Comics Reading Superman Post Crisis, Start to End

[Spider-Aziz]

This section needs revival, so I decided to try and revive it with this thread.

This is me reading and reviewing Superman comics from after the end of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and before the Flashpoint Paradox (as the film adaption call it).

Hope you enjoy, and post your comments.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

So far I read:
Man of Steel (intro mini, 1986)
Adventures of Superman 424-431
Superman volume 2 #001-009
Action Comics 584-591

And the best place to hit it off is with the opening mini series; Man of Steel mini series.

A little history:

From October-December 1986, this 6 issues mini series took place chronicling events taking place before Adventures of Superman 424, Superman v1 #001, and Action Comics 584. It was made as a revamp planned to retool Superman for the new world they had in mind.
At the start of Batman: Year One trade there is an opening letter by Denny O'Neil explaining the editorial management plans and ideas to renovate Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman origins for the new world they designed, how Batman's origin was too perfect and in no need for a revamp, and the revamp they assigned to John Byrne for the Man of Steel.

Crisis on Infinite Earths is an event that started in April 1985, and ended in March 1986, 6 months before the release of Man of Steel 6 issues series, written and drawn by John Byrne, that world ran until August 1986, before the fictional story by Alan Moore, Curt Swan, and George Perez: "Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel", ending the previous incarnation of Superman.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Issue 1 starts with a prologue, in Krypton, Jor-El and Lara talk about sending Kal to the planet Earth to save him from the plague that is killing Kryptonians.
Jor-El shows images of Earth to his wife, and she calls Earthlings savages, and wants her son Kal-El to rule them.
Kal-El rockets away, and the planet explodes, from plague? Caused by planet surface cracking and a new radioactive mineral showing all over the planet.

Then we move to see Clark playing padded rugby for his high school (I will never call it football, it's not played by the foot kicking the -not spherical- ball), Pa Kent insists on talking to him after the end of the match, to show him the space craft he landed in, and do the exposition bit to show the reader bits of Super Clark's past. After they reach home, Clark reaches the decision he is needed to help the world, so he leaves home before completing his senior year in high school.

A few years later (5 on this timeline) Ma Kent is collecting paper clippings of Superman's heroic deeds, Pa Kent is talking with her about this, and the risk of someone finding it, and they hear someone in Clark's room, so they go and check.
Clark is sitting there, sulking, and tells the Kents he saved a plane from crashing, Lois Lane is there, she interviewed him, and suddenly a mob came to him, so he felt like he got away.

The Kents helped him making a disguise to blend in with folks, and an outfit to wear as Superman.

Book one ends.

It's the longest book in the series, 33 pages of story compared to the 22 pages length for the rest.
A good start, but not a strong one.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Issue 2 is about Superman in adventures, Lois Lane tries to get an exclusive with him.
Kent comes to an appointment at the Daily Planet, scooping Lois at her big scoop to prove his worth as a reporter to Perry White.
Issue ends.
Simple enough, not much of a problem with this issue, except for Lois risking losing her car -and almost her life- for nothing.

Issue 3 is the one issue I kept thinking about ever since they officially announced Batman V Superman, confrontation of that kind.
First meeting between Superman and Batman, Superman thinks Batman is an outlaw and tries to arrest him, but Batman gets away and tells him about an aura surrounding him, if Superman grabbed Batman an innocent man would die.
Batman is fed up with Magpie killing innocent folks, and he tries to nab her, instead of letting Superman delay him, he convinces him to work on his side.
Both capture Magpie, Batman hands Superman the explosive that was about to kill an innocent man (himself in this case).
The one nitpick I have with this issue is how Batman knew Superman would try to nab him at that day? Could be a wild guess since Batman was considered an outlaw during the events of that issue. But what if the explosive was not as prepared as he thought it?

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Man of Steel 4
Lois goes to Clark's apartment to lead him to the chopper taking them to a party on a cruiser owned by Lex Luthor, they go there as reporters. Lois is stunned by how neat Clark's apartment is.
In Lex's quarters in the cruiser, Lex reveals the dress Lois is wearing is a gift he sent to her, not a loaner, so she's disgusted all of a sudden, and takes Clark's coat to put after she takes the dress off, concealed by Clark's back.
As the duo walk on deck, they are confronted by a bunch of militant terrorists angry at Lex Luthor, and they knock Clark overboard.
Lois takes good care of the situation while Superman flies the cruise to its destination, an island owned by Luthor.
After the deck is cleaned up, Lex tells everyone he knew this would happen, and the mayor deputizes Superman to arrest Luthor, and he does.
Some days later, Superman helps a pregnant woman in a late train, sends her to a hospital, where the grateful mother gives her son a middle initial S. for Superman. Superman thinks of the boy's future to himself, and then a picture is taken of him by an unknown.
Suddenly Lex Luthor pops in, promises Superman he will kill him, and book 4 ends.

Lex has hair in this issue.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

Man of Steel 5
It starts with Superman in the Chinese branch of Lex Corp, handing Lex the power armor his pre-crisis counterpart used to wear, because all parts were built and developed by a subsidiary of Lex Corp, and the pilot carried an ID badge revealing his employ for Lex Luthor.
Lex Luthor denies all the charges Superman directs at him by saying all parts were stolen, and the pilot was fired (strangely, still carrying the badge).
Superman leaves, Lex sees a doctor he helped get away from prison to use him to clone Superman, developing a Superman working under Luthor's employ, cause Luthor does not like the idea of such a powerful rival, someone with such power, not working under his employ.
The clone of Superman collapses, scientist tells Luthor the scanners in the office could not study the matrix of Superman, cause his structure is nothing to be found on Earth, Luthor tells that guy he doesn't want to see him again. And in that while, the clone is turning pale white.

Back to Metropolis, Lois Lane is talking to her blind sister -Lucy- at her apartment, Lucy is sad cause she is unable to think of anything to work at, she did not train herself to be anything other than a flight attendant.

In another part of Metropolis, an ambulance is broken, they suddenly fly to the hospital, once the flight ends and the ambulances reaches its destination safely, the grateful driver and first responder want to show gratitude to their hero, but the face -obscure from the readers- terrifies them, and they rush into the hospital in panic.

Lucy jumps, the bizarre Superman saves her, she talks to him, but he does not reply, and flies away.
Then he breaks a window display.

Clark Kent, in the office of the Daily Planet hears Jimmy talk about the news of the broken $1,000 dollar window display, broken to steal a $100 suit, Kent hears something, and uses his X-Ray to see someone wearing his Superman costume, topped by civilian clothes, and the cape drapes down the coat. Clark rushes on the stairs, changing into his Superman outfit, and meets the stranger, we finally see the face of Bizarro, who punches Superman.

A short fight ensues, Lois goes to her apartment, talks to Lucy, Bizarro went there all of a sudden, then Superman follows, another fight ensues.
Superman notices white dust on him, he realizes the bizarre clone of him is crumbling to dust, and that makes him fly full force toward him.
Bizarro flies back a distance, and flies toward Superman, the force shatters Bizarro, and his dust falls on the Lane balcony, curing Lucy Lane's blindness.

Superman, Lucy, and Lois discuss this, Lucy mentions her vision was a bit blurry when the clone saved her, and she wasn't fully blind at that moment, Superman explains the clone knew about this, that's why he wanted to be blown the way he was.

---===End of Book 5===---​

Ok, so apparently some cloning procedures suddenly clone clothes with the clone.
And Lex is bald


Final score:


4 super shields out of 5.