Bogdanove's Tribute - Part 3

[Great Rao]

Here's Part Three of Bog's Golden Age Superman tribute.

[lastkryptonianhere]

Great Rao,

Thanks for the story but thanks even more for the links to other Holocaust related links - if only one person learns more of the death, destruction and hell that the survivors of the holocaust lived through then we as a species are all the better for that.

[Paul Sanders]

Agreed, this was a really fantastic story.

I'm gonna find these issues. They're too good to be lost

Paul Sanders

[lastkryptonianhere]

Agreed, this was a really fantastic story.

I'm gonna find these issues. They're too good to be lost

Paul Sanders

Paul you better understand that those three issues are part of the Dominus "Saga" which is about the biggest mess ever in any comic book (well except maybe the Spidey Clone storyline).  So ignore the last part of the third issue (which the great one left out - Thanks oh great one)

[Paul Sanders]

I actually own the Superman Series Dominus Issues. They weren't that half-bad.  It had the Sci-Fi elements I like, however, it didnt' have that sense of wonder that the story had first time around (it was based on some 70's pre-crisis comics, can't remember which).

I liked the Dominus is splitting reality concept, and I think it should have been taken to the logical conclusion.

This is how I would make it play it out if I was told to end the story.

Dominus brings the four Superman into one era, and he tells him the purpose of creating seperate realities:

Somewhere out there, there exists a universe (specifically, our universe, but only the astute readers know that), where there is no "real" superman. Instead, he is a modern myth, one that has inspired many for generations.

Dominus, by re-creating all the different incarnations at once, would create a surge of "inspiration energy", energy that he would tap into to create a new universe, where he was for all intents and purposes, God.

He would tell them this, in hopes that they would try and fight him, and thus increase the "epicness" of the tale, and inspire more people.

They do, but they fight him with too much passion and conviction, and he slips...and sends each of the Superman to a different time.

GA Superman is sent to the 70's.
60's Superman is sent to the Far Future
70's Superman is sent to the Golden Age
Far Future Superman is sent to the 1960's.

They each have one issue in each other's universe, where they are totally out of whack.  Ex:

GA Superman goes and beats up crooked politicians...in china, thereby starting a World War.

60's Superman renders the entire judicial and police force on earth obsolete, and therefore starts a riot.

70's Superman, with his credo to non-interferance, fails to stop the war.

Far Future Superman is insufficently powerful to hurt 60's villains, and gets defeated by seawater.

The 60's and 70's Superman use their time travel abilities to journey to their correct realities, while meeting and saving Future Superman and GA Superman, respectively.

The two groups head back to Dominus's reality, but en route, they realize that no matter what they do, be it defeating him, or giving up, they will still inspire others.  

However, if they were to cease to exist, then none could be inspired.  They agree to sacrifice their very existence to protect reality.

They all attack Dominus, with powerful overtures, but in turn, they goad him enough for him to eliminate them.

All that's left of them are small scraps of each Superman's "S" on the floor.  

Cut to "our" world.  A young boy (named Joseph Jerome), is reading the very comic book we are.  The caption on the panel (in the comic book the boy is reading) says "But, if someone believes in a man who would do anything, who will always defeat evil, there will always be a Superman."

Beat.  

"Do you?"

The boy says: "I believe, I believe a man can fly. I do!"

The scraps of cloth weave themselves back together, the magic of the myth making them whole. A new symbol is weaved, not any one of theirs,  but something good nonetheless (much akin to the Earth-2 Symbol of Superman).

Slowly it begins to glow and pulsate, and smoke arises.

Dominus throws energy blast after energy blast at it, but its still glowing. Stronger, better.

It becomes a blob, an idea with form.  Within a moment, a kneeling Superman, a composite of all that has gone on before, all that will go on, exists.

He stands and says "Thanks Jerry", with a trademark wink.

Dominus really lets loose with his powers, trying to undo Superman's existence.  Everything else around him changes, but this Superman doesn't. This Superman acknowledges his past, and draws strength from it.

Superman walks slowly, powerfully, towards Dominus, speaking calmly all the way.

"Dominus, you've been a fool.  I've battled so many like you, not in my world, but in others.  I am a tool to bring hope to the hopeless, protection to the fearful, and inspiration to every child on the planet."

He stands mere inches from Dominus's face.

"You cannot defeat me, for I know one simple truth:

I'm a hero. I'm Superman.  I fight for hope.

And no matter what, you cannot defeat the power of hope."

Dominus's power immediately collapses on himself, and he disappears into nothingness.  Superman reappears in a slightly different Metropolis, one that has elements of all four Supermen.

He is now a different Superman than the one a few months ago.

He is the Social Crusader of the 40's.

He is the Cosmic Avenger of the 60's.

He is the Loving Protector of the 70's.

He is the Hopeful Youth of Tomorrow.

He is all this, and more.

He is Superman.

*The End*

And yes, I intend to write comics one day. See ya in the funny papers, folks.

Paul Sanders

[Super Monkey]

Any chance of seeing the 60's and 70's era tribute on-line? I own the 60's tribute.

[valdemar]

I own both the 1940s tribute and the 1960s tribute.  I've long since sold my copies of the 70s and "Future" storylines.

The 1940s tribute seems to show an incredible love and respect for the original Siegel and Shuster material, and I know that the storyline was very important to Bogdanove.  He did a lot of research on it and spoke to some extremely helpful people at the Holocaust Museum.

All of his artwork on Man of Steel was very energetic and his entire output comes across as an homage to Shuster.  It's too bad that he was on the books during the Cavalieri/Jurgens/Carlin era, because the stories themselves were almost completely unreadable.

Regarding the 1960s tribute:  It might be more accurate to call it a "Weisinger Pastiche," since although no actual year or era is mentioned, it seems to take place during the 1990s.  It includes such characters as Steel, "The Kid," Maggie Sawyer and Dan Turpin, Professor Hamilton, and the entire Cadmus Project.  Superman Through the Ages quotes Karl Kesel: "I asked myself, 'What would Mort Weisinger be doing if he were handed the Superman books today?'"  This story is his answer to that question.  A lot of fun, but, unlike Jon's story, no overt "message," except perhaps that Weisinger would have made a better editor than the then-current crew.

I think the first chapter or two could stand alone as fun stories.  But the third installment is entirely about the Dominus storyline.  I don't see how it could just be truncated like part three of the Bogdanove storyline was.

What little I remember of the other two storylines:  The 70s one was neither a tribute nor a pastiche.  It might be more accurate to say that it was attempting to be a satire of the seventies books, except that it was a seventies that had sprung entirely from Stuart Immonen's imagination (he dubbed it "The Polyester Age") and it had nothing to do with any of the stories that had actualy been published.   I'd rather see some of the original 70s stories that I've yet to read, maybe something from DC Comics Presents or some of the World's Finest team-ups.

The "Future Superman" storyline was Dan Jurgen's attempt to re-tell yet another Silver Age storyline, this time "The Future Superman of 2965." As usual, he did it by introducing his trademark angst and confusion and by managing to completely remove whatever it was that had made the original great.  I'd rather see the original instead - or maybe the both of them, so that we can compare and contrast.