This month, Superman brings Supergirl back from Apokolips and continues confessing his sins to a priest in Metropolis. In one story, he's attacked by supervillains breaking into S.T.A.R. Labs, while in another he's breaking in to S.T.A.R. Labs to stop supervillains.
Superman/Batman #12
On Apokolips, Kara has turned on her would-be rescuer Superman, the Female Furies use Big Barda as a hostage to force Wonder Woman to surrender, and Batman has been swallowed alive by a giant hellhound. The heroes quickly turn the tables, as Superman takes the Kryptonite ring he got from Batman out of the lead-lined compartment in his belt buckle so that he can weaken Kara. Wonder Woman lassos Granny Goodness by the neck and negotiates the release of her hostage. And smoke starts to come out of the hellhound's mouth and nostrils, it collapses, and out of its mouth walks Batman triumphantly. With the aid of Apokoliptian armor and a Mother Box, Batman fights the evil god Darkseid hand-to-hand and tells him he's activated enough hellspores to destroy the planet unless Darkseid lets them go and promises not to go after Kara again. Darkseid grudgingly concedes defeat and the heroes return to Earth.
On Themyscira with the Amazons, Kara mourns the death of her friend Harbinger. Superman takes her to the Fortress of Solitude and gives her a new costume, then he takes her home to the Kent farm to introduce her to his parents. Ma and Pa Kent aren't home, but after Superman knocks on the door Darseid burst through it. He says he had given his word he wouldn't come for the girl, and focuses his Omega beam on Superman instead. Kara heroically steps in front of her cousin and she disintegrates into dust. Cynical fans had thought the new Supergirl wouldn't live beyond this story and this issue appeared to prove them right.
Superman #207
Superman finds Equus in the desert but he's not fast enough to stop his bullets from slaughtering the men he executes. In the middle of fighting Equus, Superman discovers a mass grave was buried on that spot. Superman returns to confront General Nox, who insists that Equus merely executed war criminals. Equus returns to continue their fight, but the weapon that had caused the Vanishing is activated again and this time both Equus and Nox disappear.
Back at the church in the present, Father Leone asks Superman if the Vanishing will happen again and Superman gives him his word. Superman asks if Father Leone believes him, and the priest says he believes in him.
Returning to the flashback in the desert, a mysterious stranger lights a Superman "S" on fire in the desert like a Bat Signal to call Superman. He introduces himself as Mr. Orr, and tells Superman that the vanishing weapon he possesses belongs to his employers.
Action Comics #817
Superboy and Wonder Woman take the injured Superman is taken to S.T.A.R. Labs, where scientists are able to remove the liquid Kryptonite from his wound and save his life. He has a strange conversation with a Dr. Mohlman, who isn't very confident about Superman's recovery, but really wants Superman to let him remove his appendix, and also advises him to spend time with friends and family just in case.
S.T.A.R. Labs is besieged by an army of lesser-known supervillains who see Superman's injury as an opportunity to strike. Jack Ryder sadistically covers the story, but his cameraman is killed. None of the villains are even named in the fight, so they're kind of meaningless unless the reader is familiar with really obscure characters like the Demolition Team. The Weapons Master, of all people, succeeds at getting inside the complex and starts randomly pulling weapons from his interdimensional stash. He fires an ordinary machine gun point blank at Superman's chest, and the bullets pass through the shocked Superman's body.
Adventures of Superman #630
The new villain calling himself Ruin, who is the one who's been controlling Xlim, takes hostages at S.T.A.R. Labs. Superman evacuates most of the building at super speed, but when he breaks in to confront Ruin time suddenly stops.
Mr. Mxyzptlk has chosen this moment to annoy Superman once again, appearing now in his original Golden Age look. Mxyzptlk takes Superman through several scenes ranging from the Matrix to Looney Tunes parodies, while cryptically trying to warn Superman of an upcoming Crisis. He even breaks the 4th wall and asks Superman how the Lee-Azzarello thing is working out. Finally, he takes Superman to watch Lois the previous day in Umec so he can see the army unit she's embedded in is under heavy fire. He then returns Superman to the point in time from which he had taken him to finish his confrontation with Ruin, warning Superman that he should worry more about the twins Ruin is holding hostage.
Though penciler Matthew Clark and inker Nelson aren't remembered as well as the other artists from this period, their art was consistent and translated well to the different tones required by Greg Rucka's story. This issue not only sets up several story lines coming up in the next few months, but also hints at Infinite Crisis which was still over a year away.
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