The Death of Superman Retrospective, Part 3: The Reign of Supermen // Comics History 101

As we saw last time on our coverage of the death of Superman, he was dead. Superman’s body had been carried off and returned more times than readers cared to think about, and now his corpse was missing once again.

But this time, four people claiming to be the real thing had shown up!

To make the return of Superman more meaningful than a marketing stunt, the creative heads of the Superman books all came up with their own replacement Superman. Each book would focus on their character while offering crossovers to the other books. Personalities would clash, while heroes would accept one version over another.

Left to right: The Man of Steel, The Man of Tomorrow, The Metropolis Kid, and The Last Son of Krypton

Of course, the four new Supermen wound up, making the story infinitely more gimmicky than just death and rebirth ever could. However, it once again built into DC’s recently discovered running theme of Legacy, as it only made sense someone would rise up to fill the boots of the Man of Steel. Even more amusingly, some of these Supermen could be seen as direct responses to feedback for how Superman (and other heroes) could be “improved” at the time.

With anti-heroes on the rise through Wolverine, the Punisher, and the entire spate of offerings from Image Comics, some fans cried out that Superman needed to become a cold and ruthless killer. So, for the pages of Action Comics, creator Roger Stern made a Superman who was a very “Old Testament” kind of hero. This Superman, called The Last Son of Krypton in marketing, was cold and calculating and killed without mercy. To go with the colder outlook, this Superman wore sunglasses (to shield his sensitive eyes), and his costume was darker with an altogether more alien appearance than his classic red and blues. His powers had also changed with plasma blasts erupting from his hands, and no trace of his old modified visions.

Others argued that some long-standing heroes were getting too old and “hard to identify with.” While this was often aimed at the competition’s Spider-Man by some of his own creators, others had aimed it at Superman as well. Karl Kesel, the newest writer on the Adventures of Superman, would work with his creative team to make The Metropolis Kid. Literally, a clone of Superman as a hip and 90’s “MTV Teen.” This was also a plan to make sure the character concept of Superboy was revived, even if he detested being called that. With a jazzed-up jumpsuit, Superboy ditched the cape for an era-appropriate leather jacket and gloves. While Superboy was fairly durable, he also seemed to lack most of the Man of Steel’s extra powers beyond being a flying brick.

Some fans had some real out-there ideas on how to “improve” Superman. While not directly inspired by specific fan-comments, Dan Jurgens would turn his Superman into a Terminator 2 inspired cyborg, with over half his face being machine and chunks of his body turned into robotic replacements. Dubbed The Man of Tomorrow, the Cyborg would take the pages of Superman. Remarkably, he would actually keep the most iconic trappings of Superman while simultaneously being the most drastically different. This Cyborg even seemed to have some of Clark’s memories, his DNA, and even Kryptonian technology inside his new body. 

Finally, DC was growing into the concept of capital-L Legacy. So why not have someone pick up the symbol of Superman who doesn’t look like Clark returned from the grave? Fittingly in the pages of The Man of Steel, Louise Simonson and her crew crafted the character of John Henry Irons. A steelworker whose life was saved by Superman on a random day, Irons was also a weapons manufacturer by (former) trade. With Metropolis in chaos, his own former weapons available on the black market, and the world seemingly going bad, John Henry would put his life into making a suit of armor in the spirit of Superman. Wearing the S as a tribute, Steel would become his name.

New cast members would be created to support the new Supermen when needed. Steel would find an enemy and former lover in the gangster White Rabbit, an albino who would sell unproduced designs of deadly military-grade weapons nicknamed “Toastmasters.” Superboy would gain a romantic interest in Tana Moon, a young reporter for WGBS. Again, this expansion and spinoff helped continue and tease that DC was moving on.

Perhaps the only person who couldn’t move on during all of this was Lois Lane. Each creative team wanted to have their Superman seen as legitimate, with Lois encountering them all very early on into the “Reign.” Upon meeting the Last Son, she learned that this Superman knew who Clark was, but that Clark was no more with only Superman remaining. When she met Steel, he would deny any possibility of being Superman, but she couldn’t help but feel he might have inherited Superman’s soul and love for life and justice.  The Cyborg, as mentioned above, knew the fact that he was named Kent, that he lived on a farm in Kansas once, but that so much of his memory was a haze. With Superboy, it was especially weird. Lois was unphased by the clone until he slicked his hair back and wore glasses as a joke, at which point Lois begins to wonder if he’s somehow Clark come back, despite the fact that he’s blatantly said he isn’t.

This is perhaps the worst aspect of the Death and Return of Superman. While Lois is a fantastic and strong female character, she is often denied any agency here, bouncing around between mourning Clark and thinking about the other Supermen being Clark come back. While this is admittedly realistic for someone whose fiancé has just died, it completely feels like any interest in developing Lois or having her choose to investigate any of them shriveled and died on the proverbial idea vine. Instead, these books are all about the four different Supermen pinging off one another, and Lois just randomly taking them all at their word.

Oh, and then there was Bloodlines.

During this chaotic event, space aliens who were a combination of Alien Xenomorphs and generic science-fiction villains landed on Earth. They feed on the spinal fluid of humans, and those few who survive their assault would become “super” with strange and unique powers that all seem right out of a random power generator. While an article about this 1993 event will likely happen eventually, the long and short is that each Superman in their 1993 annual got to meet and help out a new hero, crafted to take advantage of the 90s and bring some “new blood” into heroics at DC.

We had the grimdark Edge, a man whose memory was erased, and the attack left him somehow with blades instead of hair. This also included bladed eyebrows, and the ability to fire his blades like thrown daggers. A woman murdered by Lex Luthor in a fit of rage would be found and accidentally revived by the aliens feeding on her corpse. Wiped of memories and her own identity, she would have the ability to absorb memories and talents, becoming Myriad. Loose Cannon was a crippled former cop, enhanced by his own near-death experience into a devil-may-care brawler, much like the Savage Dragon or Professor Hulk. Sparx (pictured above with Superboy) was a young woman who traveled the world with her shape-shifting uncle, enhanced with the power to turn into a being of pure electricity.

All of these side stories would happen throughout 1993, and generally can be ignored. Especially since almost all of the Bloodlines characters don’t get much more than a guest appearance from here on out.

As the main books unfolded, the duo of Steel and Superboy would become friends of a sort. While Superboy was brash and impulsive to the point that Steel would ask him to stop the hero gig until he was ready, Superboy’s enthusiasm and desire to risk his life for the armor-clad man spoke volumes for his courage. Supergirl would also befriend Superboy, although any flirting between the two was strictly from Superboy’s side only. Interestingly, Superboy would also be repeatedly injured by flames to a degree, showing that while he was still a force to be reckoned with, he was likely not the exact same genetic copy of Superman that Cadmus claimed.

Meanwhile, The Last Son would reluctantly befriend similar tough-on-crime vigilante Guy Gardener, the two of them teaming up to take on crooks discovered during a tussle between themselves. There was a storyline of softening The Last Son, with Guy, Lois, and even Loose Cannon rounding off the sharp edges and driving some doubt into the headstrong Kryptonian.

They become friends. I promise.

The Man of Tomorrow would be both endorsed by President Bill Clinton and the Daily Planet in a column by Clark Kent’s replacement. This came in an issue where the Cyborg prevented the assassination of President Clinton by Quraci insurgents, with lethal efficiency. Unlike the others who used some variation on Superman’s powers, the Cyborg would actually form weapons using his robot limbs, like massive plasma cannons. His ability to transform also extended to his ability to connect with any machine, allowing him to track down the terrorists and end their threat. Much like the Last Son, this Superman also seemed like a more ruthless incarnation, despite claiming to still be Superman.

“Look. The next time you go to space, I’ve got a dress you can take with you.”

Aside from the Supermen rampaging across the page, the writers still found some delightful character moments to slip in between Lois Lane bouncing back and forth between Supermen and the four new guys on the block. Bibbo Bibbowski, the rough around the edges former prizefighter, tried his best to live up to the Superman name by donning his own costume and trying to help out the local neighborhood.

Bibbo, a lotto winner who had used some of his winnings to buy and run a bar, meant passing out food and assistance to the downtrodden. There wasn’t a single comic Bibbo would stick to. Instead, he also showed up whenever the writers needed him to fill pages. In one of those moments, Bibbo found a woman tossing a bag of puppies into the water rather than let them starve. It is a remarkably dark and realistic moment in a traditionally lighter comic environment, but one of the puppies refused to die. Glad to have saved one puppy, a scruffy white dog, Bibbo would adopt… Krypto.

Issues with a dog tag would later shorten the name to the more traditional Krypto.

Even when Superman was being reinvented, writers would find a way to tribute the past in new ways.

The story would begin to unify once more with the cliffhanger in Adventures of Superman 502. An alien craft unrelated to the Bloodlines story is approaching Earth, and it promises trouble once it arrives.

Action Comics 689 would start with Superboy and Supergirl rescuing victims from a collapsing bridge, with the coverage being piped to the Fortress of Solitude. The Last Son had been hiding out here to recharge his powers using a Kryptonian energy matrix. The fact that the Fortress recognized him as Superman lent credence to the Last Son being the real Superman brought back from the grave. However, the crystal was now cracking open while the Last Son was away on Bloodlines-related business. Inside the crystal…

A fifth, entirely new Superman Clad in traditional post-Crisis Kryptonian clothing, this Superman made no claims to the title, but instead merely wanted to know what was going on. The robot servants are more than happy to help, providing this new guy with a floating chair and monitor screens galore. Due to his lack of distinguishing marketing nickname, we will be calling this one Superman Black for the time being.

This fifth rival to the Cape declares that the name of Superman will not be turned into a franchise, and he needs to get to Metropolis ASAP. Meanwhile, Steel and the Last Son get into a brawl after an accidental team-up resulted in the needless death of many criminals. Lois Lane shoves herself between the two bickering adults, and even the Last Son relents, seeming to feel shame and human emotions after being scolded by Lois. Unfortunately, Superboy has signed contracts, and his new agent has chosen to market Superboy as the sole owner of the name Superman. The Last Son doesn’t like this and threatens to burn the lawyer.

Steel acts quickly, grabbing the Last Son and rocketing them off into the sky. After looping around the planet and nearly killing them both, the two crash-land back in Metropolis and leave a massive crater. The two resume their fight until Steel shatters the Last Son’s glasses. Fleeing, the Last Son, finally begins to realize that power and costume do not make Superman alone. It also takes compassion and love for others.

Honestly, I can’t help but insert “pew pew” noises for the Last Son of Krypton’s hand-blasts.

Steel goes on to theoretically finish off the White Rabbit’s schemes of selling his unproduced weapons to the masses. However, this plays right into Luthor’s pocket, who happens to have ideas of his own with John Henry Irons’ weaponry.

Finally, in Superman 80, the alien ship that appeared at the end of a cliffhanger and lurked between scenes has arrived. Bright orange in hue, it looms over the bustling west coast city known as Coast City. Both the Cyborg Superman and the Last Son have been asked by the government to check out the issue, as a giant looming alien spaceship cannot be good for the local populace.

And it’s not. Long-time readers of this article know where we’re going, as do most fans of Green Lantern. 77,000 bombs are distributed across the entirety of Coast City, with this act also being shown off in the pages of Green Lantern 45. The book was on the newsstands a week before Superman 80, leaving Green Lantern fans demanding to know what happened in the days before modern social media. What happened, however, was simple: Coast City was gone.

Or it would be in a few pages. As the countdown began, the Cyborg and Last Son appeared, both arriving as the Carnage Globes began to fall. The Last Son turns his back on the Cyborg, and it’s a fatal mistake.

However, it’s not over yet. More technology is spread across the crater, with the Cyborg Superman gaslights his handler with the White House. A massive city is sprouting where Coast City once was, and the Cyborg is letting no one know about it. Landing on the orange spaceship,  the robotic monster pretending to be Superman is greeted by his co-conspirator and servant: the alien warlord (and Thanos knockoff) Mongul. And while Coast City was struck down, his next target? Metropolis.

Why did the Cyborg turn evil? Was he evil all along? What happened to the Last Son? Can Steel and Superboy figure out the Cyborg’s plot? What is the deal with Superman Black? And will the Justice League even matter again?

Answers will be given… in a real roundabout way… in the next part: The Return of Superman.