From: khale@camilla.Eng.Sun.COM (Abhijit Khale)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Re: I'm not buying Superman #75!
Date: 19 Nov 1992 14:27:03 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: camilla-50

In article <1ef5cdINNnn3@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu> albert@chain.ssctr.bcm.tmc.edu (Rick Jones) writes:

>...  _everyone_ involved
>has pointed out that there are umpty-up hundred DC heroes who can take
>out Doomsday with the snap of their fingers (Dr Fate, Spectre, a Green
>Lantern with a postive IQ), another equally large group of folks comparable
>to Superman in power so they could eventually pound him into the ground
>(Valor, Captain Marvel, Lobo, Captain Atom), and that the heroes who DID 
>help Supey were idiots tactically (specifically Guy, Booster, and Maxima).

I dont understand. Are you objecting to the fact that a combination of Earth's
heroes could have beaten Doomsday ? No doubt about that : heck Earth's heroes
have beaten the Anti-Monitor. But the whole Doomsday plotline has been moving
fast and there simply hasnt been enough time to summon other heroes. Also,
DCs mystical heroes are generally hard to summon at the best of times (and
Deadman and Spectre seem to be off on their own trip anyway). Lobo is light
years away and is unlikely to want to help out anyway. Ditto for Lady
Q, who's also hospitalized. Atom and Marvel are in limbo. Valor is probably
in space. Ditto for most other GLs. I dont find it all surprising that given
the very short notice, Supes was only able to get the help he did. 

Also, beating Doomsday isnt trivial. I'd assume that he's fairly resistant to
psychic attacks given the fact that he managed to resist Maxima and Bloodwynd
and seems to have very little mind to attack. Nor could a GLs power really 
beat him, given how tough he seems to be. The only thing that could beat him
is being teleported to say, the moon, something Gardner obviously didnt 
think of.

>	Never mind that Superman should be using more intelligent 
>tactics than "SLUG HIM".  (Throw the schmuck into orbit, fercrissakes.  Don't
>carry him, throw him.)

I dont think the post-Crisis Supes has ever had the strength or the hand-eye
co-ordination required to throw Doomsday into orbit. Also, I should point out
that for much of this fight, Supes was still operating under his code which
might forbid him from throwing or carrying Doomsday into  orbit. By the time
he realized how desperate the situation was and how powerful Doomdsay was,
it was probably too late, since he'd already taken a tremendous pounding.
This is not the pre-Crisis Superman. Ater the beating he's taken, I dont think
he's capable of throwing Doomsday beyond a few blocks. Ditto for carrying
Doomsday. He doesnt have the speed of the old Supes, who could have flown
Doomsday into outer space in a blink. 

Also, to be frank, our Kal isnt anywhere near as intelligent as he used to
be. He's far less apt than the old Kal to use his intelligence in a fight.
[I can remember a somewhat similar fight a while back, when the old Superman
fought a Solomon Grundy rampaging in Metropolis. Superman realized he couldnt
beat Grundy physically, so he managed to trick Grundy and leave him on the
moon.]

Having said all this, let me say that I agree with the general net feeling
that the current Doomsday storyline is a publicity gimmick and a mere
slugfest. I just dont agree with all the objections that people are raising
against it though. In particular statements like "hero X could have beaten
Doomsday" are irrelevant, since hero X isnt there.  But I agree that its
stupid for Superman to meet his end at the hands of a brainless monster like
Doomsday.

Its interesting to compare this storyline to Jerry Siegel's 30 year old death
of Superman story. Siegel's (imaginary, but then arent they all) story is
incredibly dark and contains betrayal and tragedy. Its also very moving : it 
can move one to tears decades after it was written and is so infnitely
superior to the Doomsday storyline that its painful.

Abhijit