Superman #104 (1995)
"Revenge of Apokolips"
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Jose Garía-Lopez
Not sure WHY I picked this up during my latest trip to the "Big Store With Shitloads of One Dollar Comics"...but I did. I was thinking it was from the late 90's rather than the mid-90's and the differences show.
The story opens with Clark Kent,
complete with PONYTAIL, watching TV with Lois Lane. They make some double entendre lines about
"this is the first time we've done it..are you ready" and it turns out that they're watching a
new TV show for the first time. An Apokolips assasain suddenly appears over Metropolis via boomtube,
so Clark flies off as Superman to check it out.
The assasain is a guy named Kalibre and is being chased by Darkseid's troops. Due to Superman's
recent interference in one of Darkseid's training programs, the trainees are considered
failures and must be executed. Kalibre was to be the executioner, until he found out his daughter
was on the chopping block. So he's come to Metropolis for Superman's help.
Superman and Kalibre boomtube it to Apokolips and save Kalibre's daughter Buna. Superman
uses super speed and his super breath to save Buna, inconspicuously. The masses think it's
a miracle, but Darkseid detects the ruse. Superman makes a deal with Darkseid: he'll leave
Apokolips if he lets Buna live. Darkseid agrees...but in some strange reasoning he still believes
Superman owes him. Superman is sent back to Metropolis while Darkseid frees the
Superman Cyborg from captivity. The Cyborg was being held inside a tiny red marble.
After all that, Buna is installed as Darkseid's personal servant.
This was produced before the Superman Animated Series had premiered and the effects are noticeable.
For one, the Writer is trying to force Superman into the 90's "bad-ass superhero" fad.
There's the ponytail, plus Superman's attitude is a little more gung-ho. He's rather rude
and tells a horde of Parademons to "Get outta' my way!" Oh yeah, he also
says "Apokolips is too EXTREME" and that adjective is used throughout the story.
That doesn't work for Supes..
he's rather straightlaced, almost to a fault, and that's the appeal of the character.
The Animated Series didn't try to make Superman a "bad-ass", it took a traditional
approach to the character and proved more entertaining. By 1998, the Superman books reflected
the scaled-back changes of the cartoon and began to return him to his
status quo. He even got a haircut.
Other 90's fads appear. The art looks rushed and the page layouts fail in their attempts
to experiment. At one point, the layout is so cramped that a panel of Superman
and Kalibre boomtubing is reduced to roughly 1 square inch. Kalibre's named is another 90's effect-- it could be lumped in with
guys like Gunfire, Ballistic or Loose Cannon.
The ridiculous Superman Cyborg
pops up and I guess he was quite the buzz among Superman fans at the time. He
became known as simply "Cyborg" and DC re-labeled their orginal Cyborg (Vic Stone of
the New Titans) as "Cyberion". Vic Stone eventually regained the Cyborg name in 1999 or so.
This was issue 104 and the letters page talks about the "DEATH of Clark Kent"..which
occurred in issue 100. Wow, that must have been a flop, since Kent looked
to be pretty healthy in this issue. No mention of his recent "death" anywhere. Another 90's
trend-- heroes "die" or get a new costume. Funny.
But there are some worthwhile touches included amongst the crap.
Kalibre's moral dilemna is a good plot...but he disappears as soon as they arrive on Apokolips.
Superman slips into his old Big Blue Boy Scout Mode and tells Kalibre
that standing up for what you believe is right and making your own decision makes
you more powerful than any military accomplishment.
Another decent concept is Darkseid's ruling of Apokolips and how the oppressed citizens
worship him blindly, because he's everything to them. A point that was displayed brilliantly
in the Animated Series' "Legacy" episode. Kalibre mentions that
even if Superman saves Buna...she'll probably still want to kill herself out
of service to Darkseid. This story also did alot to tie Darkseid closer to Superman. In the
70's and 80's, he was pretty much an generic archvillain, but this moves him towards
becoming a Superman archvillain. For historical notes, the story even mentions
Superman's last adventure on Apokolips, in 1987's Superman #3.
Inside this comic are a few time capsule advertisements. A couple of ads
for "Batman Forever", SEGA Genesis and Game gear, and Playoff football cards. I wonder
if anybody ever made money off of Playoff cards--which were 3.95 for a pack of FIVE.
Pricey, even by today's standards.
Next time I want to spend a dollar, I'll
skip the mid 90's era.
Summary: Mulleted Superman hops to Apokolips and blows death row chic
away from fiery pits. The Cyborg Who Needs a Haircut returns from
his marble imprisonment.
Cover price: 1.50
Rating: .25
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