Christmas with the Kents

In December of the year 2000, there was not one but two Christmas issues of Superman.  There were also a ton of guest stars and guest artists, for some this being their only work on Superman ever.

Superman #165

In outer space, the Linear Men find the new Warworld where the former-planet Pluto used to be.  Interestingly, this was years before Pluto's status as a planet was downgraded.  This development will lead into an epic 3-month crossover 6 months from now, Our Worlds at War.  These first 3 pages and the last page are the only ones drawn by Ed McGuinness this issue.

The rest of the issue, Superman meets with individual JLA members to discuss the ramifications of Lex Luthor becoming president, and also to give them Christmas presents.  Humberto Ramos and Wayne Faucher draw Superman with the Martian Manhunter and Plastic Man, who he gives Chocos Cookies and rubber bands.  Rob Liefeld and Norm Rampund draw the Aquaman sequence, who receives a Metropolis snow globe.  The late Mike Wieringo with regular penciler Cam Smith draw the Green Lantern scene, who is given jewelry polish.  Art Adams draws the Flash, who gets tube socks.  Ian Churchill and Norm Rapmund draw a sexualized 90's-looking Wonder Woman, who receives a miniature Mjolnir jewelry piece to remind her of their 1,000 years in Valhalla.  And Joe Madureira and Tim Townsend draw a quiet Batman scene where he gets a magnifying glass picked out by Lois.  

Superman has a wide range of discussions with his teammates: Aquaman is enthusiastic to work with the new head of state, Green Lantern Kyle Reiner isn't sure Luthor would be worse than whoever might replace him, and Bruce assures Clark they'll take down Luthor when the time is right.  To take their minds off of the news and totally disconnect, Lois and Clark take a vacation in the Bottle City of Kandor.

This issue was a special treat because it featured some of the hottest artists of its day, even though some of the art styles were already dated when it came out and they look more like an Image comic from the previous decade.

Adventures of Superman #587

Superman, Thorn, and Rampage fight Lord Satanus, only to find that he's already won.  Lord Satanus claims the soul of Metropolis, but Superman offers himself as a more appealing prize to save his city from damnation.  Lord Satanus gives Superman one minute to say goodbye to his loved ones, in which Superman flies to the hospital to look through the window and see Lucy give birth to her son.  He doesn't say a word, but Lois senses something is wrong even though he's already gone when she looks out the window.  Lord Satanus opens a doorway to hell and Superman walks through.  Night Eagle watches, invisible to Lord Satanus.

Before leaving Metropolis for Washington, D.C., Luthor pays a visit to his parents' graves in the cemetery.  Rather than mourning, however, he wishes he believed in an afterlife so he could know they were in hell.

This issue was the only one this month that didn't have a guest art team.  It does have an additional dialogue writer, Joe Casey, who will take over scripting the series next issue, finish the current story arc, and continue writing the series for the next 3 years.  Artist Mike Miller inserts another hidden religious message, a John 3:16 quote on a tombstone at the cemetery.

Superman: The Man of Steel #109

Liri Lee of the Linear Men visits Superman like a ghost of Christmas future, guiding him through some possible events that may unfold in the Luthor presidency.  Following a great war in which many heroes die, Luthor used the B13 technology to consolidate his power, forcing the surviving heroes to either work for him or become outlaws.  Natasha Irons calls herself the Iron Maiden, and has apparently taken Steel's place.  Although she would later become an armored hero herself, it's a shame she never used this codename in continuity.  Lois Lane leads a resistance to try to take down Luthor, but he's one step of her.  Ignition appears in this possible future, as part of a delegation from a nation Superman has never heard of before: Pokolistan.  While this dystopia never actually comes to pass, it does have a lot of foreshadowing for things that would happen later in the year during Our Worlds at War.

At the Steelworks, Professor Hamilton and Steel detect Kryptonian signals coming from the Phantom Zone.  This will lead to some shocking revelations in the next few months that would retcon what had been Superman's canonical post-Crisis origin.

Duncan Rouleau returns as a guest artist for the issue.  Unfortunately, he would never draw more than 2 consecutive issues on any of the Superman books.

Action Comics #774

Superman watches Lex Luthor move into the White House and re-decorate, including re-painting the walls with lead paint.

Lois and Clark entertain her parents on New Year's Eve, but her father Sam Lane is unbearably antagonistic to everyone.  To make him even worse, Sam gets a phone call from Lex Luthor asking him to be his Secretary of Defense.

Scorch, another refugee from the Joker's warped reality, appears in the real world and attacks the Martian Manhunter.  Unfortunately, her power is fire and that also happens to be his weakness.  Scorch would eventually reform and have an intimate relationship with the Martian Manhunter.  After Scorch gets away, Superman and the Martian Manhunter (in the form of Betty Nehring) sit down for a personal talk in which the Martian Manhunter lets him see the chambers of his own mind to help Superman cope with recent world events.

The timing in these issues raises some questions: presidents don't normally occupy the White House before January, and though a year has passed in real time, it doesn't seem there's been enough comic book time since Y2K.