Panic in the Sky: Conclusion
The battle with Braniac comes to an end. As is typical with most of the post-Crisis era, the aftermath of Panic in the Sky isn't earth-shattering and will be felt mostly through character development. Years after the Supergirl Saga, Matrix finally comes back to Earth as Supergirl full time. Maxima evolves from villain to ally. One character doesn't survive the story, but he was one of the most disposable in the cast.
Superman: The Man of Steel #10
Panic in the Sky: Fifth Strike
Controlling Metron's Mobius chair, Dubbilex frees the New Gods imprisoned on War World. The heroes start to free their comrades from Braniac's mind control, but then Braniac unleashes his secret weapon: an organic anti-matter construct. Draaga sacrifices himself to destroy the weapon and Matrix mourns him as "the most noble being I have ever known." Matrix takes the shape of Draaga and vows to finish the fight in his form in his memory. Supergirl's romantic attachment to Draaga doesn't really make much sense, but her love interests are only going to get more and more confusing. Maxima finds the heroes and offers to help them defeat Braniac, while Braniac listens and gloats that his plan is almost about to succeed.
The cover is an homage to Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, which featured the death of the pre-Crisis Supergirl.
While the heroes on Earth struggle to keep up with the onslaught of warriors from War World, Braniac sends floating discs to surround Metropolis and form an energy grid which, once activated, will shrink the city. On War World, the heroes are skeptical of Maxima and Superman orders her to stay out of the conflict while Guy Gardner and the Metal Men guard her. The heroes can't get through Braniac's impenetrable psychic shield, but Maxima manipulates Guy Gardner into letting her go and she breaks through the shield and lobotomizes Braniac just in time.
Braniac's plot to shrink Metropolis is a long-awaited post-Crisis update on his Silver Age modus operandi, although it will still be some time before we see actual shrunken cities re-introduced into the canon.
This cover is an homage to the previous issue's cover.
With Braniac defeated, Metron takes his body back to New Genesis while Orion and Lightray stay behind to rule War World until a suitable leader can be found among its people. The New Gods send the other heroes back to Earth in a Boom Tube where they find themselves in the middle of a celebratory parade that Lex Luthor II has organized. Lex asks Superman to say a few words, and he comments that there is a void that needs to be filled now that the Justice League has disbanded in their own series following the Breakdowns story line. After burying Draaga next to the Cleric's grave in space, Matrix decides to continue being Supergirl and heads back to Earth. And finally, Jimmy Olsen returns to the Daily Planet and gets his job back.
The second half of the issue begins a new story in which Professor Hamilton's new lady friend accidentally traps him inside the isolation chamber that once caused Jimmy Olsen to switch places with an other-worldly alien named Husque (Superman #38-39). Sure enough, Husque finds himself in the Professor's lab and the Professor finds himself in the other dimension ruled by Mokkari and Simyan, where we also find the clone of Jimmy Olsen's father again.
One of my favorite artists from this period, Jackson "Butch" Guice, takes over as penciler in this issue. Dr. Kelley interrupts Lex Luthor II's workout to give him a physical. The younger Luthor is healthier and more active than his predecessor, but he's still every bit the womanizer. Luthor II hosts a black tie charity fundraiser on his yacht, and Lois and Clark reminisce how similar it is to the one back in Man of Steel. On their way to the yacht, Lois asks Clark about his adventure with the new Justice League which debuts this month.
The Hellgrammite decides to make his move to assassinate Luthor on his yacht, which he expects will be less secure than Lex Corp. Superman saves Luthor but the Hellgrammite gets away. Similar to the first encounter with the original Lex, Luthor II propositions Superman to work for Lex Corp but he declines again. The next day, Luthor II is alerted to an amazing discovery in New Mexico where his team has found the new Supergirl returned to Earth. Supergirl immediately recognizes this Lex Luthor who resembles the one she knew from her own world. Casually calling her "love" in his Australian manner, Supergirl then mistakenly assumes this is the same Lex Luthor who had been in love with her in the pocket universe and she kisses him. Eww!
Panic in the Sky isn't really a universe-wide crossover, but it sets the tone for most of the 90's where everything else going on in the universe seems to revolve around the Superman books. For instance, the changes happening in the Justice League series this same month aren't really related to this story, but you see it develop each week here. Starting in Justice League #61, Superman will join the league for the first time in the post-Crisis era. His membership will last less than a year, however, ending with his upcoming death.
Superman: The Man of Steel #10
The cover is an homage to Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, which featured the death of the pre-Crisis Supergirl.
Superman #66
Panic in the Sky: Final Strike
Braniac's plot to shrink Metropolis is a long-awaited post-Crisis update on his Silver Age modus operandi, although it will still be some time before we see actual shrunken cities re-introduced into the canon.
This cover is an homage to the previous issue's cover.
Adventures of Superman #489
Panic in the Sky: Epilogue
The second half of the issue begins a new story in which Professor Hamilton's new lady friend accidentally traps him inside the isolation chamber that once caused Jimmy Olsen to switch places with an other-worldly alien named Husque (Superman #38-39). Sure enough, Husque finds himself in the Professor's lab and the Professor finds himself in the other dimension ruled by Mokkari and Simyan, where we also find the clone of Jimmy Olsen's father again.
Action Comics #676
The Hellgrammite decides to make his move to assassinate Luthor on his yacht, which he expects will be less secure than Lex Corp. Superman saves Luthor but the Hellgrammite gets away. Similar to the first encounter with the original Lex, Luthor II propositions Superman to work for Lex Corp but he declines again. The next day, Luthor II is alerted to an amazing discovery in New Mexico where his team has found the new Supergirl returned to Earth. Supergirl immediately recognizes this Lex Luthor who resembles the one she knew from her own world. Casually calling her "love" in his Australian manner, Supergirl then mistakenly assumes this is the same Lex Luthor who had been in love with her in the pocket universe and she kisses him. Eww!
Panic in the Sky isn't really a universe-wide crossover, but it sets the tone for most of the 90's where everything else going on in the universe seems to revolve around the Superman books. For instance, the changes happening in the Justice League series this same month aren't really related to this story, but you see it develop each week here. Starting in Justice League #61, Superman will join the league for the first time in the post-Crisis era. His membership will last less than a year, however, ending with his upcoming death.
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