Shogun of Steel (2002) Part 1/2
Shogun of Steel is an Elseworld story which places the JLA into feudal Japan. In this world, Clark is named Hoshi (Star), a strange man with otherworldly powers. He's recruited to battle the evil warlord Zunou ("Brain" in Japanese) by a Japanese woman named Hana (Flower), who goes by Komori (the Bat).
I warn you it ends sadly! But it also features a beautiful romance between the Man of Steel and the Bat, one that's very in-character for both of their canon selves.
The story starts with a flashback in which Hana watches her father die by Zunou's hand and swears revenge on him:
The man in the bar is being harassed by thugs. He reveals that he is amazingly strong and invulnerable when one of them tries to punch him. But Hana reserves judgment:
Another thug jumps him, and Hoshi reveals the full extent of his powers:
Hana and "Green Arrow" try to recruit Hoshi, but he has a strict anti-interventionist stance:
Hana and Green Arrow meet up with "Hawkman" and Hana expresses her disgust with Hoshi's idealism:
Meanwhile, Hoshi talks to the spirit of his dead father, who tells him how he found him as a baby in a strange vessel, and raised him as his son.
That saying: "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form" is not a bad summary for many takes on the Superman and Batman dynamic.
Hoshi finally breaks his non-interventionist solitude when a village sheltering the JLA is attacked by Zunou's men and the inhabitants are being slaughtered. Having taken the first step, the JLA take him back to their cave hideout. Hana chews him out for his isolationism again (I love the way she's written here):
Sexy, sexy bat-ninja.
Hoshi stays with the JLA, but refuses to use lethal force. However, with his help, the league makes good progress:
I love the way the seasons pass visually as the narrative progresses, it's a beautiful example of graphic art and the marriage of image and word.
So we have a perhaps-overly-noble Man of Steel and a snarky and passionate Bat. As always in canon, sparks fly. In an Elseworld, though, the relationship proceeds a bit differently...
Part 2!
Back to 2000-2010 summary
I warn you it ends sadly! But it also features a beautiful romance between the Man of Steel and the Bat, one that's very in-character for both of their canon selves.
The story starts with a flashback in which Hana watches her father die by Zunou's hand and swears revenge on him:
The man in the bar is being harassed by thugs. He reveals that he is amazingly strong and invulnerable when one of them tries to punch him. But Hana reserves judgment:
Another thug jumps him, and Hoshi reveals the full extent of his powers:
Hana and "Green Arrow" try to recruit Hoshi, but he has a strict anti-interventionist stance:
Hana and Green Arrow meet up with "Hawkman" and Hana expresses her disgust with Hoshi's idealism:
Meanwhile, Hoshi talks to the spirit of his dead father, who tells him how he found him as a baby in a strange vessel, and raised him as his son.
That saying: "The heart of the person before you is a mirror. See there your own form" is not a bad summary for many takes on the Superman and Batman dynamic.
Hoshi finally breaks his non-interventionist solitude when a village sheltering the JLA is attacked by Zunou's men and the inhabitants are being slaughtered. Having taken the first step, the JLA take him back to their cave hideout. Hana chews him out for his isolationism again (I love the way she's written here):
Sexy, sexy bat-ninja.
Hoshi stays with the JLA, but refuses to use lethal force. However, with his help, the league makes good progress:
I love the way the seasons pass visually as the narrative progresses, it's a beautiful example of graphic art and the marriage of image and word.
So we have a perhaps-overly-noble Man of Steel and a snarky and passionate Bat. As always in canon, sparks fly. In an Elseworld, though, the relationship proceeds a bit differently...
Part 2!
Back to 2000-2010 summary