From DC Database

Contents 1 History 1.1 Second Coming of Superman 1.2 Pact 2 Powers and Abilities 2.1 Powers 2.2 Abilities 2.3 Strength level 3 Notes 4 See Also 5 Recommended Reading 6 Links and References 6.1 Footnotes

History

The Kingdom Come Superman's past is largely the same as that of the New Earth Kal-El with a Justice Society that inspires his generation to take up the cause of heroics. It is not until the fateful day where the Joker of his reality massacres the staff of the Daily Planet does the Kingdom Come Superman become different from the New Earth Superman.

The Kingdom Come Superman arrives too late to prevent the Joker of his reality from killing the entire main staff of the Daily Planet including Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. The Joker kills Superman's wife Lois Lane-Kent by stabbing her to death with her name plate. Still believing in justice, Superman doesn't take vent his anger on the Joker, only arresting him and leaving the Joker's fate to the courts rather than his own anger.

As the Joker 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. While still grieving at his own loss, Superman is completely appalled by the general public embracing an overt killer as a hero. It is implied that the public had grown weary of 'do-gooder' superheroes whose refusal to kill allowed super-villains to terrorize the populace again and again once they escaped or were paroled. Already disheartened at the death of his wife, Kal-El abandons his life as Superman, retreating to his Fortress of Solitude, where he will spend the next 15 years merely observing the acts of mankind rather than acting. He intentionally fails 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, leaving a power vacuum that is soon filled by the new generation of "heroes" Magog represents.

Without the moral restriction on superpower actions provided by Superman and his generation even the aggressive though still non-lethal Batman, there is little or no distinction between 'heroes' and 'villains' in the new superpowered combatants. Metahumans battle openly in the streets without true cause, concern for collateral damage, or innocent passers-by. Average humans, demoralized by the loss of their true heroes, the disregard for them the new generation displays, and their inability to do anything about the state of affairs, have fallen into a societal depression. Efforts that celebrate human achievement, like professional sports, the Olympics and Nobel Prizes, have been abandoned.

Certain heroes like the Flash, Hawkman, Green Lantern and Batman have remained active, although their methods have changed dramatically, all of them becoming more distant from humanity. Hawkman, now an anthropomorphized hawk, has become an eco-terrorist. Batman, now an old man who relies on a metal exo-suit to support his broken body, enforces the rule of law in Gotham City with an army of remotely controlled bat-like androids. West as the Flash now wearing a helmet similar to Mercury's (far larger than that of Garrick's) has become permanently hyper-accelerated, patrolling Keystone city at speeds so fast that he seems to be everywhere at once, but can no longer be seen or heard by human beings. Alan Scott as Green Lantern lives alone in a huge orbiting space station, ready to defend the Earth against an extraterrestrial threat that may never appear.

The dark state of the world comes to a head when the Justice Battalion, led by Magog, attacks the Parasite with excessive and unnecessary force. They refuse his offers to surrender and deny his pleas for mercy. Parasite panics and tears open Captain Atom, releasing his nuclear energies and irradiating the entire state of Kansas and parts of the surrounding states, taking out a large portion of America's food production.

Second Coming of Superman

Following the Kansas disaster, Superman is coaxed back into action by Wonder Woman, who convinces him to return to Metropolis and re-form the Justice League. The yellow aspects of his costume replaced by black as a badge of mourning for those lost in the Kansas disaster, Superman intends to enforce morality upon the metahumanity by offering them a choice: Join his League and abide by a code of ethics, or be made a prisoner by it. He manages to collect former heroes (including Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman and Dick Grayson, now known as Red Robin) 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 a 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.

Lex Luthor is still alive and well, and has organized the Mankind Liberation Front. The MLF is primarily a group of Silver Age Justice League villains (including Batman foes Catwoman and the Riddler; Vandal Savage; King, leader of the Royal Flush Gang, as well as third generation villains like Ra's al Ghul's successor, Ibn al Xu'ffasch, who is Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul's son, although their relationship is understandably strained.) The MLF work to wrest control of the world away from the heroes. Luthor's group also have an ace in the hole, a man the Spectre calls "the captain of the lightning and the thunder." Luthor captured Captain Marvel years earlier, and has been controlling him through the use of worms that affect Marvel's brain. The worms play upon the psychological dichotomy of the teen Batson inhabiting the adult body of the world's mightiest mortal, Captain Marvel, and resemble Mr. Mind, Marvel's nemesis. Batman and his group ally themselves with Luthor's group, to better protect mankind during the impending metahuman war.

Superman's Justice League gathers more captives than converts, and his requests to build a prison safely away from humanity are refused by both Aquaman, who wants no part of the coming war to reach his undersea kingdom, and Orion, who has wrested control of Apokolips from his father Darkseid, and sees the inherent flaws and inevitable collapse in Superman's plan. Superman and the League end up building the Gulag, a massive penal colony in the Kansas wastelands. Security for the Gulag is designed by Scott Free, the universe's ultimate escape artist. The prison 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 toward 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.

Pact

Batman and his cadre of heroes turn the tables on Luthor and the MLF. Luthor has revealed his plan to exacerbate the conflict between the League and the inmates by setting Captain Marvel against the League, the Gulag and Superman. The ensuing chaos will afford Luthor an opportunity to seize power. Assisted by the Martian Manhunter, Batman discovers that an adult Billy Batson is under the villains' control. Batson, who becomes Captain Marvel when he utters the word "Shazam!," is the one being capable of matching Superman's power.

When the Gulag's inmates riot, killing Captain Comet, Batman's forces ambush Luthor and his conspirators. Batman is unable to restrain the brain-washed Batson, who transforms into Marvel and flies to Kansas. He opens the Gulag and unleashes chaos.

After Captain Comet's murder, Wonder Woman convinces the members of the League to use deadly force to deal with the inmates of the Gulag. Superman objects. The Justice League clash with the bloodthirsty inmates, and Superman finds Batman and forces him to recognize that they may very well be facing the end of the world. Superman knows that Batman will act, because his entire crime-fighting life is based upon the desire to prevent the loss of human life.

Upon arriving at the Gulag, Superman and Captain Marvel battle. The U.S. government, fearful of the superhuman war and community in general, decide to drop a bomb on the sight of the superhuman battle. Coming to his senses, Captain Marvel flies up and ignites the bomb with his lightning in order to save those below.

The detonation is muffled by Batson's sacrifice but the blast kills most of the superpowered fighters in the immediate area. Appalled by the casual disregard of life once again by humanity, the Kingdom Come Superman flies off to the United Nations headquarters to vent his rage. He seals the entire building and decides to execute all the members as mass murderers for their action of killing all of the superpowered beings at the nuclear attack.

It is only through the intervention of the Spectre and Norman McCay that Kal-El is reminded of his greatest strength his belief in the inherent goodness of human beings and his own acceptance of being a human being himself that he realizes that he would only be repeating what the fearful leaders of humanity have done. Kal-El is reminded of his upbringing as Clark at the urging of Rev. to spare their lives. Kal-El retreats to the radioactive Kansas and spends the next few months burying all of the dead in a manner similar to Arlington Memorial field with simple white headstones. It is here that Diana arrives and presents Kal-El with a duplicate round pair of glasses he wore in his Kent identity. With the glasses back on he returns to being Clark and kisses her.

Clark then returns to plowing the field though the kiss is not forgotten as shown later Clark and Diana had a son together named Johnathan Kent would also be trained by Bruce before Wayne died of old age and intergrate all three of his parents into his costumed persona.

The adventures of Clark after having started a family with Diana are unrevealed though it is suggested he continued to adventure as the Superman of his reality as others of his reality such as West's daughter Iris West who became the next Kid Flash were shown to continue on after this time.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

Kryptonian Physiology: Superman's cellular structure is more dense, resilient and biologically more effective than human tissue. Superman's body also stores energy actively within his bio-cellular matrix as an energy pattern that is linked to his body's electromagnetic field.^{[citation needed]} This energy powers most of Superman's electromagnetic capabilities such as flight and heat vision.^{[citation needed]} It also supplements his physical strength.

• Solar Energy Absorption: Technically, this is the main source of Superman's powers. Because Superman's powers are greatly due to exposure to Earth's yellow sun, his powers have been affected by extreme absorptions of solar power, whether voluntary or involuntary.^{[citation needed]} However, Superman has used this to his advantage in battle in many instances, and to his detriment at certain times.^{[citation needed]}

• Superhuman Strength: While the exact magnitude of Superman's strength is unknown, it is generally accepted that Superman is sufficiently strong to lift several thousand tons as shown when he flew an ocean liner of of the water (Man of Steel #4) early in his costume heroic career.

• Invulnerability: Superman's body is nigh-invulnerable to extreme energy forces (Has survived low yield nuclear explosions where he was in direct contact with a ten megaton detonation bomb used by the Joker early in his career (Superman vol 2 #10} In addition, his immune system protects him from toxins and diseases. Superman is at "the height of his invulnerability" due to his prolonged exposure to sunlight.^{[citation needed]}

• Superhuman Stamina: Superman has the ability to maintain continuous strenuous physical action for an undefined period.

• Flight: Superman can defy the forces of gravity. Under one Earth gravity, Superman is capable of speeds Mach speeds in Earth's atmosphere. His control of his flight is very precise and he can perform aerobatic feats such as hovering, flying backwards and even lifting great weights while flying. Superman has repeatedly demonstrated he has the ability to achieve escape velocities (7 miles per second), fly in outer space and land safely down to a planet's surface from outer space.

• Superhuman Speed: Superman is capable of enhanced reflex action and the ability to move at incredible speeds by sheer force of will. Superman can match most other speedsters in their ability to perform super-fast movements, reactions, and processes. He can use this power to disarm opponents who do not have heightened reflexes, catch bullets or shrapnel or cross vast distances in seconds.

• Super-Breath: The ability to create hurricane force winds by blowing, and to chill his breath in order to freeze a target (this latter ability has also been called "freeze breath" and "arctic breath"). Superman can also breathe in large amounts of air, an ability used when dealing with and disposing things like clouds of poison gas.

• Superhuman Hearing: The ability to hear any sound at any volume or pitch.^{[citation needed]} He has shown enough control to block out ambient sounds to focus on a specific source/frequency. He can identify a person by their heartbeat, or pick out a single voice in an entire city.

• Heat Vision: The ability to fire beams of intense heat at a target by looking at it with the conscious act of activating this power. Visually, the power is typically depicted as two beams of red light firing from his eyes. These beams can be made invisible, allowing Superman to work undetected. The area of effect can be consciously determined by Superman, down to the microscopic level. Recent stories imply the precision is so exact it can bypass a target's outer shell (not causing damage to a person's skull for surgical purposes) or even defenses (such as invulnerability or intangibility).^{[citation needed]}

• Superhuman Vision:: He also possess a superior sensory arrangement of microscopic, telescopic, infrared and ultraviolet visual capabilities. He is able to see the entire spectrum. Abilities include:

• Electro-magnetic Spectrum Vision: can see well into most of the EM Spectrum. He can see and identify radio/television and any and all broadcast/transmitted frequencies, allowing him to avoid detection through radar or satellite monitoring methods. Superman can see the aura that every living thing generates.^{[citation needed]}

• Telescopic Vision: The ability to "zoom in" his distance to see something at a great distance.

• X-Ray Vision: The ability to see through anything except lead. He can see things behind a wall as if the wall were not there, or can "peel back" layer after layer of matter in his mind. Opponents sometimes used lead-lined constructs in an attempt to hide things from Superman.

• Microscopic Vision: The ability to see extremely small objects and images down to the atomic level.

Kryptonite Resistance: though naturally weakened to the point of death by the radiation producing mineral rock from his destroyed homeworld, though due to prolonged exposure to sunlight allowing for increased invulnerability he has developed a resistance to the effects of kryptonite. How far this resistance goes has not been seen.

Abilities

Genius-Level Intellect: Superman has shown enhanced intelligence, memorization and computational abilities; his mind works sharply and with extreme speed. His analytical powers are impressive — he is able to use his senses to read information directly from machines (and, with careful usage of his heat vision, he can even reprogram certain machines). He also posseses a photographic memory which means he has total recall.

Strength level

Class 100+; Superman can easily lift over 100 tons.

Notes

There are some notable differences between the Kingdom Come Kal-El and the Earth-22 Kal-El, including:

• Kingdom Come Kal-El retired for over 15 years before becoming active as a public hero again where the Earth-22 Kal-EL was retired for less than 10.

• Earth-22 Kal-El is older than Kingdom Come Kal-El as Earth-22 Kal-El is shown with grey hair in his ponytail when he arrives to find his wife dying. (Justice Society Vol 3 #11) Kingdom Come Kal-El is shown with complete black hair at that point. (Kingdom Come #1)

• Kingdom Come Kal-EL is no longer effected by Kryptonite unlike his Earth-22 counterpart who is shown to be still effected by Krptonite (Kingdom Come Special: Superman #1)

• Kingdom Come Kal-EL did not arrive before his Lois died, though he decided not to kill the Kingdom Come Joker on his own in a last ditch effort to keep his faith in the general good nature of humanity alive. The Earth-22 Kal-El arrived before his wife died and directly talked with his wife which was the reason he did not kill the Earth-22 Joker. (Kingdom Come Special: Superman #1)

• Kingdom Come Lois Kent was stabbed through her chest with her own name plate. (Kingdom Come #2) Earth-22 Lois Kent's skull was smashed with a heavy Daily Planet paperweight which killed her. (Kingdom Come Special: Superman #1)

• Kingdom Come Kal-EL only had one child with Kingdom Come Diana a son named Johnathan as shown in "The Kingdom". Earth-22 Kal-El is shown to have 4 children with Earth-22 Diana -- at least. And two of his children are girls. (Justice Society vol 3 #24)

See Also

• Discuss Kal-El (Kingdom Come) on the forums
• Appearances of Kal-El (Kingdom Come)
• Character Gallery: Kal-El (Kingdom Come)
• Quotations by Kal-El (Kingdom Come)
• Images featuring Kal-El (Kingdom Come)

Recommended Reading

• Kingdom Come

Links and References

• Superman at Wikipedia

Footnotes

Elseworlds Character This character exists within an Elseworlds continuity, and as such is not a part of the mainstream DC Universe; they may also exist within the 52 Multiverse. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Elseworlds Characters."