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"Superman: A Nation Divided": As Ulysses S. Grant's besieged Vicksburg, Pvt. Atticus Kent was hit by a cannonball, but was unharmed (much to his surprise) and subsequently went on a rampage against the defending Confederate Army, with seemingly no effort, ending with his capture of John C. Pembe

Superman: A Nation Divided is a one-shot published in 1999.

Synopsis for "Superman: A Nation Divided"

As Ulysses S. Grant's besieged Vicksburg, Pvt. Atticus Kent was hit by a cannonball, but was unharmed (much to his surprise) and subsequently went on a rampage against the defending Confederate Army, with seemingly no effort, ending with his capture of John C. Pemberton and the Union capture of the city. After Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman learned what had happened, they decided to use Atticus as their secret weapon and when he attacked a Confederate train and was blown away by an explosion, he realized that he could fly.

Lincoln later read about Atticus from Grant's letter before both he and Frederick Douglass met their secret weapon and witnessed the display of his power. Atticus also delivered Sherman's letter to Lincoln about Atlanta being taken without a single shot having been fired. During the Battle of Gettysburg, Atticus captured J.E.B. Stuart and flew him to George Armstrong Custer's side before also capturing Robert E. Lee. Afterwards, he had continued to fight Confederate resistance before also capturing Jefferson Davis, followed by the last enemy unit surrendering.

After the war, Atticus went to Ford's Theater with Lincoln and saved him from being assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. On September 7, 1863, Atticus organized a secret service to protect the president, on May 23, 1864, Lincoln tasked him with overseeing Reconstruction, on March 4, 1865, Atticus stood by Lincoln beneath the completed Capitol dome, as the latter was sworn in for his second term as president.

On May 22 of that year, he visited his dying mother in Kansas during her last moments and after burying her, Pa Kent told him that he had actually been adopted after being found in an "egg" that fell from the sky, although he had kept this a secret from even Ma Kent. After finding the "egg" again, Atticus met his real father Jor-El, who told him through a message about how he was sent to Earth from his dying planet of Krypton and as well as that Native Americans' existence was threatened by settlers' westward expansion. After learning of the latter, he had decided to resign from the Union Army and move west to protect the natives.

Appearing in "Superman: A Nation Divided"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Confederate
  • Union
  • Johnson family (Flashback and main story)
    • Mr. Johnson (Flashback and main story)
  • Uncle Ezra (Mentioned only)
  • Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe (Mentioned only)
  • William Shakespeare (Mentioned only)
  • Baby Kent (1843) (Mentioned only)
  • Baby Kent (1844) (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Items:


Vehicles:



Notes

  • Reprinted in Elseworlds: Superman Vol. 1.
  • In Absolute Crisis on Infinite Earths, the setting of Superman: A Nation Divided was canonized as Earth-1863.

Trivia

  • Lincoln's exasperated response to General Ulysses Grant's letter regarding Superman and saying "Has Grant been drinking?" is a reference to Grant's perceived alcoholism that was greatly exaggerated by his detractors.
  • Frederick Douglass mentions the Siege of Port Hudson and Battle of Milliken's Bend. Black Union soldiers participated in these battles, a fact which influenced their military recognition.
  • At Ford's Theatre, Superman and Lincoln attended a performance of William Shakespeare's As You Like It, while historically the performance was Our American Cousin.
  • Atticus' new frontier attire and his silver horse is an implied reference that he becomes this world's Lone Ranger, the heroic former Texas Ranger.


See Also


Links and References

Superman Our Worlds at War Vol 1 TP
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