I got a sneak peek at Charlie's contribution to this Annual, and I apologize if I missed any spelling issues!
I feel confident that because I had an editor (you) that I can blame any missteps or typos on said editor (you). Thanks for lending a hand, O!
But seriously, a big thank you for the assist. With this and
Adventure Comics Annual (coming out in two weeks!) the story beats and wider implications were big and loud and I wanted to make sure they landed well. I usually trust my internal reader on narrative strokes but due to the size of these stories I knew I needed to get a second opinion. You and Susan stepped up in a big way, and I’m grateful for your time.
It was a great story with lots of reference that were all explained well and didn't slow down the story. I admit it was great to see Darkseid and his court of monsters again after his defeat in IXE!
A few months back, I was talking to some old DC2 folks, and we realised that Darkseid had never been on a cover, which I thought was bonkers. Roy did a great piece during IXE, capturing the iconic moment when (spoilers) Captain Marvel sacrificed himself to buy the heroes time in the face of Darkseid, but I thought the Great Darkness deserved a showing, so I knew I wanted to have him appear in current continuity.
When I had my initial three issue run on
Green Lantern back in the day, I really struggled to wrap up the story I laid out, so original series writer Scott Kruger had to step up and lend a hand. One of the things he added, and it made perfect sense considering the events of the issue, was Darkseid’s escape from the Source Wall. That wasn’t really noticed by anyone but me, and it wasn’t picked up in any ongoing tales that followed. But if there’s one thing I retain, it’s minor events in the DC2 canon.
Using all the characters involved in the Fourth World mythos was great. I loathe Desaad for what he did during the IXE to Black Canary (something I alluded to, but didn’t directly reference), so I always like him getting beaten up, and I’m also fond of Kanto after the IXE tie-in I wrote which pit him against Batman! It was fun to have their personalities play out against each other, and also a relief to finally tie up Devilance’s imprisonment near Pluto, a thread from 2013’s
Green Lantern #43. I kept coming back to it, but never had him do anything other than stew!
Superman was a pillar of strength and determination. I also appreciated Orion's moment in his fight with Darkseid (whose evil jab-- "Scott Free!"--was just vicious).
I have
always struggled to write Superman, and every time I think “oh, now I know how to write him”, I think I fumble it. But thanks to
All-Star Superman I think I know what my thesis statement on the guy should be (mainlining Grant Morrison’s, basically), and there are also elements of-- and this is probably hard to believe but I always mention it—Garth Ennis’ reverence for the gent, as seen in
JLA / Hitman. I think Superman is so hopeful and I want to be able to write that all day long, but I think I lean toward the most macabre characters!!
And Darkseid’s dialogue was very considered throughout. I didn’t want him to talk without reason, and his first line was something I spent a while thinking about (eventually settling on “
The Kryptonian is here… ”). I was really happy with him being this silent golem in the background until the narrative required him to literally step up, and his court being vicious dogs at the slightest gesture was also fun.
Plus, he’s a right dickhead, so the Scott Free line was always gonna be on the table.
In many ways this story belonged to Lois Lane, which was fantastic. She was smart, bold, confidant. I also liked that, even still, she was shaken by what she witnessed. In the end stood up with the worst of them and showed what humanity has to offer, and what Superman wants us (and shows us how) to be.
I love Lois Lane! I love the Lois Lane of the 90s, and the Rebirth-era, where she’s a mother, wife, partner and hero in her own right. I think the DC2’s insistence on her not knowing Superman’s secret identity was potentially a misstep, but we never had a run that could build to that story, which I think was a mistake. I realise that historically she’s been in the dark longer than not, but that’s not the character I grew up with.
My intention with
Action Comics Annual and
Adventure Comics Annual is to realign the characters with their most famous iteration. Take from that what you will.
Using Lois as a counterpoint to Darkseid’s power was interesting to me, because we kind of accept Darkseid as this bloke who swans into a room, calls himself the God of Evil, and then gets his arse kicked. But if he’s as big bad as we all know he should be, then his very presence should be abhorrent, and that was something touched on in
Final Crisis and I knew I wanted to present that in the DC2.
I liked she decided to take a step back, temporarily I'm sure, from "Superman's World." That said, I'm always frustrated when Lois doesn't realize that Superman and Clark Kent are one in the same...that's not to say it was an issue in this story, it just frustrated me at the end when she turned to Clark for advice. On the one hand it was cute, on the other hand kind of creepy?
Yup, this is something that’ll be picked up in two weeks, in
Adventure Comics Annual. I’m actually glad you picked up on how creepy it was, because that’s certainly not missed by Clark as we move forward.
Regardless, this was a fantastic story seeding great stories to come.
To be continued in
Adventure Comics Annual, and setting up an eventual ongoing if I ever find the time or inspiration for my schedule! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
