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    Action Comics #1

    Action Comics » Action Comics #1 - Superman Versus the City of Tomorrow released by DC Comics on November 2011.

    Short summary describing this issue.

    Superman Versus the City of Tomorrow last edited by ltjfleetwood41 on 04/25/19 08:32AM View full history

    The one and only Grant Morrison (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN) returns to Superman, joined by sensational artist Rags Morales (IDENTITY CRISIS), to bring you tales of The Man of Steel unlike any you've ever read! This extra-sized debut issue is the cornerstone of the entire DC Universe!

    The Galaxy Building in downtown Metropolis. Home of Galaxy, Incorporated, and its CEO Glen “Mr. Metropolis” Glenmorgan, who now celebrates a deal brokered with a mysterious little man. The deal represents a turning point in Glenmorgan’s business, but his revelries are cut short by Metropolis’ recently self-appointed defender of social justice, a super-human champion of the city’s oppressed -- Superman!

    Metropolis police soon arrive on the scene. What they find is the whole of Glenmorgan’s security force incapacitated, and a little man fleeing the nearly demolished office, babbling about the vigilante’s impossible feats. Hurling Glenmorgan’s goons around as if they weighed nothing. Flames shooting from his eyes.

    A “madman” who now dangles Glenmorgan off the edge of a balcony and over the street dozens of stories below.

    The police, led by Sgt. Blake, demand at gunpoint that Superman release his hostage. He refuses. He demands that Glenmorgan confess to his crimes, that he face justice for endangering and exploiting Metropolis’ police. With Glenmorgan firmly in hand, he leaps from the balcony...

    ... only to land safely on the ground below!

    Superman taunts the corrupt businessman. “I can keep this up as long as you like, mister.” There in the street, Glenmorgan makes a whimpering confession.

    The police rush in, placing Superman under arrest. When he resists, one of the officers opens fire.

    Superman catches the bullet in his hand, unharmed.

    With a grin and a playful “Catch me if you can!” Superman is off and running. Blake takes that as his cue. He signals the nearby military base to spring their trap.

    Some of the biggest power brokers in Metropolis have come together to deal with the threat Superman poses to them; a conspiracy entangling Gen. Sam Lane of the United States Armed Forces, Sgt. Blake and several members of the Metropolis Police Department, Glen Glenmorgan, and for an exorbitant consulting fee, the smartest man alive: Lex Luthor.

    The pieces of Luthor’s trap fall into place, one after the other, as smoothly as dominoes. Superman is driven into Galileo Square in the New Moravia Triangle, a neighborhood marked for demolition and development by Galaxy, Inc. A neighborhood that has not yet been evacuated, forcing Superman to stop and save its inhabitants when Luthor unleashes Galaxy’s automated wrecking ball. As the people run to safety, a tank fires an electrified net at Superman, and he is briefly stunned by the charge. But he quickly recovers, attacking the tanks with the remains of the demolition equipment.

    Unfortunately for him, one of the tanks lands its shot and Superman goes down. As the gunner prepares to load another shell, however, the people of Galileo Square come to his rescue, encircling Superman, giving him a chance to recover. Advanced military drones give pursuit, but he leaps to an impossible height, defying even the laws of gravity in his escape.

    Hitching a ride with an overhead blimp, Superman makes his way to the other side of the city. On the rooftop of an apartment building, he removes his cape, hides his distinctive t-shirt beneath an oversized sweater, and dons a pair of eyeglasses. Even his demeanor changes, transforming him from a brash vigilante into an awkward but earnest young man, fresh out of college.

    In his day to day life, Superman is mild-mannered newspaper reporter, Clark Kent, a twenty-two year old writer who arrived in Metropolis six months ago from a farm town in Kansas called Smallville. His work for the Daily Star is considered an inspiration to so many readers.

    But it doesn’t help him pay his rent on time, a fact his landlady Mrs. Nyxly reminds him of. A recent story about Intergang’s influence on the dock workers’ union has earned him a decent paycheck, though, and he’s able to pay off all his back rent while they chat about Superman’s recent exploits. The neo-Nazis he dropped into the sewer works. The woman in Bakerline he saved from an abusive husband, throwing him out the window and into the river.

    As Kent steps outside to make a phone call, Mrs. Nyxly lets him know that some friends of his stopped by...

    Kent calls his friend Jimmy Olsen, a photographer for the Daily Planet, with news of his scoop on Glenmorgan. Olsen is currently with Planet reporter Lois Lane, who’s following her own leads on Glenmorgan’s illicit deeds. Hot on the trail of Glenmorgan’s one-time enforcer, Gus “Guns” Grundig, Lane and Olsen follow him onto a train...

    ... one of the trains Glenmorgan has just admitted to sabotaging with cheap labor and inferior parts. Kent warns them off, but Lane is determined to get her story.

    Outside, the Little Man has placed explosives along the tracks. As the train barrels out of control and the elevated railway collapses beneath it, it falls to Superman to save the day. Though the bullet train falls into the streets below, Superman is strong enough to prevent any loss of life.

    In a military bunker just outside the city, Gen Sam Lane is furious. He knows that Luthor is behind the train’s malfunction, working in tandem with Glenmorgan and the Little Man. He knows that Luthor has endangered his daughter Lois’ life.

    But despite this, Luthor has done exactly what he was hired to do. Aiming the world’s biggest bullet directly at him, Lex Luthor has delivered the Superman!

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    User reviews Add new review

    5 (26)
    4 (8)
    3 (3)
    2 (1)
    1 (1)
    4.6 stars

    Average score of 39 user reviews

    A New Golden Age 0

    I’ve waited a long time for this issue. I’ve engaged in a lot of smack talk leading up to it. I couldn’t be more thrilled with how Grant Morrison’s Action Comics #1 actually turned out. This is the Golden Age version of Superman perfectly updated for our modern world. Superman is acting as a social crusader for an economy in recession just as the first version of Superman did for the 1930’s depression. He really shows himself to be the “Champion of the Oppressed” once again in one memorable scen...

    14 out of 14 found this review helpful.

    Superman going back to his roots 0

        Cover I picked this issue at whim. I always liked Superman but I never could get into Action Comics or his own series because there were so many issues and I never knew where to start. But now with the reboot happening I took my chances and picked up this issue because I saw that I would not be lost because on the cover it says issue 1. I also really like Superman’s costume for the cover. It is different from the usual Superman costume but not drastically different. I think jeans look good ...

    12 out of 12 found this review helpful.

    Morrison Has Done It! 0

    On one level, DC has already succeeded with their New 52 initiative – at least for month one.   I have about 4 Superman comics from the late 1990s (or early 2000s) and I think they were all gifts.   Other than reading The Death Of Superman in elementary school I’ve never been a reader of Superman.   Yet, here I am reading Action Comics #1.   Sure, part of that is Grant Morrison’s name, but it’s also partly due to the fact that they’re retooling him into being less of a tool.   As he was until n...

    6 out of 6 found this review helpful.
    See all user reviews

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