The Kingdom Prelude: Gog - "The Road to Hell"

[laughing_tree]

When I was a kid, Superman quite literally saved my life.

I have always been a devotee. Captivated by superhero comics when I was no more than four years old, they became the foundation of my existence. They always buoyed me in times of trouble, but even they couldn't elevate me when I was hitting high school. I was from a broken home, I was incessantly bullied in school, I wasn't handling any of it well, and the darkness of my depression had me -- and I am not exaggerating, forgive me -- suicidally depressed that no one really gave a damn about me and no one ever would.

And in that mood, on a January afternoon in 1979, I went to see Superman: The Movie, and it changed everything. I sat through it twice, full of joy I have rarely experienced since. I knew Superman was a fictional character. I knew Christopher Reeve was an actor. But together, alchemically, magically, they communicated something profound to me: Superman cared. He cared about everyone.

Even me.

-- Mark Waid

Comments

[kd_the_movie]

Jimmy looks good to have be about 60-70 years old.

[michaelsaint]

Ahhhhh.... the Quintessence. When Shazam, Ganthet, Highfather, Zeus, and the Phantom Stranger all had nothing better to do than look down on mortals as little playthings.

[q99]

Honestly, I can see *maybe* Zeus and Ganthet being party to a plan like this.

[scorntx]

Even Ganthet's a stretch. Sure, he was one of the Guardians of the Universe, but he was one of the sensible(*) ones.

(*for a given value of "sensible")

[q99]

Ganthet certainly would not original or support the idea, but he's stuck with councils of immortal beings who made reeeeally bad decisions before.

So I could see him sticking with the group, just not being the one saying 'exactly.'

[remial]

well, you gotta compare him to the other guardians...

[starwolf_oakley]

Mark Waid has been very honest about his depression in the past.

[tripodeca113]

Do they really need a bridge from Metropolis to London. It just bugs me.

[christianconnor]

Me too. Who'd want to drive for 70-odd hours on an exposed bridge across the Atlantic?

And I'm sure Cardiff and Bristol would love a bridge over their heads.

[tripodeca113]

Why do they need to drive? We have planes and boats.
It's just a terrible idea with so many flaws.
Presumably the scenes meant to show Superman using his powers to aid humanity, but couldn't he be working on something more useful?

[wizardru]

Was it a bridge for automobile traffic or could it have been intended for rail travel? Of course, if the idea of automated cars were introduced, it's possible that they had similar plans for super-speed ground transit.

The real issue might be one of weather. How would it fare during gigantic storms and hurricanes?

[zachbeacon]

Damm it, Stranger. You don't give powers to crazy people. No wonder God fired you (or whatever your origin is this week)