A family discovers a portal in the basement of a house they just moved into. The portal leads to a town where everyone is a superhero, straight up Silver Age style. President Luthor sent in a team that never came out, so Superman investigates. It turns out the town was a programme begun post-WW2, but went underground because of the senat hearings in the late '50s. The scientist in charge destroyed all of the evidence and is the town doctor. Superman gets the agents out of the town and promises that it will be left alone. At the end, the Hollow Men arrive outside of the house that contains the entrance to the tesseract where Heroville is.
A seemingly done-in-one that has a lot of cool moments. Like Batman waking Superman up with a holographic projection and learning that Luthor does the same thing as he knows Supes' secret identity. You want to understand the difference between Superman and Batman?
Superman (about Luthor): He hates me. I don't hate him.
Batman: I'll pretend I didn't hear that.
Batman totally called Superman a pussy.
The Heroville stuff is great as the citizens all discuss superhero stuff the way we discuss the weather. Like one guy saying how he's thinking of cutting his hair short so his skull-cap fits better. Or a woman asking if Superman's cape is 100% cotton.
Or how the doctor's wife reacts to the government agents in their armour: she's terrified of them in that black, plastic-looking, bug-like shit. So, they have to dress up in costumes.
Or how the portal back to the regular world is in an abandoned porn shop because no one will ever go in there.
Superman here is the bridge between the old and the new. He has the ability to be Silver Age and modern at the same time. He tells the agents when walking (Abbey Road style) down the street in costume, "Hold your heads high, people. Wear your colours proudly." He understands an ironic, postmodern world, he just doesn't think like he's a part of one.
In 30 minutes, the Hollow Men invade Heroville and Superman learns what it is to feel no hope.
Phoenix #5 annotations
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