Kingdom Come (comics)

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Kingdom Come
Cover to the Absolute Kingdom Come Hardcover edition (2006). Art by Alex Ross.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Mini-series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	May – August, 1996
Number of issues	4
Main character(s)	Superman Batman Wonder Woman The Spectre Norman McCay
Creative team
Writer(s)	Mark Waid
Artist(s)	Alex Ross
Letterer(s)	Todd Klein
Editor(s)	Bob Kahan Dan Raspler Jim Spivey Peter Tomasi
Collected editions
Absolute edition	ISBN 1401207685
Hardcover	ISBN 1563893177
Softcover	ISBN 1563893304

Kingdom Come is a four-issue comic book mini-series published in 1996 by DC Comics. It was written by Mark Waid and painted in gouache by Alex Ross, who also developed the concept from an original idea (although some have claimed that the story holds strong similarities with the 1987 Alan Moore proposal, Twilight of the Superheroes). Set some 20 years into the future of the then-current DC Universe, it deals with a growing conflict between "traditional" superheroes, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League, and a growing population of largely amoral and dangerously irresponsible new vigilantes. Between these two groups is Batman and his assembled team, who attempt to contain the escalating disaster, foil the machinations of Lex Luthor, and prevent a world-ending superhuman war.

The series draws heavily on Biblical apocalyptic imagery, especially that of the Book of Revelation.

Contents 1 Development 2 Plot 3 Characters 3.1 Superman's Justice League 3.2 Batman's "Outsiders" 3.3 Luthor's Mankind Liberation Front 3.4 Rogue metahumans 3.5 Others 4 Appearances in mainstream continuity 4.1 The Kingdom 4.2 Thy Kingdom Come 5 Collected editions 6 Awards 7 Spin-offs 7.1 Audio play 7.2 The Comicology Kingdom Come Companion 7.3 Novel 7.4 Trading cards 7.5 Action figures 8 Album inspiration 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Development

When comic book artist Alex Ross was working on Marvels, published in 1994, he decided to create a similar "grand opus" about characters from DC Comics. Ross wrote a 40-page handwritten outline of what would become Kingdom Come and pitched the idea to James Dale Robinson as a project similar in scope to Watchmen (1986-1987) and Alan Moore's infamous "lost work" Twilight of the Superheroes. Ultimately, Ross teamed with writer Mark Waid, who was recommended by DC editors due to his strong familiarity with the history of DC superheroes.^[1]

[edit] Plot

The story is set roughly a generation after the then-current DC universe. Ten years prior to the start of the story, the Joker massacres the staff of the Daily Planet, killing (among others) Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and Lois Lane. As he arrives for his trial, he is killed by a new superhero named Magog. In an instance of Jury nullification, Magog is acquitted for his cold-blooded act and Superman is appalled by the public embracing a killer as a hero. Already disheartened at the death of Lois Lane, Kal-El abandons his life as Superman, retreating to his Fortress of Solitude where he will spend the next decade, failing to realize his importance as a constant inspiration/role model to other heroes. Other heroes, equally disturbed at the public's overwhelmingly positive reaction to Magog's actions, withdraw from the world at large.

Eventually Superman is coaxed back into action by Wonder Woman and decides to return to Metropolis and re-form the Justice League following the Kansas disaster to rein in the new breed of heroes. He manages to collect former heroes (including Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman, and Dick Grayson, now known as Red Robin, among others) and reformed "new heroes," such as Avia, (Mr. Miracle and Big Barda's daughter), but Batman, one of the most prominent of the old guard, refuses to join Superman's crusade. Batman believes Superman's idealist notions are outdated and that his interference will only exacerbate the problem. He interprets Superman's plan as an example of the strong exerting their will upon the weak, something to which he will not be party. He instead begins to organize a third group of heroes, made up largely of non-powered heroes like Green Arrow and the Blue Beetle, as well as second and third generation heroes like Jade, daughter of the first Green Lantern, and Zatara, son of Zatanna and grandson of the first generation hero whose name he shares.

Superman's Justice League gathers more captives than converts, and his prison (nicknamed 'The Gulag') is filled to capacity almost as soon as it is built. Superman designates Captain Comet as warden and works to persuade the inmates that their methods are wrong-headed and dangerous, but his entreaties fall upon deaf ears. With hostile hero-villains like 666, Kabuki Kommando, and Von Bach locked up together, pressure builds. Meanwhile, Superman, urged on by Wonder Woman, reacts with increasing inflexibility towards the inappropriate behavior of the metahuman community. He learns that Wonder Woman's ardent militant stance may be influenced by her recent exile from Paradise Island: in the eyes of the Amazons, her mission to bring peace to the outside world has failed. While this happens, The Batman double crosses Lex Luthor by faking a fellowship between 'The Outsiders' and the Mankind Liberation Front just to uncover Luthor's wild card: a brainwashed Billy Batson, the alter ego of Captain Marvel.

As the conditions worsen, the United Nations Secretary General Wyrmwood authorizes the deployment of three tactical nuclear warheads, hardened against certain metahuman powers. While this action will destroy hero and villain alike, the UN feels it has no choice in the matter: if humanity is to survive, metahumanity must be destroyed. The action is ensued when Luthor's plan to liberate the already rioted prisoners of the Gulag who are set freed by Captain Marvel, causing a massive war between the two factions of heroes.

Captain Marvel himself takes on Superman in battle, using the magic lightning bolt that gives him his powers to demobilize Superman. Superman finally manages to grab and apprehend Marvel, forcing him to change back to Billy. Superman pleads with Billy to overcome his brainwashing and help him stop the warhead before it kills everyone. Billy responds by turning back into Captain Marvel and flying up to the approaching warhead, using his lightning bolt to set off the bomb prematurely and killing himself in the process. Despite Marvel's sacrifice, however, Superman finds himself the lone apparent survivor of the blast, surrounded by scores of dead metahumans.

The bloody backlash of the events at the Gulag drive an angered Superman to the United Nations to set the problem straight once and for all, no matter at what cost. But Norman McCay serves as the voice of reason and thus letting the metahumans and humans to engage dialogue to find the path of unity and settle the strife once and for all. Superman also learns that several of the heroes, including Batman and Wonder Woman, actually survived the blast as well.

Batman abandons his crusade and becomes a healer, opening his mansion as a hospital to care for those wounded by the destruction of Kansas and the ensuing violence. He also reconciles with both Dick Grayson/Red Robin, and his son Ibn al Xu'ffasch. Superman lashes himself to a giant plow and begins the arduous task of restoring the Midwestern farmlands, devastated in the Justice Battalion attempt to capture the Parasite. He even comes to terms with his past as Clark Kent by accepting a pair of glasses from Wonder Woman, and shares a kiss with her before she returns to Paradise Island. It is a fitting parallel to the end of the generational conflict that started the war, as both men have come full circle in their lives and adopted the vocations of their fathers; Thomas Wayne, the doctor, and Jonathan Kent, the farmer.

[edit] Characters

Although an Elseworlds tale, Kingdom Come was for all intents and purposes set in the future of the then-current mainstream DC Universe, as reflected by the general lack of explicit contradictions to characters' established continuity at that time (unlike Ross' later series Justice) that are the cornerstone of most Elseworlds titles. This included ensuring that characters who were dead in DCU at the time of publication (e.g. Barry Allen, Hal Jordan and Jason Todd) remained so, as well as conforming to the post-Crisis mix of originally segregated characters from the Golden and Silver Ages, as well as characters from companies acquired by DC such as Captain Marvel all co-existing in the same reality. Other subtle indicators were used such as portraying Hawkman in a fashion consistent with his post-Zero Hour "Hawk-god" form ^[2], and Superman having long hair in flashbacks, as he did in the mid-90s. Whether this implicit adherence to 1996 DCU continuity in the creation of Kingdom Come's extrapolated future was the result of elective choice on the part of the authors or via editorial mandate is unknown.

There were cameo references to Watchmen; the tell-all book Under The Hood written by Hollis Mason appeared in a bookstore window. Rorschach appeared in the background in several panels during a bar scene. Graffiti that says "Who watches the Watchmen?" appears on a fence. However, these are not treated as inferences that the Watchmen characters, who themselves were not part of the mainstream DC Universe, had any place in this timeline.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Superman's Justice League

Many of the members of the re-formed Justice League are either old characters in new forms or brand new adoptions of old names. Partial list:

• Superman: The leader of the League and a graying Man of Steel that is growing uneasy with the role of being a world leader during a time of extreme tension. Due to a lifetime of absorbing yellow-solar radiation, he is more powerful than ever, and is even immune to kryptonite.
• Wonder Woman: Superman's lieutenant is being slowly consumed by an inner rage directed at the state of the world and her exile from Paradise Island. Her fellow Amazons have deemed her mission to bring peace to 'man's world' a failure. At the conclusion, she is restored her royal station as Princess, but eschews the ambassadorial role of "Wonder Woman", leaving it to other Amazons. (In the novelization, Cressida becomes the new Wonder Woman.)
• Red Robin: Dick Grayson, the first Robin, has replaced Batman on the Justice League.
• Flash: After melding with the Speed Force, the Flash's molecules have become unstable and as a result, he is constantly in motion. He is referred to as "Wallace West" in the novelization; Waid later confirmed this Flash to be Wally West in The Kingdom.
• Green Lantern: Ending his vigil among the stars, Alan Scott returns to Earth and joins Superman's crusade. He needs no power ring, having incorporated the lantern that fueled the ring into his armor. At the conclusion, he becomes a UN charter member under the nation of "New Oa".
• Hawkman: Now a literal 'hawk-man', he has become a guardian of nature, though also referred to as an ecological terrorist. The story does not specify which version of Hawkman this is, apart from "combining the spirit of the old with the otherworldly flesh of the new", which suggests Carter Hall in the body of the post-Zero Hour "Hawkgod". He is killed in the nuclear blast.
• Donna Troy: Seen wearing Amazon robes, it is possible the former Wonder Girl may have replaced her sister/mentor Wonder Woman as Paradise Island's ambassador to the world. She has also aged considerably compared to Diana: going slightly gray and putting on weight. In the novelization, she is killed in the nuclear blast.
• Red Arrow: The former Speedy and Arsenal is now following in the footsteps of his mentor, the Green Arrow, down to a mustache, goatee and exact copy of Green Arrow's costume, but in red. In the novelization, he is killed in the nuclear blast.
• Aquaman II: Garth, the former Aqualad, now the inheritor of his mentor's mantle as Aquaman. He wears a variation of his 'Aqualad' costume, but sports a beard and long pants. In the novelization, he is killed in the nuclear blast.
• King Marvel, the former Captain Marvel Jr., and Lady Marvel, the former Mary Marvel, are now married and have a superpowered son named The Whiz, who is also a member of this League. King Marvel is visually based on Elvis Presley (hence the name).
• Aleea Strange: Adam Strange's daughter, who has taken up her father's mantle.
• Power Woman: The former Power Girl. In the novelization, she is killed in the nuclear blast.
• Robotman: The former Cyborg, now composed of liquid metal. Petrified by the nuclear blast.
• Red Tornado: A heavily armed Mathilda Hunkel.
• Human Bomb: A explosion causing metahuman.
• Midnight: The ghost of Mid-Nite, appearing in the form of a smoke-cloud.
• Captain Comet: He is chosen by Superman to be warden of the Gulag. He is killed in a prison riot when his back is snapped by Von Bach.
• Bulletman and Bulletgirl: The successors of the original golden age duo.
• Brainiac's Daughter: Brainiac's offspring and the ancestor of Brainiac 5.
• Red Tornado: A female Red Tornado with wind-powers.
• Starman: The former Star Boy from the Legion of Super Heroes.
• Golden Guardian: The second clone of Jim Harper, who took up his predecessor's role.
• Hourman: The successors of the first two Hourmen, not having his predecessor's time limit
• Sandman: Formerly Sandy, the Golden Boy, then Sand, he's taken up the mantle of Sandman after his mentor, Wesley Dodds, died.
• Living Doll: The daughter of Doll Man and Doll Girl.
• Tornado: The ghost of the Tornado Champion.
• Avia: The daughter of Mister Miracle and Big Barda. In the novelization, she and her parents survive through a boom tube, thanks to her father's uncanny foresight.
• Atom Smasher: The godson of Atom. The name "Atom Smasher" was coined in Kingdom Come; during the time of the book's publishing he was still known as Nuklon. He is killed in the Nuclear Blast.
• Ray: Son of the first Ray. He is responsible for removing the radiation from Kansas, twice.
• Power Man: An android programmed by Superman.
• Phoebus: Earth's newest fire elemental after Firestorm. Burned into the ground by the nuclear blast.
• Alloy: The combined form of the Metal Men, a member of Magog's Justice Battalion. Along with Magog, he is the only survivor of the Kansas disaster, and he later joins the Justice League. He is blasted in half by the nuclear strike.

[edit] Batman's "Outsiders"

Batman has formed a group of metahumans, similar to his Outsiders many of which are second-generation heroes, to combat the Justice League and the Mankind Liberation Front. Playing upon the generational differences between the heroes, five of his heroes are the children of the original Teen Titans, while the Titans have all sided with Superman. Partial list:

• Batman: Since his real identity was made public, the Batman no longer hides behind the carefree appearance of Bruce Wayne; as a result, Wayne Manor was destroyed by Two-Face and Bane. In fact, he is referred to as "The Batman" even in civilian guise and does not bother with the cape and cowl until the final battle. No longer the example of human perfection, he now requires an exoskeleton to move and uses robots and a battle suit to continue his war on crime. His distrust of both Superman and Luthor leads him to form the Outsiders. He objects to both the League and the MLF's plans for making a better world, feeling mankind should be able to make its own decisions and mistakes.
• Oliver Queen: One of Batman's partners, he has married his long-time love Dinah Lance, Black Canary, and the two have a daughter, Olivia Queen, who also operates as Black Canary. According to the novel, he was killed in the nuclear blast. (His skeleton can be seen on page 187, directly to the left of Superman, still cradling his wife.)
• Dinah Queen: One of Batman's operatives, the former Black Canary now wields a bow like her husband Green Arrow. She was among the fatalities in the Gulag battle, with one panel showing Green Arrow holding her body in his arms after she was accidentally shot in the head by the metahuman Trix. She dies in Queen's arms during the blast.
• Black Canary III: daughter of Oliver and Dinah Queen.
• Blue Beetle: Ted Kord, one of Batman's operatives, who now wears a Blue Beetle armored battle suit powered by the mystical scarab that gave the first Blue Beetle his powers. Kord is also killed in the nuclear blast.
• John Jones: Once the Martian Manhunter, he has become a shell of his former self and can no longer control his powers. He tried to touch all humanity's mind at once and could not handle the torrents of hate, love, anger, sadness and joy. A shattered spirit, he maintains a permanently non-corporeal human form at all times now-- he must concentrate even to eat or drink-- and does not participate in any super heroics until Batman persuades him to help one last time. His presumed daughter's^{[citation needed]} body - in a variation of his classic costume - is seen lying on the ground during the final battle at the Gulag. She is seen a few pages previous as taking part in the final battle.
• Kid Flash is the daughter of Wally West. According to the novel, she was among those killed by the nuclear blast. However, she appears in The Kingdom, as well as in The Flash (in the "Chain Lightning" arc) due to Hypertime.
• Darkstar: Son of Donna Troy, who has taken her place as Earth's Darkstar.
• Obsidian: Son of Alan Scott and brother to Jennie-Lynn Hayden. He manipulates shadows and darkness. His appearance resembles that of The Shadow.
• Green Lantern VI: Jade took up the mantle of Green Lantern after Kyle Rayner. Daughter of Alan Scott. She has all the powers of a Green Lantern without needing a ring. Lives through the nuclear blast with her father.
• Tula: A seafaring malcontent. Daughter of the former Aqualad and Deep Blue. In the novelization, she is killed in the nuclear blast.
• Steel: After Superman went into seclusion, Steel switched his devotion to Batman. He now wields an iron bat-shaped battle axe.
• Wildcat: A man-panther with the spirit of the first (presumably Ted Grant inhabiting the body of his son Tommy Bronson).
• Zatara II: The son of the late Zatanna and John Constantine, and grandson of Giovanni Zatara. Besides being a magician, he's inherited his father's ability to see the dead. According to the novel, he was so horrified by the nuclear blast that he was unable to use his magic to escape.
• Nightstar: The daughter of Dick Grayson and Starfire. She has inherited her mother's powers and abilities, but decides not to join her father in the Justice League. Effectively Batman's adoptive granddaughter, she becomes close to his natural son Ibn al Xu'ffasch. Survived the nuclear blast because, even though they were on opposite sides, she flew her father Red Robin away after he was injured in the fight.
• Menagerie: Formerly Beast Boy, whose power is now limited to imaginary creatures.
• Nucloid: A elastic superhero with a nuclear core.
• Huntress: An African superheroine based on Paula Brooks.
• Cossack: A member of The Batmen Of Many Nations, the Champion of Russia.
• Ace: An alien Bat-Hound, the giant winged steed of the Fourth World Batwoman.
• Batwoman: A Batman admirer from the Fourth World.
• Samurai: A member of The Batmen Of Many Nations, the Champion of Japan.
• Dragon: A member of The Batmen Of Many Nations, the Champion of China.
• Creeper: Though he has aged, he is still the insane screwball he was when he was young. In the novelization, he switches sides several times during the Gulag battle, and is killed in the nuclear blast.
• Lightning: The daughter of Black Lightning and Jonni Thunder.
• Condor: The last Black Condor
• Ralph Dibny: The former Elongated Man, Ralph is contorted out of shape. He is killed in the Nuclear Blast.
• Spy Smasher: A independent agent, in a post Cold War era.
• Phantom Lady: A literal phantom of the original version.
• Red Hood: The daughter of Red Arrow and mercenary Cheshire.
• Fate: Nabu is able to channel his consciousness through the Helm and Cloak without the need for a host body.
• Mr. Scarlet: A bright red devil of a man known for hanging out at Titans Tower bar with Matrix, the new Joker's Daughter, and the new Thunder.
• Bat-Knights: Batman's robotic guardians of Gotham City. At the end of the graphic novel, they are painted white and used as air filtration units when Wayne Manor is turned into a hospital/hospice.

[edit] Luthor's Mankind Liberation Front

Since Superman's departure ten years ago, Luthor and the MLF have been conducting events behind the scenes in an attempt to destroy metahumans and rule the world at last.

• Lex Luthor: The MLF's leader. Goes into mad fits whenever mention is made of Superman. He ends up being put to work in Wayne Manor, tending to victims of the Gulag battle.
• Captain Marvel: Luthor's brainwashed houseboy and the last step in his plan for destroying Superman and the League. The now-adult Billy Batson is physically indistinguishable from his Captain Marvel form, and for most of the story, Luthor's compatriots believe that it is Captain Marvel who attends Luthor's needs, when in fact it is an all-too-vulnerable Batson. Killed by deliberately setting off the nuclear bomb prematurely over Ground Zero.
• Vandal Savage: The only willing member of the MLF with any powers to speak of: immortality. In the novelization, Spectre expresses deep annoyance at the fact that Savage's immortality prevents him from administering justice on him. Savage, like Luthor, assists with victims of the nuclear fallout.
• Ibn al Xu'ffasch: The son of Batman and Talia al Ghul, the heir to Ra's al Ghul's criminal organization, and used as a mole to infiltrate Luthor's MLF. His role is not fully revealed until the third issue (p. 144 in the graphic novel), when he is standing among the Outsiders just before Zatara teleports Batman to the Batcave. In Arabic, his name means "son of the bat".
• Catwoman: The only female member of the MLF, having become wealthy from running a cosmetics corporation.
• Riddler: There only as a courtesy to Catwoman (the novelization calls him one of Catwoman's "accessories"), he tends to get under Luthor's skin. At the end he is seen sitting next to Catwoman in Wayne Manor, taking care of a victim of the Gulag battle.
• Lord Naga: A cult leader better known as Kobra.
• King of the Royal Flush Gang: The MLF's newest member, and, like Savage, also immortal.
• Red, White, and Blue: Three heavily armed terrorists. They are actually androids under Luthor's control who are used as spies in the Gulag.

[edit] Rogue metahumans

The superheroes of the future have virtually no regard for human life. Many of them were killed in the Gulag battle, but most have already made their mark in the world as monsters. Listed below are the major, supporting, or otherwise notable characters.

• Magog: Ironically referred to as the new 'Man of Tomorrow'. His first act as a hero (shown in a flashback sequence) was the very public killing of the Joker. The Joker had been arrested for the murder of 92 men (including Perry White and Jimmy Olsen, among others) and one woman (Lois Lane being the woman) at the Daily Planet, but was expected to be ruled criminally insane, and thus not responsible. When the Joker was being led in to the courthouse for his competency hearing, Magog ran in crying out Sic semper criminals! and blasted a hole through his chest, killing him instantly. Magog then surrendered to Superman. Put on trial for murder, with Superman testifying for the prosecution, Magog was acquitted. Superman, appalled at the seeming endorsement of lethal vigilantism, went into self-imposed exile. Magog and the composite Metal Men hero Alloy were the only survivors of the Justice Battalion, and at least partially responsible for the destruction of Kansas, for which Magog later seeks forgiveness. At the end of Kingdom Come, Magog lives on Paradise Island, and is seen disciplining Swastika, having finally seen the need for self-restraint. In the novelization, he matures to the point of becoming a Dean of Students there.
• Von Bach: A Yugoslavian would-be dictator who speaks in German. He was imprisoned in the Gulag for killing opponents who had already surrendered. After being humiliated by Captain Comet during his incarceration, he made Comet the first fatality of the prison riot by breaking his back. He was then killed by Wonder Woman during the Gulag battle to stop him from killing Zatara. Von Bach is modeled after Milan Fras, the singer of the Slovenian experimental music group Laibach.
• 666: A gothic looking man/machine hybrid with little respect for the heroes of the past and is one of the major prisoners inside of the gulag. 666 battles other metahumans not for justice, but for sport. Visually based on Brian Azzarello. In the novelization, he is killed in the nuclear blast.
• NIL-8: A superpowered robot, whose name is a homophone for "annihilate".
• Joker's Daughter/Harlequin: A riot girl and one of the many followers of the Joker's style. This one has no relation to the other four Harlequins, Duela Dent, or Harley Quinn. She was one of the survivors of the Gulag Battle. After the battle, she lived on Paradise Island with most of the other survivors, and appeared to have tattooed a tear shape under her left eye. Modeled after Scary Godmother writer Jill Thompson. She survives the nuclear blast, protected by Green Lantern, and is last seen at Paradise Island.
• Thunder: A new Johnny Thunder with the mischievous spirit of Thunderbolt, he was one of the survivors of the Gulag battle. Can shoot lightning from his fingers. His eyes glow continuously. He survives, and is last seen on Paradise Island.
• Catwoman: The armored metahuman successor to Selina Kyle, this one might be more feline than the original.
• Manotaur: A minotaur-like metahuman. In the novelization, he, too, becomes a teacher at Paradise Island, a fitting fate for "one whose ancestors bedeviled the Amazons long ago."
• The Americommando and the Minutemen: A group of savage patriots who started killing the huddled masses of immigrants near the Statue of Liberty. The Minutemen were controlled by the mysterious Brain Trust.
• Trix (after Matrix): a morphing biomechanism. Near the end of the series, she accidentally shoots Dinah Lance (Black Canary) in the head during the Gulag riot. She survives, and is last seen on Paradise Island..
• Captain Atom: A member of Magog's Justice Battalion. His death/detonation at the hands of the villain Parasite, and the irradiation of Kansas this caused, is what causes Superman to return to action.
• Judomaster: A member of Magog's Justice Battalion. She was apparently killed with the other members when Captain Atom was killed.
• Mr. Terrific: The successor of Mister Terrific with oversized guns, shoulder pads, and other military accouterments. He still sported the "Fair Play" logo, but has since lost sight of its true and original meanings. In the novelization, he is killed in the nuclear blast.
• Stars: an African-American street kid wearing a leather jacket with an American flag bandana, and a T-shirt with an inverted American flag, using the cosmic rod in conjunction with the cosmic converter belt.
• Stripes: Equipped with various military accoutrement such as automatic weaponry, knives and Kevlar padding.
• Thunderbolt: A member of Magog's Justice Battalion, killed when Captain Atom explodes.
• Peacemaker: a member of Magog's Justice Battalion, he wears an outfit reminiscent of Boba Fett's. He perishes when Captain Atom detonates.
• Demon Damsel: Would-be Legionnaire.
• Nightshade: a member of Magog's Justice Battalion who dies when Captain Atom explodes.
• Blue Devil II: A winged, indigo-skinned demon from Hell.
• King Crimson: Gigantic, red-skinned demon with a Sun symbol on its chest.
• Vigilante: A half-man, half-robot cowboy with a machine gun arm.
• Tokyo Rose: A Japanese martial arts assassin. She survives the nuclear blast when she is saved by Magog.
• Germ-Man: A Nazi-esque biological warfare expert and apparent associate of Von Bach.
• Stealth: A gold-armored female metahuman who can cloak her presence.
• Shiva the Destroyer: A four-armed Indian metahuman resembling the Hindu god.
• Buddha: A sumo-themed metahuman wearing a cracked Budai mask.
• Tusk: An elephant-like robot. Dismantled by Robotman III in the final battle.
• Cathedral: A British metahuman wearing armor styled after a church.
• Black Mongul: A Mongolian metahuman.
• Pinwheel: A sadomasochistic metahuman clad entirely in tight leather.\
• Swastika: An American militia man and anarchist. Survives the nuclear blast and is last seen on Paradise Island getting disciplined by Magog.

[edit] Others

• Arthur Curry: Arthur has given up the mantle of Aquaman and dedicated himself fully to his role as monarch of Atlantis. He is approached by Wonder Woman to use the oceans as the location of the Gulag, but refuses to accept anymore of the surface-world's problems despite his support of Garth's new role as Aquaman.
• Orion: Orion appears in the collected edition of KC, in pages Ross added to the collection. Orion has killed his father Darkseid and taken his place as ruler of Apokolips. His frustration at this leads him to resemble his Father in both appearance and demeanor. He attempted to bring democracy to Apokolips, but was unanimously elected by the fearful slave-minded lowlies. In the novelization, Orion hints that he recruited Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu and Mikhail Gorbachev to help him run a fair election, but failed.
• Deadman: He has lost or foregone his normal appearance, and appears as a skeleton wearing his Deadman uniform. He is never identified as "Deadman", and simply introduces himself as "Boston". In the novelization, he explains why none of the Quintessence (comprising Shazam, Ganthet, The Phantom Stranger, Zeus, Highfather and Spectre) will get involved - the situation almost always turns for the worse, using Zeus' intervention with Troy as an example. (Spectre posits that the Quintessence meet to prevent one another from intervening.)
• Spectre: The Spectre takes Norman McCay through the events of a possible future, his aim to determine who is responsible for an impending apocalyptic event. However, his "faculties are not what they once were," and he needs a human perspective to properly judge events. In conversation with McCay, Deadman mentions that Spectre had become further and further removed from humanity over time; and, aside from his cloak, he is also naked (an attitude similar to that of Doctor Manhattan from the classic graphic novel Watchmen). The Spectre is convinced by McCay to try to see things through the perspective of his human host, and, as Jim Corrigan, he can be seen in the congregation of McCay's church at the end of the story, as well as at the Planet Krypton restaurant, visibly upset the dish named after him, "the Spectre Platter", is a mild concoction of spinach and cottage cheese.
• Parasite: Contrary to his usual persona, Parasite is portrayed as an unstable villain with severe short-term memory loss problems, and a coward. He literally "splits the Atom" when he makes contact with Captain Atom, causing a super-nuclear explosion that destroys Kansas.
• Cameo appearances: The Gotham street gang surrounded by the Bat-Knights in the first issue are loosely based on Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Phil Sheldon from Ross' Marvels appears at the JLA's news conference in the second issue and in the epilogue. The nightclub scene from the second issue has cameo appearances by Steve Miller's Joker, Vril Dox, Solomon Grundy (as a bouncer), Tommy Walker and the Acid Queen from Tommy, John Steele and Emma Peele from the Avengers, Zan of the Wonder Twins (as a waiter),the bartenders are the Weather wizard and Captain Cold, a fat balding Lobo, the Village People, Plastic Man, Shadow Lass, Marvin (from Super Friends), Rorschach (breaking someone's finger!), Sherlock Holmes, the Shadow, Gentleman Ghost, the Question and several other pop culture figures. Columbia and Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show were the inspiration behind two background characters, April Fool and Goblyn Lord respectively. The two jailers from Life of Brian appear in the extended scene with Scott Free in chapter 2 of the graphic novel. The Monkees and robotic versions of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band appear in the third issue as members of the Justice League, seen in the JLA headquarters before the final battle. Various DC staff and creators (as of 1996) make cameo appearances throughout the series, mostly as bystanders. The creators themselves, Waid and Ross, are shown in the graphic novel epilogue arguing at a table at Planet Krypton. Stan Lee also appears in the epilogue. The Planet Krypton waitress in the Robin costume who serves Bruce, Clark and Diana in the epilogue is a homage to Carrie Kelly from Dark Knight Returns. Victor Buono appears as King Tut in a poster on the restaurant wall. Seated next to Norman McKay in the epilogue is Uncle Sam from Ross's Vertigo mini-series.

[edit] Appearances in mainstream continuity

[edit] The Kingdom

Due to the popularity of the series, Mark Waid and Alex Ross began to plot a sequel and prequel. Alex Ross' concept of Gog, mentor of Magog, is an alien from the original "super world" that split to create Apokolips and New Genesis. Because he came from a super planet, Gog is twice as large as a normal human. Waid and Ross disagreed on several concepts and Ross decided to leave the project.^[3]

Without Ross' involvement, Waid continued the story in New Year's Evil: Gog. The Kingdom soon followed, featuring a two-part series, and several one-shots focusing on specific characters. The series was used to present Grant Morrison's hypertime concept.

[edit] Thy Kingdom Come

The final issue of 52 reveals that Earth-22 is the designation of the Kingdom Come alternate universe.

In Justice Society of America, a new Starman appears wearing a costume identical to that of his Kingdom Come counterpart. Due to a time-machine error, Starman traveled to Earth-22 before arriving in the present time-stream.

The "Thy Kingdom Come" story arc of the JSA title features the involvement of Alex Ross, as well as the appearance of the Kingdom Come Superman. It appears as if the events of the final issue of the original mini-series take place concurrently with the "present-day" events of "New Earth" at the time of publication of the JSA story arc. Seeing the connection between Gog of New Earth and Magog of Earth-22, Superman-22 and the JSA seek to prevent New Earth from going the way of his own world by stopping Gog in his crusade to rid the world of false gods, and before he can choose a successor one day in Magog. The JSA is split in their opinions on Gog; some believe he is truly a benevolent god, while others are suspicious of his true intentions. To prove himself, Gog heals certain JSA members such as Starman, Doctor Mid-Nite, and Damage, and he resurrects Lance from the dead to make him his successor, Magog.

Soon, the JSA learns that Gog is forming a parasitic relationship with the planet Earth where, if he remains long enough, the planet won't be able to survive without him. All of the heroes turn on Gog, and he takes back the gifts he had given them, but he is still defeated. They remove his head, and Superman-22 and Starman take it to the Source Wall. Starman, whose costume has the power to transport people throughout the Multiverse, sends Superman back to Earth-22. He arrives in time to see the carnage caused by Captain Marvel detonating the bomb. The Kingdom Come story continues from there and concludes in its proper fashion, except that it ends with several scenes depicting Superman and Wonder Woman's life as a couple, Batman's funeral and the continuation of the Wayne family's legacy through his son Ibn al Xu'ffasch and Nightstar, and the legacy Superman leaves to his Earth.

Alex Ross states that this story is not intended as a sequel to Kingdom Come as that would negate the purpose of the original story.^[4]

At the end of this arc, it is implied by the final scene in Justice Society #22 that the Reboot Legion comes from the future of Earth 22..

[edit] Collected editions

A boxed-set of the four individual issues was packaged in a die-cut cardboard sleeve with a Skybox trading card, part of a short-lived experimental program to package comics for resale at Toys R Us and other mass market retailers.

The original trade paperback collected the entire series along with twelve additional pages by Ross, including the epilogue. Promotional artwork and sketches of the major characters were also included. The trade was also printed as a hardback (without dustjacket) by Graphitti Designs.

A separate deluxe, slip-cased two-volume hardback edition, also co-published by DC and Graphitti Designs added a second volume (entitled "Revelations") to the text, containing further sketches and developmental artwork from Ross, showing the development of the character designs and the storyline.

A 1998 special from Wizard magazine contained the original proposal for the series by Ross, providing notes on what was changed and why. Ross' comments on The Kingdom were also included.

DC released an Absolute Kingdom Come hardcover edition in 2006. It collected the entire series in a significantly larger page format, along with interviews with Waid and Ross, character artwork, sketches and a complete annotation for the series.

[edit] Awards

• 1997:
  • Kingdom Come won "Best Limited Series" Eisner Award^[5]
  • Alex Ross won "Best Painter" Eisner Award, for Kingdom Come
  • Alex Ross won "Best Cover Artist" Eisner Award, for work including Kingdom Come
  • Todd Klein won "Best Lettering" Eisner Award, for work including Kingdom Come
  • Dan Raspler won "Best Editor" Eisner Award, for work including Kingdom Come
  • Mark Waid was nominated for "Best Writer" Eisner Award, for work including Kingdom Come
  • Kingdom Come cards were nominated for "Best Comics-Related Product" Eisner Award

• 1998: Deluxe slipcover edition won "Best Publication Design" Eisner Award^[6]

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] Audio play

Hachette Audio released an audio dramatization of the story, adapted from the novelization, featuring the voice talent of Mike Mearian, Don Peoples, Garet Scott, John Cunningham, Kent Broadhurst, Jeff David, Chuck Cooper, Harry Goz, Barbara Rosenblat, Craig Zakarian, Mike Arkin, Bob Lydiard, Peter Newman, Birgit Darby, Mark Finley, Igot Goldin, Macintyre Dixon, and Chloe Patellis, along with the guest voices of Dennis O'Neil, Mark Waid, Mike Carlin, Dan Raspler, Charles Kochman, Peter Tomasi, Greg Ross, Janet Harney, Elisabeth Vincentelli. The music for the audio version was composed by John Bauers.

[edit] The Comicology Kingdom Come Companion

In January, 1999, Harbor Press published the first (special) issue of their comics magazine Comicology. The 272-page Comicology: Kingdom Come Companion, edited by Brian Lamken, focused heavily on Kingdom Come, featuring an A-Z of almost everything with extensive illustrations by Ross and various other commentary on the mini-series. It was the subject of a swift cease-and-desist notice from DC, objecting that the volume "constitute[d] an unauthorized derivative work that infringe[d] upon [DC's] copyrights, violates [their] trademark rights, and misappropriates [their] good will."^[7] Lamken acquiesed to the recall, despite protesting that DC had prior knowledge of the project. It is likely that the similarities between the material contained in the Revelations Volume available only with the purchase of the considerably-more-expensive Graphitti/DC two-volume set contributed to the recall of the Comicology volume. The recall made the Companion arguably the most difficult Kingdom Come item to find,.

[edit] Novel

Elliot S! Maggin wrote the novelization which was published by Warner Aspect as a hardback, and (in limited numbers) a slip-cased, signed edition. It fleshes out characters such as Magog, the world leaders, and the Batman/Ib'n connection. The book contains four new color pages by Ross, as well as four black and white sketches of the major players.

[edit] Trading cards

In 1996, Fleer/Skybox released a set of trading cards based on Kingdom Come, entitled Kingdom Come eXtra. Alongside the 50 basic cards, featuring art by Ross and text by Waid, there are 15 "sketchboard" cards, 3 "Kingdom Classics" (featuring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in iconic poses), 6 "Alex Ross Original" cards, and some rarer autograph cards.

[edit] Action figures

DC Direct (The exclusive collectibles division of DC Comics) has produced 3 waves of action figures based on Kingdom Come's artwork. The first wave of figures included Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Hawkman. The second wave included Batman, Red Robin, Captain Marvel and Kid Flash. The last wave included Magog, Flash, Armored Wonder Woman and Deadman. An exclusive figure of Red Arrow was released through ToyFare magazine. DC Direct also released several other characters through their Elseworlds toylines. These figures included The Spectre, Norman McCay, Jade, Nightstar, Aquaman and Blue Beetle.

[edit] Album inspiration

In 2006, a supposedly retired Jay-Z was to release his first album in three years. Jay-Z's friend Young Guru, who is a comic book fan, told Jay-Z about the plot for the comic,^{[citation needed]} where a nearly elderly Superman comes out of retirement to show the heroes of the future what a true hero really is. Inspired by this,^{[citation needed]} Jay-Z named his album Kingdom Come. Jay-Z even mentions Superman's name in a song on the album with the same title.

[edit] See also

Mark Waid would go on to write two series dealing with similar themes:

• Empire
• Irredeemable

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Kingdom Come

• Alex Ross Kingdom Come Collectibles Part 1 - Comics
• Alex Ross Kingdom Come Collectibles Part 2 - Cards and Magazines
• Alex Ross Kingdom Come Collectibles Part 3 - Action Figures