All Star Superman #10

We open with the coolest field trip a kid could ask for.

Superman is terminal--diagnosed with solar radiation cancer--and is spending his final days preparing his foster planet for a world without Superman. This means shuttling the terminally ill children of Metropolis around the globe for some sight-seeing. By the end of this issue, he will also pave the way for a cure to their illnesses.

Superman is dying of cancer, and he's accepted his fate. He's even gotten confirmation from the future. This is it. So, in issue 10, Kal-El is writing his will and putting his affairs in order. There's the whole bottle city problem. He's yet to find a way to get those noble Kandorans back to full height. He's been avoiding Lois too, unsure of where their relationship could even have gone without the threat of cancer. He could never promise her children. He worries about the future of mankind, and visits Luthor on death row. "You have three weeks. There's still time for you to help them, Lex." Luthor's response to Superman's endorsement as new champion for human progress? A spit in the face.

The immense challenge for any writer of Superman is to create drama and suspense for a true demi-god, a near immortal fighting force with apple pie morality in spades. Past writers have turned to monolithic threats, devising bigger and bigger villains who use brute force or magic to nullify Superman's own strengths. But the escalation can only go so far, and resolutions to these conflicts are often less than satisfying. In his All-Star Superman series, Grant Morrison has come to accept that the true route to drama for the big blue boy scout is not through a cackling antagonist. Instead, he has focused his attention on Superman's sense of responsibility. His hero complex.

Superman is frustrated, floundering to find a legacy like a president at the end of his term. And he's dying. But Morrison does not choose to imbue Superman with a yearning to find religion (maybe because he already is one?) No, Superman turns to science.

The greatest solution to the Kandor problem? Tiny super-doctors. While Kandor finds a new home on Mars, the best and brightest utilize the same sun Superman draws his own powers from to become microscopic fighters of disease. They're too late to save Superman from his own cancer, but they're ready to help Superman's young friends in the pediatric oncology ward.

Oh, and Superman's cracked his own genome. And he has the recipe for mixin' human and Kryptonian genetic material too.

This is a sensational issue with a lot going on. Quitely is tasked with drawing giant robots, Kryptonian skin and blood cells, emerging civilizations, and a dying hero. He does it all with incredible precision. Morrison tackles some big themes and high concepts. He's really mined the archives for a big, all-encompassing Superman story, but he's also escaped the hokey tone which usually accompanies the props he's using. It's a modern story with strong philosophical and metaphysical elements. I do wonder whether he may have taken on too many subplots in this issue. The Lois material, in particular, seems like it may have benefited from its own issue. It's all great stuff, but you can see that he really had to cram a lot into those pages.

It's happening with much less fanfare, but this second Death of Superman is handling the fall of a superhero with a hell of a lot more depth and sophistication.

Panel of the week? Check out that first image of the hospital room on page 1. Quitely filled the room with some nice extras, like a child's rendering of the previous panel (Superman carrying the bus over Giza) and another poster on the wall showcasing a past trip to the tower of Pisa.