kingdom come #1

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Graded population

CGC records 850 graded copies for Kingdom Come #1 (1996). Population is the number recorded by this grading source, not the total print run or all surviving copies.

"Strange Visitor"

:*There were voices, thundering, lightning and an earthquake...and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood. There fell a great star from heaven, burning as if it were a lamp...and I beheld, and heard an Angel, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, WOE to the inhabiters of the earth.*

The story begins with Wesley Dodds) speaking with his pastor, Norman McCay), as he is reading from the book of Revelation in the Bible. Dodds has begun seeing visions related to that book and is trying to tell Norman about them. However, he dies before he can explain them.

While walking sometime after the funeral, Norman reflects on Dodds' life. Dodds had once been the Sandman. During his later life, Dodds had been worried about the world's current superheroes, who lack the morals of their predecessors. As Norman reflects on this, a fight between some of the modern heroes fight and Norman hopes that mankind can outlast these heroes.

These thoughts leaked into Norman's next sermon subconsciously. After the sermon, Spectre) appear to Norman. Spectre was supposed to use Dodds for his host as he witnessed the events of the coming Armageddon, but has to use Norman because he is now having the visions.

They are first transported to a farm in Kansas (which turns out to be a holographic environment created in the Fortress of Solitude) where an aged Superman) lives. Wonder Woman) comes and tries to convince Superman that he needs to come out of retirement to help the world. Inside the house, they watch footage of a battle between a team of new heroes lead by Magog) battling Parasite). Parasite pulled apart Captain Atom), causing a nuclear explosion that completely destroyed Kansas.

The Spectre then shows Norman that some of the old heroes still remain. The Flash) still patrols Keystone City, Hawkman) protects the forests of the Pacific Northwest, and the Green Lantern) watches Earth from an emerald city in orbit. Others, such as the Atlanteans, the Amazons, and the Legion of Super-Heroes have all followed Superman's lead of living in solitude and wanting no more involvement with mankind, thus, cutting all ties with them. Becoming complacent, and content in their ancient civilizations or future times, and leaving the world to its own fate. When asked about Batman), the Spectre shows that he's now using robots to patrol Gotham City.

The Spectre takes them to Metropolis, where they see some of the modern heroes having a shoot out on a suspension bridge and a tram full of innocents. The tram's cable was cut, but Superman was able to save it in time. Everyone was thrilled to see Superman save the day once more, but Norman was able to see this was just the beginning of the Armageddon.

| Appearing1 = **Featured Characters:** * Norman McCay) Also as a spirit * The Spectre) **Supporting Characters:** * Sandman (Wesley Dodds)) * Superman (Clark Kent)) * Wonder Woman (Diana of Themyscira)) **Antagonists:** * 666) * Harlequin) * Justice Batallion) ** Alloy the Metal Man) ** Blue Beetle) ** Captain Atom) ** Judomaster) ** Magog) ** Nightshade) ** Peacemaker) ** The Question) ** Thunderbolt) * Lightning) * Manotaur) * Mr. Terrific) * Nightstar) * NIL-8) * Nuculoid) * Parasite) * Phoebus) * Stars) * Stripes) * Swastika) * Thunder) * Trix) * Tusk) **Other Characters:** * Angels * Batman) * Beatriz da Costa) * Ellen McCay * The Flash) * Gotham City street thugs See Notes ** "Bill" ** "Bucky" ** "Dumb Donald" ** "Fat Albert" ** "Weird Harold" ** "Mushmouth" ** "Rudy" ** "Russell" * Green Lantern) * Hawkman) * House of El ** Jor-El) ** Lara) * Jesus * Kryptonian Service Robots * Legion of Super-Heroes) ** Bouncing Boy) ** Brainiac 5) ** Chameleon Boy) ** Colossal Boy) ** Cosmic Boy) ** Dream Girl) ** Ferro Lad) ** Invisible Kid) ** Lightning Lad) ** Lightning Lass) ** Matter-Eater Lad) ** Mon-El) ** Phantom Girl) ** Saturn Girl) ** Shadow Lass) ** Superboy) ** Supergirl) ** Timber Wolf) ** Triplicate Girl) ** Ultra Boy) * Michael Carter) * Planet Krypton staff ** Aquaman-themed waiter ** Captain Marvel-themed waiter ** Flash-themed waiter ** Green Lantern-themed waiter ** Supergirl-themed waitress ** Wonder Woman-themed waitress * Black Mongul) * Blue Devil) * Buddha) * Cathedral) * Catwoman) * Demon Damsel) * Germ-Man) * Huntress) * Kabuki Kommando) * Pinwheel) * Shiva) * Stealth) * Tokyo Rose) * Von Bach) * God * Gotham Knights baseball team) * Hollis Mason) * John Law) * Jonathan Kent) * Lois Lane) * Martha Kent) * United Nations * Saint John **Locations:** * Hypertime ** Earth-96/Earth-22 See Notes *** Astral Plane *** Earth **** Antarctica ***** Fortress of Solitude **** Atlantis **** United States of America ***** Delaware ****** Metropolis ******* Daily Planet ******* Planet Krypton ******* Metropolis River ***** Kansas Also as a hologram ****** Keystone City ***** New Jersey ****** Gotham City ***** New York ****** New York City ******* United Nations Building ***** Iowa ***** Missouri ****** St. Louis ***** Nebraska **** Themyscira *** Krypton *** New Oa ** Legion of Super-Heroes' Future *** 30th Century **** Earth * Multiverse ** Dream World ** Speed Force **Items:** * "*Alternate Egos*" (John Law's book) * Bat-Knights * Bottled City of Kandor * Bracelets of Submission * "*Behind the Mask*" * "*The Bible*" * Hermes' Helmet * Kryptonian Warsuit * Magog's Staff * Necklace of King Tutankhamen * Sandman's Gas Mask * Starheart Armor * "*Under The Hood)*" * Wonder Woman's Tiara **Events:** * 2002 World Series * Armageddon * Nobel Prizes * Olympic Games **Concepts:** * Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum * Magic * Metahumans * Possible Futures

| Notes = * The events of *The Kingdom* first reveal that the original *Kingdom Come* continuity is set on an Hypertime reality. *Crisis on Infinite Earths: The Compendium* then designates this hypertimeline as *Earth-96*. ** A similar, but different *Kingdom Come* continuity is eventually placed on *Earth-22*– one of the *52* realities of the Pre-Flashpoint Multiverse born during *Infinite Crisis*. ** After the recreation of the Multiverse following the Flashpoint), the events of *Kingdom Come* are established to have occurred on *Earth 22*, which is depicted as the direct continuation of the original Earth-22. * The signed World Series '02 baseball from Metropolis implies that the present events of *Kingdom Come* occur after 2002. ** It is eventually revealed that they take place in 2020. * The rogue metahumans Manotaur and Trix fought each other earlier in the story, and much later are seen fighting on the same side, demonstrating that superhumans seem to be fighting just for the sake of fighting, with no regard to who gets hurt. * The news broadcasts that Superman watches are translated as follows: ** "*The world was shocked by horrible acts*" (Anglicized Spanish); ** "*Tragedy in America*" (Korean); ** "*paralyzed by the news of Magog*" (Portuguese); ** "*fierce brutality of Magog*" (Italian); ** "*American by the name of Magog*" (French); ** "*We have learned that Magog has endangered us*" (German). * The street gang being pursued and captured by the Bat-Knights are analogs of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. * This issue is reprinted in Millennium Edition: Kingdom Come Vol 1 1 and the Kingdom Come (Collected) trade paperback, hardcover edition and Absolute slipcase edition. | Trivia = * According to Ross, part of the script is his, although DC did not credit him. * A statue of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, the bottled city of Kandor, a T-Rex robot, a Kryptonian Warsuit, and a Kryptonian Service Robot appear in the Fortress of Solitude. * The Japanese graffiti that Norman walks by is the kanji title of the anime series *Tenchi Muyō!*. Also barely readable is the "*Who Watches The Watchmen?*" graffiti, which is the quote of the Roman poet Juvenal that was thematically central in Alan Moore's *Watchmen*. * Alongside the World Series '02 baseball, the window of the shop that Norman walks by also displays *Alternate Egos* by John Law– supposedly an analog of the Golden Age hero Tarantula)– and a book *Under the Hood)* by Hollis Mason, which was originally introduced in *Watchmen*. * At the Planet Krypton restaurant: ** Billboard figures of Batman, Green Lantern, Plastic Man, Wonder Woman, Flash, Lobo, and Marvin modeled after Alex Toth's character designs from the early *Super Friends* cartoon show). ** The waiter that greets Norman is dressed in the costume of *Silver Age* Green Lantern, Hal Jordan). Noticeably, the waiter doesn't know who exactly he's supposed to be dressed as. ** More waiters dressed as Captain Marvel, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, the Carrie Kelley) Robin from *The Dark Knight Returns*, Aquaman, and the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen). ** The "Bea" who is asking for Booster Gold)– owner of the Planet Krypton– is Beatriz Bonilla da Costa, aka Fire. ** The Batman costume from the 1960s *Batman)* TV series can be seen on a mannequin in a vacuum tube. ** Images of Sugar and Spike appear on the video displays. ** Hanging from the ceiling are models of the *Golden Age* Batplane and the Silver Age Kryptonian Rocket. ** On the wall are Batman's 1950 camera batarang and Green Arrow's bow and boxing glove arrow. * At Norman's church congregation, Norman is preaching from the Book of Revelation (8:7, 9:2, 14:7), which parallels to the Kansas disaster. His audience is mostly composed of fewer and older attendees, which implied the loss of faith in superheroes among the young. * On page 7, panel 1, the long-haired Korean with the cigarette dangling from his mouth is Sung Koo, the former proprietor of Halley's Comics, a Chicago comic-book store. Chicago happens to be where Alex Ross lived. * The hotel in the background when Norman and (briefly) Flash) pass is the "Siegel," a reference to Superman creator Jerry Siegel. * Turtle Boy appears on a Jumbotron TV of "Sonny"– a pun on Sony. The Chinese ideograms underneath the TV read "done" or "finished". * The Steve Darnall marquee on the theater is a reference to the former editor for *Hero* magazine. * The "*Secret Asian Man*" on the billboard seen during the metahuman fight is a common mondegreen for the theme song of the TV series *Secret Agent Man*– the U.S. broadcast of the British TV series *Danger Man*. * Superman's pose holding a green tractor is reminiscent of the cover of Superman Vol 1 1 and Action Comics Vol 1 1. * The Spectre's line of "*with powers and abilities beyond those of mortal men*" is taken from the radio opening of *The Adventures of Superman)*. * The animals– monkey, cat, dog, and a white horse– from Superman's "farm" are references to the Legion of Super-Pets. * A portrait of Grant Wood's *American Gothic* appears on one of the news screens being watched by Superman. * The shield-bearing Sentinel of Liberty seen in Gotham City is a reference to its depiction in *Batman: The Animated Series*. * The people in the cable car are caricatures of Mark Chiarello, Charles Kochman, and Vince Letterio. Similarly, the two women saying "*Look! Up in the sky!*" are caricatures of Heidi MacDonald and Maureen McTigue. * Norman's monologue of "*bending steel....changing the very course of the mighty river*" is an echo of the words at the beginning of the *Adventures of Superman)* TV series. * The people in the crowd cheering Superman are caricatures of Bjork, Freddie Prinze, Dick Van Dyke, and Howard McNear. | Recommended = | Links =

Creative credits

Writers: Mark Waid, Alex Ross

Interior art: Alex Ross

Color: Alex Ross

Source records & attribution

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