Superman Comics Recs List #2 (11-15)
Still working my way through the recs list (and my box of comics to give you this recs list). There are still comics I'm re-reading before I give the verdict and recommend them, and that's mostly because I remember certain books being overrated by fanboys in general, or maybe I just feel differently about them now than I did then. Or maybe I just judge what I enjoy about comics differently than a lot of fans do (mostly it's characterization/interaction > plot > action). But anyway, the first list is here: Recs #1-10
11. Who Took the Super Out of Superman? (Maggin & Bates, Superman v1 296-299)-Another Pre-Crisis story, this one takes place in the Bronze Age. Other than being famous for being the first story arc to insinuate that Clark and Lois had sex (Beef Bourguignon, anyone?), the story itself is actually very good. The Bronze Age isn’t known for having outstanding storytelling, but this arc in particular, Clark gets to live life as Superman all the time, or as a powerless Clark all the time and the things he does (or doesn’t do) as each help to show Clark and the reader why he needs both identities. Lois actually doesn’t play a huge roll, but I think this story helps to set straight that she’s not attracted to Superman because he’s Superman, but because he’s strong and heroic. Clark finds out that Lois is absolutely willing to go on a date with him when he shows his confident side and stands up for himself, instead of the typical Silver Age goof that trips on his own shoes.
12. The Brain Busters (Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #126) -This is obviously a Lois Lane story, but I chose it because it features a few things I know fans of both Lois and Clark (especially the Smallville version) will get a kick out of: 1) Lois saving herself, 2) Lois dressing up to go undercover, 3) Lois and Superman teaming up. Considering the Silver Age era of this comic wasn’t very kind to Lois, this book in particular highlights several things that makes Lois awesome without Mary Sueing her. She’s not out of character, it’s not over the top, she doesn’t out-hero Superman (it’s pretty equal), and you get the sense that there is an underlying friendship between Lois and Superman that actually doesn’t touch on the romance aspect that much (this is important for me because I am ship Lois/Clark, not Lois/Superman).
13. Superman Takes a Wife (Action Comics #484) To further prove that Post-Crisis Superman wasn’t the only one that put a ring on it, this issue shows that even the Golden Age Superman (Superman of Earth-Two) also married Lois Lane. So now we have all eras of Clark and Lois as husband and wife, thereby proving that their coupling had always been the endgame and that Superman is not destined to be a loner superhero.
14. This is Your Life, Superman (Superman v2 #226, Action Comics #836, Adventures of Superman #649) So the thing about Infinite Crisis is that the whole thing was about Superman and Lois Lane. These three issues in particular take us through the history of the Clark/Superman/Lois relationship from the Golden Age through Post-Crisis. I also really urge that you Wiki the Multiverse and/or read/Wiki Infinite Crisis in order to truly understand the overall plot and who these different versions of the characters are. But for the die-hard Cloisers, this should be an interesting read.
15. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Supergirl, Absolute Power (Jeph Loeb, Superman/Batman 1-6, 8-13, 14-18) I lumped these together because it’s really a trilogy of arcs. I shape my view of how the Superman/Batman/Clark/Bruce dynamic is supposed to go based on this series and these arcs in particular. Loeb’s writing style is very introspective and the boys spend a great deal of time thinking about each other and what the other thinks about them. A lot of times it comes off as love letters to each other, but that’s pretty much what I love about it, other than the fact that Superman and Batman know each other in a way that no one else in the League does and trust each other in a way that I don’t think they trust anyone other than their own family members (Lois, The Kents, Alfred, Dick). My favorite scene in Public Enemies is Clark holding Lex by the throat and what Bruce is thinking at that moment. Supergirl continues from Public Enemies as the Kryptonite debris also brings with it the new era’s Supergirl. Clark and Bruce behave like an arguing married couple and Bruce in particular is so overprotective of Clark that he thinks he has to protect him from his own cousin. Absolute Power is my favorite in the trilogy as it presents a world where Clark and Bruce are raised by 31st century supervillains to literally rule the world. The villains even see it fit to “give” Lois to Clark because some things in the world shouldn’t be messed with. And the conclusion harkens back to Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow in a sweet way though the continuities don’t match at all, but it was the thought that counted.
ETA: A commenter asked me to elaborate on what I meant by "the continuities don't match". What I mean is that the older Superman that attacks "our" Superman in Public Enemies is the Kingdom Come!Superman--which is the Golden Age Superman. The Superman from WHttMoT is the Silver Age Superman, and automatically there's a continuity conflict there because the Golden Age Superman (Earth 2) married Lois at a time when he was in fact Superman (both times), whereas the WHttMoT!Superman (Pre-Crisis Earth 1) married Lois after he "lost" his powers to Gold K. And then there's Post-Crisis!Superman who married Lois after he died and came back. All three of these Supermen are different and from different eras, and therefore the continuities do not match.
However this same commenter did point out that by the Kindgom Come Superman alerting our Superman to the "crisis", he thereby was able to change his world to match that of the WHttMoT's continuity...thereby Kindgom Come's Superman didn't lose Lois and marry Wonder Woman. So take that Mark Waid. And thank you for fixing that Jeph Loeb.