All-Star Superman 1
From Barbelith
"...Faster..."
Barbelith (http://www.barbelith.com/topic/19883) threads (http://www.barbelith.com/topic/22644)
| Table of contents |
Cover
This image, a promotional piece seen well in advance of the book's publication, was supposedly inspired by a mental image Grant Morrison had after a long talk with a fan at the 1999 San Diego Comic-Con.
Page 1
Panel 2: This depiction of Superman's parents seems to mix the pre-Crisis "headband" look with the more antiseptic Byrne version.
Panel 3: Superman's baby rocket, looking similar to the Birthright version. Hence, all three major interpretations of his origin are referenced.
Page 4
The first appearance of Leo Quintum, possibly the All-Star version of Emil Hamilton, as well as his assistant Floral, an unnamed helionaut, and the villain of the piece (also unnamed). The green spikes on the bomber's back resemble nuclear reactor control rods.
Page 5
Panel 1: First appearance of Agatha, who resembles Floral closely, but is dressed differently. The ship's name "Ray Bradbury", was chosen because of Bradbury's short story "The Golden Apples of the Sun", about a similar space mission.
The 4 explorers in the spaceship is also an analogy to Lee and Kirby's Fantastic Four origin story. There are three men and one woman, with the leader being the genious one and one of the others turning into a deformed monster. The monster even attacks the unnamed element in a very Ben Grimm/Johny Storm fashion.
Panel 3: Some have claimed a contradiction here, as the temperature given in this panel contradicts that given on Page 4, Panel 2. However, these numbers are accurate, as the temperature of the chromosphere (in essence, the sun's atmosphere,) is relatively cooler than the convection zone, which comprises the outer layers of the sun proper.
Page 6
Panel 3: While this character goes unnamed, her personality resembles that of Catherine "Cat" Grant of the post-Crisis Superman stories.
Panel 5: The mustachioed man appears to be Morrison's take on Steve Lombard, a machoistic sportscaster from the pre-Crisis era. Also note Jimmy Olsen in the background, wearing a helmet and removing what appears to be a jetpack. This could be an example of his "Mr. Action" persona from the early 70's. Note that Lois writes her own headlines, although reporters never write headlines in the real world.
Panel 6: The 'super-watch" is Morrison's take on the pre-Crisis "signal watch", used by Olsen in the past to summon Superman. The informational aspect is new. According to a WIZARD interview, Jimmy's look is defined as a cross between the long-running Belgian comic strip character Tintin, and the "preppy golf-punk style".
Page 7
Panel 1: The Daily Planet globe is usually depicted as resting directly on the roof of the building. The spire is a new take.
Panel 2: Perry White, much the same in every era.
Panel 3: Jimmy looks particularly like Tintin here.
Page 8
Panel 1: Our first glimpse at the All-Star Lex Luthor, who resembles his pre-Crisis version, and General Sam Lane, a post-Crisis character.
A general appears in We3 #1 in the interrogation room with Dr. Berry, bearing a very close resemblance to Gen. Lane, who is Lois' father.
In the original preview, Luthor used the term "reaching" instead of "approaching", implying that the bomber had more autonomy. This was corrected in the published version. Luthor's extremely thin lips and total lack of facial hair give him an almost reptilian look, adding to the sinister nature of the character.
Page 11
Panel 2: Superman uses his "freeze breath".
Panel 3: The door at the top of the panel is not broken, but irising shut.
Page 12
Panel 3: It is unclear from the art whether the energy is coming from Superman's eyes or his eyes and his hands. If the latter, this might be a reference to the hand-beams from the second Superman movie.
Page 13
Panels 1-3: Superman gains a new power: an extendable bioelectric field similar to (and homaging) his short-lived "Electric Superman" phase. It's possible that the energies from page 12 are related.
Panel 5: This scene appears to take place on the moon, although a later scene casts doubt on that location.
Page 14
Panel 1: 200 quintillion tons, while a massive amount, is a mere percentage of the Earth's mass. On the other hand, he is only using one hand. Many have compared Quintum's outfit (especially the coat and the cane) to the Roald Dahl character "Willy Wonka".
Page 16
Panel 2: The DNA Project, renamed Project Cadmus post-Crisis, first appeared during the Jack Kirby run on "Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen". There as here, it was a secret genetic research facility founded with Superman's full support. Note that Quintum and Agatha appear to be standing outside, suggesting a terrestrial location for the project, or at least some sort of atmospheric force field.
Panel 3: Post-Crisis, Kryptonian DNA has 12 strands, as opposed to the usual 2. Hence, the choice of Bach (known for his fugues) seems appropriate.
Panel 4: Post-Crisis, the Bizarros were a genetic creation, failed clones of Superman. That origin seems to have informed the All-Star version.
Page 17
Panel 1: "Meganthrope" is Greek for "large man".
Panel 2: A yoctometer is 10-24 meters. It is the smallest SI prefix, approved in 1991. For comparison, the diameter of an electron is between 10-11 and 10-15 meters.
Panel 3: Note the nanonauts in the vial.
Page 18
Panel 1: "Great Caesar's Ghost!" has been associated with Perry White since the Silver Age, if not earlier.
Page 19
Panel 4: The dog saved from the truck by Superman looks almost exactly like Bandit from Morrison and Quitely's We3 series.
Page 20
Panel 3ish: Almost certainly a nod to Ozymandias in Watchmen: "before I do something really terrible to Superman." He already has, well before the issue started, by sending a kryptonite super-robot to the sun in an elaborate super death trap. Nice.
Page 21
Panels 1-4: Clark saves someone from falling debris (see panel 4) by bumping into him. Notice how Clark is looking up in the first panel, clearly spotting said debris. Also notable are the gentleman's accoutrements, neatly stacked in the third panel.
Page 22
Panels 1-3: By a simple shift in posture and expression, Clark Kent becomes Superman. This is very similar to a scene in the first Christopher Reeve movie, although in that scene, he backed down. It has been suggested that the oranges in Lois's groceries is a reference to the character's need for freshly-squeezed orange juice in SUPERMAN II.
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