Our Worlds at War: Prelude to War!: "Of Course, You Know This Means... Warworld!" / "Suicide Mission" / "Metropolitan Rapture" / "The End of the Beginning" / "Down And Out In Kansas"
The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #593 (Aug. 2001)
Superman: Our Worlds at War (2006), reprinting Action Comics vol. 1 #780, Supergirl vol. 4 #59, Superman vol. 2 #171, Superman: The Man of Steel #115 (Aug. 2001)
Writers: Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey, Mark Schultz, Joe Kelly, and Peter David
Pencils: Ed McGuinness, Mike Wieringo, Doug Mahnke, Kano, and Leonard Kirk
Inks: Cam Smith, Jose Marzan, Jr., Marlo Alquiza, and Robin Riggs
Letters: Richard Starkings, Bill Oakley, and Ken Lopez
Colors: Tanya & Richard Horie, Rob Schwager, and Gene D'Angelo
Asst. Ed.: Tom Palmer, Jr.
Editors: Eddie Berganza and Mike McAvennie
And we're back in giant crossover mode, for what I am pretty sure was the most giant Super titles crossover of them all:
Our Worlds at War. The crossover ran through 37 different issues across three months! Reading all that seemed excessive, so I decided I'd either buy just the Super titles (only 14 issues), or I'd pick up the trade (20 issues), whichever was cheaper. That turned out to be the trade. The trade is almost 500 pages long, so I'll be reviewing in three chunks;
Our Worlds at War had a different subtitle each month, the first of which is "Prelude to War!"
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from The Adventures of Superman vol. 1 #593
(script by Joe Casey, art by Mike Wieringo & Jose Marzan, Jr.) |
It's not an entirely satisfying read, mostly because it's a lot of foreshadowing. First Superman goes into space to see if Pluto is back and ends up fighting the Fatal Five (from the
Legion of Super-Heroes) and is warned something is coming; then he goes to a deserted military base and fights Manchester Black and a new Suicide Squad and is warned something is coming; then the inhabitants of Metropolis are abducted into space and Superman fights Darkseid and is warned something is coming; then goes to Germany and fights General Zod and is warned something is coming. Okay, I get it! But the hints are all so vague that I found them hard to put together into anything coherent as a reader. Plus it seems like Superman keeps punching people instead of actually trying to get explanations, and thus undermining his own purpose.
Part of the issue is, I think, that I've only been reading
Adventures of Superman for five issues. This story draws on a
lot, and is clearly a climax for a number of long-running storylines. But that just gives me a lot of questions: what
did happen to Pluto? Who is the woman Brainiac? Is there some kind of connection between Mongal and longtime Superman foe Mongul? Why is General Zod a guy from the Middle East? How do all the myriad different villains here relate to each other? Maybe I should look some of this up in my copy of the
Essential Superman Encyclopedia, but I'm worried I'll read spoilers for the storyline.
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from Superman: The Man of Steel #115
(script by Mark Schultz, art by Doug Mahnke & José Marzan Jr.) |
There were two issues I wanted to comment on specifically. First, I thought the
Man of Steel installment was the weakest component of
Return to Krypton, so I was pleasantly surprised when its contribution here turned out to be the
best part of
Prelude to War! In "Metropolitan Rapture" (#115), all of the citizens of Metropolis wake up to find themselves in some kind of internment facility. Superman must try to investigate things without giving away who he is; Lois must try to organize everyone. It's a neat premise that stands on its own as a story. When Superman figures out what's going on-- a cabal of people including Adam Strange abducted everyone so that futuristic Metropolis's technology could be used in the coming war-- the answer actually makes sense, and thus the foreshadowing works. Plus, Adam Strange is 1) someone known to me, 2) not a villain, and 3) actually somewhat explains himself. A great example of how to do a single issue that still manages to inform a bigger story.
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from Supergirl vol. 4 #59
(script by Peter David, art by Leonard Kirk & Robin Riggs) |
The other is the one issue here that's not actually part of the core Super titles: "Down And Out In Kansas" (
Supergirl #59). I should say that near the end of
Prelude to War! things actually start to happen instead of just being foreshadowed. At the end of
Action #780, while Superman is fighting General Zod, a beam of energy hits Kansas, causing massive devastation. "Down And Out" follows Supergirl, who happened to be travelling through Kansas at the time, in the aftereffects of the blast, along with a friend of hers whose name I don't think is ever even mentioned but is clearly meant to be a loveable amoral jerk. (Also, judging by his over-the-top dialogue, English.) It's weird because between Supergirl having a concussion and the jerk's hijinks, it seems like writer Peter David is going for... comedy? In a story showing the ground-level devastation of a cosmic war? Of course it has its dark elements, but the result is a bizarre tonal mishmash that undermines what I imagine was the intended effect of closing out
Prelude to War! with it.
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