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PREVIOUSLY IN THE SUPERMAN TITLES…
• Superman has teamed up with the Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century over in ACTION COMICS to battle the Justice League of Earth and prevent a galactic war between the United Planets and Earth.
• Superman and Batman, in SUPERMAN/BATMAN of course, went on a mission to rid the world of kryptonite to help make Superman jobs easier. In the process of doing that, they discovered a new form of kryptonite that has magical abilities.
• While saving a young boy from a collapsing building in SUPERGIRL, Kara realizes the promise she made to save his life had an entirely different meaning to the boy… he has brain cancer and only weeks to live.
RECENTLY IN SUPERMAN…
• Lana’s DNA was used to help create a new body for the Insect Queen, but Superman was able to save the day, suspending the Insect Queen in amber. The red sun-generating watch Clark gave Chris to control his powers actually was storing his powers until it caused an explosion of powers from Chris, destroying the Kent’s apartment.
SUPERMAN #674
Kurt Busiek (W)/Renato Guedes (A)
SUMMARY OF STEEL
Shadows Linger, Part One: Bright Tomorrows
• Clark surprises Lois & Chris with their newly remodeled apartment. New features in the apartment include “smart glass” windows which can be used to project any television channel in the world and a gateway to the Fortress of Solitude based on the JLA’s “door” technology.
• After the grand tour, the Kents decide on Chinese for dinner, so they naturally go to Hong Kong, where Clark tells Lois that even with Arion defeated, he still is concerned by his predictions of doom and he must be prepared in case they come true.
• Some time later, at the Fortress of Solitude, Superman is conducting experiments that would allow the Daxamite known as Mon-El to leave the Phantom Zone without the lead inside his body killing him. Unfortunately, the experiment is not a success.
• A Superman readies the next test, Mon-El (Lar Gand) tells him of an adventure where he went looking for a fable spaceport from years ago when the Daxamites supposedly traveled the cosmos. Upon discovering the port and a spaceship, the Priest-Elders told him it was a forbidden area and he was told to leave immediately. It is the Priest-Elders that decide who can use what technology.
• Days later at the Daily Planet, Perry White is talking to Clark about an assignment when someone or something crashes through the building, dragging Clark outside (thus tearing his civilian clothes to tatters, revealing only his Superman outfit).
• The attacker is Paragon, a villain who can duplicate any superpowers. He had recently escaped from prison when a battle between two meta humans strayed too close to the prison and he was able to use their powers. Paragon tells Superman the standard villainous reasons why he is there, but also revenge for the years he wasted in prison thanks to the JLA.
• Superman eventually gets Paragon to chase him all the way to the Fortress of Solitude to drain his stored up powers. Superman shows Paragon the red-sun generator watch Chris previously wore. If used, Paragon would not make it back to civilization because there would be no powers to drain from Superman.
• Paragon realizes this, but then tells Superman to go ahead and use it because he’ll be fine. Superman turns around to see the Priest-Elders Mon-El previously spoke of. They demand that Superman return Mon-El to Daxam for punishment or face death…
UNLIMITED CHANNELS
Yikes, I’d hate to see the cable bill for THAT.
WHAT AN EXIT
That’s going to be kind of tough to explain for Clark.
