Superman: War of the Worlds
Superman: War of the Worlds | |
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Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
Format | One-shot |
Genre | |
Publication date | 1998 |
No. of issues | 1 |
Main character(s) | |
Creative team | |
Written by | Roy Thomas |
Artist(s) | Michael Lark |
Letterer(s) | Willie Schubert |
Colorist(s) | Noelle Giddings |
Superman: War of the Worlds is a
Characters
Most of the characters in the story are based on the cast from The War of the Worlds and DC Comics characters.
Main characters
- Clark Kent: After crashing on Earth and being adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark was told that he should hide his powers. He was told that humanity would fear him, but when the time is right, he would use his powers for the good of mankind. As Superman, he battles the Martian invaders.
- Daily Star.
- Dr. Lex Luthor: a brilliant American scientist with a full head of red hair.
- The Martians: invaders from the Red Planet bent on conquering Earth.
Supporting characters
- Perry White: Lead reporter of the Daily Star.
- George "Chief" Taylor: Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Star, who witnesses the tripod's attack on Metropolis and is killed by one.
- Jimmy Olsen: Red-haired employee of the Daily Star, who survives the Martians' attack on the Daily Star.
- Professor Ogilvy: The astronomer from H.G. Wells' book, who documents the explosions on Mars' surface and is a witness to the first sighting of the Martians.
Plot
Earth is being watched by the envious eyes of Mars. On the red planet a cold and unsympathetic civilization plans to invade the Earth. Far away, an even older world, Krypton, sends its last son to Earth. The baby Kal-El is found by the Kents and develops super strength, the ability to run faster than a railway engine, leap an eighth of a mile and has near-impenetrable skin. After the passing away of his elderly foster parents, Clark vows to use his powers to benefit mankind.
In 1938, explosions are seen on Mars, but Earth doesn't pay much attention to them. Clark applies for a job at the
The Army arrives and prepares to deal with the cylinder when it opens and
Three weeks later, Superman is held captive by the Martians, who are being helped by a now-bald Luthor after a
The Martians now no longer need Luthor to help them study Superman and they prepare to devour him. Lois and Luthor free Clark and he starts fighting the Martians. After leveling the ones inside the ship and the ones tending to their human prisoners, Lois recoils from Superman, telling him that she can't bear to have an alien touch her after what the Martians have done. Tripods arrive and Superman takes them down as best he can. The last tripod discards its legs and begins to fly. As Superman finally takes it down, he dies from exhaustion and from the wounds he received from the Heat-Rays.
Acting on Clark's insight, Luthor (having redeemed himself after his bout of treason) quickly finds a way to destroy the remaining Martians. Earth's nations begin their road to recovery. Germany, Japan, Italy, and the former Soviet Union elect semi-democratic governments, while Great Britain (which has no surviving royal family members) turns to fascism and chooses Oswald Mosley as its Leader. Lex Luthor and Lois Lane later marry. John Nance Garner becomes President and Lex becomes the new Vice President. A statue of Clark Kent is erected in front of the revived League of Nations as a testament to his bravery.
Publication
- Superman: War of the Worlds (68 pages, 1998, ISBN 1-56389-396-7)
Trivia
- The Daily Planet newspaper, where Clark Kent and Lois Lane work, was originally named the Daily Star.
- Until Superman #7, when George Taylor was the editor-in-Chief of the Daily Star, Perry White replaced him.[1]
- Superman co-creator Joe Shuster, named the fictional newspaper Daily Star, after the real newspaper Toronto Star. Shuster had been a newsboy when the Toronto Star was still called the Daily Star.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "George Taylor". Supermanica.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Mietkiewicz, Henry (April 26, 1992). "Great Krypton! Superman was the Star's Ace Reporter (Joe Shuster's final interview)". Toronto Star via JoeShusterAwards.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2010. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
- Superman: War of the Worlds at the Grand Comics Database
- Superman: War of the Worlds at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)