Thread by @arune

Everyone has their favorite comic book event stories. For a lot of my friends it’s X-Men: Age of Apocalypse.

But my favorite?

REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN.

This is such a perfect marketing poster.

The value proposition is clear: there are four potential Supermen.

And there’s no lying: none of may be Superman.

So you go into the story with questions, excitement and managed expectations.

The great part is that by the end you’ve got Superman back AND four awesome new characters who all represent different aspects or perceptions of Superman.

It’s a crossover that gave back SO much to the fans. Everything counted and that’s still rare in these kinds of stories.

My favorite was and remains Superboy. Such a fun take on a young, conflicted Superman character without needing to bend or break Clark Kent.

John Henry Irons is the most important - he tapped into the early social warrior aspects of Superman in a way that’s still ahead of its time. He embodies all the best parts of Superman.

Eradicator was the “cool” version of Superman from the glasses (yes, that was “edgy” in the 90s) to his violent approach. It’s exactly what a missy teen thinks Superman should be. There’s a heroism there that’s lost in the WAY he tries to be Superman.

Cyborg Superman is a villain in disguise, a reminder that the powers and costume don’t make Superman. The other heroes lack everything to be Superman but Hank Henshaw is a true perversion of his ideals.

That’s what’s so great about the story all these years later and why it holds up - it’s a story about how you can’t replace Superman. It’s about how unique he is in the DC Universe and in pop culture. There’ll never be another.

I’ve gotta give it to the artists too (#artcred) - Tom Grummett, Jon Bogdanove, Jackson Guice, Dan Jurgens, Doug Hazelwood, Dennis Janke, Denis Rodier, Glenn Whitmore and more have each Superman their own special feel. There was no house style.

Just compare Eradicstor and Cyborg Superman - the art conveys the danger and edge of each character, making them almost feel in different worlds.

Even the heroic duo of Steel and Superboy are so defined by their art - Steel lives In a grittier world and carries a different weight - literally and figuratively.

It feels like we are entering another golden age of Superman artists. From @JorgeJimenezArt to @patrick_gleason to Ivan Reis to @FrancisManapul and more, Superman is in great artistic hands.

The REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN epilogues were great too. A whole issue for Superman and Lois to reunite? And another for Superman to meet his clone? Perfect.

I’m really excited for what @BRIANMBENDIS does with Superman because he’s been that kind of heroic class act to me my entire career. So many small kindnesses that he does for folks not out of any calculation but because he can’t imagine doing otherwise. It’s his nature.

One of the big lessons is REIGN is that you can swerve/tease fans but it’s important to play fair. We weren’t meant to believe these folks were the real Superman. But the stories leading up to Kal’s return had meaning and resonance in and of themselves + lasting consequences.

You can’t finish REIGN and say, “They misled me” or “that was a waste.” It’s so expertly constricted snd the DCU has exciting new characters and relationships as a result. It’s about growing the Superman family.

Look at that cover. All those new members of the Superman family were incredibly popular and they didn’t die. They weren’t erased from history. The world of Superman was better and richer for this story.

Thanks to everyone for the kind words on this thread AND your patience with my typos.

I forgot an important part of REIGN’s impact - the awesome video game!

TL;DR, REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN is the perfect comic book crossover to me. Series could be read separately so you fell in love with each character, there were no filler issues, exciting new ideas were carefully introduced & it all had long term impact.

Plus, it nailed the ending.