Kingdom Come(comics)

Kingdom Comeis a four-issuecomic bookminiseriespublished in 1996 byDC Comicsunder theirElseworldsimprint. It was written byMark Waidand painted ingouachebyAlex Ross,who also developed the concept from an original idea.

Kingdom Come
Cover of the originaltrade paperbackedition (1997) Art by Alex Ross
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Miniseries
Publication date	May–August1996
No.of issues	4
Main character(s)	Superman Batman Wonder Woman Shazam The Spectre Norman McCay
Creative team
Written by	Mark Waid
Artist(s)	Alex Ross
Letterer(s)	Todd Klein
Collected editions
Trade Paperback	ISBN1563893304
Hardcover	ISBN1563893177
Absolute Edition	ISBN1401207685
Deluxe Edition	ISBN1401260829
2019 Trade Paperback	ISBN1401290965

The story is set in an alternate future of theDC Universe.The new generation of heroes have lost their moral compass, becoming as reckless and violent as the villains they fight. The previous regime of heroes—theJustice League—returns under dire circumstances, which sets up a battle of the old guard against these uncompromising protectors in a conflict that will define what heroism truly is and determine the future of the planet.

Development

When comic book artistAlex Rosswas working onMarvels,published in 1994, he decided to create a similar "grand opus" about characters fromDC Comics.Ross wrote a 40-page handwritten outline of what would becomeKingdom Comeand pitched the idea toJames Robinsonas a project similar in scope toWatchmen(1986–1987) andAlan Moore's infamous "lost work"Twilight of the Superheroes.Ultimately, Ross teamed with writerMark Waid,who was recommended by DC editors due to his strong familiarity with the history of DC superheroes.

Plot

In thisElseworldsstory,Supermanand the Justice League abandon their roles as superheroes after the rise and strong public support of a superhero namedMagog,who has no qualms about killing—notably theJokerbefore his trial for the mass murder of theDaily Planetstaff, includingLois Lane.In the ensuing years, a newer generation of superpoweredmetahumansarise. They engage in destructive battles with little distinction between "heroes" and "villains". Thenarrator,ministerNorman McCay,receives apocalyptic visions of the future from a dyingWesley Dodds.TheSpectreappears to McCay and recruits him to help pass judgment on the approaching superhuman apocalypse.

An attack on theParasite,led by Magog, goes awry when Parasite tears openCaptain Atom.As a result, much of the American Midwest is irradiated, killing millions and destroying a large portion of the United States's food production.Coaxed back into action byWonder Woman,Superman returns to Metropolis and re-forms theJustice League.

He recruits new and old heroes. The most prominent exception isBatman,who resents Superman for leaving the world 10 years ago. Batman warns him that his idealist notions are outdated and his violent interference will only exacerbate the world's problems. In response to Superman's Justice League, Batman activates his own network of agents, the "Outsiders", made up largely of younger second and third-generation heroes. Trusted veterans, such asGreen Arrow,Black CanaryandBlue Beetle,are chosen as lieutenants.Lex Luthororganizes the "Mankind Liberation Front". The MLF is secretly a group of Golden Age villains and third-generation villains likeRa's al Ghul's successor,Ibn al Xu'ffasch,who isBruce WayneandTalia al Ghul's son. The MLF works to take control of the world from the heroes.

Superman's Justice League gathers more captives than converts, and his prison (nicknamed "the Gulag" ) is quickly filled to capacity. Superman works to persuade the inmates that their methods are wrong-headed and dangerous, to no avail. With hostile heroes and villains locked up together, pressure builds. Meanwhile, Superman learns that Wonder Woman's ardent militant stance may be influenced by her recent exile from Paradise Island: in the eyes of theAmazons,her mission to bring peace to the outside world has failed, and she has thus been stripped of her royalty. Batman and his Outsiders seem to ally themselves with MLF against the Justice League. Luthor's plan is to exacerbate the conflict between the League and Gulag's inmates. Batman quickly discovers that an adultBilly Batsonis under Luthor's control. Batson, as Captain Marvel, is the only metahuman capable of matching Superman's power. When the inmates riot and killCaptain Comet,Luthor unwittingly reveals to Batman he intends to use the brainwashed Batson to break open the Gulag. Batman's forces ambush Luthor and his conspirators, but are unable to restrain Batson, who transforms into Marvel and flies off. While Wonder Woman leads the Justice League to the prison riot, Superman confronts Batman. Batman tries to justify inaction, saying the world would be better off if all the metahumans destroyed each other. However, Superman knows that Batman will act, because his entire crimefighting life is based upon the desire to prevent the loss of life.

Moved by Superman's sentiments, Batman tells him that Captain Marvel is under Luthor's control and is on the way to the Gulag. Superman races to the prison, but upon arrival is struck down by Captain Marvel. The Gulag is breached, freeing the population, and inciting war between them and the Justice League. Batman's army arrives on site as an intervening third party, but is unable to stop Wonder Woman from killing the supervillain Von Bach, which increases the fury of the riot.

As conditions worsen,United NationsSecretary General Wyrmwood authorizes the deployment of three tactical nuclear warheads, hardened against metahumans. In the middle of their fight, Batman and Wonder Woman see the incomingbomberspiloted by theBlackhawk Squadron.They break off fighting and manage to stop two bombs, but miss the third. Captain Marvel uses his lightning bolt as a weapon against Superman, who manages to grab Marvel and allow the bolt to transform him into Billy. Holding Batson's mouth shut, Superman tells him he is going to stop the remaining bomb. Batson must make a choice: either stop Superman and allow the warhead to kill all the metahumans, or let Superman stop the bomb and allow the metahumans' war to engulf the world. Superman tells Batson he must be the one to decide, as he is the only one who lives in both worlds: a man (as Batson) and a god (as Marvel). Batson, his mind now clear of Luthor's influence, turns back into Captain Marvel. He flings Superman to the ground and flies after the missile. Marvel intercepts the missile and shouts "Shazam!" three times in rapid succession, detonating the bomb prematurely, and killing Batson in the process.

Despite Marvel's sacrifice, most of the metahumans are obliterated in the explosion. Superman is unharmed, but does not realize that there are any other survivors. Enraged at the tremendous loss of life, he flies to the U.N. Building and threatens to kill the delegates as punishment for the massacre. The surviving metahumans arrive, but McCay is the one who talks him down, pointing out how his appearance and behavior are exactly the sort of reasons that normal humans fear the superpowered. Superman immediately ceases his rampage. He is handed Captain Marvel's cape, and tells the U.N. that he will use his wisdom to guide, rather than lead, humankind. Superman ties Captain Marvel's cape to a flagpole and raises it among the flags of the member nations of the U.N., suggesting that this role of guidance will be more political and global in nature than the classic crime-busting vigilantism of the past.In the epilogue, the heroes strive to become fully integrated members of the communities. Wonder Woman's exile from Paradise Island ends. She becomes anambassadorfor super-humanity, taking the survivors of the Gulag to Paradise Island for rehabilitation. Batman abandons his crusade and becomes a healer, rebuilding his mansion as a hospital to care for those wounded by the destruction of the Gulag. He reconciles with bothDick Graysonand Ibn al Xu'ffasch. Superman begins the task of restoring the Midwestern farmlands devastated after Magog's attack. He 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. Norman McCay resumes pastorship of his congregation, preaching a message of hope for humanity. Among the congregation isJim Corrigan,the Spectre's human host.

Collected edition additional scenes

The first additional scene (four pages) takes place near the end of the second part of the series. Superman visitsOriononApokolips,which has changed very little despiteDarkseidno longer being in power. He asks Orion for his advice on what to do with the captive rogue metahumans. Orion, who has grown to resemble his father and has adopted a rather jaded view on life, initially offers to accept Superman's charges as exiles to Apokolips. Superman rejects that solution, claiming he can learn nothing from Orion, and goes back to Earth with Big Barda and Scott Free.

The second additional scene is an eight-page epilogue. Clark Kent and Diana Prince meet with Bruce Wayne at 'Planet Krypton', a superhero-themed restaurant owned byMichael Jon Carter.They plan to tell Bruce they are expecting a child, but he deduces the news first. Diana asks Bruce to serve asgodfather,surprising the World's Greatest Detective. Clark tells Bruce he will provide a balancing influence to the child, adding that in spite of their differences over the years, he has always trusted Batman. Bruce accepts, touched by his old friend's words. As they leave the restaurant, Bruce notices Norman and Jim Corrigan discussing the restaurant's "Spectre Platter", with Corrigan showing irritation that this is how he is being remembered, and Norman assuring him that it is good to be remembered at all.

Characters

Main article:List of Kingdom Come (comics) characters

Appearances in mainstream continuity

The Kingdom

Main article:The Kingdom (comics)

Due to the popularity of the series, Mark Waid and Alex Ross began to plot a sequel/prequel titledThe Kingdom.Alex Ross's original intent was forGogto be an alien, twice the size of a human, from the planet Urgrund that split into two and createdApokolipsandNew Genesisand for Magog to be the grown son of Superman and Wonder Woman, who would be mentored by Gog. Waid and Ross disagreed on several concepts, and Ross decided to leave the project.

Without Ross's involvement, Waid continued the story in theNew Year's Evil: Gogone-shot.The Kingdomminiseries soon followed, featuring a two-part series and several one-shots focusing on specific characters. The series was used to presentGrant Morrison'sHypertimeconcept.

Thy Kingdom Come

The final issue of52reveals that Earth-22 is the designation of theKingdom Comealternate universe.

InJustice Society of America(vol. 3),a new Starman appears wearing a costume identical to that of the Starman from theKingdom Comeseries. It is soon revealed that this individual is indeed the Starman fromKingdom Come,and that he is alsoThom Kallor,a native of the planet Xanthu and member of theLegion of Super-Heroesin the 30th and 31st centuries. Due to a time-travel error, Starman traveled to Earth-22 before arriving in 21st-century New Earth.

The "Thy Kingdom Come" story arc of theJustice Society of Americatitle features the involvement of Alex Ross, as well as the appearance of theKingdom ComeSuperman. Seeing the connection betweenGogof New Earth and Magog of Earth-22, Superman from Earth-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 benevolent, while others are suspicious of his true intentions. To prove himself, Gog heals certain JSA members such as Starman,Doctor Mid-Nite,andDamage,and he resurrectsLancefrom the dead to make him his successor, Magog.

Soon, the JSA learns that Gog is forming a parasitic relationship with the planet Earth. If he remains long enough, the planet will not be able to survive without him. The JSA remove Gog's head, and Superman and Starman take it to theSource Wall.Starman sends Superman back to Earth-22 in time to see the carnage caused by Captain Marvel detonating the bomb. The events ofKingdom Comecontinue from there and conclude in its entirety, with additional scenes depicting Superman's life and legacy for the next 1,000 years.

Alex Ross states that this story is not intended as a sequel toKingdom Comesince that would negate the purpose of the original story.

Justice League: Generation Lost

Main article:Justice League: Generation Lost

A major subplot ofJudd WinickandKeith Giffen's 2010 maxiseries,Justice League: Generation Lostconcerns the events ofKingdom Come.The story seesMaxwell Lordbeing tasked bythe Entitywith killing Magog before he can inadvertently trigger an apocalyptic war between Earth's superhumans, which ultimately brings Magog and Lord into conflict withJustice League International.To drive the point home, the Entity shows Lord a series of visions taken directly fromKingdom Come,including Magog and the Justice Battalion attacking Parasite. Lord eventually succeeds in arranging Magog's demise, and his life is returned by the Entity.

Superman/Batman

During the first arc of theSuperman/Batmanseries written byJeph Loeb,what appears to be the Kingdom Come Superman appears via aBoom Tubein the Batcave with the intent to kill Clark Kent, because according to him, Clark is responsible for the destruction of the Earth. Kingdom Come Superman suddenly vanishes while being distracted by his past self calling him "Clark". It is eventually revealed that this Superman came from a future in which a kryptonite meteorite crashed to the Earth.

Later, due to a burst of quantum energy,Captain Atomarrives in this future. He appears in a devastated Kansas (an homage to theKingdom Comeseries) although Superman states the entire planet is in the same condition. With advice from this future Superman, Captain Atom returns to the present and uses a robot made byToymanto destroy the giant meteorite of kryptonite, preventing this future from coming true.

In a follow-up to this story,Captain Atom: Armageddon,the titular Captain Atom finds himself in theWildStormuniverse and in another homage toKingdom Come,his appearance mysteriously changes to that of his Earth-22 counterpart.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest

In the second arc ofBatman/Superman: World's Finest,entitled "Strange Visitor" and written byMark Waidand illustrated by Dan Mora, a young boy named David Sikela arrives on Earth-0, where he is found byBatman,Superman,andRobin.They quickly realized the unique properties of David's biology give him powers upon exposure to the Earth's sun, and is brought to the Bottled City of Kandor to be examined by the Kandorian scientist Kim-Da. While there, Kim-Da fabricates David a costume inspired by Hel-Oz, an ancient Kryptonian hero. After a brief, but traumatic, excursion to Gotham, Robin takes David to the base of theTeen Titans,where he introduces David to his friends and partners. David joins the Titans and becomes Superman's sidekick, Boy Thunder.

While things start out well, a team-up between theJokerandThe Keyresults in David being tortured by the Joker, which heavily traumatized him. In a fit of rage, David attempts to kill the Joker. While he was unsuccessful, David vows that he will one day kill the Joker, as it is revealed he is a younger version ofMagogfromKingdom Come.David's actions deeply concern Superman, Batman and the Titans, with Superman briefly considering siphoning off David's powers, but decided against it, believing that David deserved a chance to try to fix his own mistakes. The Key took this opportunity to attempt to use David's ship to unlock the secrets of the multiverse, triggering the ship's systems and causing it and David to be transported into an unknown world in the Multiverse, where he meets an alien being going by the name of Gog.

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 atToys "R" Usand other mass-market retailers.

The original trade paperback from 1997 collects 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. Alex Ross provided a new cover painting for a new trade paperback released in 2008 that features a deluxe foldout cover only on its first printing (subsequent printings will not include the foldout).

A separate deluxe slipcased two-volume hardback edition, also copublished by DC and Graphitti Designs, added a second volume ntitledRevelations) to the text, containing further sketches and developmental artwork from Ross, showing the development of the character designs and the storyline.

A 1998 special fromWizardmagazine contains the original proposal for the series by Ross, providing notes on what was changed and why. Ross's comments onThe Kingdomare also included.

DC released anAbsoluteKingdom Comehardcover edition in 2006. It collects 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. It was released again in the second quarter of 2018.

The novelization was written byElliot S. Maggin.It 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.

In other media

• The production team ofJustice League: Warworldplanned to develop a film adaptation of theKingdom Comecomic book mini-series, but the idea was discarded byJames GunnandPeter Safranafter they were named CEOs ofDC Studios.

DC Animated Universe

• In theDC Animated UniverseseriesJustice League Unlimitedepisode "Clash", Superman and Captain Marvel fight, as a nod to the comic version fromKingdom Come.Captain Marvel uses his magic lightning to attack Superman, while Superman manages to make one of the bolts strike Marvel and proceeds to gag Billy.

Arrowverse

Brandon Routhreprised his role ofClark Kent / Supermanfrom the 2006 filmSuperman Returnsin the 2019–2020Arrowversecrossoverevent "Crisis on Infinite Earths".This version of Superman takes inspiration fromKingdom Come.He wears a similar suit and works at the Daily Planet, which was attacked, presumably by the Joker. His Earth was designated as Earth-96, a reference to the year the comic was released. Furthermore,Kevin Conroyportrayed a variation ofBruce Waynefrom Earth-99 that also incorporated elements of theKingdom Comeversion, such as the character wearing an exo-suit.

DC Extended Universe

• InWonder Woman 1984,Wonder Woman is seen wearing herKingdom Comearmor.
• Hiram Garcia expressed interest to make aKingdom Comefilm adaptation as part of the DCEU franchise.

DC Universe

• In February 2024,DC Studiosco-CEO and writer/director of the 2025 filmSuperman,James Gunn,posted a teaser image for the film onThreadsrevealing that theDC Universe's Superman (played byDavid Corenswet) will have a version of theKingdom Come"S" emblem on his suit.

Spin-offs

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 Harvey, Elisabeth Vincentelli. The music for the audio version was composed by John Bauers.

The Comicology Kingdom Come Companion

In January 1999, Harbor Press published the first (special) issue of their comics magazineComicology.The 272-pageComicology: Kingdom Come Companion,edited by Brian Lamken, focuses heavily onKingdom Come,featuring an A-Z of almost everything, with extensive illustrations by Ross and various other commentary on the miniseries. It was the subject of a swiftcease-and-desistnotice 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".Lamken acquiesced to the recall, despite protesting that DC had prior knowledge of the project. It is likely that the similarities between the material contained in theRevelationsvolume (available only with the purchase of the considerably-more-expensive Graphitti/DC two-volume set) contributed to the recall of theComicologyvolume. The recall made theCompanionarguably the most difficultKingdom Comeitem to find.

Trading cards

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

Action figures

DC Direct(the exclusive collectibles division ofDC Comics) has produced three waves of action figures based onKingdom Come's artwork. The first wave of figures includedSuperman,Wonder Woman,Green LanternandHawkman.The second wave includedBatman,Red Robin,Captain MarvelandKid Flash.The last wave includedMagog,Flash,ArmoredWonder WomanandDeadman.An exclusive figure ofRed Arrowwas released throughToyFaremagazine.DC Directalso released several other characters through theirElseworldstoylines. These figures included theSpectre,Norman McCay,Jade,Nightstar,AquamanandBlue Beetle.An updated version of Kingdom Come Superman was released inJSA series2,which was based on the covers that Alex Ross worked on.

An action figure of Superman based onKingdom Come's artwork was released as part of Wave 10 ofMattel's DC Multiverse toyline.

See also

• Earth X,another alternate universe series written and illustrated byAlex Rossthat has similar themes and artwork toKingdom Come
• Injustice: Gods Among Us,a series of video games and comic books that have a story similar toKingdom Comesuch as the Joker killing Lois Lane in Metropolis or Superman and Batman forming their own factions of superheroes and fighting each other.