Format One-shot Publication date 1996 Publisher DC Comics | Genre Superhero Number of issues 1 Artist Ted McKeever | |
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Main character(s) Clark Kent
Lois Lane
Lutor/Metallo Writer(s) Jean-Marc Lofficier
Randy Lofficier
Roy Thomas Similar Batman: Nosferatu, Superman: Last Son of Earth, The Superman Monster, Superman: War of the Worlds, Whom Gods Destroy | ||
Superman's Metropolis is a comic book, published by DC Comics, under its Elseworlds imprint. Written by Jean-Marc Lofficier, Randy Lofficier, Roy Thomas and illustrated by Ted McKeever. Based on German Expressionist cinema, the book is the first part in a trilogy, succeeded by Batman: Nosferatu and Wonder Woman: The Blue Amazon. The story of Superman's Metropolis is "patterned" after Fritz Lang's film Metropolis, which had in fact been the inspiration for the city in Superman canon.
Contents
Characters
DC characters which appear in the story (in order of appearance):
Plot
In an undetermined future, the giant city of Metropolis is starkly divided between upper classes who live in luxury and lower classes who toil under harsh conditions. Clark Kent-son, son of Jon Kent, the Great Architect and apparent Master of Metropolis, becomes aware of the social inequality after meeting Lois, a teacher from the undercity. He joins the workers to experience their daily lives, then begs his father to improve their lot, but in vain. In reality, the city is in thrall to the scientist Lutor, an old colleague of Jon Kent from before the "time of smoke and soot" that came before the foundation of Metropolis. Both Jon and Lutor fell in love with the same woman, Marta. When she chose Jon over Lutor, the scientist killed her, then used advanced hypnosis to turn Jon into his mind-slave.
Concerned about a potential revolution, Lutor identifies its leader, Lois, who prophesies about a coming savior who will reunite the city. Later, Lutor captures Lois and uses her to create a robotic duplicate which he names Futura that will lead the workers to their doom. Meanwhile, Clark discovers that he was a foundling adopted by Jon and Marta after he was found in a capsule that fell from the sky, and that Lutor, who discovered his powers while trying and failing to kill him along with his mother, blanked away his memories and blocked off his powers, turning him into a social drone.
As Futura, disguised as Lois, leads the workers to a doomed rebellion, Clark, now the Super-Man, the savior of Metropolis, intervenes. He fights, and defeats Futura by throwing her into a tank of molten metal. Meanwhile, Lutor reveals his metallic body powered by a kryptonite heart. He kills Jon Kent who, in the end, sacrifices his life for Clark. Lutor is later destroyed by Clark after a fierce battle. Clark and Lois become the new, enlightened rulers of a reunited Metropolis.
Publication
Trilogy
This is the first of the trilogy:
Writer Jean-Marc Lofficier had a fourth and final volume planned, entitled The Green Light. Which would have introduced counterparts of The Flash, Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter (based on Leni Riefenstahl's The Blue Light (1922), and Arnold Fanck's Weiße Rausch - Der Neue Wunder des Schneeschuhs (a.k.a. The White Flame) (1931)) and a female Aquaman (based on Georg Wilhelm Pabst's Die Herrin von Atlantis (a.k.a. The Mistress of Atlantis) (1932)). The book would have dealt with the rediscovery of Earth. [1]