Written by Mark Russell.
Art by Michael Allred; Laura Allred; & Dave Sharpe.
Collection Cover Art by Michael Allred & Laura Allred.
SUMMARY:
Released by DC Comics in 2023, this 264-page hardcover compiles 2022-23’s Superman: Space Age # 1-3. Per the onset of 1985’s Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Superman of Earth 203495-B sadly realizes that his universe’s annihilation by the Anti-Monitor has commenced.
In a flashback to the fateful November of 1963, farmer Clark Kent of Smallville, Kansas, decides it’s time to reveal his existence after President Kennedy’s shocking assassination. With the United States and Russia agitated to the brink of war, Clark’s naivete ironically almost causes World War III. After fighter pilot Hal Jordan shoots Clark down as an ‘UFO,’ the future Man of Steel discovers his Fortress of Solitude at the North Pole.
In 1964, Clark joins The Daily Planet as a rookie reporter and gradually develops a friendship with his colleague, Lois Lane. Meanwhile, industrial rivals Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor pursue a vital U.S. defense contract to build the country’s future war strategy. Outmaneuvering Wayne, Luthor’s chilling arrogance soon precipitates the nuclear annihilation of Coast City. Superman and Wayne’s Batman unknowingly aid each other in averting another close call with World War III. Luthor is sent to prison for mass murder for the next two decades.
In the subsequent years, a Justice League forms, though no one realizes that its most secretive member is their benefactor: Bruce Wayne. While Lois becomes the guiding light exposing Watergate, Clark’s encounters at a Metropolis bar finds him in sporadic contact with Pariah. Despite Clark’s skepticism, Pariah matter-of-factly prophesizes that the world is doomed in a matter of years, due to the Anti-Monitor.
In the meantime, Clark and Lois finally acknowledge their mutual love and marry. Both have previously acknowledged being influenced by their fathers’ own wartime experiences. Lois and Clark soon have a young son: Jonathan, raising him at the Fortress with help from Jor-El’s hologram.
In Gotham City, Bruce Wayne’s ironic feud with his own corrupted company tips his beloved Gotham City’s breaking point. Subsequent clashes with Maxwell Lord and the Joker may prove too much for even Batman. Considering the Justice League’s tragic encounter with Brainiac, Superman realizes his Earth’s time is now rapidly running out. It’s up to him to make a desperate bid to save humanity, even as a gloating Lex Luthor returns to the free world. Meanwhile, an expanded Justice League makes a last stand in Washington, D.C., without either a Man of Steel or a Dark Knight.
Elsewhere, the Superman of Earth 832654-Z is again the lone survivor of his planet – it’s conveyed by a collection of Brainiacs that this depleted Earth might still stand a partial chance of survival. With humanity forever lost, this other Superman grimly awaits any cosmic sign that his existence isn’t for nothing.
Note: This title is also available digitally; its trade paperback edition is set for release in 2025.
REVIEW:
Visually, Michael Allred and Laura Allred’s low-key artwork is far more endearing than it is aesthetically impressive. Still, their simplistic visuals provide an ideal accompaniment to the storyline’s heartbreaking content, making Superman: Space Age a DC must-read.
Apart from ingeniously spinning off Crisis on Infinite Earths in a historical narrative reminiscent of Forrest Gump, writer Mark Russell devises a down-to-earth brand of storytelling. Though his Batman and Justice League are glaring underachievers (in comparison to DC’s primary versions), Russell’s take on this alternate-reality Superman and Lois Lane’s maturing bond is a treat to explore.
Russell’s balance of poignancy and a bleak plot isn’t without fault, however. For instance, the main characters’ aging over twenty-two years doesn’t make much sense from the get-go (i.e. how is Clark a ‘teen’ as he claims in 1963, but Bruce and Lois are evidently twenty-somethings? Or how could Lois then only be 28 at the time of Watergate?). It’s one of several questions in plain sight that Russell doesn’t address.
Case in point: Why isn’t Supergirl (or even a Krypto) in this reality? Why wouldn’t Martha Kent be with Clark’s family come the world’s end? Why doesn’t Russell divulge the fate of seven abducted Gotham City children? Lastly, why is this Justice League’s mindset so ridiculously passive for years awaiting a cosmic cataclysm? Even with such plot holes, Russell’s tale still makes a gripping read.
The Space Age Superman’s fate presents, in effect, a timeless philosophy lesson. The conveyance of hope as merging one’s inner peace with selfless bravery – even in the face of imminent death – makes an apt analogy for the human spirit’s resiliency. Russell and the Allreds offer a thought-provoking exploration of a doomed world (echoing Krypton) where super-powers can’t surpass reality’s worst nightmares. If anything, this Space Age Superman’s solution for saving his beloved world leaves room for some thoughtful debate, as to what actually constitutes life after death.
Another argument is that DC Comics’ crass reliance upon style (and even sleaze) over substance has been its own worst enemy for nearly forty years since the first company-wide Crisis. Fittingly enough, this nostalgic tribute to its Silver Age/Bronze Age is a reminder that DC Comics can still generate excellent work. A gem like Superman: Space Age delivers welcome proof.
ADDITIONAL CONTENT:
All three Michael Allred & Laura Allred covers are included in a full-page format. In a full-page cover gallery, there are variants for Issue # 1 (1. Michael Allred; 2. Nick Derington; and 3. Steve Rude); Issue # 2 (1. Derington; and 2. Dave Johnson); and Issue # 3 (1. Derington – a Dean Cain homage; and 2. Joe Quinones – a Superman III homage).
Also included are Michael Allred’s black-and-white cover and sketch work; and the Allreds’ full-page Action Comics # 1050 variant cover. The last page is an advertisement for other DC works by Mark Russell.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
Note: Another thoughtful Superman title worth discovery is 2004’s Superman: Secret Identity (written by Kurt Busiek). In an alternate reality reminiscent of DC’s original Earth-Prime, this Clark Kent/Superman ages in real time during his life’s journey.
