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Supreme (comics)
Encyclopedia
Supreme is a fiction
al superhero
created by Rob Liefeld
and first published by Image Comics
, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment. He was originally a violent, egotistical Superman
archetype
, but was rebooted
by Alan Moore
to pay tribute to the classic Silver Age
Superman mythos, as guided by Mort Weisinger
.
Supreme is also the name of a comic book
series which lasted 56 issues. Moore started with issue #41 and his run would later be collected as two trade paperbacks by the Checker Book Publishing Group
: Supreme: The Story of the Year and Supreme: The Return. Moore's work on the series won the 1997 Eisner Award
for Best Writer.
Supreme was originally introduced in issue 3 of Rob Liefeld
's initial Youngblood
limited series as a flipbook story, and he was later spun off into his own series. His history varied from story to story; at one point, he was an extremely religious angel
of vengeance, who cited Scripture to justify his actions. At other times, Supreme considered himself to be a god
, especially after defeating the Norse
god Thor
and taking his mystical hammer, Mjolnir. Although considered to be the most powerful being in the Liefeld universe, he had his share of defeats, including being killed in the cross-title Deathmate
Black series (published by both Image
and Valiant Comics
), losing his powers in Extreme Prejudice, and being brutally killed by Crypt in Extreme Sacrifice.
Supreme was eventually given a more comprehensive treatment in The Legend of Supreme, a three-issue miniseries
by Keith Giffen
and Robert Loren Fleming
. In the story, a reporter named Maxine Winslow investigates the "origin story" of Supreme. As the story unfolds, we learn that in 1937, Ethan Crane shot and killed two men in retaliation for the rape of a 15 year-old girl. Crane was subsequently shot by two police officers, but he survived and was sentenced to life in prison. In prison, the government offered him a chance to participate in an experiment to enhance humans, hoping that unlike the six previous guinea pigs, he would survive.
Unfortunately, Crane perished like the others; but unlike the others, he came back to life
. The outside world was strange and new to him. Making his way to a church, Crane found sanctuary given by Father Beam, and soon discovered some of his new abilities. He took the name "Supreme," and upon hearing about the ongoing war in Europe
, he decided to do his part. Not much was revealed about Supreme's work in World War II
, but it is known that he joined the Allies
. After the war ended, Supreme felt that he had done his part, playing a good Samaritan to society, and left Earth
. In reality, the accidental death of Father Beam at his hands drove him away.
Supreme spent decades in space, fighting against various threats on the side of an alien race known as the Kalyptans (the race of Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen's Vanguard
). He eventually returned to Earth
in 1992 to find a greatly changed society, complete with genetically enhanced superpowered humans that could be found in teams like Youngblood
and Heavy Mettle. Supreme became the field team leader of Heavy Mettle for a short while, but soon left the position after defeating the villain Khrome.
As Supreme fought Thor
over the possession of Mjolnir, a character by the name of Enigma acquired another Supreme from an alternate timeline, to be kept in storage in case Supreme was defeated. Supreme did not lose, so the other Supreme was left to his own devices (most importantly in the events of The Legend of Supreme). Supreme eventually appeared to die during an assault on humanity by Lord Chapel, but in actuality, he ended up stranded on an alternate Earth
. There, he spent several years until the alternate Supreme originally removed from this reality by Enigma returned and was overpowered by the original Supreme. The original Supreme managed to switch bodies with the alternate Supreme, thus restoring his powers. After various events involving Enigma and Probe (Supreme's daughter from the future, sometimes known as Lady Supreme), the original Supreme worked with Probe, Enigma and the alternate Supreme to defeat the evil Norse
god Loki
, whose machinations had been the cause of the various shifts between realities. In the end of Supreme #40, loose ends had been wrapped up, and, while Probe remained on the alternate Earth, Supreme returned to Earth
.
Alan Moore
was asked by Rob Liefeld
to write further adventures of Supreme. Moore agreed, on the condition that he could throw out everything previously done with the character, as he felt the comic was "not very good." Beginning with issue 41 of Supreme, Moore began retooling Supreme, using multiple layers of metafiction
, with each issue containing commentary on storytelling, comics history in general, and the Superman
mythos in particular. The clichés of the superhero genre were frequently used without Moore's characteristic deconstruction and sense of irony. He stated in interviews that it was also something of an apology, as he had become famous for deconstructing superhero characters in various dark ways.
) universe—Moore plotted one of his fabled dense storylines to revolutionise the Supreme universe. Drawing on the Silver Age
Superman (and the innovations of Silver Age greats such as Julius Schwartz
, Curt Swan
and Murphy Anderson
in particular), Moore's Supreme both built upon and ignored all the issues that had previously seen print, re-creating the character from his origin(s) up. Although the "Story of the Year" arc was intended to finish with a Silver-Age-evoking 80-Page Giant
special issue, it was ultimately split into two parts: 52a and 52b. Nevertheless, the action (which included multiple flashbacks to "earlier" Supreme stories/adventures, as well as pastiches of and references to a number of comicbook staples) tied together by #52 in a manner which saw the seeds sown in Moore's earliest issues addressed several issues later. (A common factor in much of his work, but especially seen in his later ABC titles Tom Strong
and Promethea
.)
This new version of Supreme had a secret identity as Ethan Crane, a mild-mannered artist
for Dazzle Comics, who received his powers as a result of a childhood exposure to a meteorite composed of pure Supremium, a meta-element that can alter reality. When not saving the world as the archetypal superhero, Crane illustrated the adventures of Omniman, a Supreme-like character undergoing a re-launch with a change of writers.
Moore did not simply ignore the events of the previous issues; he turned them into a central part of his Supreme storyline. In Moore's first issue, Supreme returned to Earth
from space and discovered that not only was he living in the most recent "revision" of reality, as it is an ever-changing story, but that there had been many previous versions of himself. Retired Supremes lived in another reality, dubbed the "Supremacy" by its inhabitants, an afterlife for characters whose stories had come to an end. Supreme first suffered from amnesia
, but quickly learned that his returning memories were "backstory" that was gradually being filled in. As Supreme himself mused while visiting the site where he first gained his powers: "Maybe I really did just pop into existence a few weeks ago [...] but standing in that hole I felt something. I felt a long, peculiar life well up around me, and even if my life is a tale the Universe wrote only yesterday, it started right there, in that ditch." As Supreme's memories "returned," the flashback sequences to Supreme's childhood and previous adventures were told in the style of different periods from comics history.
The Supreme story also contained references to characters from the Superman
stories, a sister with identical powers (Suprema, a reference to Supergirl
) and a superpowered dog (Radar the Hound Supreme, a reference to Krypto
).
Darius Dax was also introduced in this storyline. He was a Lex Luthor
-styled evil genius
who begrudged Supreme. Dax died twice in the series. The first time, he died in prison of lymphatic cancer caused by exposure to Supremium. Before he died, Dax transferred a copy of his consciousness to "micro-machines, no bigger than dust mites" which he concealed in a book. He mailed this book to Judy Jordan (a Lana Lang
analog) just before his death. When she opened the book, Judy inhaled the dust and the copy of Dax's consciousness was transferred into her brain
after her own personality was erased. Dax used Judy's body to trick Supreme and trap him in his own prison. Dax went on to abandon Judy's body in favor of a superpowered android body. Still unable to beat Supreme, he merged the android body with Supremium, causing him to fall backwards in time not once but twice, appearing first as the Supremium Man in an earlier story and, after absorbing still more Supremium, as the very lump which landed as a meteor and gave Supreme his powers in the first place, creating a predestination paradox
.
Moore's work on the book continued until Supreme #56, at which point the series was re-launched as/followed by a mini-series entitled Supreme: The Return. This ran for six issues before being abruptly cancelled amidst Awesome Entertainment
's collapse. Moore had written an additional one-two issues which were never published, a point referenced by artist Rick Veitch
, when talking about the Checker
TPB collection. He notes that Supreme: The Returns "biggest failing is that the final issue of the story was never produced. This volume takes care of that little problem by ignoring it completely and just tacking 'The End' on the last story."
Following the defeat of Darius Dax, Supreme finds an ember of Judy Jordan's consciousness still in her body, which he transfers to a Suprematon android. Her new artificial body is endowed with superpowers, but Judy has trouble adjusting to another body and having missed the last 20 years of her life. S-1, the only other sentient Suprematon, confesses his love for Judy. S-1 changes his name to Talos
, and the two are married by Supreme in the Flying Citadel. The new couple leaves Earth
and finds an uninhabited planet to live.
Ethan Crane's growing romance with Diana Dane (a Lois Lane
analog) starts to falter after she becomes annoyed with the way he "gets all weird and runs away." He tries to reconnect with her as Supreme (after arranging a meeting as Ethan). Supreme gives her a tour of the Citadel to give her ideas for Omniman. After a trip to the Supremacy Diana discovers Ethan's secret identity, and appears willing to try and continue the relationship in the full knowledge of what she is getting into.
After Darius Dax becomes the Supremium meteorite at the end of The Story of the Year, he is sent to a place similar to the Supremacy, called Daxia. Every version of Dax before him lives in Daxia, including Darius Duck, Daxor, Daxian, Doomsdax, Mad Nazi Scientist Dax, and "Grim" Serial-Killer Transvestite 80's Dax. The combined intellect of the Daxes lets him cheat death once more and return to the land of the living. He immediately sets about trying to destroy Supreme once again, and sets in motion another circular chain of events, this time involving Billy Friday (a Jimmy Olsen
analog) and Master Meteor (see below).
At New York Comic Con 2011, Rob Liefeld and Erik Larsen announced that the last unpublished Supreme stories will be published and drawn by Erik Larsen.
Supremium is known to come in different colours, each with a different effect; white Supremium is fatal to Supreme, amber Supremium warps time, onyx Supremium erases time, sapphire Supremium affects probabilities, ruby Supremium transmutes matter, and violet Supremium has random effects.
Supremium existed in a complex timeframe; From Supreme's perspective it existed from 1925, when the Supremium meteorite fell to Earth, until some point in the 1950s when the Supremium Man fused with it and disappeared. The second time Supremium existed was when Supreme synthesized it from trace elements in his blood in the 1960s. The synthetic Supremium existed until the 1990s, when Supreme's arch-enemy Darius Dax merged with it and became the Supremium Man.
Supreme realised that the Supremium Man from the 90s had fallen back in time to the 1950s, and then, upon merging with the remaining Supremium, fallen further back in time, becoming the original meteor.
Supremium is an homage to kryptonite
.
published Supreme's return by Robert Kirkman
and Rob Liefeld
. It will not complete Alan Moore
's run. Supreme Sacrifice does include aspects created by Moore including the Supremacy. More specifically, it will deal with Liefeld's original 90's Supreme and his forced retirement in the Supremacy.
, Charles Flanders discovered he could tap into Supreme's power, and he became Supreme's sidekick, the first Kid Supreme. The second Kid Supreme was Danny Fuller after he received super powers during a fight between Supreme and Union. Alan Moore's Kid Supreme is merely a younger version of Supreme as an homage to Superboy
. He was also Supreme-Mite when he first received his powers as a toddler.
and Supreme, named Probe and later called Lady Supreme, although she once believed that she was a test tube baby until Glory told her the truth. This character was removed from reality after the Supreme continuity was rebooted by Alan Moore
, though she still exists in the Supremacy.
In her place, Supreme's sister Sally Crane became Suprema. When Darius Dax merged with the Supremium, he became "too heavy for the space-time continuum" and he fell through a crack in reality. He emerged in the past, specifically, on Sally's birthday. Dax fell to Earth in front of the Cranes' residence. Sally's proximity to the incident gave her white hair, and later, she learned she had similar powers as well.
When Supreme left Earth, Suprema took over duties in his absence. Gorrl, the Living Galaxy, came looking for revenge against Supreme. Since he couldn't find him, he threatened to absorb the Milky Way Galaxy unless he was given a "suitable human companion." Suprema volunteered if Gorrl would spare the star system. Grorrl brought her to the edge of a black hole
where time passes differently than in normal space. As a result, Suprema spent 30 years there in the blink of an eye. After those 30 years, Supreme finally came to rescue Suprema. They were able to convince Gorrl that a human companion was unsuitable and he should be with his own kind. Gorrl allowed her to leave and she was able to return home. When not undertaking solo adventures, she partnered with Supreme and Radar and also joined the independent incarnation of Youngblood, alongside her best friend, Twilight, the Girl Marvel, where her prim moralising and high-handed, supercilious (as well as out of date) attitude rubbed most of her teammates, save for Twilight, the wrong way, earning her the derisive nickname "The Flying Nun."
Supreme: The Story of the Year and The Return are available digitally exclusively through Devil's Due Digital
.
, using the same layout, images, etc., with French translation.
, using the same layout, images, etc., with Spanish translation.
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
created by Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
and first published by Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment. He was originally a violent, egotistical Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
archetype
Archetype
An archetype is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated...
, but was rebooted
Reboot (continuity)
The verb reboot, in media dealing with serial fiction, means to discard much or even all previous continuity in the series and start anew with fresh ideas...
by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
to pay tribute to the classic Silver Age
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
Superman mythos, as guided by Mort Weisinger
Mort Weisinger
Mortimer Weisinger was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' Superman during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books...
.
Supreme is also the name of a comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series which lasted 56 issues. Moore started with issue #41 and his run would later be collected as two trade paperbacks by the Checker Book Publishing Group
Checker Book Publishing Group
Checker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
: Supreme: The Story of the Year and Supreme: The Return. Moore's work on the series won the 1997 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Writer.
Supreme
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
's initial Youngblood
Youngblood (comics)
Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics...
limited series as a flipbook story, and he was later spun off into his own series. His history varied from story to story; at one point, he was an extremely religious angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
of vengeance, who cited Scripture to justify his actions. At other times, Supreme considered himself to be a god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, especially after defeating the Norse
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
god Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
and taking his mystical hammer, Mjolnir. Although considered to be the most powerful being in the Liefeld universe, he had his share of defeats, including being killed in the cross-title Deathmate
Deathmate
Deathmate was a six-part comic book crossover between Valiant Comics and Image Comics published in 1993 and 1994. Designated by color rather than issue numbers plus two book-end issues, Deathmate Prologue and Deathmate Epilogue,as well as Preview issues collected with comic products, the four main...
Black series (published by both Image
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
and Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics
Valiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...
), losing his powers in Extreme Prejudice, and being brutally killed by Crypt in Extreme Sacrifice.
Supreme was eventually given a more comprehensive treatment in The Legend of Supreme, a three-issue miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
by Keith Giffen
Keith Giffen
Keith Ian Giffen is an American comic book illustrator and writer.-Biography:Giffen was born in Queens, New York City....
and Robert Loren Fleming
Robert Loren Fleming
Robert Loren Fleming is an American comic book writer.-Biography:Fleming worked for DC Comics initially as a proofreader and later writer, creating Thriller, and was writing an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with plotter/breakdown artist Keith Giffen and artist Curt Swan.He is...
. In the story, a reporter named Maxine Winslow investigates the "origin story" of Supreme. As the story unfolds, we learn that in 1937, Ethan Crane shot and killed two men in retaliation for the rape of a 15 year-old girl. Crane was subsequently shot by two police officers, but he survived and was sentenced to life in prison. In prison, the government offered him a chance to participate in an experiment to enhance humans, hoping that unlike the six previous guinea pigs, he would survive.
Unfortunately, Crane perished like the others; but unlike the others, he came back to life
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
. The outside world was strange and new to him. Making his way to a church, Crane found sanctuary given by Father Beam, and soon discovered some of his new abilities. He took the name "Supreme," and upon hearing about the ongoing war in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, he decided to do his part. Not much was revealed about Supreme's work in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but it is known that he joined the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
. After the war ended, Supreme felt that he had done his part, playing a good Samaritan to society, and left Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. In reality, the accidental death of Father Beam at his hands drove him away.
Supreme spent decades in space, fighting against various threats on the side of an alien race known as the Kalyptans (the race of Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen's Vanguard
Vanguard (Image Comics)
Vanguard is a fictional alien hero created by Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen for Carlson's self-published anthology Megaton. Vanguard is a white alien with small antennae who has been given the unenviable job of guarding Earth, which is viewed by the aliens as boring with little chance of anything...
). He eventually returned to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
in 1992 to find a greatly changed society, complete with genetically enhanced superpowered humans that could be found in teams like Youngblood
Youngblood (comics)
Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics...
and Heavy Mettle. Supreme became the field team leader of Heavy Mettle for a short while, but soon left the position after defeating the villain Khrome.
As Supreme fought Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
over the possession of Mjolnir, a character by the name of Enigma acquired another Supreme from an alternate timeline, to be kept in storage in case Supreme was defeated. Supreme did not lose, so the other Supreme was left to his own devices (most importantly in the events of The Legend of Supreme). Supreme eventually appeared to die during an assault on humanity by Lord Chapel, but in actuality, he ended up stranded on an alternate Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
. There, he spent several years until the alternate Supreme originally removed from this reality by Enigma returned and was overpowered by the original Supreme. The original Supreme managed to switch bodies with the alternate Supreme, thus restoring his powers. After various events involving Enigma and Probe (Supreme's daughter from the future, sometimes known as Lady Supreme), the original Supreme worked with Probe, Enigma and the alternate Supreme to defeat the evil Norse
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
god Loki
Loki
In Norse mythology, Loki or Loke is a god or jötunn . Loki is the son of Fárbauti and Laufey, and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr. By his wife Sigyn, Loki is the father of Nari or Narfi...
, whose machinations had been the cause of the various shifts between realities. In the end of Supreme #40, loose ends had been wrapped up, and, while Probe remained on the alternate Earth, Supreme returned to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
.
Alan Moore's Supreme
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
was asked by Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
to write further adventures of Supreme. Moore agreed, on the condition that he could throw out everything previously done with the character, as he felt the comic was "not very good." Beginning with issue 41 of Supreme, Moore began retooling Supreme, using multiple layers of metafiction
Metafiction
Metafiction, also known as Romantic irony in the context of Romantic works of literature, is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion...
, with each issue containing commentary on storytelling, comics history in general, and the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
mythos in particular. The clichés of the superhero genre were frequently used without Moore's characteristic deconstruction and sense of irony. He stated in interviews that it was also something of an apology, as he had become famous for deconstructing superhero characters in various dark ways.
The Story of the Year
Given free rein over the Supreme—and, indeed the wider Maximum (later AwesomeAwesome Comics
Awesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment was an American comic book studio formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
) universe—Moore plotted one of his fabled dense storylines to revolutionise the Supreme universe. Drawing on the Silver Age
Silver Age of Comic Books
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an interregnum in the early to mid-1950s, the Silver Age is considered to cover the...
Superman (and the innovations of Silver Age greats such as Julius Schwartz
Julius Schwartz
Julius "Julie" Schwartz was a comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in the Bronx, New York...
, Curt Swan
Curt Swan
Douglas Curtis Swan was an American comic book artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 1950s through the 1980s.-Early life and career:Curt Swan, whose Swedish...
and Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson
Murphy Anderson is an American comic book artist, known as one of the premier inkers of his era, who has worked for companies such as DC Comics for over fifty years, starting in the 1930s-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books...
in particular), Moore's Supreme both built upon and ignored all the issues that had previously seen print, re-creating the character from his origin(s) up. Although the "Story of the Year" arc was intended to finish with a Silver-Age-evoking 80-Page Giant
80-Page Giant
80-Page Giant was the name used for a series of comic books published by DC Comics beginning in 1964. The series was named for its unusually high page count. . The cover price was typically 25 cents, while other comics of the day were rarely above 12 cents...
special issue, it was ultimately split into two parts: 52a and 52b. Nevertheless, the action (which included multiple flashbacks to "earlier" Supreme stories/adventures, as well as pastiches of and references to a number of comicbook staples) tied together by #52 in a manner which saw the seeds sown in Moore's earliest issues addressed several issues later. (A common factor in much of his work, but especially seen in his later ABC titles Tom Strong
Tom Strong
Tom Strong is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division.-Background:Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero"...
and Promethea
Promethea
Promethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore, J. H. Williams III and Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm....
.)
Summary
This new version of Supreme had a secret identity as Ethan Crane, a mild-mannered artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
for Dazzle Comics, who received his powers as a result of a childhood exposure to a meteorite composed of pure Supremium, a meta-element that can alter reality. When not saving the world as the archetypal superhero, Crane illustrated the adventures of Omniman, a Supreme-like character undergoing a re-launch with a change of writers.
Moore did not simply ignore the events of the previous issues; he turned them into a central part of his Supreme storyline. In Moore's first issue, Supreme returned to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
from space and discovered that not only was he living in the most recent "revision" of reality, as it is an ever-changing story, but that there had been many previous versions of himself. Retired Supremes lived in another reality, dubbed the "Supremacy" by its inhabitants, an afterlife for characters whose stories had come to an end. Supreme first suffered from amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
, but quickly learned that his returning memories were "backstory" that was gradually being filled in. As Supreme himself mused while visiting the site where he first gained his powers: "Maybe I really did just pop into existence a few weeks ago [...] but standing in that hole I felt something. I felt a long, peculiar life well up around me, and even if my life is a tale the Universe wrote only yesterday, it started right there, in that ditch." As Supreme's memories "returned," the flashback sequences to Supreme's childhood and previous adventures were told in the style of different periods from comics history.
The Supreme story also contained references to characters from the Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
stories, a sister with identical powers (Suprema, a reference to Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
) and a superpowered dog (Radar the Hound Supreme, a reference to Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
).
Darius Dax was also introduced in this storyline. He was a Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics, and the archenemy of Superman, although given his high status as a supervillain, he has also come into conflict with Batman and other superheroes in the DC Universe. Created by Jerry Siegel and...
-styled evil genius
Genius
Genius is something or someone embodying exceptional intellectual ability, creativity, or originality, typically to a degree that is associated with the achievement of unprecedented insight....
who begrudged Supreme. Dax died twice in the series. The first time, he died in prison of lymphatic cancer caused by exposure to Supremium. Before he died, Dax transferred a copy of his consciousness to "micro-machines, no bigger than dust mites" which he concealed in a book. He mailed this book to Judy Jordan (a Lana Lang
Lana Lang
Lana Lang is a fictional supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, the character first appears in Superboy #10...
analog) just before his death. When she opened the book, Judy inhaled the dust and the copy of Dax's consciousness was transferred into her brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
after her own personality was erased. Dax used Judy's body to trick Supreme and trap him in his own prison. Dax went on to abandon Judy's body in favor of a superpowered android body. Still unable to beat Supreme, he merged the android body with Supremium, causing him to fall backwards in time not once but twice, appearing first as the Supremium Man in an earlier story and, after absorbing still more Supremium, as the very lump which landed as a meteor and gave Supreme his powers in the first place, creating a predestination paradox
Predestination paradox
A predestination paradox is a paradox of time travel that is often used as a convention in science fiction. It exists when a time traveller is caught in a loop of events that "predestines" or "predates" them to travel back in time...
.
The Return
Awesome Comics
Awesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment was an American comic book studio formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
's collapse. Moore had written an additional one-two issues which were never published, a point referenced by artist Rick Veitch
Rick Veitch
Richard "Rick" Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.-Early career:...
, when talking about the Checker
Checker Book Publishing Group
Checker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
TPB collection. He notes that Supreme: The Returns "biggest failing is that the final issue of the story was never produced. This volume takes care of that little problem by ignoring it completely and just tacking 'The End' on the last story."
Summary
Following the defeat of Darius Dax, Supreme finds an ember of Judy Jordan's consciousness still in her body, which he transfers to a Suprematon android. Her new artificial body is endowed with superpowers, but Judy has trouble adjusting to another body and having missed the last 20 years of her life. S-1, the only other sentient Suprematon, confesses his love for Judy. S-1 changes his name to Talos
Talos
In Greek mythology, Talos or Talon was a giant man of bronze who protected Europa in Crete from pirates and invaders by circling the island's shores three times daily while guarding it.- History :...
, and the two are married by Supreme in the Flying Citadel. The new couple leaves Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and finds an uninhabited planet to live.
Ethan Crane's growing romance with Diana Dane (a Lois Lane
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
analog) starts to falter after she becomes annoyed with the way he "gets all weird and runs away." He tries to reconnect with her as Supreme (after arranging a meeting as Ethan). Supreme gives her a tour of the Citadel to give her ideas for Omniman. After a trip to the Supremacy Diana discovers Ethan's secret identity, and appears willing to try and continue the relationship in the full knowledge of what she is getting into.
After Darius Dax becomes the Supremium meteorite at the end of The Story of the Year, he is sent to a place similar to the Supremacy, called Daxia. Every version of Dax before him lives in Daxia, including Darius Duck, Daxor, Daxian, Doomsdax, Mad Nazi Scientist Dax, and "Grim" Serial-Killer Transvestite 80's Dax. The combined intellect of the Daxes lets him cheat death once more and return to the land of the living. He immediately sets about trying to destroy Supreme once again, and sets in motion another circular chain of events, this time involving Billy Friday (a Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen
Jimmy Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
analog) and Master Meteor (see below).
Announced Finish with Alan Moore scripts
At New York Comic Con 2011, Rob Liefeld and Erik Larsen announced that the last unpublished Supreme stories will be published and drawn by Erik Larsen.
Villains
- Darius Dax, Supreme's arch-enemy who, like Supreme, has been through numerous incarnations, including a generic gangster, a Nazi, several mad scientistMad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
s, and a brilliant but manipulative business tycoon. - Emerpus, the Reverse Supreme from The Backwards Zone where time runs opposite to our own, unaverts disasters, like releasing the captives of his "Ledatic", or punching a meteor back together.
- Gorrl, the living galaxy, held Suprema in captivity for thirty years.
- Korgo (first name: Brinn) is a warlord from space. He challenges Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
under the formal rules of the Cosmic Dictators Guild and wins. He fakes defeat against Supreme to escape Hillary Clinton and return to the Hell of Mirrors. - Master Meteor first appears in Littlehaven in search of the Supremium isotope and he fights Kid Supreme. When he reappears he is the second character to call himself the Supremium Man. In his Littlehaven appearance he claims to have some future enmity with Supreme; he appears to time travelTime travelTime travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
directly from this encounter to Darius Dax's laboratory in the present, and in a freak accident subsequently merges with Billy Friday. The confused composite entity blames Supreme for his condition and travels back in time to Littlehaven, where he fights Kid Supreme. This appears to be an ontological paradox. - Optilux was a religious alien who became a being of pure light with an ever-growing messiah complex. He converted cities, such as Amalynth, into coherent light in captivity, much like BrainiacBrainiac (comics)Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino....
shrunk KandorKandorKandor is the name of the former capital city of the fictional planet Krypton in the DC Universe. It is best known for being stolen and miniaturized by the supervillain Brainiac...
. - Televillain was originally a television repair man named Reuben Tube until an accident gave him the ability to teleport using televisions and actually enter the fictional worlds of television programmes. On one occasion he transported into an episode of FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and executed Monica GellerMonica GellerMonica E. Geller Bing is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends, portrayed by Courteney Cox. Monica is known as the "Mother Hen" of the group and her Greenwich Village apartment was one of the group's main gathering places. She was also known for her obsessive personality...
(without any harm to Courteney CoxCourteney CoxCourteney Bass Cox is an American actress, she is best known for her roles as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom Friends, Gale Weathers in the horror series Scream and as Jules Cobb in the ABC sitcom Cougar Town, for which she earned her first Golden Globe nomination....
). He was then pummeled by a group of angry people who recognized him as "the guy who shot Monica" in the real world. - The End is a powerful villain whom the other captives in the Hell of Mirrors cede to. He is never seen except in shadow. When offered the chance to escape the Hell of Mirrors his reaction is one of indifference.
- Shadow Supreme is an evil version of Supreme created by Darius Dax's negative energy ray. As his name implies, he physically resembles Supreme, albeit his body and costume are entirely black. He is completely obedient to Dax, whom he has even referred to as his "God".
- Slaver Ant is a female humanoid ant-like creature who secretes behavior altering chemicals. Upon escaping Supreme's mirror prison, she kidnaps several infants and tries to persuade them to build a new ant-lair.
- Vor-Em is a humanoid lion warrior.
Supremium
Supremium is the source of Supreme's power. As a child, Ethan Crane found a meteorite composed of pure Supremium, which turned his hair white and gave him many super-powers, such as flight, invulnerability, super-strength, super-intelligence, super-speed and more.Supremium is known to come in different colours, each with a different effect; white Supremium is fatal to Supreme, amber Supremium warps time, onyx Supremium erases time, sapphire Supremium affects probabilities, ruby Supremium transmutes matter, and violet Supremium has random effects.
Supremium existed in a complex timeframe; From Supreme's perspective it existed from 1925, when the Supremium meteorite fell to Earth, until some point in the 1950s when the Supremium Man fused with it and disappeared. The second time Supremium existed was when Supreme synthesized it from trace elements in his blood in the 1960s. The synthetic Supremium existed until the 1990s, when Supreme's arch-enemy Darius Dax merged with it and became the Supremium Man.
Supreme realised that the Supremium Man from the 90s had fallen back in time to the 1950s, and then, upon merging with the remaining Supremium, fallen further back in time, becoming the original meteor.
Supremium is an homage to kryptonite
Kryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
.
Supreme Sacrifice
In 2006, Arcade ComicsArcade Comics
Arcade Comics is an independent comic book company founded by former Image Comics mainstay Rob Liefeld and Jimmy Jay of "Jay Company Comics". This is Liefeld's 4th publishing label after Extreme Studios, Maximum Press and Awesome Comics. The company kicked off in 2003 with its first comic...
published Supreme's return by Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
and Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
. It will not complete Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
's run. Supreme Sacrifice does include aspects created by Moore including the Supremacy. More specifically, it will deal with Liefeld's original 90's Supreme and his forced retirement in the Supremacy.
Kid Supreme
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Charles Flanders discovered he could tap into Supreme's power, and he became Supreme's sidekick, the first Kid Supreme. The second Kid Supreme was Danny Fuller after he received super powers during a fight between Supreme and Union. Alan Moore's Kid Supreme is merely a younger version of Supreme as an homage to Superboy
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
. He was also Supreme-Mite when he first received his powers as a toddler.
Probe
The biological future daughter of GloryGlory (comics)
Glory is a fictional character originally from Image Comics, and later on from the Awesome Comics comic book series created by Rob Liefeld. The character's full name is Gloriana Demeter, a half-Amazonian, half-Demon warrior.- Rob Liefeld's Glory :...
and Supreme, named Probe and later called Lady Supreme, although she once believed that she was a test tube baby until Glory told her the truth. This character was removed from reality after the Supreme continuity was rebooted by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, though she still exists in the Supremacy.
Suprema
When Supreme left Earth, Suprema took over duties in his absence. Gorrl, the Living Galaxy, came looking for revenge against Supreme. Since he couldn't find him, he threatened to absorb the Milky Way Galaxy unless he was given a "suitable human companion." Suprema volunteered if Gorrl would spare the star system. Grorrl brought her to the edge of a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
where time passes differently than in normal space. As a result, Suprema spent 30 years there in the blink of an eye. After those 30 years, Supreme finally came to rescue Suprema. They were able to convince Gorrl that a human companion was unsuitable and he should be with his own kind. Gorrl allowed her to leave and she was able to return home. When not undertaking solo adventures, she partnered with Supreme and Radar and also joined the independent incarnation of Youngblood, alongside her best friend, Twilight, the Girl Marvel, where her prim moralising and high-handed, supercilious (as well as out of date) attitude rubbed most of her teammates, save for Twilight, the wrong way, earning her the derisive nickname "The Flying Nun."
US
Supreme #23 was reprinted in the Extreme Sacrifice trade paperback (ISBN 1-887279-06-7) in August 1995.- Supreme Madness - collects Supreme #12-18 (Image ComicsImage ComicsImage Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
) - Supreme: The Story of the Year - collects Supreme #41-52 (Checker Book Publishing GroupChecker Book Publishing GroupChecker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
, 2002, 332 pages, ISBN 0-9710249-5-2) - Supreme: The Return - collects Supreme #53-56, Supreme: The Return #1-6 (Checker Book Publishing Group, 2003, 258 pages, ISBN 0-9710249-6-0)
Supreme: The Story of the Year and The Return are available digitally exclusively through Devil's Due Digital
Devil's Due Digital
Devil’s Due Digital Inc. is an American digital publishing company established in 2010 by cofounders Mark Thompson of Checker Book Publishing Group and Josh Blaylock of Devil’s Due Publishing.-History:...
.
France
Under licence from CheckerChecker Book Publishing Group
Checker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
, using the same layout, images, etc., with French translation.
- Suprême, Tome 1: L'Âge d'or (Delcourt Contrebande, 2004, 324 pages, ISBN 2-8478906-5-3)
- Suprême, Tome 2: Le Retour (Delcourt Contrebande, 2009, 324 pages, ISBN 2-8478921-9-2)
Spain
Under licence from CheckerChecker Book Publishing Group
Checker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
, using the same layout, images, etc., with Spanish translation.
- Supreme, Tomo 1: La Historia del Año (Random House Mondadori, 2011)
- Supreme, Tomo 2: El Retorno (Random House Mondadori, 2011)
Germany
- Supreme: The Story of the Year, Part 1 (Nona Arte, March 2011, 152 pages, ISBN 978-8897062103)
- Supreme: The Story of the Year, Part 2 (Nona Arte, April 2011, 168 pages, ISBN 978-8897062110)
External Links
Supreme on devilsduedigital.comSee also
- Alan MooreAlan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
- Awesome ComicsAwesome ComicsAwesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment was an American comic book studio formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
- Kid SupremeKid SupremeKid Supreme is the name of a character in the comic book series Supreme. During World War II, Charles Flanders discovered he could tap into Supreme's power, and he became Supreme's sidekick, the first Kid Supreme. The second Kid Supreme was Danny Fuller after he received super powers during a...
- Rob LiefeldRob LiefeldRob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
- YoungbloodYoungblood (comics)Youngblood is a superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for Image Comics...