War Crimes

Adventures of Superman #596

The aftermath of Our Worlds at War happened in September, 2001 and there were uncanny coincidences with the real world events of that time.  Nearly twenty years later, this is still a difficult month for me to write about.  I was going to college in Texas at the time, when the planes hit the World Trade Center and the world we knew changed forever.  The weeks that followed were full of uncertainty: planes were grounded, armed servicemen guarded the airports, and a conservative president was only going to make things worse.  I began to see real life Republicans resembled supervillains more than heroes and this was the beginning of me abandoning conservative politics and religion.

Superman #174

Clark Kent rebuilds the Kent farmhouse, as Lois reads Martha Kent's journal.  Clark still hasn't given up hope that his parents somehow survived the destruction all around them.  Vice President Pete Ross and Second Lady Lana Lang stop by Smallville in a helicopter to find out if Clark plans to go back to work as Superman.  A passerby in a truck delivers a message to Clark from a woman at a Red Cross hospital, and Clark rushes to there to find his mother has survived.  Elsewhere, we see an amnesiac Jonathan Kent hitchhiking with a trucker.  

Clark decides to return to work as Superman, and Ma stitches a new black "S" shield on his costume.  This adjustment to the costume was supposed to be a step closer to Superman's Kingdom Come costume, which at the time seemed to be the destination of the DC Universe.  This mourning costume would take on another meaning entirely post-9/11. 

Adventures of Superman #596

Superman silently surveys the damage in Metropolis and around the world.  In an eerie parallel to the real world, he sees the Lex Towers in ruins with smoke rising from it.  This issue came out on September 12th, 2001.  The story and art had obviously been developed and completed months earlier, and the books had already shipped before 9/11.  Nevertheless, this image still caused a controversy at the time.

President Luthor and the JLA are both upset that Superman isn't doing more to help, but a construction worker stands up for the Man of Steel, arguing that they don't want Superman to do everything for humankind.  Though critics found the art problematic, the story was refreshingly humanistic and appropriate for the time.

Superman: The Man of Steel #118

Back at the Steelworks, Steel explains to Superman and his friends how he woke up on Apokolips in the Entropy Aegis armor.  As Superman flies home, time freezes and he's abducted by the Linear Men, who take him to stand trial before the Quintessence--Highfather, Shazam, Ganthet, Zeus, and the Phantom Stranger.  The Spectre, whose role is still filled by Hal Jordan at this time, appears as the Man of Steel's advocate in this court scene reminiscent of Kingdom Come.  Rip Hunter of the Linear Men absurdly accuses of altering the natural course of history by saving the world, losing Kismet, and appealing to the Black Racer to let Steel live.  John Henry Irons reluctantly puts the Entropy Aegis on again which takes him to this otherwordly courtroom.  Ultimately, the Quintessence sides with Superman and they eject the fanatical Linear Men.  In the epilogue, President Luthor hires a nanny for his newly-returned daughter Lena, but she is not what she appears to be.

Action Comics #783

In four concurrent stories, Superman fights four different villains: Stone Emperor, Scorch, Ocean Master, and Major Disaster.  Remembering advice from Pa Kent, Superman offers each of them a one-time shot at redemption.  Tragically, all of the villains turn down his second chance except for Major Disaster.  Major Disaster would join the side of the heroes in the short-lived Suicide Squad series that spun out of Our Worlds at War, and then would go on to become a member of the JLA and Justice League Elite, both also written by Joe Kelly.

There are only 10 years of comics left to read in the post-Crisis period after this point.