Post 1,217
At the centre of the beating heart of the world of DC Comics is the multiverse, a vast array of worlds in a vast array of universes, about as strange and confusing as the phrase ‘tight arse’, a phrase that’s often applied to me – rather unfairly, if I may add. I mean, not to get too graphic, but isn’t the arse SUPPOSED to be tight? I’d be worried if it was loose. We should really call one another ‘loose arse’. Or, preferably, ‘stingy bastard’. It’s just one of those really strange phrases I’ve never really understood. Hmm. Unless it means ‘closed’ as in ‘closed for business’. But then wouldn’t it be ‘you’re such a shut arse?’ Am I overthinking this? What’s that? Ah, yes. Earth-3839! We’re into the final few of these readers, and where better to start than a world like no other. A world where we followed the adventures of Superman from his departure from his home planet to Earth in the 1900s. This is a generational story, the Supermen lasting through to the 30th century. A story for EVERYONE, not just the shut arses…
Krypton. A highly advanced alien world whose demise shocked the universe itself – if the mightiest can fall, then what hope do the rest of us have? But Krypton’s goose was not well and truly cooked – for there was a survivor. The Last Son of Krypton, a little baby named Kal-El. Strapped into a rocket and sent into the stars, across vast distances of space itself – a journey that took a decade. In 1910, in the small town of Smallville in Kansas, America, that very rocket hit with an almighty thud in the blackest of nights. A small farm, run by the Kents. They found the rocket and the little baby inside. They knew, they KNEW, he could not be of this world, but in the early 1900s, he didn’t stand a chance. And so, fearing for his very life, they took the baby boy in and raised him as their own. They named him… Clark Kent.
As a young child, little Clark soon discovered that he had powers, far beyond those of mortal men. The Earth’s yellow Sun, THAT gave him his powers – and he had a calling. He felt DRAWN to a better life, a life where he could use his powers to help cure what ailed his new home. Maybe THIS is the reason why I was given these powers. Clark adopted the secret identity of Superboy. And the first boy he rescued? In 1920, young Superboy rescued one Bruce Wayne from the feared Ultra-Humanite. Clark had his first taste of being a hero…
By 1929, Clark had grown into a young man and JOURNALISM had taken his fancy – he joined a small group of students on a day out in Gotham City – he had won an essay contest held by… GASP! Bruce Wayne! The owner of the Gotham Gazette. Clark met Bruce for the first time – well, as Clark, he’d already met him as Superboy, not that Bruce knew. Clark also met a delightful young woman that day – one Lois Lane. Sadly, they didn’t have a hell of a lot of time to get acquainted because, ah, that’s right – A GIANT ROBOT WAS RAMPAGING ACROSS THE CITY!
In secret, Clark used his x-ray vision to determine that the robot was being controlled by none other than… LEX LUTHOR! Evil criminal mastermind extraordinaire. An old friend of his, turned MOST foul. An accident he blamed on Superboy caused the shift – and so Clark felt he was to blame for birth of this villain; he changed into Superboy to deal with the foe, but SHOCK! Lois was ENSNARED in a robotic claw! And then… WHAT THE… who’s that! Over there! It’s… ROBIN! Gotham City’s very own Superboy. What Clark didn’t know, is that Robin was Bruce Wayne…
Robin FORCED Lex to abandon his robot, all the while, it ran amok through the city. Superboy, now under the name Superman, grabbed the robot and flung it at the Moon – all after he broke off the robotic arm of doom holding Lois captive. Together, Lois, Superman and Robin investigated the strange goings-on – just where did this robot come from? Soon, they tracked down its origin story to the lab of one Dr. Erwin Stanislaus, who was… GASP! It’s Luthor! But in disguise!
Luthor, obviously, had a portable helipack strapped to his back, grabbing Lois and trying his best to take off into the sky – but something wasn’t right. Luthor knew about Superman’s biggest secret. His weakness – a piece of his planet known as kryptonite. It kept Superman back, all until Robin intervened just long enough for Superman to stop his biggest enemy – defeated, Superman turned Luthor over to the authorities. And before he departed, Lois gave him a little kiss…
1939. Clark Kent was now working as a reporter alongside one Lois Lane and the two were in love. So in love that, during the 1940s, the two married, but not before Clark revealed his biggest secret to Lois. I’m afraid of sock puppets. Oh, and I’m Superman. It was a huge shock for Lois, but she accepted Clark and his alter-ego for who they were. By 1949, Lois was pregnant with her first child, Joel Perry Kent, when – oh, no! Lex Luthor, Superman’s biggest foe, and the Joker, Batman’s biggest foe (Robin had become Batman by this point) – they had TEAMED up! And together, they kidnapped pregnant Lois. Superman… he was pissed!
The Joker and Luthor EXPOSED Lois to Gold Kryptonite, which had no effect on her, but caused her unborn child to lose any powers he might have had. But this was Superman. With the help of Batman and his latest protégé, the new Robin, they RESCUED Lois. But at great cost. Joel, when born, would be born human. And so, from that point forward, Lois and Clark agreed – Joel would NEVER be told who his father really was…
For the next few decades, Clark would continue his sterling work for the Daily Planet newspaper, until he became editor, a position he stayed in until 1979. He constantly had to alter his appearance because he did not age. He was trying his best to be human and at home, he was certainly succeeding – only three years after Joel was born, Clark, much to his surprise, fathered a daughter. A child he named Kara. Half-human, half-Kryptonian. Because she wasn’t a full Kryptonian, she would never be as strong as her father, but at least she had powers. And, as she grew older, she became… SUPERGIRL.
Supergirl would fight alongside Bruce Wayne Jr., Bruce Wayne Senior’s son, who had taken the mantle of the new Batman. But all was not well in the Kent household – Joel had found out the terrible, terrible truth – your father is Superman and he lied and lied for ALL these years about that! Joel was seething with rage, falsely lulled into believing his own father had taken his powers away, all because his father FEARED his son would be more powerful. This was all a terrible lie from Lex, but it worked. Joel wanted REVENGE.
He did what many children of the ‘60s did when it came to rage – get it out in the only place you can. Vietnam. But, in 1969, Clark and Lois got the worst news imaginable. Joel had been killed in action. And worse was to come. Because soon, Lois would be diagnosed with cancer. In 1979, whilst still undergoing treatment for her cancer, Lois and Clark attended the most inevitable wedding of the century. Bruce Jr. and Kara – the happiest moment of their lives SHATTERED by a man bursting into the church clad in green and purple – armed with a gun the size of a rocket launcher, he gunned down Clark with a powerful and intense dose of Kryptonite radiation, burning off his clothes and revealing the Superman costume underneath. He then blasted Kara, knocking her to the ground – whilst chaos reigned, the villain thrust his hand into Kara’s chest and RIPPED out her heart, killing her instantly – Clark could barely move as he watched his daughter brutally murdered in front of his very eyes – the villain in the church then turned to Clark and knelt down by his side. Ripping off his mask… GASP! Joel! No… no, not you, not my son, not Joel, NO! But it was. Joel was alive. And he’d just murdered his own sister…
Clark was down and he could hardly speak, tears streaming from his face and then… LEAVE LOIS ALONE! Not her! Dr. Hoult was Lois’ physician. But he had Lois trapped in a powerful force field. He too ripped off a mask. Underneath? It was Lex Luthor. Working with Joel, Superman’s son. And soon, Lex snapped Lois’ neck, killing her instantly. Shortly after, Clark regained his powers and found Lex’s hideout. And there, he found Joel on the floor. He too was gone. Killed by a formula Lex gave him, to give him his powers back. But it didn’t work. The formula killed Joel. And with that, Clark’s entire family was dead.
You can imagine how angry Clark was. He decided to kill Lex Luthor. But, before he could, Mei-Lai showed up. Joel’s wife. And Clark had no idea she had had a son. His grandson. Who, like Joel, was born with no powers. Clark had family he never knew about. But Lex still had to be brought to justice and so, for the next decade, Clark did all he could to find the man who took his family away.
1989. SUDDENLY, Clark got a lead, a big juicy one – a huge metallic structure and inside… LEX LUTHOR. Clark had him! It was time to finish him, for his family – but, just before he could kill Lex, his powers vanished. Lex was wearing gold cuffs, gold of the Gold Kryptonite variety. And it was not Lex, but Ultra-Humanite, surviving his death by having his brain transplanted into Lex’s body. And next? He wanted Superman’s body – he was trapped. Trapped in a metal cage, charged with electricity. Superman had only option left.
He looked around and he found a piece of metal, stabbing Lex with it – but he accidentally electrocuted the foe, who was recording the whole damn thing – televised live, he was trying to frame Superman. Lex, Ultra-Humanite, everyone and anyone, ALL dead. And Superman was the one charged with murder. He appeared before the Grand Jury and confessed to killing Ultra-Humanite masquerading as Lex Luthor. “My emotional state is something I fear,” he said. “I am sorry.”
But the judge, he could not sentence SUPERMAN. No Earth jail could hold you. But Batman had an idea. 10 years in the infamous Phantom Zone. And with that, Batman activated the famous Kryptonian jail. And in went his best friend and his mentor, Superman. And before he left, he told Batman – the world is yours. Make it a better place. And don’t forget me. Because I’ll be back.
In 1999, Superman was released from the Phantom Zone and, with the help of Batman, Superman regained his powers. All with a little help from Clark Wayne, Clark Kent’s grandson. Also a superhero, one of the name Knight-Wing. And he didn’t fight crime alone, oh no. Kyle Rayner fought alongside as the latest Green Lantern. Powers restored, Superman recreated the formula that gave him his powers and gave it to Clark Wayne. And he soon developed powers, not quite as powerful as Superman, but pretty gnarly all the same. As for Superman, he realised there was no place for him on Earth anymore. And so he left Earth to travel the universe, to help other worlds that may need a hero…
Superman reappeared in 2919, where it transpired that he had married Lana Lang, using magic to grant her eternal youth and immortality. Superman and Lana! The universe’s GREATEST protectors. For all of time.
Would I visit Earth-3839? It’s pretty brutal, this Earth. There’s no getting away from that. It’s a tough read but I applaud it for taking the story of Superman and making it generational. Several generations of Supermen and their children, across hundreds of years, saving and protecting people like there’s no tomorrow. THAT is what Superman is all about. It’s not a comic about a powerful dude from an alien world, it’s the story of hope and peace. Of justice and fairness. That ‘S’ on Clark’s chest is the symbol of hope – the most recent interpretation of the logo is that it’s the Kryptonian symbol of ‘stronger together’, and that’s wonderful. Because that’s what Superman and Supergirl is all about. They’re not gods, they’re figureheads for a better world. One without violence and hate. To tell a story like that of Earth-3839, is to tell a story where Superman’s legacy of peace lives on, that, even without him, he can be a force for real change. For meaningful change. For everlasting change. THAT’S why this is one of the best comics ever created. Because it took Superman and made him a legend.
“He’ll be back, from time to time. Just to keep an eye on all of us. After all – if he did any less, he wouldn’t really be Superman!” Batman.
But would you visit Earth-3839?
Ciao :)(:
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