(This post is the second in a series looking back at some of my favorite comics of all-time. The first installment, looking back on Watchmen, can be found here)
Every now and then, on message boards, newsgroups, or at conventions or any other random gathering of comics geeks, the question of what is the Greatest <comic character name here> Story Ever Written. Now, I’m not sure what the greatest Spider-Man story ever written is (if I had to guess, I’d say either the Death of Gwen Stacy or Fearful Symmetry, but I’m hardly an expert) and I think I have an idea of what the greatest Batman story is, but there’s one thing I have absolutely no doubts about in any way, shape or form: “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” by Alan Moore, Curt Swan, George Perez and Kurt Schaffenberger, most certainly is the Greatest Superman Story Ever Written. Read on to find out why.
A while back, I heard a story about how “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” came about. Supposedly (and I’ve never found out if there’s any truth to this story), Alan Moore was having lunch with someone at DC, when he overheard editor Julius Schwartz mentioning to someone a few tables over that Curt Swan was about to end his legendary run on Superman and retire, after which there would be a complete recreation of the character by John Byrne. Moore rushed over to Schwartz, put his hands around his neck, and threatened to strangle him if he wasn’t allowed to write Swan’s last story. Now again, I have no idea if there’s any truth to that story, but however this project came about, it was truly a wonderful thing.
Curt Swan is in my opinion, the best artist who ever drew Superman. And I’m a biiiiig Superman fan, so I don’t say that sort of thing lightly. Alex Ross gets the majesty of Superman right, Tim Sale got the humanity dead-on, but nobody drew Superman (and his sizable cast of characters) quite as well as Curt Swan.
“Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow” is labeled as “an imaginary story” (italics theirs). This was a few years before the whole Elseworlds thing, so it needed to be labeled as such. It consists of two issues: Superman #423 and Action Comics #583. Swan did the pencils for both, while Alan Moore provided the scripts (Perez inked the first half, Schaffenberger the second). The story begins in the future, with a long retired and now married Lois Elliot (formerly Lane, of course) telling the story of Superman’s last days to a reporter for the Daily Planet.
Now, there have been lots of stories like this for various characters, including the canonical “Death of Superman” storyline, but what sets this one apart is how it ties together everything. And I mean everything. Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Krypto, Bizarro, Toyman, Kryptonite Man, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Elastic Lad, the list goes on and on and on. There’s even an unexpectedly touching scene where Supergirl arrives from a different time (touching because Supergirl was dead in this continuity following Crisis on Infinite Earths).
At the end of the storyline, Superman is dead, along with his entire rogues gallery, and most of his friends. And yet, the story isn’t the bloodbath it sounds like. It hits all the right notes, from the Supergirl scene, to the horrific fate of Lex Luthor, to the wink that ends the story. I’ve bought a Superman book every week for years and years and years, and yet if this had been the last one ever written I wouldn’t have minded in the least. Following this story DC did away with this entire continuity, giving the reins to John Byrne. I never particularly liked Byrne’s run (and in fact I stopped reading Superman comics altogether around this time), but the fact that this was the last story both by a legend like Curt Swan, and of an entire era for the character makes it wholly unique in the history of the industry (or at least, for DC comics).
No fan of Superman should be without this story. It is not, oddly enough, included in DC’s Superman: The Greatest Stories Ever Told collection, but it can be bought by itself in a small collection. Personally, I think this story works best when read as two individual issues. They’re over 18 years old at this point, and yellowing around the edges, but somehow it just feels right to me to read them this way…it’s like they’re a document of an era, long gone. Regardless of how you read them, you should, plain and simple. There are other great Superman stories (lots of them) but only one can truly be the Best One Ever…and this is it, without question.
Batman, hmm. Probably Year One. While I loved The Dark Knight Returns (I still haven’t read the sequel and keep meaning to), it always felt like the second wind to the character, while Year One felt like a true jolt of adrenaline.
However, The Killing Joke was awesome.
It’s a tough call between Year One and Killing Joke, but I’m with you on Year One.
Do yourself a favor though — skip DK2. I bought the first issue and felt dirty. It’s among the worst comics i’ve ever read.
The one thing I remember about “Whatever Happened” is Krypto’s reaction to Superman weeping. Like any dog he just cocked his head not really understanding what was happening.
I agree with you on DK2. What did Batman ever do to Miller?