Lord of the Ring

Back from their excursion on Krypton, Lois and Clark struggle to adapt to life with their new pet canine, Krypto.  Then Lois teams up with Batman behind Superman's back to break into the White House and steal President Luthor's Kryptonite ring. 

Superman #168

Lord of the Ring part 1

On Earth, Krypto has powers and he's destroying the Kent's apartment.  To make Lois dislike him even more, Ma and Pa Kent bring give them a cute cape for the dog to wear.  Krypto hears something outside and Superman goes to investigate, finding Batman spying on their apartment.

The next day, the Daily Planet's mysterious benefactor is revealed to be none other than Bruce Wayne.  The next night, Lois Lane shines a Bat-Signal in the sky above Metropolis, and Lois and Batman devise a plan to get the Kryptonite Ring back from President Luthor.  Batman is surprised to discover that Clark didn't tell his secret identity to his own wife.  Their plan seems to be off to a good start, until they actually get inside the White House and an angry Superman is waiting behind the door.

Like in the following issue, all the Batman scenes are in black, white and red.

Detective Comics #756

Lord of the Ring part 2

Superman chases Batman through the White House, into the Oval Office.  Batman finds Luthor's Kryptonite ring, but President Luthor walks in and makes Superman return the ring to him.  Once they're all safely outside, they reveal to Lois it was all a trick to plant a decoy and take the real one.

During the chase, Bruce Wayne's bodyguard Sasha Bordeaux sneaks into a restricted area and Superman politely escorts her away.  Sasha wonders how Superman knew who she was, but then at the end of the issue she figures it out when she discovers Bruce Wayne is Batman by opening his luggage.  Sasha Bordeaux would briefly become a Batman sidekick, but she and Bruce Wayne would have a tragic falling out when he was accused of murder a couple years later.

This was the first and only time Detective Comics ever crossed over with the Superman books, and it was surprisingly a lot of fun.

Adventures of Superman #590

President Luthor calls on Superman to rescue a journalist being held prisoner in the nation of Bialya.  Superman plays along with Luthor's game, but exposes the prisoner as an attempted assassin before returning him to the President.

This was my first time re-reading this story since September 11.  I didn't really pay attention to the subject of Middle Eastern terrorists so much back then, and this issue seemed mostly forgettable at the time.  Reading it again today, it's interesting how this story could have easily fit into a post-9/11 context.

Regular series writer Joe Casey is joined by guest artists Derect Aucoin and Jose Marzan, Jr., with a cover by Michael Golden.  The next regular issue of this series would finally see a regular artist, the late Mike Wieringo. 

Superman: The Man of Steel #112

Krypto continues to tear apart the Kent's apartment, so Superman puts on his cape and takes him outdoors for some exercise.  Superman and Krytpo capture a pair of metahuman escapees from Stryker's Island prison who were trying to break into a mysterious LexCorp facility.

At the Steelworks, DEO Agent Chase arrests John Henry Irons for suspected involvement with the attack on Washington last issue.

A team of guests artists takes over this issue, including pencillers Yanick Paquette and Olivier Coipel, and inkers Ray Snyder and Andy Lanning.

Krypto would be the first Kryptonian other than Superman allowed to exist in the post-Crisis era.  In the next few years, we will get back Superman's cousin Kara Zor El, and then just like in the final years of the pre-Crisis era, an entire planet of surviving Kryptonians.

Action Comics #777

An unknown villain is killing people around the world and leaving messages for the Man of Steel at the scene of the crimes.  Because of the bad English in the messages, Superman suspects the culprit may be Bizarro; but Bizarro is currently being held prisoner somewhere cold.  Lois Lane finds out the murderer is related to whoever tried to poison Superman with Kryptonite a few months ago, and the Daily Planet is attacked by the terrifying new villain, Kancer, who resembles the H.R. Giger-designed aliens from the Alien movies.  Superman defeats the monster with electricity and Lois recovers in the hospital.  More questions are raised in the mystery than answered, and all the clues point to the small European nation of Pokolistan.

Next month the regular creative teams take a break for a guest month, but when they return we'll get our first glimpse of the horrific new ruler of Pokolistan, who in a way is also a villain familiar to longtime Superman fans.