DCU Book Club Week 57-58: KINGDOM COME (2010-), Issues 1-4, Oct 23- Oct 27

Kingdom%20Come

“Set at the dawn of the 21st century in a world spinning out of control, KINGDOM COME is a riveting, alternate reality story pitting the old guard–Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and others–against a new, uncompromising generation of heroes in a war that will determine the future of the planet.”

Greetings DCU,

Thanks for dropping in! It’s great to see you in our new community. Our heroes have matured over time, and so have their challenges. Kingdom Come is a book to savor as Mark Waid’s story and Alex Ross’s art unfold.

:tickets:HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN DCU BOOK CLUB:

• Read the story between Wednesday, October 23, 2019 and Sunday, October 27, 2019.

• Reply your answers to the discussion questions or share your thoughts about the story.

• Have fun discussing the book with the community! All are welcome to join, just jump right in.

:rotating_light: Our SPOILER discussion begins Now.

:books: What to Read: KINGDOM COME (2010-), Issues 1-4

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Is this your first time reading Kingdom Come?

  2. In this story, do you think Superman is a good leader of the Justice League? Why or Why not?

  3. What was the most memorable moment between Superman and Wonder Woman to you?

  4. What was your favorite moment(s)?

We’d love to hear your general thoughts about the story overall. There is a lot to unpack and discuss!

:incoming_envelope: Questions? Concerns? Feel free to send me a direct message.
Click here to learn more about DCUBC

Happy Reading!

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DCUBC is back and better than ever! :grinning:

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It’s definitely not my first. I forget the exact order of it all (because I am an Old), but it was right up there with Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen as some of the first comics I ever read.

I remember being wowed by the writing, with it’s good mix of deconstruction and reconstruction, and especially the gorgeous, eye-catching art by Alex Ross. It was amazing to find out that comics could actually look like THAT, like a painterly masterpiece while still keeping at least some of the aspects of what makes superhero art great and fun to look at.

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Masterpiece Indeed! I was so drawn in to the art. Every time I read this I notice something new.

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Our first book club discussion in our new community is officially open! :tada:

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As with the 7 issue Identity Crisis reading week that we did a year ago, I’ll be sure to do some of the reading from my own personal library, great selection this week!

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That’s an awesome collection @Don-El! It’s fun to be able to take books from shelves for book club. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book.

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  1. This isn’t my first time reading Kingdom Come. I have the collection somewhere among my comics. The art was just too good to pass up. I think, reading it both then and now, what really stuck out to me was the character design. Yes a few characters kept their designs and they were just updated to Alex Ross’s art, but for all the new characters in there, all the generational offspring, or elevated characters like Flash or Green Lantern, the designs were just impressive in their scope and variety.

  2. I think this highlights anyone’s single mindedness, a sort of “our way or the highway” for his Justice League. In most timelines the Justice League exists along side of other organizations - the Outsiders, Teen Titans, Titans or others who don’t always do things the way the Justice League do, or hold the same values, but often work towards the same goal. That line seems to have been erased here in order to quickly get things under control. So not the best leader.

  3. I think in issue two, when Superman has to pull Wonder Woman back a little bit. In more recent years Diana has been more warrior than peace envoy, but around the time of this series I think it was the other way around. So to see her go all Amazon warrior and treat the people they were trying to rehabilitate or recruit as enemy combatants. I also thought it was interesting how Superman called her Diana, when he didn’t want anyone calling him Clark anymore.

  4. Favorite moment for me was when it was revealed that we were looking at Billy Bastion instead of Captain Marvel. It makes sense that Captain Marvel would look like an adult Billy, but it was a twist played wonderfully.

Overall, the fact that a storyline like this has had so much influence and call backs since printed speaks to its impact and the scale of story.

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Hi @Meisaj,

I’m with you, the Billy Batson reveal was a great moment.

I loved that part too. Seeing Diana in full warrior mode was both glorious and scary. It was cool to see Supes counter balance her warrior instincts.

Thanks for joining in. It was fun to read to your thoughts on the book!

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I will have to get into the questions. one moment i liked: the trinity is meeting at the Planet Krypton diner/restaurant. the server approaches, “Hi, I’m Robin.”
Bruce: Of course you are.

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That was a hilarious moment! :rofl:

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I love how this story takes pauses. There are wordless panels strategically placed throughout the story that allow the art to do the talking.

For example:

I love Supes, but I agree with @Meisaj, I didn’t think he was a great leader in this story. I think the author did a great job showing Superman’s weakness and strengths as a leader.

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Show off! :slight_smile:

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  1. This isn’t my first time. I have the not-so-floppy floppies stored away in one one of my long boxes, but it’s been a long while since I’ve re-read this. It’s definitely a series that I’ve always held in high esteem, especially for the art. This and Marvels are sort of the perfect pairing.

  2. Well, he’s straight up abandoned his role of leader at the beginning, so, no, not so good. He is the only character, though, to question his own actions as the story goes on, to really acknowledge that maybe his actions aren’t right. And, is it me, or was Wonder Woman a straight up villain through most of this? She kept whispering in Superman’s ear to be more controlling and harsher, to the point where she decides she’ll just do that all on her own if he won’t.

  3. I’ll go with the quiet moment they have in space together.

  4. My favorite moment was Captain Marvel getting the upper hand by calling “Shazam!” over and over. Well done moment. I also like the Revelation quotes being tied in so effectively.

Hey, did anyone catch the Watchmen easter egg near the beginning of issue 1? I had never noticed it before. Not that I can recall, anyway.

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Thanks for joining in @ralphsix!

I think that’s a great point about Supes. I think Supes is at his best when he’s saving people and inspiring people (or being Clark - I love Clark Kent). Leading a charge into battle is definitely a strength of a warrior princess and not a Superman role.

Diana was going through a lot with her rejection from her mother and sisters. I think she was just trying to figure out who she is again and who she wanted to be. It did come across as villainous sometimes for me too.

That quiet moment is space was magical. It was so well-done. I felt like I was hanging out in space too!

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True. But villains always have some sort of motivation. Her attack on Bruce was another example of how far down the wrong path she had ventured.

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Out of the trinity, I felt like Bruce was the only one in his typical “character”. Supes giving up and unhinged-Diana were a surprise. But I loved how it all resolved.

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I love Kingdom Come! I remember getting them when they first came out and I couldn’t wait to get home to read them. I still think about this story all the time. Alex Ross’ art in this story is out of this world. The images that stick out to me the most after all this time is when Shazam shows up and knocks Superman to the ground. To make that smile that he is known for look so sinister in this situation…wow. I never thought about it that way before. Also the image of Superman after the nuke. That gets me every time. I have always wanted someone to make a proper movie out of this ever since I’ve read it. I don’t know if it would be live action or animated but I have imagined a trailer for it in my head for all these years, with the Francis Ford Coppola Dracula music as the soundtrack. Before joining this club I haven’t read it in a while so I’m very happy to join a group like this and read the suggestions!

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Hi @ShuGrande and welcome!

I’m happy to hear your fervor for the story.

Yes!!! I couldn’t agree more.

It gets me too. After I read your description, I just had to go pull the panels of the post-nuke Supes. This is amazing art.


It’s cool that you have the trailer and soundtrack ready to go!

Hopefully we’ll see a movie one day, but for now, I’m stoked to see Brandon Routh play the Kingdom Come version of Superman on the CW’s Crisis On Infinite Earths event.

Thanks for reading along and discussing with us!

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WRT Bruce as godfather: I liked his comment about having influence over one of the most powerful people in the world. I think he used the word control, but i think you catch my drift

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