Kingdom Come (1996)

[The Laughing Fish]

I recently read Kingdom Come.

I thought it was an intriguing story, it had a lot of religious references throughout. It's about Superman returning from a ten year exile to lead the rest of the Justice League against a new breed of volatile anti-heroes, while being unaware of an apocalyptic event that is about to come.

Interestingly the creators used the opportunity to take a swipe at modern superhero character design that was common at the time, by having Superman's successor - Magog - looking a little like X-Men's Cable.



In this story, Metropolis embraces Magog after he killed the Joker, who poisoned the whole staff at the Daily Planet to death with smiling gas, including Lois Lane. Superman's popularity falls apart because his moral code is seen not being compatible with the times and villains became more ruthless. But when Magog is embraced, he becomes more and more reckless and dangerous as time passes by - inevitably prompting Superman to return. The dig at Cable, and anti-heroes created at the time, is shown by making Magog share physical similarities i.e. robotic arm, scarred eye and somewhat heavy artillery.

As far as Batman is concerned, Bruce Wayne wears mechanical prosthetics to support his upper body and neck, probably implying that he never recovered from the crippling injury that Bane inflicted upon him. Dick Grayson becomes Red Robin - whose face looks very similar to Michael Keaton.

[Silver Nemesis]

I love this book. It's probably my favourite Alex Ross comic.

I hadn't noticed the Red Robin/Keaton likeness before now, but since you mention it... yeah, that does look a bit like him.

I always think of this book as marking a massive shift in the tone of American comics. The mid eighties to mid nineties was an incredibly cynical and nihilistic era for the medium. Some comic historians have suggested this period should be referred to as The Dark Age, and with good reason. Just look at the superhero movies that were coming out during that time: Darkman (1990), Batman Returns (1992), The Crow (1994). All bleak, violent films that blurred the line between superhero adventure and outright horror. It was books like Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns that set the ball rolling in that direction. And by the second half of the nineties, Spawn comics were actually outselling Superman titles. People had an appetite for dark antiheroes, and the classic heroes of yesteryear seemed passé and obsolete.

But then Kingdom Come appears, depicting the battle between the old school heroes – dressed in bright colours and championing traditional moral values – and their nihilistic successors – the brutal darkly clad vigilantes who have no compunction about killing their enemies and destroying anything that gets in their way. Of course the classic heroes triumph and reclaim the world from the upstarts. And in a sense they also reclaimed the medium. After Kingdom Come was published, people became more receptive to the upbeat antics of the Silver Age. And that in turn paved the way for more upbeat superhero films like Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002).

It's a great book showcasing beautiful artwork and an uplifting tale of good triumphing over evil. Highly recommended.

[Paul (ral)]

I have a good friend who really got me into comics. His brother had loads of Marvel and DC stuff during the 90s and we would go through them all.

Once we went to college we frequented the comic shop there (only one about) picking up the odd book here and there.

The rest of our close circle of friends weren't into comics at all...and so we rarely talked about them as the years went on.

One comic transcended that. My friends brother collected the initial run of Kingdom Come. My friend brought them up to the dorms we were living in. All my friends sat in the same room. I read the first book and passed it on to one of my non-nerd mates. It was transcendent! Next thing the books were getting read and then passed from one to another. They were lapping it up. Loving it.

Remarkable, in no small part to Ross' artwork.

[The Laughing Fish]

Good to know that this comic is more influential than I thought.

I found this fan-made trailer on YouTube ha ha! I'd like to know who is the hottie playing Wonder Woman? 

[Azrael]

Really love that comic.... got the TPB in... 98, 99? Hell, I don't remember. For those that have a penchant for over-analysis, this is a nice read.

Part 1: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-need-hope-how-man-who-loves-mark.html
Part 2: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2010/12/gods-of-yesterday-how-man-who-loves.html
Part 3: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2010/12/now-for-democratic-response-mark-waid.html
Part 4: http://toobusythinkingboutcomics.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-have-to-work-togeth-how-heroes-learn.html

[The Laughing Fish]

A YouTuber called kashchei2003 is trying to create a Kingdom Come fan edit, and he's doing it by modifying existing movie footage to resemble the story and characters as close as possible. Judging from these two teaser trailers, it's incredibly close to a live action Kingdom Come movie we're ever going to get. It includes Henry Cavill as Superman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Clint Eastwood as Batman, and Michael Keaton as Red Robin.

I had to take these screengrabs.









^I told you all that Red Robin resembled a lot like Keaton in the comic, didn't I? What a great character edit there.

Let's just hope if the editor does complete this fan edit, it will be better than his first fan edit Superman: Doomsday starring Brandon Routh, Christian Bale and Lynn Collins. Despite the talent he has to manipulate the movie footage to create the Death of Superman story, the final cut was otherwise f***ing awful.

[The Joker]

[thecolorsblend]

Strange now to think of a time when Alex Ross was more than a cover artist.

Yeah, I remember that Wizard sketchbook preview. At the time, nobody knew much about what Kingdom Come would be. The most anybody seemed to know was "It'll be like TDKR, but for the WHOLE of the DC universe". Which is accurate enough, when you think about it.

Whatever his limits and weaknesses might be, Alex Ross was SUCH a breath of fresh air in his time. After Marvels, there was a lot of interest to see what he'd do with the DC characters. Kingdom Come is controversial to me to this day. But I still enjoy the nostalgia and the excitement of Kingdom Come AS AN EVENT.

These days, not only could a magazine like Wizard never exist, but it's hard to imagine comics being exciting in this way ever again. I don't think either Marvel or DC has the courage to take a risk like Kingdom Come ever again.

[Gotham Knight]

He's doing an FF book soon.

[The Dark Knight]

At the time, nobody knew much about what Kingdom Come would be. The most anybody seemed to know was "It'll be like TDKR, but for the WHOLE of the DC universe". Which is accurate enough, when you think about it.

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