Memorial 1992 was a cloudy, cold and rainy affair. My family’s original plan of going to Nantasket beach for the day went out the window. I can’t say I was too disappointed though because I’ve never been a beach guy. So instead of the beach, my family and I ran some errands around town. One of our stops was a CVS pharmacy and while the others looked around, I parked myself in the magazine aisle.
I had never been to this particular CVS, but I was very happy to see they had a couple of shelves devoted to comic books. I tried looking for a book I didn’t normally read, and I found Superman #68. The issue was written by Dan Jurgens, with art by Jurgens and inks by Brett Breeding. One of the reasons I grabbed this comic was because it featured Deathstroke the Terminator, and I didn’t know who the heck he was.
Since the CVS was fairly quiet, I sat in the aisle and started reading Superman #68. The comic opens when Deathstroke returns to Metropolis and is ambushed at the airport by the Special Crimes Unit. Because he’s, you know, a wanted criminal. But how exactly the SCU learned he was on his flight is not explained. This worried me because if you know someone like Deathstroke is coming to town, wouldn’t you ask Superman for help?
Anyways, as Deathstroke attempts to escape the ambush, a shootout breaks out. In the chaos, a flight attendant gets hit by a police laser cannon. But this is no ordinary woman, the flight attendant is Lois Lane’s sister, Lucy Lane. Deathstroke spaces in a fuel tanker of all things, but he soon learns of Lucy’s shooting. That’s when it’s revealed that Deathstroke knows Lucy’s dad because they were buddies during their time serving in Vietnam.
Upon hearing the news of the shooting, Lois and Clark rush to the hospital, and at Lois’ request, Superman flies off to find Deathstroke and whoop his ass or maybe to bring him to justice. It’s not long before Supes tracks down Deathstroke, but in one of my favorite scenes int he book, Deathstroke uses his uncanny acrobatic abilities to evade Superman throughout the city. It’s such a cool scene that even Superman is impressed.
But he eventually catches Deathstroke who reveals that he just wanted to go to the hospital to say sorry to Lucy’s dad. Because the two were recent allies, Superman agrees to take him there, but Mr. Lane just punches Deathstroke in the face and asks Superman to get him off his sight. To my surprise, Deathstroke took the punch without telling Lane who he really is, because he wants his friend to remember him as he used to be.
Superman #68 blew me away in every way possible. This comic introduced me to Deathstroke and showed me that a Superman comic could have ramifications. Shooting Lucy Lane took guts, and Dan Jurgens had plenty. The writer/artist delivered a captivating, fast-paced, and emotional issue. Of course a few months later Jurgens would show even more guts when he killed Superman. Superman #68 went a long way in convincing me that Dan Jurgens was the Superman writer of my generation.
And before anyone says anything: I know I shouldn’t have just sat in the CVS aisle and read all of Superman #68, but the comic was too good to put down. It was so good I ended up buying the comic and read it twice more that day. The story from Superman #68 led to an issue of Deathstroke’s own book, but it would be years before I was able to track that book down.
I gotta say though, the Deathstroke issue was rather disappointing. It didn’t feel like the next chapter in this story, it was very different from Superman #68. The only thing I even remember about this comic is Deathstroke simply broke himself free again and in the process struck Green Lantern in the nuts.
Ah well, at least Superman #68 was one of my favorite comics of 1992. Looking back I’m very glad the weather was terrible that Memorial Day, otherwise I might never have come across this wonderful comic.
The Nerds Uncanny 