DC’s Multiverse has – in my opinion – been one of the best and most creative parts of the DC Universe. Stories that take place in the regular canon or in any of the ongoing titles lack the independence and free reign that makes Multiverse stories legendary. Perhaps the most famous of Multiverse stories have come with tales printed under DC’s Elseworlds imprint. These stories – the first of them being Gotham by Gaslight, which was published in 1989 – are not only separate from the mainstream titles, but they are capable of altering the entire world of a character and exploring completely new terrain. Many of these stories present our usual heroes living different lives on other planets or in other time periods – some worlds may enjoy similarities with the mainstream titles, while others could be almost unrecognisable from what readers are used to. DC published countless Elseworlds stories during the 1990s, but in 2000 a shakeup came that nobody now remembers. That year, four one-off prestige format books were released focusing on Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League of America. These four stories enjoyed the same theme – these tales take place in a world where superheroes are fictional characters. Sound familiar? No wonder this event was to be called Realworlds…
Although four of these books were published, for this review I’ll be looking at the Superman story. Written by Steve Vance with art by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and Joe Rubinstein, the writer and penciller here actually worked together in 1999 on Superman. Inc, an Elseworlds tale I reviewed last year. This story is by no means a rare collector’s item, but it can be read in the Adventures of Superman: Jose Luis Garcia Lopez Volume Two hardcover.
So, with this concept of writing stories in the real world, was DC out of ideas or did they want to break the fourth wall in some way? Right from the off the very idea of Realworlds stories seem both interesting and dull at the same time. You’re interested because the concept is so strange and bizarre, but worried about potential boredom because we don’t want to read a story that is too similar to the dreary and colourless world, we live in outside the pages of wonderful comic books. It certainly hooks a reader, but the fact that Realworlds isn’t really remembered or recalled at all as an event doesn’t bode too well. But I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt! Some of the best runs in comic book history have been lost to history, and besides, Vance and Garcia Lopez worked on a fairly decent Elseworlds story the year before. How bad could this be?
Since we’re treated to a story that’s meant to be set in the real world, it starts off pretty grimly. A young boy named Eddie is living the most predictably depressed life a writer could conjure for a protagonist. Not especially good looking or confident, Eddie works a low job in a shop where his boss clearly hates him. Meanwhile, Eddie is bullied by the local mob, the leader of whom is the tattooed leather-wearing Pete. With his links to the corrupt police force and local popularity, all the girls in the area are in love with him, while they give little time for Eddie. So, it’s clearly not a particularly original plot, especially compared to Vance’s Superman, Inc story from the previous year, but this dark world is set up well enough to grip us and make us interested. Carrying on down the predictable path of depressing for our protagonist, Eddie confronts Pete about a certain girl they’re both attracted to – when you think about it the very idea of this confrontation just isn’t going to end well, so who knows what Eddie was thinking. Either way, Eddie isn’t beaten up in any way, but Pete gets his revenge in another way. Pete gets Eddie drunk so he falls asleep – and that is when the gangster decides to ruin Eddie’s life by tattooing a large Superman symbol on his chest. Eddie wakes up to find his tattoo and he is livid. People make fun of him, and he ends up losing his job because of complaints. All-in-all, life is miserable, but why? Remember that this is a world where Superman is as fictional and unreal as he is in our world. I don’t know when this story is meant to be set up – some details would suggest the 1940s while others would point to the 1980s or even 1990s – but would having a Superman tattoo on your chest really ruin your reputation? For much of the early pages of the story, Eddie hides the tattoo but everyone around town knows about it and won’t touch him. This reaction just seems too dramatic and unbelievably reactionary. This reaction would be merited if Eddie’s chest was home to a tattoo of some devilish or cultish symbol, but everyone associates the Man of Steel’s symbol to peace and heroism. In effect, the general reaction to Eddie only seems to exist because Vance needs a story to write about.
But if you think things couldn’t get any grimmer for Eddie then you’ve got another thing coming. He tries to get revenge on Pete – who is involved in dodgy dealing of a kind – by stealing some of his money. However, Eddie is caught and thrown in the slammer. With no one in the world to care about him, all looks bleak. But this is when Vance unleashes the first of three major shifts in the personality of the main character. With a lot of free time, Eddie buffs up and decides to own the Superman symbol to mould it into his own image. After months in prison, he ends up the top dog and it’s time for his parole. This shift in personality does make sense to some extent – after years of bullying and torment, Eddie decides its time to fight back. I get that, but upon leaving prison, he gets involved with the criminal underworld and usurps Pete as the local gang leader. We know from earlier in the story that he wants to get rich and is willing to steal, but this conversion from near innocence to king of crime feels odd. But it’s not quite as odd as Vance writes the second – and most dramatic – major shift in Eddie’s character.
Although pleased with the money, Eddie finds his new life unrewarding. Suddenly, with this new Eddie now willing to share his tattoo to the world, all the kids in the neighbour flock to him, believing him to be the Man of Steel himself. Eddie shows no opposition to this and decides to use his wealth and power in the town to help disadvantaged children. The overriding problem with Superman: Realworlds is that it lacks a theme. Eddie is a staple throughout, but his character shifts so much, as does the focus of the story, that there is a total lack of consistency. What’s the overall theme here? What makes this story memorable? These questions are crucial to a good story, and while there are nuggets of goodness or passages of interest throughout, the story isn’t cemented together at all. Some tension is created when Eddie’s life of crime conflicts with his new hobby of giving joy to children. Eddie still acts as a gangster and abuses his power and wealth, but he buys a truckload of Superman action figures for children.
In the end, the mob he worked for turns on Eddie and he is left as powerless as he was before prison. Vance tries to add some personality back into the story by introducing a father-and-son duo who Eddie feels compelled to feel some friendship to, but this aspect of the story is added in so late and briefly that it doesn’t make the story anymore memorable. Vance uses it as an attempt to bring Eddie back down to Earth so his character can be definitive by the time of the ending. Eddie decides to get his revenge on his old gang, and he dies a hero’s death as he causes their car to crash into a truck and explode. It’s not told with the most drama as you’d expect, but it ends the story of Eddie. But that’s where the third and final shift for Eddie comes in.
The last two pages of this special shifts to the future in a completely different setting. At a children’s centre, an ambulance is called for Ted Carson. Dead of a heart attack, the ambulance crew find Ted Carson has the same Superman tattoo of Eddie. It turns out that Eddie was put on a witness protection scheme after defeating his old gang – he used the rest of his life to help children. I suppose it’s a nice ending in that sense, but it feels utterly random and out of nowhere. Surely Eddie would have left a grander and more interesting legacy if he had died after destroying his old gang? You could have had a reassessment of his legacy from the people in the city who once abused and bullied him, but after his heroic act, they now see him as a hero. An ending like that would have been a full redemption for Eddie, but instead we’re treated to a half-redemption followed by a half-baked random ending.
Despite the lack of focus and the very random sense of story development, Vance manages to make this story a breezy and enjoyable read. It isn’t bogged down too much by pointless dialogue, and it never gets boring or tedious to read. Despite a true lack of originality at the start, the first half of the story is certainly better than the second half. There is a clear sense of direction as Eddie’s pre-prison world is torn apart, and many of the questionable plot choices occur after he is released from the slammer.
While the story lacks a theme to do with its characters and the plot, the closest thing you’ve got to a theme here is Superman himself and the concepts of Realworlds. In the end, the story argues that Eddie may not be superhuman, but he has the morals of the Man of Steel since he looks after children. This verdict isn’t quite true since Eddie was part of a gang for nearly the whole of this story. The link to Superman feels frankly forced. You could remove Superman’s symbol and any mention of his name, and this story wouldn’t be too different – just make the tattoo into something other than the Superman symbol and Bob’s your uncle. As for the Realworlds concept, much of it depends on the grim reality which comic book writers focused on in the 1990s and 2000s. This story delivers much depression in spades, but there isn’t really anything frankly that interesting here to hook in readers. Vance tries his best to make things dramatic, but it feels like this Realworlds concept is putting a creative barrier to his work. In short, this ‘real-world’ story is dull compared to the more outlandish and creative Elseworlds tales we’re usually treated to. I’m not sure what other Realworlds tales are like, but I imagine all of them endure the same flaw as this one.
Certainly, a highlight of Realworlds: Superman is the artwork. Jose Luis Garcia Lopez is a master of detail and creative storytelling. While the writing may not give him a whole lot to go on, he provides a story sense of energy and flair to the writing. Unlike many of the stories from this period, the art here is not too ugly or scratchy. Even with the toned-down and modern colouring of Dave Stewart (who isn’t bad by any means), Garcia Lopez’s art still contains the retro appeal which makes him a fantastic artist, and this is helped massively by the talent of Joe Rubinstein and his wonderful inks.
VERDICT
Overall, Realworlds: Superman isn’t very memorable and ranks fairly low down in the pantheon of Elseworlds tales. The concept of Realworlds limits the purpose of Elseworlds tales, the best of which are full of creativity and unique concepts. Steve Vance writes a plot that lacks a distinctive theme or focus, with a protagonist who – while not terrible and can be interesting – changes his goals and personality too often. The link to Superman is nebulous and pointless, but with Vance’s decent pacing and Garcia Lopez’s brilliant art, it would be wrong to call this story terrible or even bad. It’s more forgettable than terrible.
Next Week: Shazam! (Stories from Justice League (vol 2) 7-11, 0, 14-16, 18-21). Written by Geoff Johns with art by Gary Frank.
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