J.M. DeMatteis and Eduardo Barreto’s one-shot comic book Superman: Speeding Bullets was primarily inspired by the notion of combining two of DC’s most iconic characters. The comic book was launched in 1993 as a 52-page prestige format single issue and won the Comic Buyer’s Guide Fan Award the same year.
In case you did not know, this comic book combines two superheroes: one who is faster than a speeding bullet and another who possesses a technological arsenal capable of embarrassing most armies. There are no points for guessing that we are talking about Superman and Batman.
The backstories of these superheroes are now well-known. But have you ever considered what would have occurred if Kal-spaceship El’s had crashed in Gotham City rather than Kansas, and he had been raised by the Waynes rather than the Kents? So, for those who have and those who haven’t, here’s a graphic novel that we will be delving into in-depth today.
You had better be prepared!
The Dawn Of A New Age – Superman: Speeding Bullets – Complete Issue Explained
The issue begins with a rocket gliding through space and making its way towards Earth. Of course, the people back on the planet are bound to have observed the ‘shooting star’ but unbeknownst to them, it was more like the dawn of a new age. While there was a possibility of that rocket had landed anywhere in the world all thanks to the fluctuating wind current, it crash-landed in Gotham City and was discovered by Thomas Wayne along with his wife, Martha.
The duo, who were on their way upstate to the Governor’s campaign dinner were both staggered and thrilled at the same time to discover a baby inside. It goes without saying that the couple always desired a child and they wasted no time in taking baby Kal-El in. For a woman, who fancied her social life in Gotham as much as Thomas did, both were well aware that their days of party and charity ball events had all come to a halt. Now, everything revolved around Wayne Manor; that was their world.
Naming the child Bruce, the couple began to raise him up as their own. Of course, Thomas had his own theories regarding the origin of Bruce and where he came from but for Martha, Bruce was his son and that is all that mattered. They loved him unconditionally, taught him values, and shaped both his soul as well as mind.
It did not take Thomas Wayne much time to figure out how powerful Kal-El was – he was quick, he was agile, and never did he for once have a broken bone or even a scratch for that matter. What worried Thomas more was his child’s mental capacities and he often told his son that people who are cowards and bullies are the ones who resort to violence, further stating to his son that he must always aspire to something better and higher.
However, even with the copious amounts of attention that Martha and Thomas showered Bruce with, the child was at times seen getting lost in his own thoughts, slipping into profound, ineffable loneliness. That’s when he turned to the loyal family butler, Alfred, who happened to be Bruce’s nanny, camp counselor, and best friend, all three rolled into one and the duo would spend hours talking to each other. Having said all of that, the boy did have this particular trait, his presence brought out the best in people.
Some years passed by; the days of laughter and fun came to an abrupt end when tragedy struck the Wayne family, one that turned Bruce’s life upside down. Bruce and his parents were on their way back home post watching The Mark of Zorro, when a robber stops them with a gun and starts assaulting them. With the nine-year-old witnessing both his parents getting shot, he is initially helpless and scared. As he calls out to his parents, who are lying still on the ground, he breaks into tears.
This irritates the robber enough to point his gun at Bruce and shoot him not once, not twice but thrice. Of course, this backfires horribly may we add, with Bruce being resistant to the bullets. The child’s superpowers are seen manifesting for the first time when he burns the robber beyond recognition using his power of heat vision. While a dead and severely charred Joe Chill is discovered the next morning in an alley, the police officers found Bruce that night. Smeared with his parent’s blood, Bruce had his eyes wide open and kept mumbling the same thing over and over again, “The bullets. The bullets.”
It has been years since that incident; Bruce is an adult now, leaving isolated in his parent’s mansion. It goes without saying that he is still overwhelmed by the guilt and shame of his failure. Alfred is exceedingly worried about him; he wants him to go outside and have experience, he hates the fact that Bruce hides in the mansion like some kind of a recluse but his words seem to have no effect on the young man.
Bruce’s super-hearing abilities keep him aware of every crime that’s taking place in the city and it is a given that he simply loathes violence and death with all his soul. His character is also seen collecting newspaper clippings, especially images of murderous violence, and pasting them in a locked room. To him, obsessing over other people’s losses made him escape his own for the time being.
One night, a group of robbers carrying weapons barge into the mansion and hold Alfred at hostage. This brings back painful memories from the past and Bruce ends up violently attacking them. So much so that he goes to the extent of even tearing some apart using his heat vision. It is posted this particular incident that Alfred takes Bruce to a cave nestled right under the Wayne Manor and shows him the rocket, one that brought him to Earth in the first place.
Alfred also tells him to go through the journals of Thomas Wayne so as to give him a better idea of his true origins. Upon realizing what he is and grasping the fact that his superpowers will enable him to do an endless number of things, Bruce decides not to punish himself anymore. It finally dawns upon him who he really is and what he is capable of doing. As for the robbers who had invaded the Wayne Manor, two of them were able to make their way back alive to their boss.
Of course, their inefficiency and failure at the task given to them annoy the boss to a level where he simply chokes them to death. Two months later, Bruce has taken up the mantle of Batman has not only created his Bat costume but has also started to fight back against the criminals of Gotham City making his presence felt as the night vigilante to everyone around.
The readers are next taken to a Gotham board room where Lex Luthor, a Metropolis-based industrialist having moved to Gotham to oversee his interests, is seen illegally trying to acquire Wayne Enterprises by organizing a buyout of the company. But to his shock and everyone present in the board room, Bruce arrives split seconds before the agreement is about to be signed. Lex has never seen him so he has no idea who Bruce is and with the latter not giving permission for the buyout, the deal is shut down.
Bruce also declares that moving ahead, he will be actively involved with every aspect of his company. Lex is furious and he almost gets into a scuffle with Bruce but with the latter telling the former that he knows about him surviving a life-threatening chemical explosion, how he took off some time completely to rebuild himself and then venture back into the world, Lex decides not to do anything for the time being.
As for Bruce, he didn’t just stop at making a public appearance back at his office; he takes the next step by purchasing the ‘Gotham Gazette’ and hiring Perry White as well as Lois Lane from the Daily Planet. Also, FYI, it was Lex who bought out Daily Planet and had Perry canned after losing a Libel suit so now you know Bruce’s motive behind joining Gazette as the publisher. Coming back to the duo of Bruce and Lois, while the former gets smitten by her, the latter is surprisingly charmed by his idealism and passion.
Sometime later, with Lois chancing upon Lex, she takes up his offer – a ride back home. One conversation leads to the other and Lex is seen trying to slide his hands on her leg. Of course, Lois smacks him hard warning him not to touch her ever again but this only lends her getting kicked out of his limo right in the middle of the road and at an unfriendly neighborhood for sure.
What follows next is quite predictable; a group of thugs ends up attacking her but Lois gets saved just on time by Batman, who beats the shit out of the gang. However, to Lois, Batman appears to be a ‘dangerous, psychopathic animal’. As he comes to help her, an agitated Lois angrily tells him to get away from her. This incident also leads Lois to pen down an article brutally criticizing Batman highlighting his demeanor. And, in case we miss out on an important detail, Lois is also seen beginning a romance with Bruce.
After a few weeks pass by, a mysterious man is seen briskly making his way inside the Gazette. While many try to stop him, he simply makes it to Wayne’s office. While the man is revealed to be Lex Luthor, there’s more to it. He declares his former self dead and embraces his reborn self as the Joker. Hurling Bruce out of the window, he kidnaps Lois and flies away using his ‘little flying machine’ whilst mocking Batman at the same time and saying why should he have all the fun.
On their way, he divulges more information to Lois about his accident – how he was reduced to a lump of charred, mutilated flesh, and even with the surgeons operating on him day and night, they could not be of much help. So, he decided to re-invent himself or let’s say revamp his look. Lex’s plans for Gotham are also revealed; he desires a complete military takeover of the city and addresses Lois as his queen.
Having made use of the fortune of LexCorp, Lex had also built up a humongous mercenary army, one with guns, grenades, fire bombs, and whatnot. Their conversation gets interrupted by the intervention of Batman, who post a bit of struggle is eventually able to foil his plans, capture him and save the city from the ensuing chaos, thus revealing himself to be a true hero.
Later, as Batman meets Lois, the latter tells him that she saw a different version to Batman this time, one who was capable of setting an example. As she calls him a symbol of hope, Batman tells her that he does not have it in him to either do that or be that. Lois takes off his mask and tells him that even if Batman is not capable of doing that, she knows Bruce Wayne is. The duo is seen embracing each other and the issue ends with Bruce Wayne assuming a new mantle: Superman.
What Do We Think Of The Comic?
You know there is ‘S’ that stands for Superman: Speeding Bullets. In the same way, there is an ‘S’ that stands for spectacular, striking, splendid as well as stunning. These are precisely what we think of the comic book. Written by DeMatteis and boasting artwork by Barreto, this graphic novel here is a riot of colors, one with a simple yet intriguing concept.
One of the high points of Superman: Speeding Bullets is that the entire storyline is shown from the viewpoint of Lois Lane – what is it that she thinks. But if you ask us the best part, it has to be the ending, one where the writer actually makes Lois wonder how the world would have been had Superman landed somewhere else. We get the pun, DeMatteis! A very witty one, if we may add!
