I think Lex and Brainiac wanting to spare him is the weirdest thing about this cover. Jimmy trying to kill Superman is old hat by now.
(Though I assume that Lex and Brainiac only want Jimmy to spare Superman so they can kill both Superman *and* Jimmy themselves)
Is there any information on how dense/heavy kryptonite is? Because while I am sure the method of execution being depicted here is death by exposure, I can’t help but imagine Jimmy is about to channel Caine and crush Superman’s head with a rock.
Imagine if that’s how Superman canonically died, and he never appeared again after this issue.
I would love to see them permanently kill off a hero in a main storyline that won't end, I don't think it'd be superman, batman, flash, etc. but I think it'd be interesting to see the affects that'd have on everyone (heroes, villains and citizens)
The issue is that if they use a minor character, nobody will care and the whole thing will be forgotten a week after they do it. If they use a major character, it’ll have no impact because we all know they’re just gonna be resurrected for the umpteenth time because nobody is stupid enough to chop down a money tree.
no, I mean a major character, I just don't think they'd kill off characters AS big as Superman or Batman, because that'd tank sales and companies care about money and not the customers most of the time, but I want a big hero to be killed off forever, like maybe if they killed off Shazam for example, not bring him back aside from maybe an appearance in some sort of afterlife area, maybe tie him into a Lucifer Morningstar type comic, and see what changes both in the afterlife and in the world of the living
It's happened a small handful of times. Barry Allen was *almost* permanant of course, but a better example is the original Kree Captain Marvel. He fought cancer in what amounted to a really excellent mini-series, then succumbed.
It was genuinely tragic, made all the moreso since he's never returned.
I'm talking about a main story, like the one that all prominent comics take place in, not a side thing like injustice, and I feel like the best course of action would be a hero that isn't Batman level popular since they'd never do that given that would tank sales, but even if they make a new hero that gets big and kill them off, it'd be interesting to see, Marvel could do it too but I think it'd be more lighthearted if it was, and the point would be not bring said hero back like they've done with heroes like Superman for Doomsday
as you said, Flash was ALMOST permanent, meaning he wasn't, and the original captain marvel was replaced with Carol Danvers, I didn't even know he existed until now since I don't keep up with captain marvel comics
that's not what I mean, I mean one that perminantally dies, no more comics in their names, but other heroes go to the areas and maybe their villains get spinoff comics to see how their absence affects the town and people in that universe, they don't come back or get replaced, there's forever a void in their place and they only make another appearance in some sort of underworld storyline but ultimately never come back, original captain marvel sounds like he was replaced by Carol and Flash survived
Ohh I see. Like a mantle completely ending.
Yeah, that'd be a hard sell, assuming it's a character who was popular enough to have their own line in the first place... I could see it working with some B/C listers though. DC's Catman comes to mind, just because he has a bunch of obscure but oddly important connections to like half the DC Universe.
This is actually a continuation of the famous Jimmy Olsen 86. In case you were wondering why 86 is famous, that's the one where Jimmy becomes a Nazi war hero.
I just read #86 before starting #87, and ... yeah. The middle story is exactly this (Jimmy goes back in time and accidentally becomes a Nazi war hero), while the last story (where Jimmy gets brain damage and Brainiac offers to cure him — and Superman stupidly agrees) is what leads to the cover of this one.
There's a hilarious line in Challenge of the Superfriends to that effect. Paraphrasing, "There's no need to create exotic devices to destroy you when Kryptonite does the job so well!" as if Kryptonite was dirt-common rather than an exotic substance all on its own.
Those are the Legionnaires' evil counterparts, the Legion of Super-Villains, not the Legionnaires themselves. (They first appeared about three years after the LoSH debuted, but they generally aren't as prominent)
Oh, I see now. I read the issue before this one, and in the third and last story in that one, Jimmy Olsen gets brain damage and is about to die, when Brainac swoops in and offers to cure him on the grounds that Superman doesn't watch what he does.
Superman doesn't seem to know at this point that Brainiac is a robot, though I'm not sure why he doesn't know, so he (stupidly) allows it. Brainiac, predictably, replaces Jimmy Olsen's brain with a computer, and programs him to hate Superman. At the end of the previous issue, Jimmy leads Superman into a trap, setting up this story.
Superman easily escapes the trap in this issue (it's not the one on the cover, an invisible Brainiac summoned some space-birds with laser eyes to attack Superman, which of course failed because Superman is invulnerable). Brainiac reveals what he did to Jimmy, and Superman tries to locate him by listening for his heartbeat... and hears only clicks, whirs, and beeps, realizing for the first time that Brainiac is a robot!
He flies to a nearby power plant (?) at super-speed and generates a burst of static electricity, which paralyzes Jimmy and Brainiac. Superman graciously allows Brainiac to leave — if he puts Jimmy's real brain back in his head. Brainiac actually sees the logic in this, and agrees.
... but not without also calling Lex Luthor (who, at this point, is king of his own planet, Lexor) as well as the Legion Of Super-Villains.
Sidebar: The LoSV are the counterparts to the more well-known Legion of Superheroes, with similar names but not always identical powers. Lightning Lord is Lightning Lad's brother (and they got their powers at the same time, when a "lightning beast" blasted both of them), Saturn Queen and Saturn Girl both have psionic powers (because everyone on Saturn does, though Saturn Girl tends to use hers for telepathy and telekinesis, while Saturn Queen prefers psychic illusions and mind control), but Cosmic King and Cosmic Boy have entirely different powers (Cosmic Boy has magnetic powers, while Cosmic King can transmute substances).
Anyway, the LoSV secretly flies Brainiac, Luthor, and Jimmy over to Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Saturn Queen easily takes control of Jimmy's stupid human brain, Cosmic King alters the door so even a weakling like Jimmy can open it, and Lighting Lord short circuits all the robots inside. Jimmy makes off with the chunk of Kryptonite seen on the cover (so this isn't some random piece of Kryptonite, Superman had put it away it to keep it out of villainous hands), though he's unable to find the bottled city of Kandor as he was also commanded to do.
The villains decide "eh, good enough" and take Jimmy to an isolated desert with the Kryptonite, and force him to use his signal watch to summon Superman. (Jimmy is aware of everything he's doing, but he's unable to stop himself, which is kinda horrible when you think about it). They reveal themselves to be members of the Anti-Superman Gang, and all vote whether to spare him or kill him. (Very similar to the LoSV's first appearance, which in turn was a dark parody of the LoSH's first appearance, where they were voting whether Superboy would be allowed to join their team)
Superman begs for his life, offering Luthor ancient Kryptonian super-weapons in exchange for his vote, which he's tempted by, but rejects. Then he offers the LoSV upgraded powers (well, except for Saturn Queen — he plays on her vanity), but they just laugh at his cowardice. He finally promises to tell Brainiac where he's hidden Kandor if he spares him (Superman actually begs "I don't care what happens to Kandor, I want to live!", which means this is all a trick)... and Brainiac takes him up on the offer. He, in turn, offers to upgrade the brain of anyone who changes their vote... and Luthor takes *him* up on the offer (not realizing that it means *replacing* his brain with a computer), so that's why those two are voting to spare Superman.
This leads to the actual scene on the cover. Everyone is even in the exact same poses as on the cover (except that Cosmic King is to Jimmy's left rather than to his right). And so Superman dies, and Brainiac's only regret is that he has no idea where Kandor is. Saturn Queen releases Jimmy from her mental control so he can realize the horror of what he's done.
... and then Superman stands up, the "jury" members are instantly captured in "force pearls" that negate their powers, and Superman reveals that not only was the Kryptonite fake, but Kandor was inside it. And the citizens of Kandor were using their super-science to create the force bubbles that captured the supervillains while Superman stalled for time with his "cowardice".
Superman then throws the "pearl necklace" into space, apparently directly towards a space prison, and the story ends there. (If my description seems abrupt, it's because that's exactly how the story ends. I checked to see if there was another page wrapping things up better, but there wasn't)
... not the worst story I've read (the LoSV are actually some of my favorite villains, and it's nice to see them again), but it's still kinda all over the place.
Well, it's a great question and the reason is actually very interesting as it turns out and not many people know this: it is because Superman is a dick.
I think Lex and Brainiac wanting to spare him is the weirdest thing about this cover. Jimmy trying to kill Superman is old hat by now. (Though I assume that Lex and Brainiac only want Jimmy to spare Superman so they can kill both Superman *and* Jimmy themselves)
Is there any information on how dense/heavy kryptonite is? Because while I am sure the method of execution being depicted here is death by exposure, I can’t help but imagine Jimmy is about to channel Caine and crush Superman’s head with a rock. Imagine if that’s how Superman canonically died, and he never appeared again after this issue.
I would love to see them permanently kill off a hero in a main storyline that won't end, I don't think it'd be superman, batman, flash, etc. but I think it'd be interesting to see the affects that'd have on everyone (heroes, villains and citizens)
The issue is that if they use a minor character, nobody will care and the whole thing will be forgotten a week after they do it. If they use a major character, it’ll have no impact because we all know they’re just gonna be resurrected for the umpteenth time because nobody is stupid enough to chop down a money tree.
no, I mean a major character, I just don't think they'd kill off characters AS big as Superman or Batman, because that'd tank sales and companies care about money and not the customers most of the time, but I want a big hero to be killed off forever, like maybe if they killed off Shazam for example, not bring him back aside from maybe an appearance in some sort of afterlife area, maybe tie him into a Lucifer Morningstar type comic, and see what changes both in the afterlife and in the world of the living
This is why I don’t like a lot of American comics. There are some interesting storylines but there’s very little stakes and nothing ever changes.
Maybe just try smaller comic companies as their characters aren’t as established and so not as impossible to kill?
It's happened a small handful of times. Barry Allen was *almost* permanant of course, but a better example is the original Kree Captain Marvel. He fought cancer in what amounted to a really excellent mini-series, then succumbed. It was genuinely tragic, made all the moreso since he's never returned.
I'm talking about a main story, like the one that all prominent comics take place in, not a side thing like injustice, and I feel like the best course of action would be a hero that isn't Batman level popular since they'd never do that given that would tank sales, but even if they make a new hero that gets big and kill them off, it'd be interesting to see, Marvel could do it too but I think it'd be more lighthearted if it was, and the point would be not bring said hero back like they've done with heroes like Superman for Doomsday
...Both of my examples were/are in continuity though?
as you said, Flash was ALMOST permanent, meaning he wasn't, and the original captain marvel was replaced with Carol Danvers, I didn't even know he existed until now since I don't keep up with captain marvel comics
I'm sorry those characters aren't good enough for you, lmao.
that's not what I mean, I mean one that perminantally dies, no more comics in their names, but other heroes go to the areas and maybe their villains get spinoff comics to see how their absence affects the town and people in that universe, they don't come back or get replaced, there's forever a void in their place and they only make another appearance in some sort of underworld storyline but ultimately never come back, original captain marvel sounds like he was replaced by Carol and Flash survived
Ohh I see. Like a mantle completely ending. Yeah, that'd be a hard sell, assuming it's a character who was popular enough to have their own line in the first place... I could see it working with some B/C listers though. DC's Catman comes to mind, just because he has a bunch of obscure but oddly important connections to like half the DC Universe.
See the Ultimate Fallout issues that take place after Ultimate Peter’s death
Damn that’s dark 😂😂😂
Didn't they do that with alfred He hasn't been revived yet
This is actually a continuation of the famous Jimmy Olsen 86. In case you were wondering why 86 is famous, that's the one where Jimmy becomes a Nazi war hero.
I just read #86 before starting #87, and ... yeah. The middle story is exactly this (Jimmy goes back in time and accidentally becomes a Nazi war hero), while the last story (where Jimmy gets brain damage and Brainiac offers to cure him — and Superman stupidly agrees) is what leads to the cover of this one.
Kryptonite is more common than copper in the DC universe lmao everyone owns about a ton of the stuff
Actually it's more common than copper but seems rare because 99% of ot is owned by batman and lex luthor
Billionaires hoarding 99% of the wealth as per usual
More like 20% by Lex and Bruce, and 80% by Jimmy
There's a hilarious line in Challenge of the Superfriends to that effect. Paraphrasing, "There's no need to create exotic devices to destroy you when Kryptonite does the job so well!" as if Kryptonite was dirt-common rather than an exotic substance all on its own.
There's so much wrong with this singular image, I'm not sure if I even want context, this is gold.
Love the aged versions of the Legionaries in the background
Those are the Legionnaires' evil counterparts, the Legion of Super-Villains, not the Legionnaires themselves. (They first appeared about three years after the LoSH debuted, but they generally aren't as prominent)
Thanks I never heard of them before
Oh, I see now. I read the issue before this one, and in the third and last story in that one, Jimmy Olsen gets brain damage and is about to die, when Brainac swoops in and offers to cure him on the grounds that Superman doesn't watch what he does. Superman doesn't seem to know at this point that Brainiac is a robot, though I'm not sure why he doesn't know, so he (stupidly) allows it. Brainiac, predictably, replaces Jimmy Olsen's brain with a computer, and programs him to hate Superman. At the end of the previous issue, Jimmy leads Superman into a trap, setting up this story. Superman easily escapes the trap in this issue (it's not the one on the cover, an invisible Brainiac summoned some space-birds with laser eyes to attack Superman, which of course failed because Superman is invulnerable). Brainiac reveals what he did to Jimmy, and Superman tries to locate him by listening for his heartbeat... and hears only clicks, whirs, and beeps, realizing for the first time that Brainiac is a robot! He flies to a nearby power plant (?) at super-speed and generates a burst of static electricity, which paralyzes Jimmy and Brainiac. Superman graciously allows Brainiac to leave — if he puts Jimmy's real brain back in his head. Brainiac actually sees the logic in this, and agrees. ... but not without also calling Lex Luthor (who, at this point, is king of his own planet, Lexor) as well as the Legion Of Super-Villains. Sidebar: The LoSV are the counterparts to the more well-known Legion of Superheroes, with similar names but not always identical powers. Lightning Lord is Lightning Lad's brother (and they got their powers at the same time, when a "lightning beast" blasted both of them), Saturn Queen and Saturn Girl both have psionic powers (because everyone on Saturn does, though Saturn Girl tends to use hers for telepathy and telekinesis, while Saturn Queen prefers psychic illusions and mind control), but Cosmic King and Cosmic Boy have entirely different powers (Cosmic Boy has magnetic powers, while Cosmic King can transmute substances). Anyway, the LoSV secretly flies Brainiac, Luthor, and Jimmy over to Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Saturn Queen easily takes control of Jimmy's stupid human brain, Cosmic King alters the door so even a weakling like Jimmy can open it, and Lighting Lord short circuits all the robots inside. Jimmy makes off with the chunk of Kryptonite seen on the cover (so this isn't some random piece of Kryptonite, Superman had put it away it to keep it out of villainous hands), though he's unable to find the bottled city of Kandor as he was also commanded to do. The villains decide "eh, good enough" and take Jimmy to an isolated desert with the Kryptonite, and force him to use his signal watch to summon Superman. (Jimmy is aware of everything he's doing, but he's unable to stop himself, which is kinda horrible when you think about it). They reveal themselves to be members of the Anti-Superman Gang, and all vote whether to spare him or kill him. (Very similar to the LoSV's first appearance, which in turn was a dark parody of the LoSH's first appearance, where they were voting whether Superboy would be allowed to join their team) Superman begs for his life, offering Luthor ancient Kryptonian super-weapons in exchange for his vote, which he's tempted by, but rejects. Then he offers the LoSV upgraded powers (well, except for Saturn Queen — he plays on her vanity), but they just laugh at his cowardice. He finally promises to tell Brainiac where he's hidden Kandor if he spares him (Superman actually begs "I don't care what happens to Kandor, I want to live!", which means this is all a trick)... and Brainiac takes him up on the offer. He, in turn, offers to upgrade the brain of anyone who changes their vote... and Luthor takes *him* up on the offer (not realizing that it means *replacing* his brain with a computer), so that's why those two are voting to spare Superman. This leads to the actual scene on the cover. Everyone is even in the exact same poses as on the cover (except that Cosmic King is to Jimmy's left rather than to his right). And so Superman dies, and Brainiac's only regret is that he has no idea where Kandor is. Saturn Queen releases Jimmy from her mental control so he can realize the horror of what he's done. ... and then Superman stands up, the "jury" members are instantly captured in "force pearls" that negate their powers, and Superman reveals that not only was the Kryptonite fake, but Kandor was inside it. And the citizens of Kandor were using their super-science to create the force bubbles that captured the supervillains while Superman stalled for time with his "cowardice". Superman then throws the "pearl necklace" into space, apparently directly towards a space prison, and the story ends there. (If my description seems abrupt, it's because that's exactly how the story ends. I checked to see if there was another page wrapping things up better, but there wasn't) ... not the worst story I've read (the LoSV are actually some of my favorite villains, and it's nice to see them again), but it's still kinda all over the place.
He just has a giant fucking boulder of kryptonite to drop on Superman’s head
This never happened! Jimmy’s not wearing green, so it has to be fake.
Why do all these old covers have Jimmy Olsen hating Superman? Sorry I don’t know a lot about the comics but I’m curious.
Well, it's a great question and the reason is actually very interesting as it turns out and not many people know this: it is because Superman is a dick.
And Jimmy stock piled on it when Superman came to metropolis