The End
The funeral is over and the first Act of post-Crisis Superman comes to a close. It really is the end of an era.
Funeral for a Friend part 7
Lois has a nightmare in which she's watching Superman drown in a whirlpool and she does nothing but report the story as he screams for help.
In Metropolis, the bombs Cadmus left to bury their tunnel have caused massive flooding of the Underworld. Lois finds out Superman's tomb is empty and agrees to help the Underworlders who in turn help her break in to Cadmus, where the Newsboy Legion clones lead her to the body of the Man of Steal. She can't take his body back with her, but she uses her influence as a journalist in the hopes that making the story public will make them give the body back.
In the Batcave, Batman considers destroying the Kryptonite ring that Superman entrusted him with now that it's no longer needed, but he can't bring himself to destroy that symbol of trust now.
In Smallville, Jonathan Kent seems to be daydreaming or having hallucinations of Clark as he does the chores around the farm. On the last page, he sees the headline that his son's body is missing and he collapses from a heart attack.
In pre-Crisis continuity, Clark Kent's foster parents had both died before he became Superman. In the 50's pilot of the Adventures of Superman TV series, Ma Kent is still alive to sew her adult son his costume. In the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie, an adult Clark leaves his mother at home after the passing of Jonathan Kent. When it was first decided to keep both the Kents alive in post-Crisis continuity, that decision was unprecedented. Ever since then, writers have attempted on multiple occasions to kill Jonathan Kent: here for the first attempt, then in 2001's Our Worlds at War crossover, and finally in Geoff Johns' "Braniac" story in 2008. When Superman was fully rebooted in the disastrous New 52 continuity, his parents were both reverted back to dead as in the pre-Crisis era, and have remained ever since even after the New 52 was almost entirely retconned by Rebirth.
Funeral for a Friend part 8
Lois interrupts Lex Luthor II's karate lessonsto ask him to help get Superman's body back from Cadmus. While Lex is distracted, his trainer Sasha drop-kicks him and Lois comments how his "father" would have had somebody killed for doing that. Supergirl takes Lois to Cadmus where they successfully break out with the Man of Steel's body. Putting the body back into the tomb, Lex asks for a moment alone with it to pray. Finally, he gets his chance to gloat over Superman's dead body, bragging that he just got away with murdering Sasha and nobody can stop him.
Jimmy Olsen takes his photos to Colin Thornton to be used in a special edition of NewsTime magazine that DC would actually publish in real life.
At the emergency room in Smallville, doctors fight to Jonathan Kent's life. He's almost responsive, but then he sees a vision of Superman reaching for him. Jonathan reaches out for his son's hand, and his heart monitor flat lines. Martha cries over his body begging him not to leave her alone. The End.
After this, the Superman books went on hiatus for several months, an unthinkable editorial decision by today's standards. Although the next issue in the triangle numbering would be Adventures of Superman #500, it wasn't known at the time when it would even come out.
End Act I of post-Crisis Superman. Act II will run for almost another 75 issues, ending at Superman #150. The next act builds on the concepts and characters introduced in the first act, but reinvents them and introduces new characters that will define the 90's and establish a distinct departure from pre-Crisis Superman concepts. Act II will continue to adhere tightly to established continuity, yet will be also be surprisingly accessible and friendly to new readers. Even people who don't follow comics will be made aware of the developments in the Superman books through a new TV series, Saturday Night Live, the nightly news, late night television monologues, and Entertainment Tonight. For the rest of the decade, the world is watching Superman like never before or since.
Superman: The Man of Steel #21
Lois has a nightmare in which she's watching Superman drown in a whirlpool and she does nothing but report the story as he screams for help.
In Metropolis, the bombs Cadmus left to bury their tunnel have caused massive flooding of the Underworld. Lois finds out Superman's tomb is empty and agrees to help the Underworlders who in turn help her break in to Cadmus, where the Newsboy Legion clones lead her to the body of the Man of Steal. She can't take his body back with her, but she uses her influence as a journalist in the hopes that making the story public will make them give the body back.
In the Batcave, Batman considers destroying the Kryptonite ring that Superman entrusted him with now that it's no longer needed, but he can't bring himself to destroy that symbol of trust now.
In Smallville, Jonathan Kent seems to be daydreaming or having hallucinations of Clark as he does the chores around the farm. On the last page, he sees the headline that his son's body is missing and he collapses from a heart attack.
In pre-Crisis continuity, Clark Kent's foster parents had both died before he became Superman. In the 50's pilot of the Adventures of Superman TV series, Ma Kent is still alive to sew her adult son his costume. In the first Christopher Reeve Superman movie, an adult Clark leaves his mother at home after the passing of Jonathan Kent. When it was first decided to keep both the Kents alive in post-Crisis continuity, that decision was unprecedented. Ever since then, writers have attempted on multiple occasions to kill Jonathan Kent: here for the first attempt, then in 2001's Our Worlds at War crossover, and finally in Geoff Johns' "Braniac" story in 2008. When Superman was fully rebooted in the disastrous New 52 continuity, his parents were both reverted back to dead as in the pre-Crisis era, and have remained ever since even after the New 52 was almost entirely retconned by Rebirth.
Superman #77
Lois interrupts Lex Luthor II's karate lessonsto ask him to help get Superman's body back from Cadmus. While Lex is distracted, his trainer Sasha drop-kicks him and Lois comments how his "father" would have had somebody killed for doing that. Supergirl takes Lois to Cadmus where they successfully break out with the Man of Steel's body. Putting the body back into the tomb, Lex asks for a moment alone with it to pray. Finally, he gets his chance to gloat over Superman's dead body, bragging that he just got away with murdering Sasha and nobody can stop him.
Jimmy Olsen takes his photos to Colin Thornton to be used in a special edition of NewsTime magazine that DC would actually publish in real life.
At the emergency room in Smallville, doctors fight to Jonathan Kent's life. He's almost responsive, but then he sees a vision of Superman reaching for him. Jonathan reaches out for his son's hand, and his heart monitor flat lines. Martha cries over his body begging him not to leave her alone. The End.
After this, the Superman books went on hiatus for several months, an unthinkable editorial decision by today's standards. Although the next issue in the triangle numbering would be Adventures of Superman #500, it wasn't known at the time when it would even come out.
End Act I of post-Crisis Superman. Act II will run for almost another 75 issues, ending at Superman #150. The next act builds on the concepts and characters introduced in the first act, but reinvents them and introduces new characters that will define the 90's and establish a distinct departure from pre-Crisis Superman concepts. Act II will continue to adhere tightly to established continuity, yet will be also be surprisingly accessible and friendly to new readers. Even people who don't follow comics will be made aware of the developments in the Superman books through a new TV series, Saturday Night Live, the nightly news, late night television monologues, and Entertainment Tonight. For the rest of the decade, the world is watching Superman like never before or since.
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