From: aa396@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Bill Henley)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Alan Moore's "last Superman story"
Date: 21 Nov 1992 00:34:50 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu


After mentioning Alan Moore's "last Superman story" in the final
pre-Byrne issues of SUPERMAN and ACTION COMICS in 1986, I've 
been asked to post a synopsis.  I don't have access to those
issues right now and can't remember the exact issue numbers, but
here's a stab at a synopsis from memory:

The story, titled "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?"
starts off in SUPERMAN in a near future where all is peaceful
in Metropolis-- until Bizarro makes an unusually murderous
attack on the city and has to be destroyed by Superman (I
don't recall the exact details).  Then the Toyman and Prankster
murder Clark Kent's old boyhood friend Pete Ross and expose
Superman's secret identity on national TV.  Superman is ob-
viously disturbed, not only by what has happened, but by 
what he fears will happen: "If the nuisances from my life
are coming back as killers, what happens when the killers
come back?"  He takes Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang,
and Mr. and Mrs. Perry White to his Fortress in hopes of
protecting them.  But he is further disturbed when the
members of the Legion of Super-Heroes -- including Super-
girl, who hasn't died yet at this point in the future--
pay a mysterious visit to advise Superman of a "major
change" that is about to occur in his life.

In the ACTION issue, the Fortress is attacked by Luthor
and Brainiac, who have merged into a kind of cyborg,
as well as the Kryptonite Man (former Kryptonite Kid).
Jimmy Olsen as Elastic Lad, and Lana Lang with temporary
super-powers, defeat them but are killed themselves;
Krypto the superdog also gives his life fighting the
Kryptonite Man.

Finally, having defeated all these other menaces,
Superman discovers the real foe behind all these
disasters--Mr. Mxyzptlk, who has decided to go
beyond merely mischievous to become truly evil.
Supes discovers a way to kill Myxyzptlk, and does
so.  But then, to atone for breaking his oath never
to kill, he exposes himself to Gold Kryptonite,
destroying his powers forever.  He then apparently
wanders off into the Arctic and is presumed dead.
(This was the one major weak part of the plot, as
far as I was concerned-- the other heroes who are
depicted as gathering to mourn for him, could 
and would have searched the entire Arctic Circle
inch by inch for his body.)

All this is told by Lois Lane, ten years or so
later, reminiscing to a reporter about her
time as "Superman's girlfriend."  She is now
married and living a thoroughly mundane life.
But in the final pages it's made clear that 
her husband is really the former Superman,
depowered and disguised, but happy to be living
a "normal life" at last.  In the last panel,
their baby son squeezes a piece of coal into
a diamond...

From my description this story may sound
really morbid and depressing, what with the
whole supporting cast from the old Weisinger
days buying the farm.  Indeed, some people
found it so at the time.  But I thought it
was a very well written story and a satis-
fying wrap-up to the "Superman family"
legend developed by Weisinger.

-- 
Bill Henley, Assistant Sysop, Cleveland Free-Net Science Fiction
& Fantasy SIG (aa396)