Superman – Reign of Doomsday
Written by Paul Cornell
With additional tales from Damon Lindelof, Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Richard Donner & Derek Hoffman
Introduction to the end of Action Comics
I remember the first Superman issue I read as a kid. My grandma introduced me to the red & blue hero with an issue featuring the triad of troublemakers from Krypton. Oddly enough I found out those three were part of the Superman film that Richard Donner made several years ago. And I dug for some time to find the original issues that branched out the character. Eventually my mom suggested to write to DC Comics, lo and behold a bit later I received a letter that there would a collection of the first issues from the origins of Action Comics with Superman. And that’s where my journey began.
Doomsday
During the mid 90’s, DC was having tussle with writing tales. So to gain some readers, they actually brought in a fearsome beast that tussled with the lead hero. And for the first time, Superman actually died and readers didn’t know if he was going to come back. Until a gang of four characters masquerading as Superman took the helm, and fought evil. But the most bizarre part of this tale, was that one of these heroes was actually a villain. Until the “real” Kal-El took the helm again, literally rising from the grave (or another timeline), (I actually began to wonder if some of the writers from Doctor Who were writing Superman tales.) (*Oh wait they do, what are the odds?)
Darkest Night
So flash forward to the present, a dark tale rushes over the entire DC Universe. A dark world where those that perished, had a day to return to the living world. But with only one consequence, they weren’t truly alive. With life and death out of balance, every being in the universe could regain some existence but at the cost of Black Rings (a power that was unheralded by the Lanterns). Except that the Black Ring actually controlled unknown powers beyond the stars. This bizarre chapter, actually brought back the dead Kal-El revisiting everything he lost falling to Doomsday. Eventually having to submit to one exisitence, the Superman we know in the recent tales is the one from another universe. So parallel worlds collide, even with the Final Crisis making things even worse (the dead heroes battle over protecting the stars, and Batman actually dies)
Getting the bizarre tales out of the way, Superman has been through tons of intense tales. Some amazing, and some that left us scratching our heads. We were lucky enough to receive Smallville in a ten year run that dazzled viewers with the origins of Kal-El’s misadventures of being human, and superhuman. It actually pushed DC’s team of writers and artists to go even further. Even some of the most well known names in storytelling took on several episode archs to shape the character into what conceived with their imaginations. (Oh and Doosmday shares an origin tale with Clark, how crazy is that!?) And to the series finale, when Clark finally dons the suit and cape, stopping Darkseid’s home world from colliding with Earth.
Actions Comics pushed over 900 issues of storytelling, more so than any other publisher in existence. But the most critical decision was to wrap it all up in the most clever way. Doomsday, the big burly alien that took Kal-El off the pages for awhile actually makes a big comeback. From Lex becoming a beyonder, an extension of light and dark, to every one donning the shield taking a stand to protect Earth. This finale is truly a gem, every tale offers a bit of excitement and some shocking moments. Even the cover of the hardbound collection makes you wonder what is on the pages within the book.
Being a longtime Superman and comic book reader, I felt that it offers enough suspense that it could parallel a film being made. Plus there are some bonus tales from various names, including Richard Donner (who directed the first Superman film with Christopher Reeves donning the suit). This is a collection that is worth owning, and reading over again. I cannot imagine a better way to explain this book. I just feel bummed out that DC Comics retweaked Superman all over again. But thanks for the memories.
Written by Paul Cornell
With additional tales from Damon Lindelof, Paul Dini, Geoff Johns, David S. Goyer, Richard Donner & Derek Hoffman
Introduction to the end of Action Comics
I remember the first Superman issue I read as a kid. My grandma introduced me to the red & blue hero with an issue featuring the triad of troublemakers from Krypton. Oddly enough I found out those three were part of the Superman film that Richard Donner made several years ago. And I dug for some time to find the original issues that branched out the character. Eventually my mom suggested to write to DC Comics, lo and behold a bit later I received a letter that there would a collection of the first issues from the origins of Action Comics with Superman. And that’s where my journey began.
Doomsday
During the mid 90’s, DC was having tussle with writing tales. So to gain some readers, they actually brought in a fearsome beast that tussled with the lead hero. And for the first time, Superman actually died and readers didn’t know if he was going to come back. Until a gang of four characters masquerading as Superman took the helm, and fought evil. But the most bizarre part of this tale, was that one of these heroes was actually a villain. Until the “real” Kal-El took the helm again, literally rising from the grave (or another timeline), (I actually began to wonder if some of the writers from Doctor Who were writing Superman tales.) (*Oh wait they do, what are the odds?)
Darkest Night
So flash forward to the present, a dark tale rushes over the entire DC Universe. A dark world where those that perished, had a day to return to the living world. But with only one consequence, they weren’t truly alive. With life and death out of balance, every being in the universe could regain some existence but at the cost of Black Rings (a power that was unheralded by the Lanterns). Except that the Black Ring actually controlled unknown powers beyond the stars. This bizarre chapter, actually brought back the dead Kal-El revisiting everything he lost falling to Doomsday. Eventually having to submit to one exisitence, the Superman we know in the recent tales is the one from another universe. So parallel worlds collide, even with the Final Crisis making things even worse (the dead heroes battle over protecting the stars, and Batman actually dies)
Getting the bizarre tales out of the way, Superman has been through tons of intense tales. Some amazing, and some that left us scratching our heads. We were lucky enough to receive Smallville in a ten year run that dazzled viewers with the origins of Kal-El’s misadventures of being human, and superhuman. It actually pushed DC’s team of writers and artists to go even further. Even some of the most well known names in storytelling took on several episode archs to shape the character into what conceived with their imaginations. (Oh and Doosmday shares an origin tale with Clark, how crazy is that!?) And to the series finale, when Clark finally dons the suit and cape, stopping Darkseid’s home world from colliding with Earth.
Actions Comics pushed over 900 issues of storytelling, more so than any other publisher in existence. But the most critical decision was to wrap it all up in the most clever way. Doomsday, the big burly alien that took Kal-El off the pages for awhile actually makes a big comeback. From Lex becoming a beyonder, an extension of light and dark, to every one donning the shield taking a stand to protect Earth. This finale is truly a gem, every tale offers a bit of excitement and some shocking moments. Even the cover of the hardbound collection makes you wonder what is on the pages within the book.
Being a longtime Superman and comic book reader, I felt that it offers enough suspense that it could parallel a film being made. Plus there are some bonus tales from various names, including Richard Donner (who directed the first Superman film with Christopher Reeves donning the suit). This is a collection that is worth owning, and reading over again. I cannot imagine a better way to explain this book. I just feel bummed out that DC Comics retweaked Superman all over again. But thanks for the memories.
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