Rewind the clock a decade. There was immense speculation on the year 2000, otherwise known as Y2K. This had been bugging users and well-wishers of computers worldwide. And what happened? Other than the collaborations of writers and artists on different comic book interpretations of things to come, there was nothing to worry on that front.
However, DC Comics had placed its flagship character Superman in a predicament. It all begins with The End, which should be considered the name of the first chapter and nothing else.
Written by Joe Kelly, this 70-page part parallels two opposing characters; Lex Luthor, a man who practically owns the world, and Superman, an alien whom the world adores. The latter, in his Clark Kent identity, is celebrating the New Year with his family at Metropolis on the streets, while Luthor is throwing a grand party in a tower that has a panoramic view of the city. This contrast between the rich and the poor has been depicted well.
The twist begins when an alien entity gets downloaded onto Luthor’s computers when the second millennium commences. Metropolis faces a blackout and the being responsible is identified as Brainiac 2.5. This leads to a great deal of chaos. Superman and other superheroes instantly act on the crisis. There is a memorable glimpse of the Gotham City vigilante Batman and his fellow crusaders Nightwing and Robin.
Jackson “Butch” Guice, who has been working on the artwork for DC Comics in the 1990s, has been generous with his rendering of facial expressions. Also on board for The End were Kevin Conrad, Mark Propst and Richard Bonk. Since the story did span from December 31, 1620 to January 1, 2000, there were many details of the respective eras to cater to.
The second section Whatever Happened to the City of Tomorrow? marks the debut of Ed McGuinness (pencils) and Cam Smith (inks). Their treatment of the story is that of a
Japanese anime on steroids subsequently undergoing therapy. By the end of this chapter, one can actually see Superman changing his colours.
Writer Jeph Loeb, who was famous at that time for his Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory, had yet to create his masterpiece Batman: Hush. For a writer of his stature, he was not given much of a role in Whatever Happened to the City of Tomorrow?. The art does diminish his work to a large extent. Of course, fans will be too distracted by the Brainiac images to notice either the name or the story.
When Stuart Immonen’s illustrations and plot continuation take over in ‘anarchY2Knowledge’, the tale goes on a whole new tangent. The reader will be resigned to the possibility that Metropolis may never be the same again. If this avatar of Superman can turn back time, now would be a good time.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the writers are in no mood to revert to the Golden Age version of the superhero, which means that the suffering will continue.
By the time the readers get to Thirty Minutes to Oblivion…, there is a bombardment
of characters, and it is difficult to determine who is on whose side, especially when it comes to John Henry Irons’ armours
going berserk.
However, German Garcia and Kano (pencils), along with Marlo Alquiza (inks), have accommodated each character in such a way that there are no conflicts. Still, the Eradicator sub-plot can be a tad confusing, except for American subscribers who follow the Superman continuity from 1986 to 2000.
Though the plot of the last part Sacrifice for Tomorrow is a fitting end to the ordeal, the artwork does not support the story well enough. The chins of certain characters, including Superman himself, can make one reminisce on the Steven Spielberg movie Jaws. At the same time, stylistic devices placed in the issue once again show the contrast between Lex Luthor’s world and
Superman’s universe.
Metropolis was the sacrificial lamb in Brainiac’s quest and neither of the two aforementioned well-wishers could do much about it other than save the day — temporarily.
This brings to mind the nature of human beings. Even a person as ‘perfect’ as Superman and someone as powerful as Lex Luthor cannot safeguard a city they love from
imminent threat. Does this not ring a bell in terms of politics?