Crisis at Hand
Superman vs. domestic violence is a theme that goes back to Superman's roots. In his first appearances in the 30's, Superman stories depicted the Man of Steel solving all sorts of human problems, like wars, labor disputes, and spousal abuse. Before there were super villains to fight, Superman fought real world problems like a wish fulfillment of his creators. But while everybody wants to see a wife beater get his comeuppance, the post-Crisis era retells this story with more practical implications.
Crisis at Hand part 1
Clark Kent tries to avoid using his powers to spy on his neighbors, Gary and Andrea, but he can no longer ignore the domestic violence next door. As Superman, he breaks through the window and grabs the abusive husband, but the battered wife calls the police on Superman instead! Feeling powerless, Clark tries to file a police report the next day, but learns can't get anywhere if the victim isn't willing to press charges. Clark tells Lois about an incident early in his career in which he stopped a wife beater, which is taken almost verbatim from a story in Superman's first appearance in Action Comics #1.
Meanwhile at the Coates Children's Center, Keith wonders if his mother will ever come back for him. His cat Tiger suddenly runs outside to a woman in the darkness, and Keith follows her into the sewer.
Crisis at Hand part 2
Clark spends the night with his parents in Kansas and has a heart to heart talk with his father about his inability to fix the problems in his building. Superman flies back to Metropolis and wakes Lois up early on a Saturday so they can talk while they go jogging. While they run, he takes her on a detour to the cemetery and finishes the story he started last issue. Unfortunately, after he stopped the first abusive husband, the wife found courage to leave and was found murdered by her spouse. When he finally tracked down the killer at his own wife's funeral, the husband blames Superman for letting him live the first time and the rest of the family has conflicting ideas of what to do with him now. From that moment, Superman decided to let the law take its course rather than rely on his own personal feelings.
After finishing the story, Lois and Clark arrive back at Clark's building and hear more fighting from the hallway. Lois begs Superman to intervene, but he says he can't unless they ask for his help. Not able to stand it, Lois bangs on the neighbor's door and demands they open it or she'll call the police. Andrea begs them to call the police and Lois tells Clark she won't let him stop her. Clark breaks open the door and they get the husband to leave and offer to take the mother and her children to a shelter. Lois leaves Andrea hoping that she'll get help. Superman follows Gary to make sure he doesn't come back, but finds him about to jump off a bridge. He talks Gary out of it and makes him realize he has a problem and needs to get help.
The Forever People come to Metropolis to enlist Superman's help to rescue Beautiful Dreamer's kidnapped daughter, Maya. They have no plan but to stop traffic until they get Superman's attention, then they open a boom tube to Apocalypse. The Forever People's gimmick is that when the fighting gets too difficult, they can use Mother Box to combine into the Infinity Man, similar to the predictable way the Planeteers always have to combine their powers to summon Captain Planet at the climax of every episode. Darkseid watches as Superman and the Infinity Man fight their way through Armagetto to his lair, and he uses his omega beam to bring the two heroes to him before they start another insurrection. It turns out Darkseid didn't order the kidnapping but he has an idea who did, and he correctly finds Maya a prisoner of Granny Goodness. Darkseid orders Granny to let the girl go and teleeports Superman and the Forever People to New Genesis, threatening that next time he will show them no mercy. High Father convinces the Forever People to stay in Supertown, but while he finds the thought of living there intriguing, Superman asks to be sent back to Earth.
Meanwhile at GBS, Vincent Edge offers Jimmy Olsen a contract to star in a Turtle Boy TV series.
Armed with stolen Intergang technology, Killgrave sends a new villain named Hi-Tech to battle the Man of Steel. Underneath the villain's enormous robotic exterior, Hi-Tech turns out to be a woman who just wanted to prove that Superman could be defeated. Killgrave, however, has plans to detonate a thermonuclear device that he hopes will kill them both. Hi-Tech joins forces with the Man of Steel to disarm the bomb and after leading him to Killgrave's hideout, she reveals that she was just a holographic substitute and the real Hi-Tech had already escaped.
This is a straight-forward action story that doesn't have any character development or advance any of the ongoing subplots; in fact, the supporting cast doesn't appear at all. It is noteworthy, however, that at least in the UPC box on the direct sales edition we get a blurb that says "Doomsday Is Coming!"
Superman: The Man of Steel #16
Clark Kent tries to avoid using his powers to spy on his neighbors, Gary and Andrea, but he can no longer ignore the domestic violence next door. As Superman, he breaks through the window and grabs the abusive husband, but the battered wife calls the police on Superman instead! Feeling powerless, Clark tries to file a police report the next day, but learns can't get anywhere if the victim isn't willing to press charges. Clark tells Lois about an incident early in his career in which he stopped a wife beater, which is taken almost verbatim from a story in Superman's first appearance in Action Comics #1.
Meanwhile at the Coates Children's Center, Keith wonders if his mother will ever come back for him. His cat Tiger suddenly runs outside to a woman in the darkness, and Keith follows her into the sewer.
Superman #72
Clark spends the night with his parents in Kansas and has a heart to heart talk with his father about his inability to fix the problems in his building. Superman flies back to Metropolis and wakes Lois up early on a Saturday so they can talk while they go jogging. While they run, he takes her on a detour to the cemetery and finishes the story he started last issue. Unfortunately, after he stopped the first abusive husband, the wife found courage to leave and was found murdered by her spouse. When he finally tracked down the killer at his own wife's funeral, the husband blames Superman for letting him live the first time and the rest of the family has conflicting ideas of what to do with him now. From that moment, Superman decided to let the law take its course rather than rely on his own personal feelings.
After finishing the story, Lois and Clark arrive back at Clark's building and hear more fighting from the hallway. Lois begs Superman to intervene, but he says he can't unless they ask for his help. Not able to stand it, Lois bangs on the neighbor's door and demands they open it or she'll call the police. Andrea begs them to call the police and Lois tells Clark she won't let him stop her. Clark breaks open the door and they get the husband to leave and offer to take the mother and her children to a shelter. Lois leaves Andrea hoping that she'll get help. Superman follows Gary to make sure he doesn't come back, but finds him about to jump off a bridge. He talks Gary out of it and makes him realize he has a problem and needs to get help.
Adventures of Superman #495
Meanwhile at GBS, Vincent Edge offers Jimmy Olsen a contract to star in a Turtle Boy TV series.
Action Comics #682
This is a straight-forward action story that doesn't have any character development or advance any of the ongoing subplots; in fact, the supporting cast doesn't appear at all. It is noteworthy, however, that at least in the UPC box on the direct sales edition we get a blurb that says "Doomsday Is Coming!"
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