Superman #1
“Heart of Stone.”
Released September 18, 1986
John Byrne – Story & Pencils
Terry Austin – Guest Inker
Tom Ziuko – Colorist
John Costanza – Letterer
Andy Helfer – Editor
We open on Superman smashing into an abandoned lab that he’s traced his missing spaceship to. The place is a virtual shrine dedicated to Superman and he’s surprised to find a photograph of himself in there, noting “That’s something I’ve been very careful to avoid.”
This was one of Byrne’s additions I just kind of shrug at. I find it hard to believe Superman could operate as much as he does in public and not be photographed. Byrne had the notion he would further protect his identity by subtly vibrating his head when he was near a camera, just so no one would get a clear shot of his face. For the most part, this rarely comes up and is pretty much ignored once Byrne leaves (save for an explicit instance or two.)
Anyway, he comes across the body of a scientist whose neck was snapped some six weeks ago. He has no idea who this guy is, but he also comes across a vat of acid that was seemingly used to dissolve a body. Deciding the place contains too many mysteries to deal with right now, Superman burrows into the ground, lifts up an entire chunk of earth containing the lab and puts it in orbit at the Lagrange Point, “where the gravities of the Earth and Moon combine to create an area of stability… the near perfect vacuum of space will preserve all the clues in the lab until I’m ready to turn them over to the police.”
A bit of an extreme solution, but I’m guessing Byrne had just learned about Lagrange Point and was dying to work it into a story. And as it turns out, that chunk of Earth will become EXTREMELY important in a story several years after Byrne leaves, so it’s all good.
As he lifts the earth, Superman also thinks to himself that the chunk feels weightless to him when he flies, as if he actually flies objects the way he flies himself, through sheer force of will and not actual physical strength. This too is pretty important down the line.
With that task done, Clark goes to meet Lois for their appointment to jog together. He apparently put in a lot of effort to get her to join him, but she warns him “Denial builds character and I’m gonna be denying you a loooong time.” And this being a Lois Lane scene written by John Byrne, in the very next panel she’s grinding her axe about Clark beating her to the Superman exclusive five years ago.
I’ve made my feelings clear about how much I hate this trait of Lois’s… but I also will at least try to make the effort to remember these comics were written in an era where the newsstand sales were bigger than the direct market, and to some extent, writers had to keep in mind that their readers might not have seen every issue. With this being an issue 1, reminding everyone of where Lois stands might have been deemed a necessity.
So like a judge on LAW & ORDER, I’ll allow it… but watch yourself, Mister Byrne.
And because this is Metropolis, these two haven’t even broken a sweat when a bank alarm alerts Lois’s newshound nose. When they arrive there, seeing two metal doors bent out of shape and ripped off their hinges definitely intrigues them. Quickly, they’re accosted by a muscular shirtless man who also looks like he’s ready for the gym and Clark uses his attack as a way of getting out of sight long enough to change to Superman.
(But seriously, why IS this guy shirtless? And why didn’t I ever flag that as strange until this very reading?)
The mystery man introduces himself as Metallo and reveals he recognizes Clark and Lois as famous reporters. And he’s very excited when Superman shows up, having intended to lure him there to kill him.
To Superman’s surprise, Metallo hits him hard enough to make him dizzy and launch him out into the street. Superman flies in and gets the shock of his life when this guy keeps kicking his ass. He also notes his power feels like it’s being drained away. As Superman asks why this guy is trying to kill him, we get flashbacks from Metallo’s POV. He’s awakened and the dead scientist we saw in the opening is raving about how he saved Metallo, how he is reborn in a powerful cyborg body… Machine covered in fake skin.
The cops shoot Metallo with a barrage that would have killed any normal man, but it only slows Metallo down for a second. In flashback land, the raving scientist explains he has the only thing on Earth that can kill Superman – kryptonite, a fragment from his home world. He’s been watching the skies for 35 years and that’s how he saw a spaceship he later tracked to Kansas. Through this, he discovered that Superman was an alien from outer space, and his paranoid delusions lead him to believe he’s a scout for an invading army.
He rescued Metallo from a car crash so that he could rebuild him into his cyborg weapon to kill Superman. He replaces the uranium he put in Metallo’s chest with the Kryptonite fragment. Deciding he’s so powerful he doesn’t need this old nut, Metallo kills him. Then back in the present he boasts to Superman about his Kryptonite heart and refers to Superman’s alien heritage close enough for Lois to hear and be shocked by.
One thing I really like about Byrne’s reboot is that he makes Kryptonite something powerful but also scarce. This one chunk is the only source of Kryptonite on Earth for something like seven years. Pre-Crisis, Kryptonite was seemingly available at every corner drug store, but here in Post-Crisis, it’s a little hard to come by.
Meanwhile Lex Luthor is informed that Superman is fighting for his life and Lex is all “Not on my watch!” He’s promised Superman will die by his hand and if there’s one thing Lex Luthor isn’t… it’s a liar.
Okay, he’s a pathological liar, but he’s going to keep this promise.
Back at the bank… or what’s left of it as the whole building collapses on Metallo and Superman… Metall emerges from the wreckage with all his clothes and skin ripped away from his body except for part of his face. (It’s all very similar to the climax of THE TERMINATOR.)
Superman struggles to his feet as Metallo opens his chest cavity so the Kryptonite rays can hit him unfiltered. He explains the radiation drives the solar energy out of Superman’s cells, and filling him with death.
It’s not looking great for Superman, and Metallo’s counting all his unhatched chickens… until a shadow appears over him and the next thing Superman knows, Metallo’s gone – snatched away.
Lois races to see if Superman’s all right, of course immediately asking if it’s true he’s an alien. Superman says it is and that he only recently learned that himself. He offers to tell her all about it – which SHOULD make up for her missing out on that other exclusive – but right now his thoughts are focused on who might have taken Metallo. He’s got an awful feeling he knows who that is.
Not much more to add that I haven’t discussed already. It’s a decent first issue, albiet one where Superman really gets his ass kicked.
In place of a letter column, there’s another essay from Byrne about relaunching Superman. It’s good to see where his head was at the time, and he drops an interesting tidbit about how something he’d planned for MAN OF STEEL #6 became its own story in SUPERMAN #2. That’s probably best discussed when we get to that issue.
And this was the house ad announcing the launch of the new books. Note the different coloring on this issue’s cover. The Action logo will also be different when it comes out in two weeks.
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