue’s Supergirl plot could’ve been time-killer, but Stern uses Luthor in a clever way to add some intrigue to the larger storyline.

Jackson Guice and Denis Rodier are also channeling Kirby, although it’s a strange direction for the duo to suddenly explore.  Their previous issues seemed to be an early experiment in incorporating photorealism into superhero art, and now they’re throwing Kirby into the mix.  There’s really no way to do realistic Kirby, post-1970 Kirby at least, so visually the issue doesn’t seem to have any real consistency.  Some pages are very Kirby, but the style quickly swerves back the other way in just a few panels.  I’m personally not a fan of most “realistic” superhero work, so my favorite pages are the more traditional action pages.  When the issue is supposed to evoke Kirby, such as the double-page Guardian spread, that’s what this book should look like every issue.