A delicate throw back to the history of Superman but without having the burden of continuity, Grant Morrison and frequent Morrison collaborator Frank Quietly build a story that examines who Superman is and why he is The Superman.
I will be delving into spoilers but the point of the matter is that All-Star Superman is worth your time to look at, and if you are reading in the 2 volume format, read both as it is a 12 issue story.
The basic, running arc is a simple one. Superman, after performing an act set up by Lex Luthor, is dying. And as such he goes about checking things off his bucket list which include a list of 12 herculean style feats and the first thing he sets out to do is tell Lois and everything spins out from there.
The important thing to note is that this is a story where Clark has been granted near unbeatable status because he traveled through a sun for too long. This increased exposure of sunlight overclocked Superman. So overclocked that he is dying. It has also granted him powers that are back to his pre-crisis status. but much like Lois in chapter 3(during which a much forgotten ability to gift his own powers temporarily is revived, and thus as a birthday gift, Lois is granted the powers of Superman for 24 hours) these newfound super-super powers are temporary. What is really interesting is that Morrison uses this chapter explore a story that is a mirror to Clark's new ongoing plight. Repeatedly during this struggle he is reminded that sometimes he is powerless and that no matter what he does at the end of the day(or in his case the series) he too is limited.
Now it is during the third chapter that the trials are declared by Sampson as being 12 super challenges that Superman accomplishes right before he dies. It implies heavily that he has already completed one of them by granting Lois his powers. Now the question has been posed to me that if Clark could hand out his powers at anytime, why didn't he. I'd like to say the answer is fairly obvious but I'll spell it out anyways. Firstly, it was a recent decision that made it a goal for him to even be able to do such a thing. It had never been necessary for Superman to perform such feat. As to why he would do it here and for Lois seemed rather clear as well, that Superman wanted her to understand how he felt, and that he knew she too would like to feel that as well. In short, until he was dying, he never thought it necessary to even try and duplicate his own powers. And as the series progresses we see both the good and bad ramifications of such an action. It would later be confirmed by Grant Morrison to be the second of the 12 superman labors, Alchemizing the Super Elixir. See the second entry of the article I link to at the end for a complete span of the labors.
I would like to take this time now, since I devoted so many words to a argue against an opinion of an element that was considered to be not truthful to the mythos of Superman and point out a small moment(well sort of small) that shows just how perfectly Grant Morrison handles Superman. In issue 3, Clark continues a trend from the previous issue where for the first time in their relationship Clark gets to be Clark. Not the Clark persona, not The Superman persona, but Clark Kent, man who is also Superman. He gets to be truly honest with Lois. He doesn't have to fake anything, and yet that's all he's trying to do. He's a hybrid of the two characters, he's both the savior of mankind and a bumbling love-sick puppy. In truly human moments hes trying to muster up all of the courage in him and try and win Lois' heart as himself, not as Clark, not as The Superman, the symbol Lois worships, but as himself. And in doing so he has to compete for her love but this leads him to a confrontation with The Ultra Sphinx. And suddenly these two unbeatable foes come to a head and they must fight for Lois's life. But it isn't a physical battle it is a match of wits. The US asks Clark a simple question "What happens when the unstoppable force meets the unmovable object" Clark takes a moment to figure it out but in a very thoughtful moment he figures it out and he understands why the question is so relevant that he answers as he would in that situation, as he does in that situation. He answers simply that "They Surrender".
Clark knew that the Sphinx wasn't asking a riddle but a practical question regarding himself and Clark. It is a moment that shows just how smart and strong of character Clark is. It's also a reminder that the best times that the character is used is when he isn't smashing something, its when he's being clever.
There are also little details that bring the ending into question, whether or not Superman will really die. For starters he's Superman. Superman doesn't die(except that time he did...) but the most interesting red herring is a newspaper clipping from the future that says SUPERMAN DEAD. Of course, you are meant to look at the fact that Superman is dead, but if you carefully you'll notice the newspaper says that the article was written by none other than Clark Kent...
As the all-star adventure continues we get a further examination of who Superman is. We get a black kryptonite Superman(that's an evil Superman) and a Jimmy Olsen transformed into a Jimmy/doomsday creature. But really it is an examination of who Superman ISN'T. It is a fantastic deconstruction of just who Superman IS. This is continued in the plot with a visit to Lex Luthor. From the very first moment of the interaction between Lex Luthor and the Clark Kent persona we see Clark both being bumbling but at the same time still doing the right thing, even if it looks like it was purely by accident. Their discussion is both homoerotic and also the true epic conflict between Superman and Lex boiled down to a conversation. It is the real power of wit to demonstrate what could have been a simple conflict and give it meaning and depth by being about substance, not spectacle. There is also some fun moments of Clark who is Superman, trying to hide his identity as superman from Lex and Parasite. The whole ordeal is a reminder that no matter how smart Lex Luthor may be, he's never been smart enough to figure out that Clark Kent is Superman.
And to close out the first volume we get the meeting of the supermen. This is a reminder of The Death and Life of Superman story where 4 supermen arrived to take Clark's place after he died, though they weren't Superman. One came from another dimension, one came from a robot, one was a robot, and one was just a man who believed he had been possessed by the soul of superman. Here we have the Superman Squad, a team of supermen who are descendants of Superman from throughout time. Well and one very important fellow in Bandages. What this chapter really is, is an exploration of Superman's legacy as a character and to show that he has gone through a very specific and definite change over the course of his life. That Clark as a youngster isn't the same as Clark as an adult. Nor that Clark as a dying man is the same as the others.
As the second volume opens we get a look a Bizzaro Superman story. Now I want to say, knowing Grant Morrison, I was expecting something truly mind-blowing, but I wasn't ready for what I read. I feel like this is the real place where Morrison puts his touch of taste on the Superman mythos by crafting his very own take on Bizzaro. It is here we get a new process from which he is created. But this is just a small touch on what he introduces as the cliffhanger of the adventure, Zibarro. 1 in every 5 billion copies is said to be flawed, and that is Zibarro. The Bizzaro who isn't backwards. It is in Zibarro that we see just how Superman sees the world. Zibbaro wants to leave his planet but Superman is adamant on him staying. It is ultimately because Zibarro is hope for the Bizzaro home to be something more than it is. This all leads into the third story in this volume. Which is the Curse of the Replacement supermen. It is during this chapter we get one of my favorite lines of all time That I think sums up how to truly write what defines Superman the most "What right do I have to impose my values on anyone?" It so acutely defines why Superman is a universal hero. Its at this juncture that the subject of All-Star Superman, by merit of it's own writing, becomes clear: to clearly define Superman as the hero he truly is.
In chapter 10, we get Clark writing his last Will and Testament but he's doing it as Superman for the world. We are also given a look into all of what Superman can do in just a single day. It's quite remarkable especially considering how much we AREN'T seeing. This is a Superman. He slows himself down so that he can enjoy life with everyone else. It is at this juncture that Superman's mortality seems to be weighing down on him, we are seeing him fall to mortality and know that it is happening, and because he knows it is happening he is working harder than ever to accomplish everything he can. And it is in the last few pages of this chapter that we see what Clark came up with for his own legacy. He leaves Lois the future as he says, which when you read it you'll understand. But more importantly he leaves Clark Kent something. "The Headline of the Century" remember how I mentioned that there was doubt about Superman's fate because Clark Kent wrote the article? This is why. He did it so that Clark Kent would remain separate from Superman. So that the Legacy of Superman would remain for all of the world to see. For all of time to see.
As we hurdle towards our conclusion, we get chapter 11, Red Sun Day. It is here a villain of the silver age is brought out to play, the Red Sun Tyrant. Superman is forced to combat the challenges of fighting a literal Red Sun and to do so he brings on an ally that Grant Morrison has been building up since Issue 2. The Sun Eater. I don't want to spoil the fight because it isn't necessary to, but I will say it is a satisfactory conclusion.
I like to lump half of issue 11 and all of 12 together. This is major spoilers territory if anything would be here so I'm warning you now.
Lex proves his intellect and builds himself Superman's elixir. And with it survives his scheduled execution and instead has given himself the temporary powers of Superman. And he attacks the daily planet just as Clark Kent keels over dead. Same deal as above with this fight but I do want to say it defines why Lex is Lex and why Clark is Clark and how the two are forever different from each other. But Clark does get in his one final feat Super-Heroism. And in the closing pages we see that this has all been building towards a single future.
All-Star Superman is expertly written. Grant Morrison has the skill and knowledge on how to plan and plot an entire 12 issue maxi-series down to the smallest details before he writes the first script. How do I know this? I just reread in a 3 hour long session, both volumes of All-Star Superman. He does things with purpose. They appear to be fairly silly things, out there things, things not meant for more than just a laugh. But as I've done above, his work is meant to be taken as more than is overt. Grant Morrison assumes his readers are Smarter than most give them credit for. He assumes we are smart people who can dissect this on our own without acting like he doesn't know what he's doing. It isn't to say that he can't write a bad story, simply that when you call into question something he writes it is better to look at it with a deeper introspection than you would something else. He writes Graphic-Novels. Key word is Novels because this is as literary as they come. A high concept piece designed to examine every inch of who Superman is. And I agree with Mark Waid(writer of Kingdom Come)'s introduction to the series, this is the definitive Superman story. And I mean that as exactly what those words are, they define who this character is. I'm not an art critic, and some might find Frank Quietly's art a little off putting, but his ability to craft a page and convey emotion is masterful here.
I'd highly suggestion checking out the links I provide below. They offer some background info on the series in a ten part discussion of All-Star. I should also say that most Grant Morrison stories have bonus material on the internet like All-Star here that you can really dig deep into seeing, yeah Grant is a genius level writer. Reading his material will cost you a lot of sanity, but you'll more than make up for it in the knowledge points you'll gain.
To summarize, I love this story. I tend to love Grant Morrison stories once I give them a full on enjoyment like I did here. Morrison is the kind of man who should have his entire library of material collected with companion volumes of his explanations. Sure the text stands on its own, but with everything else it becomes this hyper-real collection of knowledge on a given subject. I for one can't wait for the day when his Batman run is completed so that I can hold the entire story together on my shelf. If it wasn't clear yet, this is an absolute A+ on comics. a 10. a 5/5. a 100. Any way you have to say perfect this is it. Now I get to feel sad as I go back to reading normal world material.
References:
All-Star Superman(printed as 1-12, reprinted as vol 1 and 2, and reprinted again as Absolute All-Star Superman).
And
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100821-All-Star-Morrison-01.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100822-Morrison-All-Star2.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100823-Morrison-Superman3.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100824-Morrison4-Superman.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100827-Morrison-Superman-05.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100828-Morrison-Superman6.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100829-Morrison-Superman7.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100830-Morrison-Superman8.html
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/100831-Morrison-Superman8.html
*note, yes this is the 9th article. even though it says 8, the date there in the middle confirms its a different page.
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/110803-Grant-Superman-10.html
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