Superman: For Tomorrow
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| Superman: For Tomorrow | |
 Superman: For Tomorrow Volume 1 Art by Jim Lee. |
|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
|---|---|
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Story arc |
| Number of issues | Twelve |
| Main character(s) | Superman Father Leone Mr. Orr Wonder Woman Zod Batman |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Brian Azzarello |
| Penciller(s) | Jim Lee |
| Inker(s) | Scott Williams |
| Letterer(s) | Nick J. Napolitano |
| Colorist(s) | Alex Sinclair |
| Creator(s) | Brian Azzarello, Jim Lee, Scott Williams |
For Tomorrow is the name of a twelve-issue story arc in the Superman comic continuity.
This story arc was published monthly by DC Comics starting in 2004 and ran from Superman (vol. 2) #204 (Jun. 2004) - #215 (May 2005). It was later collected into two volumes and released in both hardcover format and softcover format. It features writing by Brian Azzarello and art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams.
The story is meant to present Superman as a darker brooding character, as DC Comics has been trying to promote this side of the character. The run met with critical success, but the superb sales were mostly due to Jim Lee's superb artwork, and mixed reviews about the story itself as written by Brian Azzarello. After the events of Infinite Crisis, the first time he meets the real General Zod is in the storyline Superman: Last Son by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner. The Zod seen in For Tomorrow was merely an alternate universe version of the character.
[edit] Background
For Tomorrow references two events that took place outside the twelve issue story arc. The first is The Vanishing, where a million people mysteriously disappeared from the planet, including Lois Lane, leaving only ghostly shadows in the places they had vanished. The second event is Superman's creation of an alternate reality, which he meant to use as a refuge for the people of Earth in case a tragedy such as the one that befell Krypton were to occur. However, upon its completion, he felt that it was not his place to change the course of a planet's destiny and put the world in the Phantom Zone, erasing his memory of creating it. When creating this reality, Superman also built robots in the likeness of Jor-El, Lara Lor-Van, and Clark Kent to protect it.
[edit] Plot
The story opens with Superman struggling with the fact that he could not save all the people that were caught in The Vanishing. He goes to visit Father Leone in his church, who we learn is dying of cancer. Throughout the story we see Superman's confessions to Father Leone, where he wonders whether he is responsible for what occurred. Superman tells how he was in outer space saving Kyle Rayner when The Vanishing occurred, and therefore abandoned Earth when it needed him most. This is followed by Superman explaining how he traced the source of The Vanishing to a foreign country. Here he faced General Nox, a military leader who was planning on taking over the country, who along with his super-powered minion Equus, attempt to thwart Superman from interfering in their affairs. A fight ensues, and Equus is injured. In a last-ditch attempt to escape, Equus activates the Vanishing Device, which vanishes himself, General Nox, and 300,000 more inhabitants of Earth. This leads to Superman having to face the anger of the public and the JLA.
Taking control of the Vanishing Device, Superman and Father Leone travel to the Fortress of Solitude, where they try to perfect the device so that Superman can vanish himself to find out where the other people were taken. Before he gets a chance to do so, he is confronted by Wonder Woman, who attempts to stop Superman from carrying out his plan, whom she believes is attempting to commit suicide. The Fortress of Solitude is also visited by Mr. Orr, who tracked Father Leone via a painkilling injection Orr administered earlier. Orr is a mercenary who is working for a mysterious group of powerful individuals described by Orr himself as having "80% of the world population working for them in one way or another." Superman fights Wonder Woman, and then tells her that the Fortress is set to self destruct. He tells her to save Mr. Orr and Father Leone, and moments before the Fortress explodes, he vanishes himself, transporting him to Metropia, the paradise world he had created in the Phantom Zone.
In Metropia, Superman is reunited with Lois Lane. He also learn of General Zod's existence in Metropia. It turns out that it was this Zod was behind the vanishing, as he was trying to build an empire in Metropia. The robots that Superman built attack Zod, Equus, who is now working for Zod, and Zod's other followers. The robots are destroyed, which prompts Superman to attack, defeating Equus and Zod. He transports everyone back to Earth and destroys Metropia. During the last moments of the alternate world, Superman tries to help Zod by saving his life, which the latter refuses to do so.
As this is occurring, we learn that Mr. Orr has talked to Father Leone about Superman. Mr. Orr has learned of Father Leone's cancer, and says that he can cure him. The "cure" actually turns out to be a horrific biological experiment that transforms him into another version of Equus, called Pilate. Upon his return to Earth, Superman has to confront the Father Leone version of Equus. Disgusted at what he has become, he asks Superman to kill him. Horrified at this request, Superman refuses to do so. As Leone continues to argue with him, a recovered Equus attacks, probably thinking that Father Leone, a construct like himself will help him in fighting Superman. Father Leone, however, in a last act of desperation, lunges at Equus, driving them both into a fiery nova in the background, which transports them to an island where they continue to fight. Lois and all the others that disappeared in The Vanishing return to Earth, but their memories of what happened have been erased from their minds.
Having restored the victims of The Vanishing, Superman has saved the day again. He proceeds to construct a new Fortress of Solitude in the midst of a 'jungle' and reminiscing about the events, walks away to close the story. While he has saved countless millions of lives over the years, who will save him when the end comes? With these threads tied, the story ends, however the issues of Mr. Orr and the mysterious organization are left unresolved.
[edit] Continuity
Even after One Year Later, For Tomorrow is still in Superman canon. It is revealed that the Zod seen in this storyline was an alternate universe version of the character, because the real General Zod appears in the Superman: Last Son arc. Also, the idea of Superman moving to a Peru jungle to construct a base is a major story arc elaborated on prior to the events of Identity Crisis (comics) and Infinite Crisis. He does not return to the Arctic Circle to rebuild the destroyed Fortress until the One Year Later arc Superman: Up, Up and Away!. In addition, Equus returns in Countdown to Final Crisis #36 (2007), in which he is trying to instigate a strike on metahumans.
