Supreme is a
fictionalA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
superheroA superhero is "a fictional character of unprecedented powers dedicated to acts of derring-do in the public interest"...
created by
Rob LiefeldRob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
and Brian Murray first published by
Image ComicsImage Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties...
, then Maximum Press, and later by Awesome Entertainment. He was originally a violent, egotistical
SupermanSuperman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc...
archetypeAn archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype after which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all...
, but was
rebootedReboot, in serial fiction, means a discarding of much or even all previous continuity in the series, to start anew. Effectively, all previously-known fictive history is declared by the writer to be null and void, or at least irrelevant to the current storyline, and the series starts over as if...
by
Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
to pay tribute to the classic
Silver AgeThe Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those in the superhero genre. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and the interregnum the Atomic Age, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period from...
Superman mythos, as guided by
Mort WeisingerMortimer Weisinger was an American magazine and comic book editor best known for editing DC Comics' Superman during the mid-1950s to 1960s, in the Silver Age of comic books...
.
Supreme is also the name of a comic book which lasted 56 issues. Alan Moore started with issue 41 and his run would later be collected as two trade paperbacks by the
Checker Book Publishing GroupChecker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
:
Supreme: The Story of the Year and
Supreme: The Return. Moore's work on the series won the 1997
Eisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, commonly shortened to the Eisner Award, is a prize given for creative achievement in American comic books. It is named in honor of the pioneering writer and artist Will Eisner, who was a regular participant in the award ceremony until his death in 2005, and...
for Best Writer.
Supreme
Supreme was originally introduced by Brian Murray in issue 3 of
Rob LiefeldRob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
's initial
YoungbloodYoungblood is a fictional superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for...
limited series as a flipbook story, and he was later spun off into his own series, which Liefeld had little to no input on. His history varied from story to story; at one point, he was an extremely religious
angelAngels are spiritual beings found in many religious traditions. They are broadly viewed as messengers of God, sent to do God's tasks. Traditions vary as to the precise nature and role of these messages and tasks...
of vengeance, who cited
ScriptureScripture is that corpus of literature deemed authoritative for establishing doctrine within any of a number of specific religious traditions, especially the Abrahamic religions.Such bodies of writings are also sometimes known as the canon of scripture...
to justify his actions. At other times, Supreme considered himself to be a
godGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
, especially after defeating the
NorseNorse, North Germanic, or Scandinavian mythology comprises the myths of North Germanic pre-Christian religion.Most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled in medieval Iceland in Old Norse, notably as the Edda....
god
ThorThor is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism, and its subsets: Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism and Continental Germanic paganism....
and taking his mystical hammer,
MjolnirIn Norse mythology, Mjǫllnir is the hammer of Thor, a major god associated with thunder in Norse mythology. Distinctively shaped, Mjöllnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains...
. Although considered to be the most powerful being in the Liefeld universe, he had his share of defeats, including being killed in the cross-title
DeathmateDeathmate was a six-part comic book crossover between Valiant Comics and Image Comics published in 1993 and 1994. Designated by color rather than issue numbers plus two book-end issues, Deathmate Prologue and Deathmate Epilogue, the four main issues were written so they could be read in any order...
Black series (published by both
ImageImage Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties...
and
Valiant ComicsValiant Comics is a American comic book publishing company founded by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, writer/artists Bob Layton and a number of financial partners in 1989....
), losing his powers in
Extreme Prejudice, and being brutally killed by Crypt in
Extreme Sacrifice.
Supreme was eventually given a more comprehensive treatment in
The Legend of Supreme, a three-issue
miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
by
Keith GiffenKeith Ian Giffen is an American comic book illustrator and writer.-Biography:Giffen was born in Queens, New York City....
and
Robert Loren FlemingRobert Loren Fleming is an American comic book writer.-Biography:Fleming worked for DC Comics initially as a proofreader and later writer creating Thriller, and was writing an Aquaman limited series and one-shot special in 1989 with plotter/breakdown artist Keith Giffen and artist Curt Swan.He is...
. In the story, a reporter named Maxine Winslow investigates the "origin story" of Supreme. As the story unfolds, we learn that in 1937,
Ethan Crane shot and killed two men in retaliation for the rape of a 15 year-old girl. Crane was subsequently shot by two police officers, but he survived and was sentenced to life in prison. In prison, the government offered him a chance to participate in an experiment to enhance humans, hoping that unlike the six previous guinea pigs, he would survive.
Unfortunately, Crane perished like the others; but unlike the others, he
came back to lifeThe resurrection of dead humans is a central doctrine of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It may refer either to the resurrection of particular individuals, or a general resurrection of humanity....
. The outside world was strange and new to him. Making his way to a church, Crane found sanctuary given by Father Beam, and soon discovered some of his new abilities. He took the name "Supreme," and upon hearing about the ongoing war in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
, he decided to do his part. Not much was revealed about Supreme's work in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but it is known that he joined the
AlliesIn general, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose. In English usage, those who share a common goal and whose work toward that goal is complementary may be viewed as allies for various purposes even when...
. After the war ended, Supreme felt that he had done his part, playing a good Samaritan to society, and left
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
. In reality, the accidental death of Father Beam at his hands drove him away.
Supreme spent decades in space, fighting against various threats on the side of an alien race known as the Katellans (the race of Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen's
VanguardVanguard is a fictional alien hero created by Gary Carlson and Erik Larsen for Carlson's self-published anthology Megaton. Vanguard is a white alien with small antennae who has been given the unenviable job of guarding Earth, which is viewed by the aliens as boring with little chance of anything...
). He eventually returned to
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
in 1992 to find a greatly changed society, complete with genetically enhanced superpowered humans that could be found in teams like
YoungbloodYoungblood is a fictional superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for...
and Heavy Mettle. Supreme became the field team leader of Heavy Mettle for a short while, but soon left the position after defeating the villain Khrome.
As Supreme fought
ThorThor is the red-haired and bearded god of thunder in Germanic mythology and Germanic paganism, and its subsets: Norse paganism, Anglo-Saxon paganism and Continental Germanic paganism....
over the possession of
MjolnirIn Norse mythology, Mjǫllnir is the hammer of Thor, a major god associated with thunder in Norse mythology. Distinctively shaped, Mjöllnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of leveling mountains...
, a character by the name of Enigma acquired another Supreme from an alternate timeline, to be kept in storage in case Supreme was defeated. Supreme did not lose, so the other Supreme was left to his own devices (most importantly in the events of The Legend of Supreme). Supreme eventually appeared to die during an assault on humanity by Lord Chapel, but in actuality, he ended up stranded on an alternate
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
. There, he spent several years until the alternate Supreme originally removed from this reality by Enigma returned and was overpowered by the original Supreme. The original Supreme managed to switch bodies with the alternate Supreme, thus restoring his powers. After various events involving Enigma and Probe (Supreme's daughter from the future, sometimes known as Lady Supreme), the original Supreme worked with Probe, Enigma and the alternate Supreme to defeat the evil
NorseNorse, North Germanic, or Scandinavian mythology comprises the myths of North Germanic pre-Christian religion.Most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled in medieval Iceland in Old Norse, notably as the Edda....
god
LokiIn Norse mythology, Loki is a god or jötunn . Loki's relation with the gods varies by source. Loki assists the gods, and sometimes causes problems for them. Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon and a mare. Loki's positive relations with the gods ends...
, whose machinations had been the cause of the various shifts between realities. In the end of
Supreme #40, loose ends had been wrapped up, and, while Probe remained on the alternate Earth, Supreme returned to
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
.
Alan Moore's Supreme
Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
was asked by
Rob LiefeldRob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
to write further adventures of Supreme. Moore agreed, on the condition that he could throw out everything previously done with the character, as he felt the comic was "not very good." Beginning with issue 41 of
Supreme, Moore began retooling Supreme, using multiple layers of
metafictionMetafiction is a type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion. It is the literary term describing fictional writing that self-consciously and systematically draws attention to its status as an artifact in posing questions about the...
, with each issue containing commentary on storytelling, comics history in general, and the
SupermanSuperman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc...
mythos in particular. The clichés of the superhero genre were frequently used without Moore's characteristic deconstruction and sense of irony. He stated in interviews that it was also something of an apology, as he had become famous for deconstructing superhero characters in various dark ways.
The Story of the Year
Given free rein over the Supreme—and, indeed the wider Maximum (later
AwesomeAwesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment is an American comic book studio that was formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
) universe—Moore plotted one of his fabled dense storylines to revolutionise the Supreme universe. Drawing on the
Silver AgeA silver age is a name often given to a particular period within a history, typically as a lesser and later successor to a golden age, the metal silver generally being valuable, but less so than gold.-Greek myth:...
Superman (and the boundless innovations of Silver Age greats such as
Julius SchwartzJulius "Julie" Schwartz was a Jewish comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in the Bronx, New York...
,
Curt SwanDouglas Curtis Swan was an American comic book artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 1950s through the 1980s.-Early life and career:Curt Swan, whose Swedish...
and
Murphy AndersonMurphy Anderson is an American comic book penciller and inker who has worked for companies such as DC Comics for over 50 years, starting in the 1930s-'40s Golden Age of Comic Books...
in particular), Moore's Supreme both built-upon and ignored all the issues that had previously seen print, re-creating the character from his origin(s) up. Although the "Story of the Year" arc was intended to finish with a Silver-Age-evoking
80-Page Giant80-Page Giant was the name used for a series of comic books published by DC Comics beginning in 1964. The series was named for its unusually high page count. . The cover price was typically 25 cents....
special issue, it was ultimately split into two parts: 52a and 52b. Nevertheless, the action (which included multiple flashbacks to 'earlier' Supreme stories/adventures, as well as pastiches of and references to a number of comicbook staples) tied together by #52 in a manner which saw the seeds sown in Moore's earliest issues addressed several issues later. (A common factor in much of his work, but especially seen in his later ABC titles
Tom StrongTom Strong is a comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse initially published bi-monthly by America's Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics' Wildstorm division.-Background:Tom Strong, the title character, is a "science hero"...
and
PrometheaPromethea is a comic book series created by Alan Moore and J. H. Williams III with Mick Gray, published by America's Best Comics/WildStorm...
.)
Summary
This new version of Supreme had a secret identity as
Ethan Crane, a mild-mannered
artistThe definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. the worlds best artist is a man named mitchell peter lay who is often loved by the ladies. The common useage in both everyday speech and...
for Dazzle Comics, who received his powers as a result of a childhood exposure to a meteorite composed of pure Supremium, a meta-element that can alter reality. When not saving the world as the archetypal superhero, Crane illustrated the adventures of Omniman, a Supreme-like character undergoing a re-launch with a change of writers.
Moore did not simply ignore the events of the previous issues; he turned them into a central part of his
Supreme storyline. In Moore's first issue, Supreme returned to
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
from space and discovered that not only was he living in the most recent "revision" of reality, as it is an ever-changing story, but that there had been many previous versions of himself. Retired Supremes lived in another reality, dubbed the "Supremacy" by its inhabitants, an afterlife for characters whose stories had come to an end. Supreme first suffered from
amnesiaAmnesia is a memory condition in which memory is disturbed. In simple terms it is the loss of memory. The causes of amnesia are organic or functional. Organic causes include damage to the brain, through trauma or disease, or use of certain drugs. Functional causes are psychological factors, such...
, but quickly learned that his returning memories were "backstory" that was gradually being filled in. As Supreme himself mused while visiting the site where he first gained his powers: "Maybe I really
did just pop into existence a few weeks ago [...], but standing in that hole I felt something. I felt a long, peculiar life well up around me, and even if my life is a tale the Universe wrote only yesterday, it started right there, in that ditch." As Supreme's memories "returned," the flashback sequences to Supreme's childhood and previous adventures were told in the style of different periods from comics history.
The Supreme story also contained references to characters from the
SupermanSuperman is a fictional character, a comic book superhero widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective Comics, Inc...
stories, a sister with identical powers (Suprema, a reference to
SupergirlSupergirl is a fictional comic book Superhero that is depicted as a female counterpart to the DC Comics iconic superhero Superman. Created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino in 1959 and appearing in Action Comics...
) and a superpowered dog (Radar the Hound Supreme, a reference to
KryptoKrypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics...
).
Darius Dax was also introduced in this storyline. He was a
Lex LuthorLex Luthor is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Superman and first appeared in Action Comics #23 , and was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Luthor is described as "a power-mad, evil scientist" of incredible...
-styled evil
geniusA genius is a person, a body of work, or a singular achievement of surpassing excellence. More than just originality, creativity, or intelligence, genius is associated with achievement of insight which has transformational power. A work of genius fundamentally alters the expectations of its...
who begrudged Supreme. Dax died twice in the series. The first time, he died in prison of lymphatic cancer caused by exposure to Supremium. Before he died, Dax transferred a copy of his consciousness to "micro-machines, no bigger than dust mites" which he concealed in a book. He mailed this book to Judy Jordan (a
Lana LangLana Lang is a fictional, supporting character in DC Comics' Superman series. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist John Sikela, she first appears in Superboy #10 ....
analog) just before his death. When she opened the book, Judy inhaled the dust and the copy of Dax's consciousness was transferred into her
brainThe brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate, and most invertebrate, animals. Some primitive animals such as jellyfish and starfish have a decentralized nervous system without a brain, while sponges lack any nervous system at all...
after her own personality was erased. Dax used Judy's body to trick Supreme and trap him in his own prison. Dax went on to abandon Judy's body in favor of a superpowered
androidAn android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human. The word derives from ανδρός, the genitive of the Greek ανήρ anēr, meaning "man", and the suffix -eides, used to mean "of the species; alike" . Though the word derives from a gender-specific root, its usage in...
body. Still unable to beat Supreme, he merged the android body with Supremium, causing him to fall backwards in time not once but twice, appearing first as the Supremium Man in an earlier story and, after absorbing still more Supremium, as the very lump which landed as a meteor and gave Supreme his powers in the first place, creating a
predestination paradoxA predestination paradox is a paradox of time travel that is often used as a convention in science fiction. It exists when a time traveller is caught in a loop of events that "predestines" or "predates" them to travel back in time...
.
The Return
Moore's work on the book continued until
Supreme #56, at which point the series was re-launched as/followed by a mini-series entitled
Supreme: The Return. This ran for six issues before being abruptly cancelled amidst
Awesome EntertainmentAwesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment is an American comic book studio that was formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
's collapse. Moore had written an additional one-two issues which were never published, a point referenced by artist
Rick VeitchRick Veitch is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics. He is the brother of Tom Veitch, underground comix writer, American poet, and writer of Star Wars comics.-Early career:...
, when talking about the
CheckerChecker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
TPB collection. He notes that Supreme: The Returns "biggest failing is that the final issue of the story was never produced. This volume takes care of that little problem by ignoring it completely and just tacking "The End" on the last story."
Summary
Following the defeat of Darius Dax, Supreme would find an ember of Judy Jordan's consciousness still in her body, which he transferred to a Suprematon
androidAn android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human. The word derives from ανδρός, the genitive of the Greek ανήρ anēr, meaning "man", and the suffix -eides, used to mean "of the species; alike" . Though the word derives from a gender-specific root, its usage in...
. Her new artificial body was endowed with superpowers, but Judy found trouble adjusting to another body and having missed the last 20 years of her life. S-1, the only other sentient Suprematon, would confess his love for Judy. S-1 changed his name to
TalosIn the Cretan tales incorporated into Greek mythology, Tálos or Tálon was a giant man of bronze who protected Europa in Crete, circling the island's shores three times daily while guarding it.-History:...
, and the two were married by Supreme in the Flying Citadel. The new couple leaves
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
and finds an uninhabited planet to live.
Ethan Crane's growing romance with Diana Dane (a
Lois LaneLois Joanne Lane-Kent is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
analog) started to falter after she became annoyed with the way he would "get all weird and run away." He tried to reconnect with her as Supreme (after arranging a meeting as Ethan). Supreme gave her a tour of the Citadel to give her ideas for Omniman. After a trip to the Supremacy Diana discovered Ethan's secret identity, and appeared willing to try and continue the relationship in the full knowledge of what she would be getting into.
After Darius Dax became the Supremium meteorite at the end of The Story of the Year, he was sent to a place similar to the Supremacy, called Daxia. Every version of Dax before him lived in Daxia, including Darius Duck, Daxor, Daxian, Doomsdax, Mad Nazi Scientist Dax, and "Grim" Serial-Killer Transvestite 80's Dax. The combined intellect of the Daxes let him cheat death once more and return to the land of the living. He immediately set about trying to destroy Supreme once again, and set in motion another circular chain of events, this time involving Billy Friday (a
Jimmy OlsenJames Bartholomew "Jimmy" Olsen is a fictional character who appears mainly in DC Comics’ Superman stories. Olsen is a young photojournalist working for the Daily Planet. He is close friends with Lois Lane, Clark Kent/Superman and Perry White...
analog) and Master Meteor (see below).
Villains
- Darius Dax, Supreme's arch-enemy who, like Supreme, has been through numerous incarnations, including a generic gangster, a Nazi, several mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have...
s, and a brilliant but manipulative business tycoon.
- Emerpus, the Reverse Supreme from The Backwards Zone where time runs opposite to our own, unaverts disasters, like releasing the captives of his "Ledatic", or punching a meteor back together.
- Gorrl, the living galaxy, held Suprema in captivity for thirty years.
- Korgo (first name: Brinn) is a warlord from space. He challenges Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...
under the formal rules of the Cosmic Dictators Guild and wins. He fakes defeat against Supreme to escape Hillary Clinton and return to the Hell of Mirrors.
- Master Meteor first appears in Littlehaven in search of the Supremium isotope and he fights Kid Supreme. When he reappears he is the second character to call himself the Supremium Man. In his Littlehaven appearance he claims to have some future enmity with Supreme; he appears to travel directly from this encounter to Darius Dax's laboratory in the present, and in a freak accident subsequently merges with Billy Friday. The confused composite entity blames Supreme for his condition and travels back in time to Littlehaven, where he fights Kid Supreme. This appears to be an ontological paradox
An ontological paradox is a paradox of time travel that questions the existence and creation of information and objects that travel in time. It is very closely related to the predestination paradox and usually occurs at the same time...
.
- Optilux was a religious alien who became a being of pure light with an ever-growing messiah complex. He converted cities, such as Amalynth, into coherent light in captivity, much like Brainiac
Brainiac is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #242 , and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino...
shrunk KandorKandor is the name of the former capital city of the fictional planet Krypton in the DC Universe. It is best known for being stolen and miniaturized by the supervillain Brainiac...
.
- Televillain was originally a television repair man named Reuben Tube until an accident gave him the ability to teleport using televisions and actually enter the fictional worlds of television programmes. On one occasion he transported into an episode of Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994. The series revolved around a group of friends in the area of Manhattan, New York City, who occasionally live together and share living expenses. The series was produced by...
and executed Monica GellerMonica E. Geller-Bing is a fictional character on the popular US television sitcom Friends , played by Courteney Cox Arquette. Monica is known as the "Mother Hen" of the group and her Greenwich Village apartment was one of the group's main gathering places...
(without any harm to Courteney CoxCourteney Bass Cox , also known as Courteney Cox Arquette, is an American actress, best known for her role as Monica Geller on the sitcom, Friends. Courteney has also starred in Dirt and the Scream series, and has guest-starred in Scrubs. She is currently starring in Cougar Town.-Early life:Born in...
).
- The End is a powerful villain whom the other captives in the Hell of Mirrors cede to. His name suggests he is a reference to Doomsday
Doomsday is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman: The Man of Steel #17 , and was created by writer-artist Dan Jurgens. Since 1992, Doomsday is the only supervillain to have successfully killed Superman,...
, but more closely resembles DarkseidDarkseid is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appears in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #134 and was created by writer-artist Jack Kirby. The character was ranked number 23 on Wizard magazine's Top 100 Greatest Villains Ever list...
in demeanour, so it may be a word-play on the latter's "omega effect", but he is never seen except in shadow. When offered the chance to escape the Hell of Mirrors his reaction is one of indifference.
- Shadow Supreme is an evil version of Supreme created by Darius Dax's negative energy ray. As his name implies, he physically resembles Supreme, albeit his body and costume are entirely black. He is completely obedient to Dax, whom he has even referred to as his "God".
- Slaver Ant is a female humanoid ant-like creature who secretes behavior altering chemicals. Upon escaping Supreme's mirror prison, she kidnaps several infants and tries to persuade them to build a new ant-lair.
- Vor-Em is a humanoid lion warrior.
Supremium
Supremium is the source of Supreme's power. As a child, Ethan Crane found a meteorite composed of pure Supremium, which turned his hair white and gave him many super-powers, such as flight, invulnerability, super-strength, super-intelligence, super-speed and more.
Supremium is known to come in different colours, each with a different effect; white Supremium is fatal to Supreme, amber Supremium warps time, onyx Supremium erases time, sapphire Supremium affects probabilities, ruby Supremium transmutes matter, and violet Supremium has random effects.
Supremium existed in a complex timeframe; From Supreme's perspective it existed from 1925, when the Supremium meteorite fell to Earth, until some point in the 1950s when the Supremium Man fused with it and disappeared. The second time Supremium existed was when Supreme synthesized it from trace elements in his blood in the 1960s. The synthetic Supremium existed until the 1990s, when Supreme's arch-enemy Darius Dax merged with it and became the Supremium Man.
Supreme realised that the Supremium Man from the 90s had fallen back in time to the 1950s, and then, upon merging with the remaining Supremium, fallen further back in time, becoming the original meteor.
Supremium is an homage to
kryptoniteKryptonite is a fictional element from the Superman mythos, originating in the Superman radio show series.The material is usually shown as having been created from the remains of Superman's native planet of Krypton, and generally has detrimental effects on Superman and other Kryptonians...
.
Supreme Sacrifice
In 2006
Arcade ComicsArcade Comics is an independent comic book company founded by former Image Comics mainstay Rob Liefeld and Jimmy Jay of "Jay Company Comics". This is Liefeld's 4th publishing label after Extreme Studios, Maximum Press and Awesome Comics. The company kicked off in 2003 with its first comic...
published Supreme's return by
Robert KirkmanRobert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead, Invincible and Marvel Zombies.-Biography:Kirkman's first comic book work was self published, through the publisher Funk-O-Tron...
and
Rob LiefeldRob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
. It will not complete
Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
's run. Supreme Sacrifice does include aspects created by Moore including the Supremacy. More specifically, it will deal with Liefeld's original 90's Supreme and his forced retirement in the Supremacy.
http://www.newsarama.com/images/interviews/2006/arcade/ArcadeState.htm
Kid Supreme
During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Charles Flanders discovered he could tap into Supreme's power, and he became Supreme's sidekick, the first Kid Supreme. The second Kid Supreme was Danny Fuller after he received super powers during a fight between Supreme and Union. Alan Moore's Kid Supreme is merely a younger version of Supreme as an homage to
SuperboySuperboy is the name of several fictional characters that have been published by DC Comics, most of them youthful incarnations of Superman. These characters have also been the main characters of four ongoing Superboy comic book series published by DC....
.. He was also Supreme-Mite when he first received his powers as a toddler.
Probe
The biological future daughter of
GloryGlory is a fictional character originally from Image Comics, and later on from the Awesome Comics comic book series created by Rob Liefeld. The character's full name is Gloriana Demeter, a half-Amazonian, half-Demon warrior...
and Supreme, named Probe and later called Lady Supreme, although she once believed that she was a test tube baby until Glory told her the truth. This character was removed from reality after the Supreme continuity was rebooted by
Alan MooreAlan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
, though she still exists in the Supremacy.
Suprema
In her place, Supreme's sister Sally Crane became Suprema. When Darius Dax merged with the Supremium, he became "too heavy for the space-time continuum" and he fell through a crack in reality. He emerged in the past, specifically, on Sally's birthday. Dax fell to Earth in front of the Cranes' residence. Sally's proximity to the incident gave her white hair, and later, she learned she had similar powers as well.
When Supreme left Earth, Suprema took over duties in his absence. Gorrl, the Living Galaxy, came looking for revenge against Supreme. Since he couldn't find him, he threatened to absorb the Milky Way Galaxy unless he was given a "suitable human companion." Suprema volunteered if Gorrl would spare the star system. Grorrl brought her to the edge of a
black holeIn general relativity, a black hole is a region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing, not even light, can escape. The black hole has a one-way surface, called an event horizon, into which objects can fall, but out of which nothing can come...
where time passes differently than in normal space. As a result, Suprema spent 30 years there, in the blink of an eye. After those 30 years, Supreme finally came to rescue Suprema. They were able to convince Gorrl that a human companion was unsuitable and he should be with his own kind. Gorrl allowed her to leave and she was able to return home. When not undertaking solo adventures, she partnered with Supreme and Radar and also joined the independent incarnation of Youngblood, alongside her best friend, Twilight, the Girl Marvel, where her prim moralising and high-handed, supercilious (as well as out of date) attitude rubbed most of her teammates, save for Twilight, the wrong way, earning her the derisive nickname "The Flying Nun."
US
Supreme
issue # 23 was reprinted in the Extreme Sacrifice
trade paperback (ISBN 1-887279-06-7) in August 1995.
Supreme Madness
TPB - collecting Supreme
#12-18 (Image ComicsImage Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by seven high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties...
)
Supreme: The Story of the Year
TPB - collecting Supreme
#41-52 (Checker Book Publishing GroupChecker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
, 2002, 332 Pages, ISBN 0-9710249-5-2)
Supreme: The Return
TPB - collecting Supreme
#53-56 and Supreme: The Return
#1-6 (Checker Book Publishing GroupChecker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
, 2003, 258 Pages, ISBN 0-9710249-6-0)
France
(Under licence from
CheckerChecker Book Publishing Group is an independent publisher of comics reprints, from newspaper strips to modern out-of-print titles and collections from defunct publishers.-History:...
, using the same layout, images, etc. with French translation)
Suprême, Tome 1 : L'Âge d'or
(Delcourt Contrebande, 2004, 324 Pages, ISBN 2-8478906-5-3)
Suprême, Tome 2 : Le Retour (Delcourt Contrebande, 2009, 324 Pages, ISBN 2-8478921-9-2)
See also
- Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer known for work in comics, including the acclaimed comic book series Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell...
- Awesome Comics
Awesome Comics or Awesome Entertainment is an American comic book studio that was formed in 1997 by Image Comics co-founder Rob Liefeld...
- Kid Supreme
Kid Supreme is the name of a character in the comic book series Supreme. During World War II, Charles Flanders discovered he could tap into Supreme's power, and he became Supreme's sidekick, the first Kid Supreme. The second Kid Supreme was Danny Fuller after he received super powers during a...
- Rob Liefeld
Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. A prominent artist in the 1990s, he has since become a controversial figure in the medium....
- Youngblood
Youngblood is a fictional superhero team that starred in their self-titled comic book, created by writer/artist Rob Liefeld. The team made its debut as a backup feature in the 1987 one-shot Megaton: Explosion before later appearing in its own ongoing series in 1992 as the flagship publication for...