SUPERMAN #21 & ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #444

“YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN”
Story & Pencils: John Byrne | Inks: John Beatty
Colors: Petra Scotese | Letters: John Costanza
Editor: Mike Carlin | Assistant Editor: Renee Witterstaetter

“PARALLEL LIVES MEET AT INFINITY…”
Scripter/Co-Plotters/Penciler: John Byrne & Jerry Ordway | Inker: Dennis Janke
Letterer: Albert de Guzman | Colorist: Petra Scotese
Assistant Editor: Renee Witterstaetter | Editor: Mike Carlin

The Plot: (SUPERMAN 21) On his way home from his encounter with the Doom Patrol, Superman realizes he’s being followed by an invisible being. She reveals herself as Supergirl, then as Lana Lang, and says that she got her powers from Lex Luthor. A brief scuffle ensues, during which Superman finds his parents and the real Lana tied up in Lana’s house. Superman lures Supergirl to Metropolis and Lex Luthor, where she realizes he is not the man she thought she knew. This triggers the return of her full memories, and she beams herself and Superman to another world, where she introduces the Man of Steel to a fit, red-headed Luthor.

(ADVENTURES 444) On the “pocket universe” Earth, Superman learns that his encounter with Superboy happened a decade ago, and Superboy never returned from his trip to the future with the Legion of Super Heroes. Since then, General Zod and his henchmen, Zaora and Quex-Ui, were released from the Phantom Zone in Superboy’s lab and conquered the Earth, ultimately destroying nearly all of it. Superman vows revenge alongside Luthor, Supergirl, Pete Ross, and their resistance.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: In SUPERMAN 21, Jimmy talks Perry into sending him and Lois to Ireland to investigate Silver Banshee.

SUPERMAN #19 & ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #442

“THE POWER THAT FAILED!”
Story & Pencils: John Byrne | Coloring: Petra Scotese | Lettering: John Costanza
Assistant Editing: Renee Witterstaetter | Editing: Michael Carlin
and welcome aboard to Odd-Inker: John Beatty

“POWER PLAY”
Scripting/Penciling/Co-Plotting: John Byrne & Jerry Ordway | Inking: Andy Kubert
Lettering: Albert de Guzman | Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Assistant Editing: Renee Witterstaetter | Editing: Michael Carlin

The Plot: (SUPERMAN 19) A spacecraft lands in the river near Metropolis, boiling the water. Superman arrives at the waterfront soon after and chats with Maggie Sawyer, then heads under the sea to check out the ship, which contains empty stasis pods and is otherwise unoccupied. While investigating, Superman suddenly loses his ability to hold his breath and survive underwater for an extended period.

Superman returns to the Daily Planet for a bit, then meets with Maggie again and goes out on patrol, stopping a Professor Kilgrave from escaping prison and losing his power of flight in the process. Then, unable to fly, he attempts to leave the prison by running across water, but his super-speed cuts out as well. Superman makes it to shore with the aid of a passing steamer, then deduces that his powers are failing every time he uses one. He tests this theory with X-ray vision, which shuts off as well. Then a semi truck rams Superman, costing him his power of invulnerability. Immediately after, he’s attacked by a creature called Dreadnaught.

ACTION COMICS #600

“DIFFERENT WORLDS”
Story & Breakdowns: John Byrne | Finishes: George Pérez
Letters: John Costanza | Colors: Tom Ziuko
Assistant Editor: Renee Witterstaetter | Editor: Mike Carlin

The Plot: Superman apologizes to Wonder Woman for kissing her without warning, then the two begin to chat. But their conversation is interrupted when Hermes appears and summons Diana to Olympus. Superman follows, but is separated from Wonder Woman upon arrival.

Hermes reveals to Wonder Woman that a group of New Gods invaded Olympus. Meanwhile, Darkseid and Desaad, observing the two heroes from a control room, send a fake Wonder Woman (actually Amazing Grace in disguise) to seduce Superman and a fake Superman (Kalibak in disguise) to clobber Wonder Woman. The heroes fight their enemies, who perform a switch to lure them into fighting one another, instead.

But Superman and Wonder Woman quickly discern the truth and find their way to Darkseid’s hideout. Confronted by the fact that he failed to kill them, Darkseid departs with Desaad, triggering explosives set around Olympus before leaving. But Olympus will only fall when the gods will it, and is unharmed by Darkseid’s treachery.

Superman and Wonder Woman return to Earth, where they decide that a romantic relationship is not meant to be, but they will be friends.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #439 & ACTION COMICS #599

“TIN SOLDIERS”
Writer/Co-Plotters/Penciler: John Byrne & Jerry Ordway | Inker: John Beatty
Letterer: Albert de Guzman | Colorist: Tony Tollin | Editor: Mike Carlin

The Plot: Jimmy’s car breaks down as he is driving Cat and her son, Adam, to New York. They see something which prompts Jimmy to use his signal watch. Later, Superman falls from the sky and lands underground. Perry White receives a call and heads to the hospital, where he meets Inspector Henderson and Lois. The trio meets with Superman, who reveals that he’s been turned into a robot.

Meanwhile, Clark arrives at the Daily Planet and learns “Superman” is at the hospital. He heads over there as well, and soon departs with Lois and the Man of Steel to find Jimmy and the others. The group reaches a paramilitary complex, where their friends are being interrogated by the head of a private militia. “Superman” is destroyed as he fights against the troops, who ultimately surrender when their commander is killed in an explosion.

Later, Superman reveals to Lois and the local sheriff that the robot was his, created to respond to Jimmy’s signal whenever he might be out of range. But thanks to its malfunction, the Man of Steel realizes that there can be only one of him.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Jimmy is driving Cat and Adam to New York while Cat’s car is in the shop.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #438 & ACTION COMICS #598

“…THE AMAZING BRAINIAC”
Writer: John Byrne | Penciller: Jerry Ordway | Inker: John Beatty
Letterer: Albert T. de Guzman | Colorist: Anthony Tollin | Editor: Michael Carlin

The Plot: While at the circus with Cat, her son Adam, and Jimmy, Clark Kent changes to Superman to stop a rampaging elephant. Soon after, the circus psychic, Brainiac, manifests telekinetic powers and an alternate personality, and begins to wreak havoc. Superman stops him, and he is placed into medical care.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Adam is frightened of Superman when they cross paths, believing the Man of Steel injured his father during the fight with Concussion a few issues back, but Cat assures the boy that Superman is a friend.

Though his doctors don’t believe him, Brainiac (a.k.a. Milton Fine) says he was possessed by an alien named Vril Dox during his rampage. Earlier in the issue, he explains Vril Dox’s backstory to Cat and Jimmy.

Lois meets with the parents of Combattor, revealed to be named Lawrence Chin, at their son’s funeral and attempts to convince them that Lex Luthor was behind the young man’s death—but while the Chins refuse to believe it, Lawrence’s younger brother agrees with Lois and passes her a note.

SUPERMAN #14 & ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #437

“LAST STAND!”
Story & Pencils: John Byrne | Inks: Karl Kesel
Colors: Tom Ziuko | Letters: John Costanza | Editing: Michael Carlin

The Plot: Superman and Green Lantern pursue the Manhunters’ leader, Highmaster, into another dimension. The heroes are separated and Green Lantern catches up with Highmaster, falling into a ploy to reveal to the villain the location of the Guardians of the Universe. But Superman arrives before Highmaster can kill the Guardians, who recharge Green Lantern’s power ring, allowing him and Superman to work together and defeat Highmaster.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: This issue continues directly from the main MILLENNIUM series, with Superman and Green Lantern as the last heroes standing after all Earth’s other defenders were beaten by Highmaster. The story’s final page advises readers to follow the duo back into the pages of MILLENNIUM for the event’s conclusion.

My Thoughts: Though it’s an issue of SUPERMAN, this feels more like a typical installment of ACTION COMICS, featuring a stand-alone team-up between Superman and another hero. It’s a quick, breezy read (as are many of Byrne’s issues of ACTION), and while it’s decent on its own, one can’t help feeling it’d feel more momentous after reading the prior issues of MILLENNIUM.

But! Superman and Green Lantern use some cool teamwork to beat Highmaster — the Guardians supercharge GL’s ring while Superman zaps the villain with heat vision to change him from yellow to red, thus allowing the ring to actually work on him — and Byrne gets to throw in the Green Lantern oath, which I know I’d certainly want to do if I was featuring the character in a guest spot in my comic.

ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #434 & 435

“SHAMBLES”
Writer: Marv Wolfman | Artist: Jerry Ordway | Inker: José F. Marzan
Letterer: Albert de Guzman | Colorist: Anthony Tollin | Editor: Mike Carlin

The Plot: Superman intervenes in a mugging, but fails to stop a LexCorp security guard’s keys and ID card being stolen. Later, a mysterious individual receives the stolen goods and prepares a costume for himself. Meanwhile, Perry and Alice White pick up their son, Jerry, from jail on bail. At LexCorp, Luthor discovers his Project Synapse lab was trashed, and has the guard whose keys were stolen beaten for his incompetence.

Later, Metropolis’ new vigilante, Gangbuster, accosts some criminals in their hideout and learns that Max Carter, second-in-command to mobster Jay Falk, has been arming the city’s youth. Superman, having somehow deduced that Jose Delgado broke into LexCorp, visits his apartment but finds him gone. He follows clues to a warehouse where the latest group of the city’s troubled teens are being armed, to find Gangbuster already there fighting the punks. Superman joins the fray, as does Jerry White, and the angry youths are routed.

The next day, Jay Falk is arrested for his role in the gang war, and Superman sends Luthor an instant message informing him that he knows the corrupt billionaire was pulling Falk’s strings.