Kingdom Come (1996)

[thecolorsblend]

And like TDKR, it's one and done for me. I don't need any sequels to the story. It's perfect as is.

Not sure about perfect. I'd tweak a LOT of the art.

My criticism of Alex Ross has always been that he spent more time learning his technique than he did learning the fundamentals. As a result, he has an inimitable style. But his layouts are often poorly constructed. He did a Justice League poster in 1996 or 1997 that I still can't believe made it past Quality Control.

Still, I enjoy KC for what it tries to be. I do see it as an heir to TDKR. It obviously doesn't even come close to TDKR's level of influence. But it does sort of reach for a similar tone to TDKR. Plus, it shines a light on characters that weren't seen as often in the DCU.

Most of all, I appreciate how this is a story could only have happened at DC. Marvel never would've had the ambition to tell this kind of story.

[The Joker]

1996 Flashback with Alex Ross and Mark Waid discussing Kingdom Come.

[The Dark Knight]

Ideologically, the comic boils down Batman and Superman's approaches to this:

Superman thinks educating criminals will change their ways.
Batman knows scaring criminals will force them to obey the law.

People say that in the long term Superman will eventually win the day, as he will live longer and inspire the world. I used to see the merit in that argument, but not anymore. Kingdom Come accurately depicts that Superman's approach doesn't and won't work right now or in another hundred years. It's childish in concept and endangers more lives than it saves. Human nature doesn't improve all that much. Things generally get worse or stay the same.

As Sun Tzu said:

1. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight
2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces
3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks
4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared
5. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign

War only erupts because of Superman's gulag indoctrination scheme. When it failed he didn't know what to do afterwards but keep trying. He was never going to change the minds of that crowd. Batman physically enters the fight because at that stage the survival of the planet was on the line due to the breakout.

Ideology without strategy is dangerous.

[thecolorsblend]

Ideologically, the comic boils down Batman and Superman's approaches to this:

Superman thinks educating criminals will change their ways.
Batman knows scaring criminals will force them to obey the law.

People say that in the long term Superman will eventually win the day, as he will live longer and inspire the world. I used to see the merit in that argument, but not anymore. Kingdom Come accurately depicts that Superman's approach doesn't and won't work right now or in another hundred years. It's childish in concept and endangers more lives than it saves. Human nature doesn't improve all that much. Things generally get worse or stay the same.

As Sun Tzu said:

1. He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight
2. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces
3. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all its ranks
4. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared
5. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign

War only erupts because of Superman's gulag indoctrination scheme. When it failed he didn't know what to do afterwards but keep trying. He was never going to change the minds of that crowd. Batman physically enters the fight because at that stage the survival of the planet was on the line due to the breakout.

Ideology without strategy is dangerous.

This touches on the dramatic limitations of Superman as a character. He's simply not cut out for something like this.

Still, I don't think Kingdom Come is the best example to evaluate Superman's efficacy. The story is essentially the Superman class of hero commenting upon the first wave Image Comics class of hero.

But in terms of Superman's usual characterization, I can't picture him locking people up without due process, denying every civil liberty they have in the book and then attempting to massacre the UN when they try to intervene.

The other thing to consider is that just about every decision Superman makes in KC is wrong. Sometimes mildly so, other times greatly so. Superman should have greater moral clarity than that.

But in terms of success, yeah, I genuinely believe that Superman is destined for success while Batman is destined for failure. Superman wages a never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American way. He's not aiming for any specific outcome. He just wants things to get better overall. There's no way he can fail. Meanwhile, using The Long Halloween as our guide, Batman's stated mission is to rid Gotham City of the evil that took his parents' lives. Frankly, there's no hope for success there. Anything other than success is failure and there's no way Batman can possibly win. Batman has one goal and it's utterly impossible.

Overall, Kingdom Come is an entertaining story. But it's something that people shouldn't take too seriously, I think.

[The Dark Knight]

Neither wins long term as entropy is the way of the world. It's only ever about the moment, how we manage our own timeline, and it's then the responsibility of each generation to either continue or abandon what was established. Nothing can change that. If I'm looking for a team leader I'm still choosing Batman instead of Superman. I believe there's an inherent weakness in most if not all Superman approaches, and we just have to look around the world today to see what weakness brings. The type of utopia Superman dreams about is equally impossible as a world without crime, and if he's not seeking any specific outcome how does he gauge success? It's literally flying blind and hoping to win by default. I think Kingdom Come generally captures the direction in which Superman views things, namely his naive world view not matching reality.

[The Joker]