Dead Again!

Continuing from the #0 issues, the Superman books kick of an ambitious 11-part story involving Conduit, the dead Superman body, and a mystery villain.  This story lays the groundwork for the upcoming Superman #100 and the Death of Clark Kent.

Superman: The Man of Steel #38

Dead Again part 1

The whole city of Metropolis is talking about the body of Superman found in his tomb last month.  Lois is particularly bothered by the coverage and how people are starting to question if the resurrected Superman is just another imposter.  The rest of the city seems to have been magically re-built (Clark Kent resumes the story line of getting back his old apartment from Superboy as if the destruction had never happened), but Kieth's orphanage is still destroyed and Alice White visits in an effort to get the Daily Planet to raise awareness.

S.T.A.R. Labs tries to to hold Conduit in a cell but he escapes and Superman rushes into the air to stop him.  Once again, Conduit defeats Superman with Kryptonite and the Man of Steel falls to the Earth.

Superman #94

Dead Again part 2

While Conduit and Superman continue their fight, Lois Lane meets someone at the airport who may be a secret weapon to defeat the villain.  Evading the Man of Steel, Conduit goes back to Lois' apartment to finish what he started, but he crashes through the window and unexpectedly comes face to face with his own father.  Superman arrives to take Conduit back into custody, who bows to Superman he will find the skeletons in his closet.

Meanwhile at S.T.A.R. Labs, Professor Hamilton runs tests on the corpse of Superman and he is convinced the body belongs to the real Superman.

Back in the 90's, this stood out as one of the most vibrant covers on the stands.  Today every series looks similar or better, but you have to remember that at the time these digital colors and effects were limited to just the covers.  It would still be half a year until this look would spread into the interiors of a small number of DC's flagship titles.

Adventures of Superman #517

Dead Again part 3

Superman naturally doesn't believe Professor Hamilton's conclusion and he agrees to submit to testing to prove he's the real Superman.  But he's starting to have doubts himself and even the the police and citizens of Metropolis wonder if he's working too hard to convince them.

In his first post-Crisis appearance, Carl Draper offers to build S.T.A.R. Labs a holding cell that Conduit can't escape from again.  Known as the Master Jailer in pre-Crisis continuity, Draper calls himself Death Trap now, but he'll eventually go back to his pre-Crisis name and costume.  Just for his own amusement, Death Trap tries to create a trap that even Superman can't escape from, but the Man of Steel succeeds and Draper determines to build a better trap for next time.

Lois tries to raise Clark's spirits with a candle-lit dinner, but he's distracted and not in the mood.  Her sister Lucy drops by to say hi but she thinks Clark isn't quite himself.  

Action Comics #704

Dead Again part 4

Superman searches for the Outsiders so he can question the Eradicator about the body found in his tomb.  The Outsiders have problems in their own series right now where they're apparently on the run from the law.  Unfortunately, the Eradicator doesn't have any useful information and the rest of the team fights the Man of Steel, mistakenly thinking he's trying to bring them to justice.  Superman leaves the Outsiders on the run and on the way back to Metropolis he starts to suspect Lex Luthor may be the one behind it all.