TRANS-SCRIBE: Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special #1

Superman is the greatest super hero ever created. Not only did he really begin the popularity and love of the genre, but he's become the most iconic and recognisable super hero in the world. He may even be one of the most recognisable characters in fiction full stop, as you can go most places in the world and show people his crest, and they know who it is. He's a modern day myth, an icon, and a legend. But, the 90's was tough on everyone, and Superman was no exception, especially when it came to his death.

Following the killing of Superman at the hands of the monstrous Doomsday, there was a vacancy for a hero in Metropolis, and four people stepped up to fill that void. As the world mourned the loss of its saviour Metropolis became home to Steel, Superboy, Cyborg Superman, and the Eradicator; and the world wondered which of them could be the real Superman returned. Over the course of that story we'd learn that none of them were, and that not all of them were even truly good. But eventually the real Superman returned, and things were better.

And now thirty years have passed. To celebrate, DC have produced the Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special a huge new issue (almost 90 pages!) packed with brand new stories. As with the Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special, this new issue offers more insight into the original story, with a new modern day framing device, and brings back some of the talented people who created those stories.

The special begins in the current time, where Cyborg Superman is attacking Star Labs in Metropolis. As the news breaks, the team at the Daily Planet rush into action to try and find out more information. Lois, who's still acting editor whilst Perry is in hospital (clearly placing this before the current Superman arc where he's recovered and running for mayor), and she's given one of Perry's old journals by Ron Troupe. The journal is from the time when the four Supermen were present in Metropolis, and contain Perry's thoughts on each of them, along with untold stories of their exploits.

These diary entries allow us to jump back in time to focus on each of the new Supermen in turn. The first of them is 'Speed' by Louise Simonson, with art by Jon Bogdanove and Glenn Whitmore, which focuses on Steel. The story follows Ron, who's in his local neighbourhood when a gang using advanced weaponry start causing trouble. Steel comes flying in, and manages to save the day. This might be the best of the four segments, as Steel was kind of always the best of the four characters.

Thanks to Simonson, who created Steel, coming back to write this story, it feels like it could be slipped into any of the old issues and you wouldn't even notice that it's different. It's like being back in the 90's in the best way, and it showcases why Steel was one of those characters that was guaranteed to stick around. He might be the least powerful of the new heroes, but he's the one who exemplifies all of the best qualities of Superman and his kindness the most. I love Superboy, but Steel is easily the most deserving to wear the shield of the bunch.

The next story, 'He Had Me Thinking He Was Superma' by Jerry Ordway, with colours by Gelnn Whitmore, takes a look at the Eradicator Superman, as Perry gets caught up in a situation where the Eradicator is trying to get to the bottom of a criminal scheme, but is too violent in his approach. This story throws in Maggie Sawyer and Dan Turpin, as they cops try to talk Eradicator down from going too far in his handling of the suspects.

This story doesn't really give too much of an insight into the Eradicator, who isn't really much of a character thanks to what he really is. If anything, he's more of a vehicle to see how others are reacting in the fallout of Superman's death. We see how the cops are dealing with things, how the local neighbourhoods have been affected, and even how criminals are struggling to handle the new Supermen.

'The Metropolis Kid' by Karl Kessel, with art by Tom Grummet and Glenn Whitmore, focuses on Superboy, and is possibly my least favourite of the stories here. I like Conner, but I wasn't a huge fan of him when he first turned up. He was obnoxious, tried too hard, and was creepy and sexist towards women in a way that I absolutely hate. Over the years he's grown and become a better character, but this story takes us back to that early version. Yes, it's done by his creators, but I still don't like this version of him.

The story here sees Perry following Superboy, trying to get a handle on the kind of person that he is. We see him rescue a near naked woman from a fire, go skateboarding with some local kids, and fight and beat Bloodsport, the villain who almost killed Superman with a kyrptonite bullet. Whilst Perry doesn't decide if he's really Superman or not, he comes to admire his spirit and attitude, seeing a lot of Metropolis in him.

The last story, 'Betrayal' is written and drawn by Dan Jurgens, with colours by Elizabeth Breitweiser, and shows the time when Perry meets the Cyborg Superman for the first time, and how him saving a collapsing train full of people (Perry included) and the government signing off on him, makes Perry come to believe that he's the true Superman, printing a front page story that says so. The very next day, Cyborg Superman destroys Coast City and kills seven million people. From here the rest of this story basically recaps the end of the original story, but it does make a point of how that front page ended up becoming a mark of shame to Perry, and how he always regrets having printed it. Whilst the story doesn't add much to Cyborg Superman, it does add more to Perry.

But, the framing story is where we find the most from Cyborg Superman. Also written by Jurgens, it features art by Travis Moore and Ariano Lucas. The story sees Henshaw trying to break into Star Labs to try and get the recorded DNA of his team, who died horrifically, so that he can clone them and bring them back to life. Unfortunately, Superman is off planet, and so it's down to Steel, Superboy, and the Phantom Zone projection of the Eradicator, to stop him.

It's a decent and entertaining framing narrative, which also has the best art in the book too. It's nice to see it in comparison to the other stories, which feel very much like they've been lifted from the 90's, and to see how comics have changed over the last thirty years.

Overall, this proves to be a decent, entertaining celebration of one of the most famous Superman stories ever told. The fact that original teams have returned to add to this makes it even more special, and if you're a fan of the original saga this makes for a great companion piece. Hopefully this is something that DC will continue to do over the coming years as we get closer to some other big story anniversaries.