Kingdom Come (Collected) Vol 1 1
Talk0this wiki
Appearing in "Strange Visitor"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Strange Visitor"
- There were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake...and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood. There fell a great star from heaven, burning as if it were a lamp...and I beheld, and heard an Angel, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, WOE to the inhabiters of the earth.
The story begins with Wesley Dodds speaking with his pastor, Norman McKay, as he is reading from the book of Revelation in the Bible. Dodds has begun seeing visions related to that book and is trying to tell Norman about them. However, he dies before he can explain them.
While walking sometime after the funeral, Norman reflects on Dodds' life. Doods had once been the Sandman. During his later life, Dodds had been worried about the world's current superheroes, who lack the morals of their predecessors. As Norman reflects on this, a fight between some of the modern heroes fight and Norman hopes that mankind can out last these heroes.
These thoughts leaked into Norman's next sermon subconsciously. After the sermon, Spectre appear to Norman. Spectre was supposed to use Dodds for his host as he witnessed the events of the coming armageddon, but has to use Norman because he is now having the visions.
They are first transported to a farm in Kansas (which turns out to be a holographic environment created in the Fortress of Solitude) where an aged Superman lives. Wonder Woman comes and tries to convince Superman that he needs to come out of retirement to help the world. Inside the house, they watch footage of a battle between a team of new heroes lead by Magog battling Parasite. Parasite pulled apart Captain Atom, causing a nuclear explosion that completely destroyed Kansas.
The Spectre than shows Norman that some of the old heroes still remain. The Flash still patrols Keystone City, Hawkman protects the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and the Green Lantern watches Earth from an emerald city in orbit. Others, such as Aquaman, the Amazons, and the Legion of Super-Heroes abandoned the world to its fate. When asked about Batman, the Spectre shows that he's now using robots to patrol Gotham City.
The Spectre takes them to Metropolis, where they see some of the modern heroes having a shoot out on a suspension bridge and a tram full of innocents. The tram's cable was cut, but Superman was able to save it in time. Everyone was thrilled to see Superman save the day once more, but Norman was able to see this was just the beginning of the armageddon.
Appearing in "Truth and Justice"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Truth and Justice"
- And I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer, and the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar...and the seven angels prepared themselves to sound...
Norman McKay is now seeing a vision of "seven angels" bathed in the fire of what appears to be the torch of the Statue of Liberty. He and the Spectre are taken to where the vision leads them: to the Statue of Liberty where the Americommando, a gun-toting fascist, fires upon immigrants approaching Ellis Island with his Minutemen, warning them to leave America or else. He is soon diverted by a trio of robots, Red, White, and Blue, attacking him, but their personal battle is in the middle of innocents who they care very little for. This battle is interrupted by Superman...and he isn't alone: he is joined by seven others from the Justice League who have returned to duty to deal not only with them, but also with two psionics called the Brain Trust who were using this personal battle for their own ends. They were both rendered unconscious by the appearance of Red Robin, a former partner of Batman who has also joined Superman's team.
After the successful confrontation, Superman and his Justice League allies appear at the United Nations to address the press conference gathered there that they will deal with the rogue superhumans on the loose. However, the Secretary-General of the United Nations isn't confident of Superman's means to achieve their goals, and neither is Bruce Wayne, who retired his identity as Batman but not the desire to continue working as a hero, willing to join Superman's reformed Justice League for that purpose. Nonetheless, Superman and the Justice League press forward with their intended goal, negotiating with superhumans who are willing to join the cause and using force on those who oppose them.
Meanwhile, Lex Luthor has assembled a team of retired villains, calling themselves the Mankind Liberation Front, intending to use the battle between Superman's Justice League and the rogue superhumans to their own ends and purposes. Among them, Norman McKay and the Spectre see an adult Billy Batson as a servant to Lex Luthor, pleasantly giving Lex a shave.
At a nightclub where a group of random superhumans cavort, Superman gets their attention to deliver a message: that they should willingly join the League or else they will be dealt with. As Nightstar and Avia consider taking up Superman's offer to join him after he leaves, Oliver Queen shows up to offer them an alternative.
However, Superman is beginning to see more superhumans choosing to turn against the League rather than join them, so after some failed negotiation talks with Arthur Curry (who has surrendered his Aquaman identity to his former protege to take on his role as the king of Atlantis) and with Orion (who has killed his father Darkseid and has taken his place as the fearsome ruler of Apokolips), he turns to Mr. Miracle and his wife Big Barda for the answers.
Soon they find Magog standing on what's left of the Kansas landscape, futilely trying to rebuild, and Superman confronts him for the disaster he's caused. Magog blames Superman for the disaster, saying it all started when the Joker killed the Daily Planet staff, including Superman's wife Lois Lane. As the Joker was being brought into custody, Magog killed him with a blast from his energy staff. Superman brought Magog into court for his actions, but the judge ruled in favor of Magog, considering his actions "justifiable" and acquitting him. Rather than accepting Magog's challenge to fight him, Superman simply took off and was never seen until the present time. It is then Magog knew the real reason Superman took off: it wasn't that he feared Magog, but rather he feared that Magog was the kind of hero people wanted and the kind of future he represented. As Superman mockingly says to Magog, "You must be proud", he angrily blasts Superman with his staff before kneeling down in defeat, wanting Superman to kill him or do anything to take away the voices of a million ghosts haunting him.
While Superman and the Justice League are busy building "a stronghold of justice" using plans given to him by Mr. Miracle, Bruce Wayne is seen making an unseemly alliance with Lex Luthor's team of villains.
Appearing in "Up in the Sky"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Up in the Sky"
- ...and he cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth, and when he cried, seven thunders uttered their voices...
Norman McKay sees yet another vision, this time of Captain Marvel calling down lightning upon himself. These visions he is seeing are what he believes are "dreams of Armageddon". He and the Spectre are now taken to an ominous-looking dome that now stands upon the Kansas wastelands: this dome is Superman's reformation center for superhumans, called the "Gulag". Due to its vast size, it was intended to house prisoners for months to come, but within two weeks of its construction it filled beyond capacity, though due to its architect and warden it was able to contain its numbers. Kryptonian battlesuit robots stand guard watching over the residents in the "Gulag's" beautiful environment. Dissenters among them mock at the Superman holograms trying to educate them of the proper use of their powers and abilities, with Captain Comet dealing with the hard-case types like Von Bach. Meanwhile, Lex Luthor uses White's "eye" to spy on the simmering stew of unrest within the "Gulag". Norman McKay and the Spectre also notice the Quintessence looking down upon Billy Batson being with Luthor, with Shazam pleading with his fellows for understanding regarding Batson. As the Spectre engages with the Quintessence in conversation, McKay speaks with Deadman, who at this point is now a spirit in skeletal form wearing rotted circus acrobat clothes.
Outside the Green Lantern's satellite which is being used as the Justice League headquarters, Superman and Wonder Woman have a peaceful discussion as they fling rocks around some asteroids, with Wonder Woman telling Superman that she had been ousted from Paradise Island for failing in her mission as the Amazons' ambassador for peace.
In the heart of an underground lab, Lex Luthor subjects Billy Batson to torture by making him watch gruesome images of him and his friends being slaughtered by superhumans and causing worms to crawl in and out of Batson's ears, keeping him from saying Shazam's name. Luthor later joins with Bruce Wayne in a special war room where Wayne reveals his team of superhumans who are ready to lend their support to the cause of the Mankind Liberation Front. Secretly, though, Wayne speaks with John Jones, formerly the Martian Manhunter but now crippled in his abilities, in the hopes of finding out what his friend had sensed.
As Superman looks down upon the Earth with his telescopic vision checking for superhuman activity, Red Robin speaks with his former Teen Titans members about his growing concerns that Superman's plans would eventually fail. Norman McKay finds himself suddenly pulled from the spirit realm into reality to face a Superman who's wondering why he's here. McKay's only answer comes from Scripture: "...and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up...and the sun and the air were darkened...fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come." While Superman is confused over the cryptic message, Red Robin notices that a riot has broken out in the "Gulag". As McKay vanishes with the Spectre, Wonder Woman sends Flash, Green Lantern, and Power Woman to deal with the situation while she and Superman speak to the Secretary-General of the United Nations about their growing concerns of the "Gulag".
In the main office of the Mankind Liberation Front, Lex Luthor is pleased to report about the riot going on at the "Gulag" and now is ready to send Billy Batson into action to do his bidding. Bruce Wayne keeps Batson from calling upon Shazam, telling him he now knows what Luthor has done to him and his mind. With Luthor now feeling betrayed, Wayne tells his assembled team of superhumans to strike, instantly stopping most of Luthor's team, while Luthor attempts to escape, only to be confronted by an army of activated Batknights. Wayne now tries to reason with Batson as he himself flees, only to accidentally cause a flask of worms to break and cover him with worms. Scared at the sight, Batson calls upon Shazam and soon vanishes.
At the Green Lantern satellite, Wonder Woman dresses herself in golden eagle armor and girds her magical sword to her waist as Superman tries to reason with her on how to deal with the rioters. Then suddenly news comes from Green Lantern: the prisoners are now starting to breach the walls, and they have killed Captain Comet. Angered at the loss, Wonder Woman leads a team to go to the "Gulag" and force the prisoners to surrender or else. Seeing that she cannot get Superman to see that her way of dealing with the superhumans may be the right way, Wonder Woman gives him a farewell kiss before she departs.
At that, Superman races to Bruce Wayne's Batcave in a last-ditch effort to have his friend and former ally join him in his cause. All Wayne can tell Superman is that Captain Marvel has been brainwashed and is now heading for the "Gulag" to burst it wide open.
Superman races as fast as possible to reach the "Gulag" before Captain Marvel gets there, but it is too late. Lightning strikes the dome, allowing its residents to spill out to engage the Justice League team in an all-out battle. Superman himself is knocked out of the sky as Captain Marvel now engages him in a one-on-one confrontation.
Norman McKay sees that Armageddon has arrived.
Appearing in "Never-Ending Battle"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Villains:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Never-Ending Battle"
- There were voices...and thunderings, and lightnings...and an earthquake. This was my dream...no more.
As Norman McKay and the Spectre watch, Armageddon has begun. The Justice League is locked in a battle with the rogue superhumans who have escaped the "Gulag" and are now out to wage war with them. Superman is fighting a hopeless battle with his equal Captain Marvel, who has been brainwashed by Lex Luthor. McKay pleads with the Spectre to make it stop, but the Spectre says he cannot take action yet, that there must be "a reckoning". All he can tell McKay is, "fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come."
Meanwhile, at the United Nations general assembly, the Secretary-General decides to take action to deal with the rogue superhuman problem once and for all: nuclear devices that are capable of destroying all metahuman life except for Superman. He sends forth the Blackhawk pilots to do the unthinkable job of delivering this destructive payload, and as he returns to his office and watches the planes take off, he slumps in his seat and hangs his head.
Back at the "Gulag", the Justice League seems hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched when Batman's team of superhumans shows up for assistance. Batman personally confronts Wonder Woman as she kills Von Bach before he crushes Zatara to death, suggesting that the real reason she was stripped of her duties and heritage on Paradise Island was that she was not strident enough with her mission. Angered, Wonder Woman turns on Batman and takes him up into the sky to personally deal with him when they both see the Blackhawk planes arriving with the bombs. Batman helps Wonder Woman see what her regaining her Amazon honor will cost her and others if she lets the bombs drop, and so she helps him take out the planes, though one of them manages to drop its payload down toward the warring crowd.
Back on Earth, Captain Marvel continually pelts Superman with his Shazam lightning bolts as he darts out of the way, until Superman finally grabs Captain Marvel as he calls upon Shazam's name, letting the lightning bolt turn Captain Marvel back into Billy Batson. He grabs Batson's mouth and clamps it shut while he tries to reason with Batson, making him see the urgency of a bomb being dropped that will destroy all superhumans except for Superman. He lets Batson make the decision of what's more important to him as he flies off to intercept the bomb. Batson speaks Shazam's name again and transforms into Captain Marvel, flinging Superman to the ground as he outraces the Man of Steel and intercepts the bomb first. He calls upon Shazam's name three times, and the lightning bolt ignites the bomb, consuming all superhumans in a mushroom cloud except for Superman and whoever was protected by the Green Lanterns' power rings.
Enraged by the massive loss of life by this extreme act, Superman flies off in a rage toward the United Nations and seals the doors shut, terrifying all the people within as he threatens to pull down the whole building on top of them. The Spectre takes Norman McKay to the United Nations building to try talking some sense into Superman, to make him see the humanity that he's ignored all those years believing that he was a god. Superman eventually relents, and joined with Batman, Wonder Woman, and the survivors of the battle, he forges a new relationship with the people to not solve their problems for them, but to solve their problems alongside them, not imposing their power among men but working to earn their trust. As the gathered heroes remove their masks and helmets as a symbol of good faith toward that end, Superman hangs the cape of Captain Marvel on a flagpole as a memorial.
At the conclusion of the tale, Batman turns his ruined Wayne Manor into a hospital, using Lex Luthor and most of the members of his Mankind Liberation Front as part of his "staff". Wonder Woman is restored to her rightful place as the princess of Paradise Island and now begins her role as a teacher of superhumans. Superman begins his work restoring the Kansas wasteland into a productive and fertile land for farming. And the Spectre, after showing Norman McKay his once human side as Jim Corrigan, returns the pastor to his church, where he now preaches a message of hope to his congregation.
One Year Later...
Superman and Wonder Woman meet with Batman in their civilian identities at the Planet Krypton restaurant, where they share news with each other about what's been going on in their lives over the past year. However, the real reason for this meeting is the news that Diana and Clark wanted to share with Bruce, which he easily figures out: she is pregnant with Clark's child. What catches Bruce off guard, though, is that Diana wants him to be the godparent, despite Bruce's record as a parent with his former wards. Both Clark and Diana see that Bruce can teach their child things they themselves cannot teach: lessons about mortality and morality from a man they both trust. As Clark and Bruce make their peace and then leave together with Diana to discuss what a future they will have with the child, Norman McKay is seen with Jim Corrigan talking about "the Spectre Platter".
Notes
- This collection reprints the Kingdom Come limited series. Issues include:
Trivia
- No trivia.
See Also
- Write your own review of this comic!
- Discuss Kingdom Come (Collected) Vol 1 1 on the forums
- Cover gallery for the Kingdom Come series
- Images from Kingdom Come (Collected) Vol 1 1
Recommended Reading
- None.
Links and References
- No external links.
Warning: Default sort key "Kingdom Come 5" overrides earlier default sort key "Kingdom Come (Collected) Vol 1 0001".
| This article is a comic stub.
You can help The DC Database Project by editing its content. We have prepared templates as a guide to page creation. Please consider using the comic template for this particular page. |  |
Start a Discussion Discussions about Kingdom Come (Collected) Vol 1 1
You can find discussions about everything related to this wiki on DC Database Forum!
