Friday, October 18, 2024

Superman ’78: The Metal Curtain

In 1978, Superman still proudly proclaimed himself a defender of “truth, justice, and the American way.” Naturally, the Soviet Union would not be too thrilled about that. Finally, they have an evil plan to defeat the Man of Steel and expand the oppressive Iron Curtain in Robert Venditi’s six-issue bind-up of Superman ’78: The Metal Curtain, illustrated by Gavin Guidry, which is now on-sale.

Obviously, Christopher Reeve is everyone’s favorite Superman, especially based on the reception for the recent
Super/Man documentary. That is why Venditi’s Superman limited series set in the continuity of the Ilya & Alexander Salkind-produced Reeve films is such a cool idea. In fact, it is a blast of nostalgic pleasure to see Reeve’s Superman saving the world, even in comic form.

Cleverly, Venditi expands the Salkindverse to include other DC characters, like Brainiac (unseen, but referred to), who trapped the Kryptonian city of Kandor (along with Superman’s parents) in a
 bell-jar. Fortunately, Superman rescued them in a previous adventure, but he has not yet figured out how to restore them. However, he can still take Lois Lane to the Fortress of Solitude, to meet the parents—and yes, his dad looks like Brando.

Unfortunately, Superman must leave in a hurry, as he often does, because he hears an SOS from an American military pilot under attack from a Kryptonite-powered mecha-suit. In the Salkindverse, longstanding DC super-villain Metallo is now the Soviets’ latest and most powerful super-weapon. Of course, the socialist system persistently lagged behind the innovations of the capitalistic West, so they stole the tech from Lex Luthor, which rather pushes his nose out of joint.

By far, the best part of
Metal Curtain is the flamboyantly roguish Gene Hackman-looking Lex Luthor. He might have his flaws, but at least he is a capitalist rather than a Communist. So, maybe Luthor is not completely evil, unlike Communist propaganda, which has unhinged Melallo, a.k.a. Captain Nikolaev. Naturally, to maximize the propaganda value, his masters want the world to witness his victory over Superman.

There is only one real miss in
Metal Curtain. Superman never gets to say: “truth, justice, and the American way.” Admittedly, he offers a mushy message of Détente during the third act, but it never gets as peacenik-ish as the ill-conceived as The Quest for Peace.

Regardless, it is great fun for fans to see the Margot Kidder-esque Lane swoon over Superman, while the Jackie Cooper-like Perry White thoroughly chews out her and Clark Kent. Guidry recreates the characters’ ’78-era movie likenesses with affectionate care, while the Soviet intrigue is also quite smartly written. If this had been the premise of the Golan-Globus’s
Superman IV, it would have been an enduring hit and maybe fans’ favorite of the quartet. It is just refreshing to go back to a time before Superman “died” or turned evil. Very highly recommended for Superman and Reeve fans, Superman ’78: The Metal Curtain is now available wherever books and comics are sold.