Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Love in the Time of Apocalypse
Written by: John Byrne
Penciled by: John Byrne
Inked by: John Byrne
Colored by: Alex Sinclair
Lettered by: John Byrne
Editor: Mike Carlin
Publisher: DC
If you haven’t read any of this Generations series or its predecessors, but you’d like to get the 411 on what’s gone on before, a recap has been provided for you. Look for the bolded heading RECAP: in the body of this review, under which you’ll get a brief history of almost 500 years of John Byrne’s Generations series spanning the current maxi-series and the previous two mini-series.
CURRENT ISSUE: Issue 6: The year 2425.
I don’t want to spoil anyone’s read of this issue. It really has a lot of emotional depth, particularly the plot revolving around Lara, Supergirl Blue, and Ator, a Green Lantern. In addition, readers discover what Martian Manhunter‘s been up to all these centuries, experience the “return” of Lex Luthor, and witness the scheming of theNew Gods of Apokolips.
This is quite possibly John Byrne’s best written issue of his Generations saga. There are some inconsistencies and confusion, but they’re minor — like the telepathy between Earth’s “current” Superman (son of the “original” Superman, formerly known as Knightwing) and his daughter Lois, Supergirl Red — a power I don’t recall being established in previous issues.
In addition, it would have been satisfying to learn more about the “original” Superman in New Genesis, but the next two issues should speak to this as has been “advertised”.
Byrne’s pencils are solid, but his inking and lettering remain distractions.
This issue really needs to be experienced and read, so I really won’t reveal much more about the details of this issue. As I’ve indicated, the Supergirl Blue and Green Lantern love story is an emotional tale — a moving story the type of which I haven’t seen John Byrne write since his early Superman issues in the mid-to-late 1980s. The remaining parallel plot elements progress the Generations III saga along.
While this issue is not very accessible to new readers, it is a satisfying read for those of us familiar with the DC pantheon and comic book history.
RECAP: If you’re new to John Byrne’s Generations saga, a recap is provided below.
Generations, building on the previous two mini-series, chronicles a story about how Superman and
Batman interact in a DC Universe where they have aged in “real time” from their respective introductions in comicdom in 1938 and 1939. They grow older, have kids, some of whom become heroes, heroines, villains, etc. Like the previous two series, this Generations 3 (G3) maxi-series will span various time frames. It is expected that, for the most part, G3 will jump ahead 100 years every issue. The last issue, #12, is expected to have readers arrive in the 30th Century world of the Legion of Super-Heroes .
Here’s what you should know about John Byrne’s Generations saga prior to G3:
Superman married Lois Lane, and had two kids, Joel in 1950, and Kara in 1953. Bruce Wayne, the original Batman, retired from crime fighting in the late 1940s. He married, and had a son, Bruce Wayne Jr. We don’t who he married or who Bruce Wayne Jr.’s mother is. Superman’s son Joel was corrupted by Superman arch-villain Lex Luthor and killed his sister Kara on her wedding day to Bruce Wayne Jr. We don’t know if Bruce Jr. had any kids. However, a corrupted Joel did have a son, Clark, who would be raised by Bruce Wayne Jr. Clark eventually becomes the hero Knightwing and sires twin daughters Lara and Lois, Supergirl Blue and Supergirl Red respectively. The original Batman, rejuvenated by Ra’s Al Ghul’s Lazarus Pit in 1999, becomes an immortal and returns to crime fighting after his son Bruce Wayne Jr. retires. Jr. appears to be an immortal which gives a clue about who his mother may be – possibly an immortal herself.
Here’s what you should know about what’s happened in the previous issues of G3:
The key villains, so far, appear to be more sophisticated Parademons from a future planet Apokolips. They believe that they can more successful alter the future, and prevent a war, the farther back in the past they go.
1925 – A mortally-wounded Saturn Girl, from the Legion of Super-Heroes, traveled back in time to warn Superboy about the “destruction” of Earth in 2025. She is followed through time by Parademons. A young pre-Batman Bruce Wayne uses his wits to help Superboy save the day in a battle with the Parademons. Prior to her supposed death, Saturn Girl wipes the minds of everyone (including Superboy and Bruce Wayne) within a thousand miles so that the “alien invasion” of the Parademons is forgotten.
2025 – Superman and Batman recall parts of the “invasion” in 1925 despite Saturn Girl’s mind wipe. As such, Superman travels to New Genesis, the sister Planet to Apokolips, to find out about these Parademons. New Genesis and Superman are seemingly destroyed as a result of the detonation of an Apokolips “doomsday” device. On Earth, an OMAC orb or Brother Eye, the source of the hero OMAC’s power, is detonated by the futuristic Parademons and the mechanically animated brain of arch Superman villain Lex Luthor. The explosion “blacks out” all of Earth rendering all technology useless.
2125 – Superman and New Genesis are still missing. Knightwing assumes his grandfather’s mantle and dons a modified Superman costume. On an Earth recovering from the technology black-out in 2025, vagabond low-tech “Morlocks” live aboveground, while the “Eloi” live underground in an emerging-technology world, where Batman and the “new” Superman reside. The Morlock Kamandi buries his differences with the Eloi and Batman, and commits to helping recreate Project OMAC.
2225 – Queen Diana assumes the Wonder Woman (WW) mantle after her daughter is severely wounded and can no longer continue in the WW role. Diana battles along side Earth’s army of OMACs and defeats the resurfaced Parademons, leaving only four to travel back in time. Readers also discover that New Genesis, their New Gods inhabitants, and Superman have not been destroyed, but are trapped in a pocket-universe. Superman gains more clues, with the help of the New Gods, as to the real reason behind Saturn Girl’s travel back to 1925.
NEW and UPDATED:
2325 – Batman’s son BJ has been wounded in battle against the time-travelling Parademons. Readers also discover that Bruce Wayne and Queen Diana have been lovers for a century — lucky guy! While BJ is tended to by physicians, Bruce regales Diana with a truly pointless story about his unnamed dead wife, BJ and himself from 2008. While we don’t learn anymore about the “original” Superman on New Genesis, his son, Earth’s current Superman and his daughters’ (Supergirl Blue and Supergirl Red) discover that the effects of Lex Luthor’s black-out bomb from centuries ago may be starting to dissipate.
