The Post-Crisis Superman Timeline

(note: years are based upon the assumption that Superman #1 takes place in 1987. Comic writers generally avoid providing dates so that the present day remains timeless, but Wolfman outright dates Luthor's career as having begun to peak in the Late 1970s, Byrne has Jonathan Kent fight in World War II and Perry White fight in Vietnam, and we're even given the exact date that Superman made his first public appearance, so I'm accepting their invitations to apply real world dates/history to this continuity)

Approximately 500000 BC: The earliest recorded history of Krypton. Their technology began "outpacing their mastery of social order," leading to an age of scientifically advanced barbarism (Action Comics #652).

Approximately 199000 BC: Krypton has become far more civilized and devoted to logic. "Cleric," a missionary for the Holy Commune, arrives on Krypton and preaches against cloning, polarizing the Science Council in reaction and inspiring Sen-M to continue opposing cloning after his departure. Inadvertently, this sets into motion events that will result in Krypton's destruction two hundred thousand years later (Action Comics Annual #2, using dates from World of Krypton #2). In response to the threat posed by "Cleric," The Kryptonian Science Council orders Kem-L, an ancestor of Jor-El and Kal-El, to build a device that will silence all future heresy. Kem-L develops The Eradicator Device, which ensures that no Kryptonian can leave Krypton without dying, no non-Kryptonian may visit Krypton without dying, and it's ultimate mission is to ensure the survival of Krypton's heritage (Adventures of Superman #460). Cleric soon steals the device and leaves Krypton, ending up on Warworld, kept alive by the device for eons, and ultimately giving it to Superman before dying in 1989 (Action Comics Annual #2).

Approximately 99000 BC: The Fifth Age of Krypton (Action Comics #652). The great war, fought over the ethics of cloning, begins on Krypton, the major factions being the Kryptonian government and the Black Zero terrorist organization. The capital city of Kandor is destroyed, and most of Kryptonian civilization is subsequently destroyed as the war continues for approximately a thousand years after (World of Krypton #1-4; this given date is based on World of Smallville #2's assertion that Kal-El arrived on Earth roughly 30 years after Krypton exploded).

Approximately 98000 BC: The final confrontation occurs between the Kryptonian authorities (led by Van-L, great ancestor to Superman) and the Black Zero terrorist organization (led by Kan-Ze). Black Zero is defeated, but not before Kan-Ze sets in motion events that will cause the destruction of Krypton approximately one hundred thousand years later (World of Krypton #2-4).

June 16, 1735: Metropolis is founded (Adventures of Superman #494 establishes that Superman's debut on June 15, 1985, happened one day before Metropolis' 250th anniversary)

Approximately the 1780s: The Pocket Universe Supergirl arrives on Earth in stasis, only to be uncovered 200 years later.

Prior to 1930: The Seventh Age of Krypton, "a world purged of emotional weakness...an age of reason. A smaller, more enlightened population dwelt in great towering complexes, many times larger than Earthly cities, leading lives of quiet contemplation". This was the world of Jor-El and Lara, and was considered to be the height of Kryptonian culture (Action Comics #652, using information provided in World of Smallville #2 to establish a time frame).

Approximately 1922: Jonathan Kent and Martha Clark are born. This assumes they are approximately the same age (they were childhood friends, according to World of Smallville #1), that Jonathan was 18 when the draft began in 1940 and returned home from WWII in his early 20s (World of Smallville #1, he was away for 5 years, the war appears to be recently concluded), that they were in their late 30s in 1959 when, resolved that they would never be able to have their own children, they were still able to convince people that Clark was Martha's biological baby (Man of Steel #1), and in their mid 60s in 1987 (they now have gray/white hair and appear elderly but still self-sufficient in running their farm).

1920s and 1930s: Jonathan Kent and Martha Clark grow up together in Smallville as close friends and are expected by most to one day marry (World of Smallville #1). Jonathan's older brother is Harry Kent (Man of Steel #1).

1930 or 1931: Krypton explodes. Superman, son of Jor-El and Lara, is sent to Earth as an infant (MoS #1). Superman's Kryptonian name is "Kal-El" (Action Comics #597). The journey takes approximately 28 to 30 years, using warp drive engines travelling through hyperspace (World of Smallville #2)

Approximately 1933: Perry White born (working math from World of Metropolis #1 and Adventures of Superman #433) (contradicted by Lex Luthor: the Unauthorized Biography)

Prior to 1940: Jonathan Kent's older brother, Harry, falls under their father's thresher and dies (first mentioned in Man of Steel #1, indicated to have occurred prior to World War II in Superman #33)

Presumably 1940 to 1945: Jonathan Kent is drafted, serves in the Pacific Theater during WWII from 1941 to 1944, is captured for the final year of the war, kept in a Japanese POW camp, considered missing in action, and ultimately returned after 5 years away (World of Smallville #1 and #2. We know the length of time he was gone and the length of time for which he was missing in action as a POW, but not when he went to war nor when he returned. We know the American draft started in 1940 and American soldiers joined the fighting in 1941, and it seems likely that Jonathan would have been returned by the Japanese government soon after the conclusion of the war in 1945).

Approximately 1943: Perry White begins working at the Daily Planet as a copy boy at the age of ten (World of Metropolis #1) (contradicted by Lex Luthor: the Unauthorized Biography)

1943: Superman is thrown back in time, travels with Hale's circus as a strongman, saves FDR from German assassins, and meets The Spectre (Action Comics #663)

September 30, 1944: Martha Clark marries Daniel Fordman, presuming Jonathan Kent is dead.

Late 1945 or early 1946: The events of World of Smallville #1 and #2. Dan Fordman dies.

1946: Perry White born (Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography implies he is the same age as Lex Luthor, and Luthor is 13 in 1959).

1946: Lex Luthor born. Raised in Suicide Slum until the age of thirteen by implicitly abusive parents (Lex Luthor: the Unauthorized Biography, working back from Lex being 13 in 1959).

1946 or (more likely) 1947: Martha Clark remarries to Jonathan Kent (World of Smallville #2 indicates they married 12 months after the events of that issue)

1956: Perry White begins working at the Daily Planet as a copy boy at the age of ten (reconciling World of Metropolis #1 and Lex Luthor: the Unauthorized Biography)

1960: The Manhunters attempt to abduct the infant Superman on his way to Earth but are thwarted by members of the Green Lantern Corps (Adventures of Superman #436)

February 29, 1960: Superman arrives on Earth in his birth matrix and is "born" when the Kents remove him from it (Man of Steel #1 and Action Comics #655). Jonathan and Martha Kent are 38 at the time (see my notes on "1922"), discover him, and pass him off as their own with the help of a five month blizzard during which no one sees Martha (MoS #1). The blizzard was created by The Manhunters in an attempt to keep humans from interfering with Clark while they pursued him, but once the Kents find him, the Manhunters give up, perceiving him as now tainted by human love and emotion (Adventures of Superman #436)

1960: The Manhunters enact a B plan, replacing Smallville's Dr. Whitney with an android double who puts implants in all newborns delivered between 1959 and 1987 in order to make them sleeper agents for the Manhunters (Adventures of Superman #436).

1960: At age 13, Lex Luthor attends the seventh grade and is best friends with Perry White. Around this time, he begins associating with adults in the neighborhood that he pays to rough people up for him, starting with two kids who had been picking on him (Edward Kelley and Richard McGuire). Luthor's teacher was Mrs. Anderson. Later that year, Luthor sabotages his parents' car after taking out a massive insurance policy on them. He uses his adult lackeys to intimidate a mechanic into issuing a false report about the cause of the accident. He acquires his first fortune from this (Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography).

1960 to 1978: Clark Kent grows up in Smallville, is best friends with Lana Lang, has a dog named Rusty, and becomes a high school football star, exhibiting limited enhanced speed, X-Ray vision, and possibly other early facets of his abilities (MoS #1, #6, Rusty first mentioned in Adventures of Superman #468).

Prior to 1966: Perry White is the star reporter at The Daily Planet and adored by Metropolis (World of Metropolis #1)

1966: Six year old Clark Kent gets into a shoving match with Steve Davis, causing the Principal to get involved. It is the last (and possibly only) physical fight Clark ever engaged in.

1966 to 1968: Perry White fights in Vietnam from ages 33 to 35 20 to 22 (World of Metropolis #1, using some math from Adventures of Superman #433 Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography, which contradicts earlier references to Perry White's age)

1967: Year in which Lex Luthor II would have allegedly been born (he is 21 in Action Comics #677. That issue was published in 1992, but, recognizing that Superman's present day begins in 1987, and using the Superman Office's general guideline that 1 month in our time equals approximately 1 week in Superman's time, that issue would have occurred in 1988. 88-21=67. Note: this would make Lex Luthor I only twenty years old at the time.

1968: Clark develops invulnerability at age 8 (Amazing Heroes #98), though later flashbacks suggest he was unaware of this (see Adventures of Superman #474)

Unspecificed time prior to 1969: The rise of Lexcorp. Luthor acquires the Daily Planet and uses it to embarrass companies that bid against him for government contracts, effectively destroying his enemies via the media (Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography). The Lex Wing aircraft design is the invention that "founded" Luthor's financial empire (Superman #13).

1968 or 1969: Perry White returns to Metropolis, discovers Lex Luthor has been sleeping with his wife (thus terminating their friendship) and assembles a team to buy the Daily Planet as a means of avoiding its shut-down. Part of the deal entails that he become Editor-in-Chief (World of Metropolis #1)

1969: Jerry White is born (Adventures of Superman #433)

1973: Clark develops X-Ray vision around the age of 13 (Amazing Heroes #98)

Approximately 1972: In response to the dismantling of The French Connection, Lex Luthor creats a designer drug and distrubution system and sells it to the Mafia for two million dollars (Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography)

Sometime between 1972 and 1978: Lex Luthor unveils the majority of his scientific breakthroughs, Lexcorp experiences tremendous growth, and Luthor amasses tremendous wealth and power (Adventures of Superman #425: Luthor's "discoveries in the mid-seventies were astounding.").

Sometime between 1974 and 1978: Clark Kent wrestles in high school "before my powers fully developed" (Starman #14). He also plays football for an unspecified length of time (Man of Steel #1).

Sometime prior to 1978: Clark, Lana Lang, and Pete Ross attend a high school party and end up in a car with Scott Brubaker. There is an accident and Brubaker remains on life support until Adventures of Superman #474, when his parents pull the plug. Clark states that this event helped inspire him to become a righter of injustice. This is also when Clark and the Kents begin to suspect that he has some form of invulnerability.

1976: Lois Lane gets her first serious job at the Daily Planet at the age of fifteen (World of Metropolis #2, previously indicated to be sixteen in Action Comics #594 and Adventures of Superman #1), (World of Metropolis established this occurred five years prior to Clark arriving in Metropolis, which is established to have occurred in 1981, working from the Man of Steel #1-2 timeline).

1978: Clark learns he can fly at age 18 (Amazing Heroes #98)

1978: Clark Kent learns he is an alien from another planet and decides to leave Smallville to use his powers for good; unknowingly breaks Lana Lang's heart in the process (MoS #1, #6).

From 1978 thru 1985: Clark secretly uses his powers to prevent disasters and presumably discovers the full extent of his abilities (MoS #1).

After 1981 and prior to Action Comics #597: Lois publishes at least one book (Action #597, World of Metropolis #3)

1981: Clark moves to Metropolis, continues to secretly use his powers to prevent disasters (MoS #1). He enrolls in Metropolis University (Superman #2) as a journalism major in order to become a journalist and "keep tabs on world events -- to have immediate knowledge of trouble that might need my special help." (all from Superman #12). Adventures of Superman #461 adds that Clark "wanted to become a journalist long before I became Superman," suggesting a deep-seeded desire beyond the practical explanation.

1983: Clark's senior year at Metropolis University (1983-1984 school year?), falls in love for the first time with Lori Lemaris, proposes to her, and is rejected because they are from different worlds (Superman #12). World of Metropolis #3 will later undo the idea of Lori being his first love, having it be a waitress named Ruby two years prior to Clark's meeting Lori.

Prior to June 15, 1985: Lois Lane rises to be a top reporter in her field (presumed from the events of MoS #1 and #2, as well as the fact that she always appears to be Perry White's #1 reporter in all stories after). Gets to know Lex Luthor quite well at this time (MoS #2 -- she is calling in favors from his helicopter pilot and knows the pilot by name).

Prior to June 15, 1985: Clark publishes one book, and it becomes a best seller (Adventures of Superman #1, Amazing Heroes #98). It is entitled "The Janus Contract" (Superman #49).

June 15, 1985: Clark is outed while forced to publicly use his powers to rescue an experimental spacecraft with Lois Lane onboard. First meeting with Lois Lane. She coins the name "Superman." Clark creates a costume and identity, publicly becoming Superman (Man of Steel #1, date provided in Superman #45)

Immediately after June 15 1985: Clark starts to don the glasses in order to avoid recognition and gets a job at the Daily Planet by scooping Lois on the story of Superman (MoS #1, #2, date provided in Superman #45). Superman is either the first or one of the first superheroes since WWII, and Batman, the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, the Wally West Flash, and Hawkman soon follow (Action Comics #597, conflicted with Batman's post-Crisis timeline which indicated he'd been active for ten years as of 1988, as well as a reference in Man of Steel indicating that Batman was already active). Superman had also met and gotten to know the Barry Allen Flash in that time (Adventures of Superman #463).

June 15 thru approximately June 22, 1985: Clark overextends himself as Superman, pushing himself relentlessly to help others at the cost of his own health and well-being, until Martha and Jonathan Kent convince him to start setting boundaries (Superman, The Man of Steel #16). He also meets Inspector Henderson for the first time, both as Clark and as Superman, during the Robyn McGill murder investigation, and Clark's internal journey in the wake of that murder leads him to realize that using his head is more important than using his fists, as well as the importance of putting the law above his own sense of right and wrong (Superman #72).

Just prior to June 22, 1985: At least one of the events of Action Comics #1 take place (the abusive husband incident), though in a somewhat different way (Superman, The Man of Steel #16).

Presumably beginning in 1985: Clark learns most of what he knows about fighting from covering boxing matches for the Daily Planet (Starman #14).

Sometime after June 1985: Superman meets Aquaman for the first time and is briefly reunited with Lori Lemaris shortly after (Superman #12).

Sometime after June 1985: Superman and Batman meet for the first time (Man of Steel #3, this technically could have occurred in 1986, but it seems unlikely Superman and Batman wouldn't have met during The Crisis on Infinite Earths).

Sometime after June 1985: Superman meets several founding members of the Justice Society of America around this time (Action Comics #663).

Later still in 1985: The Crisis on Infinite Earths occurs. Even though this event actually occurred in a differently configured "Pre-Crisis" timeline and its aftermath was responsible for the creation of this timeline, characters including Superman recall at least some aspects of the Crisis (Action Comics #591). Lorie Lemaris, though reconfigured into the Post-Crisis timeline along with everyone else, still died during this event (Superman #12).

1986: Superman's first meeting with Lex Luthor. Arrests Luthor by order of the mayor. Luthor swears revenge (MoS #4).

1986: Lucy Lane and Jimmy Olsen begin dating (Superman #4).

1986, but at least 3 months prior to Superman #1: Superman fights the first Bizarro (secretly created by Luthor), Luthor loses his remaining hair sometime after (MoS #5, Superman #1, and Amazing Heroes #96)

Unspecified time after Man of Steel #1, but prior to Man of Steel #6: Superman assists the Justice League of America on at least three occasions, including facing Darkseid for the first time. He is offered membership in The League but declines due to time constraints (Action Comics #650)

Three months prior to Superman #1: Superman learns about his Kryptonian heritage (MoS #6)

Less than three months prior to Superman #1 Clark Kent is summoned by Abin Sur's power ring and initially chosen to replace him as the Green Lantern for his sector. The offer is revoked when Abin Sur realizes Clark is not a native of Earth, and Clark recommends Hal Jordan (a pilot he had recently interviewed and been impressed with) instead (Action Comics Weekly #642: Prior to Superman #1 since Hal Jordan was not yet Green Lantern, but after Clark learns about his Kryptonian heritage in Man of Steel #6).

Unspecified, prior to Superman #1: Superman meets Hawkman and the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, and battles several supervillains (Superman #1), meets the Teen Titans on several occasions (Action Comics #584), and battles Booster Gold (Booster Gold #7 -- a pre-Crisis story, but Superman acknowledges it in Action #594)

-----

1987-1992: Superman's present day begins with Superman #1 (everything prior to this was told in flashback). According to my calculations, Superman is 27 years old. Lois Lane is 26, Perry White is 54 41 (contradicted by Lex Luthor: the Unauthorized Biography), Lex Luthor is likely the same age as Perry, and Ma and Pa Kent are 65. Action Comics #668 will ultimately demonstrate that 1 month in our world is roughly equal to a week in Superman's world, meaning that 1987-1991 accounts for roughly one year in this universe¹.

(At this point in the timeline, our year is not necessarily the same as Superman's year. Thus, the year I am providing for each event going forward is the publication year.)

1988: Superman meets Hal Jordan for the first time. Superman #1 contradicts this, and Action Comics #606 portrayed them as being old acquaintances, with the two knowing their secret identities, but Action Comics #622 heavily revised this moment, making it their very first meeting.

1988: By this point, Superman is largely considered the greatest of the Superheroes (suggested in both Action Comics #623 and Adventures of Superman #449)

1990: Clark and Lois begin dating (Superman #43) and become engaged (Superman #50). After several uneasy encounters, Superman and Batman begin a sort of friendship, and Superman entrusts Batman with Lex Luthor's Kryptonite ring in case he ever needs to be taken down (Action Comics #654). Lex Luthor appears to commit suicide (Action Comics #660).

1991: Clark reveals his identity to Lois Lane (Action Comics #662). Lex Luthor II assumes control of Lexcorp (Action Comics #672)

The 30th Century: Superman briefly meets several iterations of the Legion of Super-Heroes, including the founding members, and witnesses the destruction of Earth's moon. (Adventures of Superman #476-478).


Note: there are several glitches in the continuity Byrne constructs, most notably Lois's comment in Man of Steel #5 that she has been dreaming of being kissed by Superman for five years. This event HAD to occur less than two years prior to current day, and Clark first became Superman 3 years prior to current day based upon the timeline offered in Man of Steel #1 and #6 (left Smallville ten years prior to current day, became Superman seven years later). An interview with Wolfman, Helfer, and Byrne in Amazing Heroes #98 backs up this timeline.

A more minor problem is posed in Adventures of Superman #430, which indicates that Jonathan and Martha Kent had been married for 48 years in 1987. World of Smallville later clearly indicates that they had not yet married as of the mid 1940s, instead suggesting they married in 1946 or 1947.

The most glaring error encountered yet occurs as a discrepancy between World of Metropolis #1 (having Perry White ten years old in 1943) and Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography (having Perry White 13 years old in 1959). Both works agree that Perry White and Lex Luthor are approximately the same age. I have gone with Lex Luthor: The Unauthorized Biography's timeline because it makes more sense, especially in having Perry White fight in Korea when he is twenty instead of in his thirties.



¹ Obviously there are some problems with making five years count as one, most notably the annual Christmas story in Adventures of Superman. How did they have five Christmases in one year?

Lois Lane (1986) #2

"Quicksand"
writer: Mindy Newell
art: Gray Morrow
Letters: Agustin Mas
colors: Joe Orlando
editor: Robert Greenberger

grade: n/a

This just isn't my kind of comic, so it isn't fair for me to grade it. It's not the genre (though I'll admit it's not a genre I generally read -- or can even label appropriately), but more that this Lois just isn't my kind of character. I seriously flipped to the end to see if this independent yet overly sensitive/vulnerable Lois ever attains any kind of new-found sense of strength/purpose, and she really doesn't. This isn't that kind of story, and Newell isn't that kind of writer. So I won't grade this badly; I'll just say it isn't for me.

So...does Byrne really owe his characterization of Lois to Mindy Newell? As much as Helfer claims they planned and discussed together, these feel like two entirely different Lois' to me, and I like Byrne's better.

Continuity wise, it becomes more obvious than ever that this is set in the pre-Crisis continuity. There's a long history of conflict revealed between Lois and Lana (apparently, the problem with the Middle East interview was that Lana scooped her, and this is again referred to as if it was actually portrayed in some pre-Crisis Superman story), and we see in this issue that Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Lane have been dating for years now. Clearly, this is not intended to be part of Byrne's rebooted continuity.

To be honest, I didn't bother to read most of this issue. Once it became clear that this was a pre-Crisis story and that Lois wasn't going to undergo any major evolution in characterization that might serve as some inspiration or template for Byrne, I decided not to waste more of my time. Perhaps, one day I'll pull this one out to read if I'm in the right mindset and more receptive to the kind of character and story Newell was trying to write. Again, I'm not sure she did it poorly. I think it's just so far out in left field from the kind of story I'm looking for when I delve into my Superman short boxes.

Superman #9

"To Laugh and DIE in Metropolis"
writer and pencils: John Byrne
inks: Karl Kesel
letters: John Costanza
colors: Tom Ziuko
editors: Michael Carlin & Andrew Helfer

grade: F-

If John Byrne had been standing next to me while I read this issue, I would have punched him. I've seen the ego before, and I've seen the laziness, but this one just took the cake for oh so many reasons.


1. You conceited little sh*t:

So the basic premise is that the Joker, Batman's most dangerous and popular villain, comes to Metropolis to test out Superman's skills, only to discover Superman can stop him faster and more efficiently than Batman. So the entire point was to borrow Batman's best villain in order to make Superman look like a better hero than Batman in comparison???


2. The tyrant is a hypocrite:

Okay, so once again, Byrne has completely revamped the Superman franchise and removed long-time fans' favorite aspects of the series in order to make Superman more realistic, and yet we've got Joker building robotic doubles of Superman complete with thermonuclear centers on the fly as a means of seeking a nemesis that he believes will be less challenging than Batman. You've got to be kidding me.


3. Pay attention to your own damn rules:

We've been told, over and over, that this Superman is depowered, and we've seen him nearly get killed from super-powered punches, electrical shocks, and giant tanks, yet he's still standing after being at ground zero of a thermonuclear detonation???


And then there are the minor little annoyances, like:

- There's absolutely no lead in any buildings in Metropolis, allowing Superman to easily spot the three lead coffins in contrast? How about even a little lead based paint???

- Why in the world would the Joker know that Perry White and Jimmy Olsen are important to Superman?

- Love the little overt falling action with Superman conveniently explaining everything for an inquisitive Perry White. I know 7th graders who write with more subtlety.


So, if you couldn't tell by my uncharacteristically aggressive tone, this issue truly pissed me off. Byrne needs a good smacking, but it's Wolfman who will be leaving in only a few more months, while we're stuck with Byrne for another frickin' year or so.


Important details:

- Captain Sawyers' Special Crimes Unit is devoted specifically to super villains

- Toby Raynes, a rival reporter from the Metropolis Star (nice reference to early Pre-Crisis continuity) makes her first appearance here. Will she or the Star be mentioned ever again?

- Lex Luthor is back in the picture and working on something called Project Overload. Presumably, the robot drone that abducted Lana Lang, and Ma Kent's scrapbook being sent to Clark Kent at the Daily Planet are both parts of this plan.


I suppose I should also discuss Lex Luthor's "Indecent Proposal" subplot in this issue, in which he toys with a small town waitress's mind by offering her a million dollars to be his whore for a month and then drives off, content that she'll torment herself over which decision she would have made for the rest of her life.

Yeah, I should mention it, but it was dumb. Byrne has always been too over-the-top with Luthor, and depicting him as deriving joy from tormenting innocent people is just too much for me. No villain is THAT evil, and no villain portrayed as being THAT evil is even remotely interesting to me because he's too simple. The greatest villains are the ones we have complex feelings about: Galactus, Doctor Doom, Magneto, even the Joker -- they compel us because they aren't variations on the scoundrel with the black mustache. But, sure enough, after ruining everything else in this issue as well, Byrne just had to piss all over Wolfman's Lex Luther concept at the end of this issue.


Plot synopsis in one ridiculously long sentence:

The Joker creates a robot double of Superman to steal jewelry, kidnaps Lois, Perry, and Jimmy and assumes Superman will be too stupid to see through his ploy, explains that his motivation is to take a vacation by taking on a nemesis who is easier to defeat than Batman, gets schooled by Superman, Lana Lang gets abducted by a robotic drone, and Lex Luther messes with the feelings of a small town waitress as a means of getting his kicks.

Yeah, every copy of this issue needs to be tracked down and burnt to a crisp.

Superman #11

"The Name Game"
writer/pencils: John Byrne
inks: Karl Kesel
colors: Tom Ziuko
letters: John Costanza
editor: Michael Carlin

grade: C-

I still don't get it. If Byrne was so committed to the idea of making Superman more real and of removing all the more outlandish aspects of the Superman mythos in order to support this concept (even going so far as to retcon Superboy into an artificially constructed "Pocket Universe" and then kill him off while de-powering Krypto into a normal dog), then what the hell is this issue all about? If the post-Crisis return of Titano back in Superman Annual #1 wasn't enough for us, we've got a post-Crisis Mr. Mxyzptlk making his first appearance here, and even the cover is a clear homage to those shockingly misleading covers of the Silver Age (and, incidentally, while the post-Crisis Superman covers have generally been awful, this is probably the first truly good one we've seen).

Maybe the idea of making Superman more realistic was really Andy Helfer's brain-child, and thus his leaving the Superman office corresponds with a new emergence of sillier, more fanciful aspects of the Superman mythos. In fact, there's a bit of evidence to support this correlation, as Superman Annual #1 (The Titano story) was the first story not to credit Helfer as co-editor, and this happened at the exact same time as the Legion crossover that brought back and then obliterated both Superboy and Krypto. Seems likely to me that there was a difference of opinion between Byrne and Helfer as to whether or not these outlandish elements had a place in the post-Crisis Superman mythos, leading to Helfer's hasty and unannounced departure.

So now Byrne is free of Helfer and just plain having fun. If you can let go of the idea that this comic franchise was only recently adamantly against having such fun, then this isn't a thoroughly bad issue, though, in typical Byrne style, it's far from well done.

For one thing, it really bugs me that Byrne completely ignores the progression Wolfman has shown in Clark's relationship with Cat Grant. It's clear in that series that the two are informally dating and that Lois is out of the picture (having missed her chance for the moment), but this issue tries to play on the old love triangle as if none of this had already occurred.

For another, Superman's method of defeating Mxyzptlk was every bit as arbitrary as the solutions to many of the Silver Age "silly" stories Byrne is making homage to here. I suppose I should find that endearing, but Byrne is still writing this like a more complex and realistic post-Crisis book, so I assumed he'd go for a more logical solution and found the end to be a bit of a cop-out as a result.

And am I the only one who thinks "Ben DeRoy" (which, I believe, translates to "King of Kings") looks and acts a little too much like the Beyonder from Secret Wars II (published 1.5 years earlier)?


Important details:
(forgive me on these, but I'm woefully unfamiliar with the pre-Crisis Mxyzptlik and have no idea how much of this info is new for the character)

- 1st post-Crisis appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk
- Mxyzptlk does not know that Clark Kent is Superman
- From the Fifth Dimension
- Real name is untranslatable (though what foreigner ever "translates" their name into the local language? Does he mean that it wouldn't translate to the sounds of the Third Dimension or something??)
- Mxyzptlk is just the first thing he wrote on a magic typewriter to serve as a name.
- Mxyzptlk set the criteria that saying the name backward sends him back to the Fifth Dimension.
- Has a "superior 5-D brain"
- Seeks games of chance with Superman
- Should not be able to reappear for another 90 days (when the alignment between the 3rd and 5th dimensions is again optimal), according to theoretical physicians that Superman talks to, though it's unclear if this will be a consistent rule, or if it's just the case this time around (and how do you even ascertain such a thing? Theoretical physicists are aware of a Fifth Dimension, have an understanding that the Third somehow moves independently of the Fifth, and can track their movements in relation to one another? I know this is supposed to be a more futuristic modern day thanks to the contributions of Lex Luthor, but this seems a bit ridiculous).

- Clark's being in the shower while Cat is over may be intended to imply that they are now sleeping together. Unsure if Byrne intended that since he'd set Clark and Cat's relationship back so far at the beginning of the issue.


Minor details:

- So Jimmy Olsen utilizes the secret signal watch to summon Superman just because some lady he's never met before told him all the sheets at her store started moving around like ghosts?

- Were all of Superman's transformations on page 14 intended to reference the Silver Age transformations of Jimmy Olsen? Two of them are clearly referencing "The Super Brain of Jimmy Olsen," and "The Fat Boy of Metropolis," a third might just be a reference to Alfred E. Newman, and I have no idea if the withered Superman with gray hair and a beard is a reference to anything. (EDIT: JKCarrier has since pointed out that these are all references to Silver Age Superman transformations. More evidence that Byrne is intentionally invoking the "silly" past that this franchise was once sworn against.)


Plot synopsis in one long sentence:

Lois Lane is approached by "Ben DelRoy," a mysterious and attractive stranger who invites her to cancel her plans with Clark in order to go to lunch with him, it becomes clear that DelRoy has fantastic powers and a mischievous sense of fun, he gets Lois to agree to marry her and then has her swap existences with a mannequin in order to marry the mannequin instead, Jimmy Olsen signals Superman for an incredibly stupid and arbitrary reason, Superman ends up running into DelRoy, who (it turns out) was just trying to draw Superman out, DelRoy turns out to be Mxyzptlk, who introduces himself and sets a wager for Superman (say his name backwards or Mxyzptlk will pretty much continue messing with everything), Superman outsmarts him in a completely absurd fashion by rewiring the keys on a typewriter at super fast speeds (but wait -- he can't move faster than light, so how come Mxyzptlk didn't see him do this??) sending Mxyzptlk back after causing immense damage, and Lois goes to Clark's apartment to try to make up for ditching him only to find Cat there for lunch and Clark in the shower.

Adventures of Superman #435

"The Circle Turns"
writer/co-plotter: Marv Wolfman
pencils/co-plotter: Jerry Ordway
inks: John Beatty
colors: Anthony Tollins
letters: ALbert DeGuzman
editor: Michael Carlin

grade: B-


Wolfman's final issue and, much like Andy Helfer's exodus, no mention is made of this significant departure from the franchise. After all, in the very beginning, Wolfman, Helfer, and Byrne were shaping thist Post-Crisis franchise together, yet it's now clear who's really in control. So I assume, once again, that the fact that Wolfman's departure goes unacknowledged in the letter col suggests that it was not done on good terms. Still, unlike Helfer's departure, this one seems pre-meditated. Wolfman has tied up all of his loose ends, dealing with Jerry White and Jose DelGado over the past three issues and wrapping up The Circle in this one.

In fact, he even seems intent on passing the creative torch to Jerry Ordway here, acknowledging him as a co-plotter for the first time, and boy do Ordway's pencils appear to come alive in response. However, in an odd moment of foresight, this issue also draws attention to Dan Jurgens by naming The Circle's headquarters building after him. Is there any chance Wolfman knew or hoped Jurgens would be taking over this early on? After all, Byrne takes control next issue, and Jurgens won't enter the picture for another 15 months!

Meanwhile, the culmination to The Circle storyline is...abrupt. It's clear Wolfman is rushing to bring this storyline to a conclusion far faster than he'd originally anticipated, and thus the conclusion even leaves Superman going "That's all that was needed?" Really, the issue largely serves as a visual feast for Ordway to enjoy via forced hallucinations while providing a very light wrap-up to the story arc. I wonder if the "chosen one" ever does show up in continuity, or if the storyline falls into oblivion after this issue.



Important details:

- Wolfman gets one last Cat Grant appearance in, all while reiterating with perfect clarity that she's leaving for New York tomorrow and not planning to come back. "Nyah nyah, Byrne. You can't have my character once I'm gone."

- This is a weird semi first post-Crisis appearance of the Newsboy Legion. They don't officially appear until Superman Annual #2, yet they show up in Superman's hallucination in this issue, and he knows who they are. Once again, we have that blurring of what Superman does and does not retain from the Pre-Crisis. I'm just surprised to see Wolfman responsible for such blurring this time around. Maybe this was Ordway's contribution?

- Also weird that The Circle creates an image of Krypto in Superman's hallucination, as well as a super monkey, super cat, and super horse. Were these all Pre-Crisis characters and, if so, why would either The Circle or Superman's subconscious have knowledge of any of them other than Krypto (who appeared in Action #591 but shouldn't have had any significance to Superman there)?

- The Circle leaves the Earth, but their "chosen one" may still be around.

- Is there any chance that The Circle, survivors of a race that existed on Earth before mankind, are from the same race as the antagonists from Superman #5 and 6? Come to think of it, both sets of characters first debuted in the same month, and Byrne and Wolfman might have still been coordinating with each other at that point.



Minor details:

- Opening the issue with Clark Kent reluctantly about to drive a race car -- damn funny.

- So now a high speed race car wreck can bruise Clark's skin with equal severity as the gas explosion in Action #593 and the nuclear blast in Superman #9? We need a better sense of relativity for this.

- Why does Lana Lang appear in the hallucination about all of Superman's romantic interests? Despite his stating otherwise in MoS #6, has Superman been interested in her as well?

- Wow. I cannot believe they got away with turning Jimmy Olsen into the Incredible Hulk in this issue. I'm assuming this is Ordway having fun with some of the creative control Wolfman has granted him in this issue since it really doesn't feel like Wolfman's sense of humor.


Plot synopsis in one sentence:

Clark is trying out driving a race car for a story, The Circle takes control of his mind, causing him to crash, they free Sthula from prison (Adventures #429) and decide to stop seeking revenge on Superman for the death of Prana (Adventures #427) instead deciding to seek his help to leave The Earth, they draw Superman to them and throw more hallucinations at him to convince him to help and (presumably) to finally determine that he is not their chosen one, they request his help anyway, he reluctantly agrees, and all returns to normal, with Superman wondering if he'll ever meet their chosen one.