COMIC DETAILS
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Comic Description:
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Kingdom Come 3 Signature
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Grade:
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9.8
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Page Quality:
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WHITE
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Certification #:
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1413437001
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Owner:
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The Captain
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SET DETAILS
Owner's Description
July, 1996
"Up in the Sky"
Alex Ross - Cover Artist
Mark Waid - Writer
Alex Ross - Penciler
Alex Ross - Inkers
Alex Ross - Colorist
Todd Klein - Letterer
Bob Kahan - Editors
Mike Carlin - Executive Editor
Synopsis:
...and he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth, and when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices...
Norman McKay sees yet another vision, this time of Captain Marvel calling down lightning upon himself. These visions he is seeing are what he believes are "dreams of Armageddon". He and the Spectre are now taken to an ominous-looking dome that now stands upon the Kansas wastelands: this dome is Superman's reformation center for superhumans, called the "Gulag". Due to its vast size, it was intended to house prisoners for months to come, but within two weeks of its construction it filled beyond capacity, though due to its architect and warden it was able to contain its numbers. Kryptonian battlesuit robots stand guard watching over the residents in the "Gulag's" beautiful environment. Dissenters among them mock at the Superman holograms trying to educate them of the proper use of their powers and abilities, with Captain Comet dealing with the hard-case types like Von Bach. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor uses White's "eye" to spy on the simmering stew of unrest within the "Gulag".
Outside the Green Lantern's satellite which is being used as the Justice League headquarters, Superman and Wonder Woman have a peaceful discussion as they fling rocks around some asteroids, with Wonder Woman telling Superman that she had been ousted from Paradise Island for failing in her mission as the Amazons' ambassador for peace.
In the heart of an underground lab, Lex Luthor subjects Billy Batson to torture by making him watch gruesome images of him and his friends being slaughtered by superhumans and causing worms to crawl in and out of Batson's ears, keeping him from saying Shazam's name. Luthor later joins with Bruce Wayne in a special war room where Wayne reveals his team of superhumans who are ready to lend their support to the cause of the Mankind Liberation Front. Secretly, though, Wayne speaks with John Jones, formerly the Martian Manhunter but now crippled in his abilities, in the hopes of finding out what his friend had sensed.
As Superman looks down upon the Earth with his telescopic vision checking for superhuman activity, Red Robin speaks with his former Teen Titans members about his growing concerns that Superman's plans would eventually fail. Norman McKay finds himself suddenly pulled from the spirit realm into reality to face a Superman who's wondering why he's here. McKay's only answer comes from Scripture: "...and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up...and the sun and the air were darkened...fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come." While Superman is confused over the cryptic message, Red Robin notices that a riot has broken out in the "Gulag". As McKay vanishes with the Spectre, Wonder Woman sends Flash, Green Lantern, and Power Woman to deal with the situation while she and Superman speak to the Secretary-General of the United Nations about their growing concerns of the "Gulag".
At the Green Lantern satellite, Wonder Woman dresses herself in golden eagle armor and girds her magical sword to her waist as Superman tries to reason with her on how to deal with the rioters. Then suddenly news comes from Green Lantern: the prisoners are now starting to breach the walls, and they have killed Captain Comet. Angered at the loss, Wonder Woman leads a team to go to the "Gulag" and force the prisoners to surrender or else. Seeing that she cannot get Superman to see that her way of dealing with the superhumans may be the right way, Wonder Woman gives him a farewell kiss before she departs.
At that, Superman races to Bruce Wayne's Batcave in a last-ditch effort to have his friend and former ally join him in his cause. All Wayne can tell Superman is that Captain Marvel has been brainwashed and is now heading for the "Gulag" to burst it wide open.
Norman McKay sees that Armageddon has arrived.
Notes:
Signed by: Alex Ross on 04/11/2017
Trivia:
- Superman's reformation center, the "Gulag", resembles a modified version of the Legion of Doom's Hall Of Doom from the Challenge Of The Superfriends cartoon show.
- Analogs of Columbia and Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show appear in this story as superbeings in the "Gulag".
- Luthor's form of torture upon Billy Batson combines elements from both Khan Noonian Singh's use of Ceti Alpha eel slugs in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan and the forced viewings of gruesome ultra-violent acts in A Clockwork Orange.
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