All-Star Superman #2 (February 2006)

It's that time again! It's time to join the Man of Steel in his greatest...and most final adventure. Last time, a pretty standard rescue ended up causing some dire consequences for the Man of Steel. What's the fallout from that? Let's look at All-Star Superman #2!

The cover is a Frank Quitely and Jamie Grant piece. It's really cool. It feels like the poster of a horror movie. You got Lois Lane hiding behind a doorway with a laser gun, the nozzle giving out the iconic green Kryptonite glow. We see Superman as he is working on something, Lois's expression giving the impression that it's something...evil.

"Superman's Forbidden Room"
Writer: Grant Morrison
Penciler: Frank Quitely
Inker: Jamie Grant
Colorist: Jamie Grant
Letterer: Phil Balsman
Editors: Bob Schreck, Brandon Montclare
Executive Editor: Dan DiDio

The story begins with Lois...in her car.

Sort of. She's actually being carried by Superman. She's still dealing with Clark Kent revealing to her that he is Superman. She's spent years trying to prove that they're one and the same, only to constantly get stymied. Yeah, this was a thing from the Silver Age. And now, he just...revealed it. Lois feels like she got pranked. He takes her to the Fortress of Solitude. She notices that something is missing: the huge golden key that stood in front of the Fortress. 

Superman didn't think it was secure enough. His new key resembles a standard car or house key. Something one can keep in their pocket. There is a twist, naturally. 

"You'd be surprised how many fingers this thing accidentally crushed."

The key is made of dwarf star matter and weighs half a million tons. Only Superman can lift it. 

I like this, an updated take on the concept while maintaining the wild insanity of the Silver Age. Superman brings Lois inside, showing off some of his cool stuff. Clark lets Lois stay the night. It's revealed that the next day is her birthday, and we peek into her head a bit. She is still reeling from learning that Clark Kent and Superman are one and the same. She wonders if things will become more serious between the two of them now...or she's being set up for another prank. Superman gives her some singing flowers from Alpha Centauri IV. 

Clark continues showing her around. He shows her the armory, where he keeps some of the most dangerous super-weapons in the universe, including a gun that shoots Kryptonite lasers. Keep the gun in your brain, it'll come back later.

He takes her to see a little something he's been working on: A time-telescope. The idea is that Superman can contact his successors with it, but so far, he's only been able to get cryptic messages from the far future, like one he plays from Kal Kent, the Superman of 85,230 AD. It's a subtle tie-in to the DC One Million crossover that Morrison also wrote.

Clark tells Lois that the Fortress isn't just where Superman can relax after a long day of crime-fighting. It's also a time capsule. He hopes that one day, someone will open the Fortress up in the far future, and it will give them a taste of what life was like in the Age of Superheroes. So, the JSA doesn't exist in this universe? 

Clark then introduces Lois to a baby Sun-Eater he found floating around Jupiter.

"I called him Jim. He looked like a Jim."

The little guy is looking hungry, so Superman makes a miniature sun for it to eat with a cosmic anvil. As he watches over the little Sun-Eater enjoying its meal, Lois notices an opened door nearby. Being a curious sort (Lois is a reporter, after all), she peeks in and sees something strange.

🎵"I've been workin' on the railroad, all the live-long day..."🎵

Superman assures her it's not what he thinks, but that place is off-limits. He tells the Superman Robot there, Robot 7, to go get repaired. Yeah, remember Robot 7, folks.

The two then dine on the Titanic. Yes, the very same ship that James Cameron made that movie about that had that Celine Dion song I hate so much. 😡Anyway, Lois is amazed that she was never able to get any solid evidence that Clark Kent and Superman were one and the same. She's one of the finest investigative reporters in the world (according to Time Magazine, anyway), and yet she was never able to figure this out.

She notices Superman wearing a new robe. He made it himself based on traditional Kryptonian robes from its Fourth Age. His trip to the sun did more than boost his power. It boosted his creativity. His imagination. It made him more curious. Man, I oughta take a trip to the Sun.

Lois, being a skilled reporter, notes that this is rather strange for the Man of Steel. He's kept this secret from her for years. And yet...he now chooses to tell her? Not to mention that strange room she saw that was off-limits. Something is up. Later, she types something on her computer, her thoughts swirling. She wonders if Superman is cooking up something awful in that secret room. Did the trip to the Sun mess with his mind in some way? In case something happens, she needs to get a weapon. Remember that Kryptonite laser gun from earlier? Told you all to keep it in mind.

She goes to find it but passes by a room with a mirror in it. She hears someone trying to call Superman.

However, the person trying to contact the Metropolis Marvel isn't Kal Kent.

"I could be Batman! Or even Batgirl! Who knows? That's the fun!"

This person appears to be an amalgam of Superman and the obscure DC WWII-era character called the Unknown Soldier. This is the Unknown Superman of 4500 AD. Fun fact, in that year, broccoli attains sentience. It...was not pretty. 

Unknown says that a terrible darkness is here...but he will allow Lois to ask three questions. First thing she asks is if she and Superman will ever marry and start a family. Yup, that is Silver Age Lois, alright. Unknown simply says the answer is before her. Now, he has one of his own: "Who is J-Lo?"

Heh. Lois sees a door open, and assuring the Superman Robots she is alright, she runs down to the off-limits room, Kryptonite laser gun in hand. She fears that something caused Superman to become evil. The door to the room opens, and she blasts at the Man of Tomorrow with the Kryptonite laser...but it has no effect.

Yup. Didn't do jack. Turns out thanks to his solar overdose, Kryptonite no longer hurts him. Should have gotten the magic gun, Lois. Superman remarks this is quite a way to discover that fact. In that room, Superman was synthesizing some alien chemical. The reason the door was sealed off was because those chemicals can cause humans to become delusional and paranoid. Yeah, I can imagine Elon Musk eagerly drinking said chemicals down. 

Lois claimed that she saw a dissecting machine in there...but it was actually a sewing machine. Superman was working on a special gift for Lois. It's her birthday after all. He was making an Exo-Gene, which will allow a human to have his powers for 24 hours. He also was making her a costume. Yup. Superman's final birthday gift for Lois...is she gets to be a Superwoman for a day.

This was a good issue. Lois is the main character here, as we spend the most time in her head. We see that Lois is going through a lot of emotions regarding the revelation of Superman's secret identity. It's clear that Superman is trying to basically show that he does care about her. Her suspicion regarding why he's doing this is understandable. Remember, she is not aware that the Man of Tomorrow is dying. And her fears at the end are also understandable. She is a military brat, and she may have a...military mentality sometimes, for lack of better words. Superman showing Lois around the Fortress is rather adorable. He's like a big kid showing off his cool collection of stuff to someone he loves. The final revelation is very Silver Age. The whole story can come off as a horror story, but instead of a dark twist, it's just Superman giving Lois an epic birthday gift: The chance to be like him for a day.

As I said in the last issue, Frank Quitely is a fine artist, but his art always looked a bit off to me thanks to how he rendered people. 

If you want to read this yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback All-Star Superman. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!