2024, thus far only a mere three weeks old, will be a year of three titanic anniversaries for DC Comics. While there is no grand prize available for any guesses about which famous long-eared vigilante was created 85 years ago in 1939, that same year a new hero nicknamed the Man of Steel was given his own title in Superman 1. Others may fail to recall a popular trend and imprint that DC commenced 35 years ago. With its countless reprints in collected editions and even a noir edition, Gotham by Gaslight – released in 1989 – is remembered not simply as a remarkable story, but as a one-off which launched the legendary Elseworlds imprint. Comic books have had a long history of publishing imaginary tales where heroes are taken out of their times or eras to be placed in radically differing environments and circumstances. With a limitless number of ideas spawning from writers, artists, and other creators, Elseworlds allowed for very different stories featuring the likes of Superman and Batman. Naturally with such a colossal output, not all of these tales are recalled often. All three of these huge anniversaries can be linked, and indeed were in 1993. An idea must have sprung into writer J.M. DeMatteis’s head – what if the crashed Kal-El was found not by the Kents, but by the Waynes…
Superman: Speeding Bullets was a one-off prestige format book published in 1993. Written by J.M. DeMatteis with art by Eduardo Barreto, who also pencilled and inked the story’s wonderful cover which pays homage to Superman 1 from 1939.
In the great pantheon of Elseworlds stories that DC published in the years after 1989, Superman: Speeding Bullets, doesn’t spring to mind alongside the likes of Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, or Superman: Red Son. Why is that? Perhaps it all comes down to the concept of change, and how dramatic, or in some cases how pedestrian, it can seem. Speeding Bullets unites the worlds of the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight, two realms known intimately well by many readers. Yet just since a concept may appear so familiar, it by no means dictates that the story will be drab or predictable. That all proudly said, Speeding Bullets begin as you’d most probably expect.
Despite its advanced scientific intellectuals and technology, Krypton falls to the inevitable and Kal-El’s rocket to fired into the universe seconds before the planet’s demise. This time, Kal-El is not found by the rural Kansan Kents, but by the grand Gothamite Waynes. The first five pages of J.M. DeMatteis’s writing is wonderfully conveyed – written in the style of a diary which has captured every detail. It’s biographical, but by no means flat or dry. A sense of love – which Bruce Wayne would have felt in the usual timeline – is created in the Wayne family for Kal-El which DeMatteis writes so fantastically. But then we come to the inevitable. We’re in Crime Alley, and the Waynes have left the movie theatre only to be met by Joe Chill. Thankfully, Chill is still the cold killer of Thomas and Martha Wayne. I write that with relief for three reasons. Firstly, if the Waynes were kept alive, then the usual world of Clark Kent would simply be emulated here with only scant changes. With this, our Superman has the darkness of a Batman. Secondly, that darkness of this new knight is doubled because – unlike Bruce Wayne in the regular titles – Kal-El actually has the power here to do something, but he is unaware of that. There was simply no way that Bruce Wayne could have taken out Joe Chill in that alleyway aged only eight, but here, Kal-El will forever hold himself seriously responsible for his inaction and ignorance of his powers. Thirdly, this all gives way to a more violent, bloodier, and thereby more appropriate, Superman. With Thomas and Martha dead, Kal-El’s eyes explode with molten red laser beams – turning Joe Chill into a charred mess. While the story takes a predictable turn from here – a distraught Bruce Wayne (that is the name the Waynes gave Kal-El when they found him) becomes a recluse in his mansion, with his faithful friend Alfred looking after him – DeMatteis pens a wonderful prelude to a tale which clearly has much potential.
J.M. DeMatteis skips the tale forward several years when Bruce Wayne is in early adulthood. While having not much of a life at all, he is an avid reader of the newspapers, from which he discovers Lex Luthor’s return to the business scene after some kind of acidic accident, and the rising crime rates of Gotham City. It doesn’t take Einstein to realise the two events are connected. Suddenly, Wayne Manor is attacked by thugs, and this is when Bruce Wayne finally rediscovers the powers which he has buried within himself. He unleashes those red-hot beams once again, defeating the mysterious invaders. After Alfred presents his friend with the craft that brought him to Earth all those years ago, Bruce Wayne finally realises his life’s purpose. What I like about this is how aspects and touches from stories like Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are meshed so satisfyingly with events from John Byrne’s Man of Steel – nothing new is really created, but witnessing an amalgamation of timelines is such fun. But with that, Batman is created. Why Kal-El, with all of his powers, needs to dress up as a bat to fight crime isn’t really addressed. We’re not shown that usual scene of a bat crashing into the window, or anything really of that kind.
Unsurprisingly, the attack on Wayne Manor was organised by Lex Luthor. Back on the scene, he wants control of Gotham City as well as Metropolis. Only after physical force does he opt for a more diplomatic option, but appearing back in the public eye with confidence, Bruce Wayne denies Lex Luthor’s request to buy his company. From there, Bruce adds to his own financial empire by becoming friendly with the Gotham Gazette and its team of those who once worked for Metropolis’s Daily Planet. The relationship Bruce Wayne has with the likes of Lois Lane and Perry White does not especially differ from Clark Kent’s. This applies all-the-more-so with Lois – her attitude towards Bruce follows a similar path to the one trodden in mainstream titles like Superman and Action Comics. She is, at first, distasteful, then suspicious, friendly, and lastly romantic. Her relationship with Lex Luthor is virtually unchanged too. With all the characters established and something of plot noticeable, the story takes a rather conventional turn here.
As always, Luthor sees Lois Lane as important in his plans. Once his attempt to woo her with his love through words completely fails, he turns up at the Gotham Gazette office unannounced. But he reveals that Lex Luthor no longer exists, for he is now the Joker – with purples, greens, flowers and all.
This surprise admittedly worked on me. J.M. DeMatteis very cunningly placed that hint earlier about an acidic accident leading Luthor to escape from the public eye, but it wasn't really focused on again after that aside from on a few other occasions. Perhaps looking back, it’s somewhat obvious that this is the direction that DeMatteis was planning to take. However, I still think the shock is a successful one. In terms of Luthor’s personality, he does appear to lack that same level of unhinged madness which the mainstream Joker oozes in every word of dialogue. Plus, unlike the usual Joker, Luthor seems to have a tight-enough grip on reality still as his impersonation in the earlier pages of his old logical self was faultless. Sadly, Luthor’s original plan is lost in his lustful chase of Lois Lane. But this is where Batman turns up. His job is to rescue Lois Lane, but what should he do with Lex Luthor? The morality of this new Batman is a subject which sadly isn’t touched upon nearly enough. At first, we received hints of a more violent and bloody composite of Superman and Batman. While there is a good scene featuring Lois Lane fearing the Dark Knight as if he’s a common criminal, the evolution of a character from a more violent Batman to a bright Superman isn’t developed upon in much time at all. But that is how J.M. DeMatteis concludes Speeding Bullets. Listening to Lois’s pleas not to become power-mad and let Luthor die, Batman rescues Lex Luthor and lets the law take care of him. With that, Batman reveals the obvious to Lois Lane by taking off his mask, and the hint on the very last page of the story is that Bruce Wayne will forever abandon Batman – now is the time for a Superman. It’s not an ending I would have liked as it simply makes the present into a near-carbon copy of the mainstream universe. The only core difference is that Superman is now in Gotham City, but the cast is the same and Bruce Wayne is written like a rich version of Clark Kent. It’s a shame to see the possibility of a more violent Superman decrease as we turn the pages, but perhaps that transition from disappointment to acceptance would have been guaranteed if there was more time to seriously examine the characters here.
Unfortunately, that is one of the most prominent problems of Speeding Bullets. For all its plotting and characterisation, it’s a mere forty-eight pages. This would have been an ideal four-issue miniseries – J.M DeMatteis would have had enough room to examine this different kind of Dark Knight in more detail. The same applies for characters like Alfred. Early on, DeMatteis hints of a deep friendship between Kal-El and Alfred. This would have been beneficial to witness. Because, despite all its wonderful touches, characters, and events, the overly energetic speed of the tale means there is little time to absorb and digest it all. And this failure is the main reason why the ending frankly leaves a bad taste in my mouth. After everything, we’re given a seemingly generic Superman, which feels like all of the changes enacted here have been for no reason. There’s nothing wrong with character development, but it needs to be done correctly. Plotting is part of that, but so too is pacing. With more pages, the world of Speeding Bullets could have been not just more memorable, but impressive and impactful with its characters and plotting.
At first glance, Eduardo Barreto would seem a strange choice for an Elseworlds of this type. That is not to be insulting to such a talented artist, but usually his art shines best on the likes of New Teen Titans. However, I have nothing to say but great things about Barreto’s artwork for Speeding Bullets. It combines the gritty and grimness of a Batman title with the brightness and drama of a Superman one. His diverse use of inks and shading is coordinated fantastically with the mood Barreto creates for the story. It has the finishes and storytelling techniques of a 1990s comic, while maintaining the gritty gangster-filled Gotham City of the 1930s. Visually, it’s one of the most appealing Elseworlds to stare at, and it vindicates Barreto’s skills as an impressive storyteller and beautiful penciller.
VERDICT
Overall, Superman: Speeding Bullets may not be remembered much compared to its siblings under the Elseworlds imprint, but it has a neat concept which J.M. DeMatteis manages to impress and interest with. Combined with the drama and stunning art of Eduardo Barreto, a fantastic world with good characters is created, but it’s a great shame that so little time is given to it. More pages would have allowed J.M. DeMatteis to round off the edges and add more character development which would have greatly improved Speeding Bullets. But sadly, it was not to be…
Next Week: Justice League of America: The Injustice League (Justice League of America (vol 2) 13-16, Wedding Special 1). Written by Dwayne McDuffie and Alan Burnett with art by Mike McKone, Joe Benitez, Ed Benes, Allan Jefferson, Andy Lanning, Victor Llamas, and Sandra Hope.
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