Superman: Panic in the Sky

Superman Post-Crisis #18

by Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway, Louise Simonson

In PANIC IN THE SKY, uber genius Brainiac takes over Warworld and begins piloting the massive planet-sized satellite towards Earth on a mission of annihilation. In need of help, Superman recruits an army of super-powered beings to retard Warworld's destructive progression while a second battalion of heroes battle against an armada of alien invaders on Earth. But as the war rages on and casualties increase, even the combined strength of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the rest of the heroes may not be enough to the save the world against this unstoppable menace.

Genres: Comics, Superman, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

188 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

About the author

Dan Jurgens is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for his work on the DC comic book storyline "The Death of Superman" and for creating characters such as Doomsday, Hank Henshaw, and Booster Gold. Jurgens had a lengthy run on the Superman comic books including The Adventures of Superman, Superman vol. 2 and Action Comics. At Marvel, Jurgens worked on series such as Captain America, The Sensational Spider-Man and was the writer on Thor for six years. He also had a brief run as writer and artist on Solar for Valiant Comics in 1995.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

These 90's Superman stories don't hold up well at all. Superman seems to be a supporting character in his own book. His supporting cast is so large the focus seems to be on them instead of Superman and Clark Kent barely appears in the book at all.

The plot is as follows, Braniac has taken over Warworld and is headed to Earth to wipe it out. Superman assembles a team of heroes to head off Warworld and take out Braniac. The New Gods are severely underpowered in the book. Braniac takes them out in 2 panels. After Braniac is defeated, there are 4 or 5 issues of unrelated stories, one of which actually deals with some fallout from Panic in the Sky.

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 3 out of 5]

After John Byrne's late 80s reboot of the Man of Steel continuity, the character was so popular that had 4 titles dedicated.
This crossover involving all of them is just not bad if you like (like me) funny-epic-cheesy-bad-90s-character packed (I admit knowing just half of the heroes/villains here) battle royale events.
Not bad at all, but some parts aged not much well.

[Index Purga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crossover interno entre los títulos de Superman en el que enfrentan el nuevo megaplán de Brainiac.

[Nate]

Overwrought Superman comics from the early 90s. Completely plot-driven, so many characters, dialogue that's dated even for the time. Unless you have nostalgia for these comics, they don't hold up at all.

[Justin Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main “Panic in the Sky” story was great, the like 3 issues or so that wind down the collection are less so.

[Jason Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of my comic book reread project. Continued from Krisis of the Krimson Kryptonite.

2.5 stars rounded up to three.

About a year passes between Krisis and this. I don't have any of the books between them, but here's the continuing saga stuff that's gone on in case you're interested. Jimmy Olsen is not working at the Daily Planet anymore and looking for a job which he gets in Panic as a photographer for Newstime. Lex Luthor has "died," and his "son" has emerged from nowhere to take over Lexcorp. At least that's the story, but what's really happened is Lex had his brain put into a clone, and he's living as his son. Everyone likes the son because he's an all around decent guy, or so they believe. Of course, we, the readers, are just biding our time, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but that will be a while. At this point, everyone is completely hoodwinked, and nobody is suspicious yet. Lois and Clark are still engaged.

Summary of Panic: Brainiac finds the Death Star unattended with the keys still in it, just idling away, and he uses it to terrorize Earth. All of Earth's superheroes unite to fight him over the course of eight Superman issues.

I just wasn't feeling this one. It's too big, and there are too many people doing too much. This tends to happen when you bring everyone together for a big story. It's like the "Imaginationland" episodes of South Park. It's huge, and there are a million Easter eggs in it, but in the end it's just an hour and a half of distractions from the main story. It's supposed to be epic, but it's really just epically boring.

That kind of happens here. Superman is leading all the other DC superheroes, and he's lost in the fray. It's just an eight issue melee. Plus, this story had a dorky feel to it. The banter was "eh," some of the characters weren't quite right, (e.g. Batman was a little too chatty), and it just wasn't great. This whole story was done by the Superman writers, artists, editors, etc., and that's one of the dangers when you have someone writing someone else's characters. But this also wasn't horrible. I enjoyed reading it, but other stories are better. However, this works well as a standalone story; the references to things going on in the bigger picture are minimal.

This was a trade paperback, so I have no fun, nostalgic advertisements to share. Sad day.

One gripe about this version: Every issue was introduced by someone who worked on it. Some of this was neat, and I learned a bit about the story making process and some of the snags they hit along the way, but twice one of those people dropped a spoiler, one of them pretty major. Don't tell us what's going to happen before we get to see it for ourselves! What a bunch of jerks!

Next checkpoint: The Death of Superman

[Sean Carlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rereading Panic in the Sky! for the first time in three decades, I couldn't help but appreciate that this story arc now looks like the narrative blueprint for all our oppressively juvenile "cinematic universes," with no fewer than dozens of superheroes banding together to take on some vaguely defined intergalactic threat before it annihilates life on Earth. My take on P.I.T.S. is perhaps best summed up by series co-writer Louise Simonson in this excerpt from her commentary on chapter five:

"It can be very hard to make sense of an epic story with over thirty very heroic heroes, a world filled with major villains, and the fate of several worlds at stake. It's even harder to squeeze such a story into 22 pages and have it have any meaning at all."

- Louise Simonson, Superman: Panic in the Sky! (New York: DC Comics, 1993), 129

Right. P.I.T.S. is utterly meaningless -- colorful action sequences strung together by incoherent plotting and embellished with banal dialogue -- and there's no making sense of or taking joy in any of it... unless you were an eleven-year-old boy in 1991. That was the target audience for "spandexed spectaculars" before Generation X elevated this kind of pulp ephemera to Essential American Literature. It depresses me to think this kind of high-stakes, low-quality storytelling used to be confined to dime-store comics read by children, and now comprises the entirety of popular culture. If only someone would swoop in and save us from that.

[Tony Laplume · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Panic in the Sky!,” even if it wasn’t originally planned that way, set the stage for “Death of Superman,” even while it wrapped up several other dangling storylines. This happened before I was a regular reader, and until now I never got around to experiencing it for myself. It’s exactly that Triangle Era, complete with the creative teams almost exactly as they would be less than a year later. This collection features bonus commentaries that provide insight into the process. It feels very much like it was worth the wait. It was the start of the era as I knew it, the transition away from John Byrne complete at last. For this I will be unabashedly nostalgic.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman: Panic in the Sky

When Brainiac brings Warworld to Earth, Superman gathers together the world's greatest heroes to ensure he cannot succeed in his plans for conquest.

A fun story, with great art and as sense of unfolding continuity outside this collection. There are some fine moments where Clark tells Lois he had a choice of going with his parents to watch 'Zorro' at the cinema (punk my his story to Bruce Wayne's), but he chose 'To Kill a Mockingbird', which surely provides the template for Superman's behaviour.

[Dallas Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

DC is finally setting up their 80s rebooted universe to have Superman work on a team! The stakes and character used are super fun! I love the focus on prevention rather than intervention from the heroes!
Also what an all-star team of writers and artists throughout this whole book!

If you followed Byrne and Wolfman's Man of Steel run, this is a neat note to continue on!

If you haven't read those, this story is decently easy enough to understand and explains who each character is pretty well!

[Luke Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Na moral que saudades desse Superman, durante a década de 90 mesmo sendo tudo mal escrito pra caralho tudo do super era divertido, eu não entendo como os caras sabiam fazer o Super ser tão legal a tanto tempo e hoje em dia tem escritor q n sabe lidar com ele, isso sim é como gibi de super herói tem que ser.
Fora que só tinha artista fudido, puta merda é só desenho pica.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seguro que si lo releyera ahora le pondría dos estrellitas por la cantidad de capítulos que hay que bancarse para que pase más bien poco. Pero en su momento me gustó bastante, así que en honor a ese Fede conformista, dejo el puntaje que le habría puesto en su momento, quizás. Si algun día lo rerreleo quizás lo rerreseñe.

[José Miguel (TheHudson) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un clásico por dónde se le mire. Desde los dibujos a los diálogos entre personajes. Es una rápida reseña al estilo de los.comics en los 80's. Recomendado para todas las edades y aún para quienes no están familiarizados con el mundo de los cómics de DC.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should note this is my first exposure to this era of Superman. Judging from the writing and some of the reviews this might hold up a lot better if you knew more about the cast and deal of this time period in Superman’s story. Mostly because the story itself does not explain this which makes for a very hard read for the issue that leads up to the event and the first issue of the event itself. Did you know about Superman’s telepathic alien-looking friend whose actually a human? The time where Matrix, a shapeshifting being, was taking on the mantle of Supergirl? That the goofy looking redhead Luthor is actually Lex’s son? I didn’t and this was like a flood of continuity and canon all at once. It seems clear this story is meant to be read with the previous issues and storylines. It’s not a completely separate event or story. But this also came out in the early 90s where trades were reserved more so for more notable stories and events instead of every single issue in order like nowadays. So this is sort of expected territory with older trades of being just pushed into what feels like a trade halfway through a run and being told just to start from issue whatever with less focus on onboarding the characters or necessary canonical background info.
Once the event proper hitches off its a lot more easier to read with more recognizable characters as oodles of heroes come together to battle Brainiac (this incarnation having a goofy blonde beard and mustache) either on Warworld which he's taken control of or on Earth. The Earth battles are fun and so is the Warworld stuff as the heroes slog to get to Brainiac himself as they deal with Brainiac's control of Warworld's environment and people, his telepathic attacks, and his control over various people to do his bidding (which falls apart and is fun to read). A fair chunk of the book is just characters talking and bouncing off of each other while cape action vaguely ensues on panel. I really enjoyed the dynamic of Shazam and Guy Gardner as Guy Gardner constantly complains and picks at him while Billy just innocently answers because he's just a kid not even aware an adult is trying to get at him half the time.
Once it's over it becomes a real slog with a bunch of epilogue issues where most of them are truly unrelated beside a mere passing relation to Panic in the Sky through like… a character existing? Being vaguely related to something that was one or two panels in the entire event? I mean the story it told wasn't terrible, just oddly paced and really nothing to do with the event making the early 90s writing really stick out. The only real epilogue issue I enjoyed was the black mist one as well as a single scene where Lex Luthor awakens Matrix Supergirl.

[Peter Derk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Up to now-ish I've been having a pretty good time with Superman and have been like, "Why did they kill this guy off? Things are going great!"

Then I read Panic in the sky.



Panic in the Sky would be a really good, bonkers crossover with Brainiac taking over Warworld and trying to crash it into Earth, but the problem is that there is SO MUCH going on and SO LITTLE to care about.

I wish I would write to DC and be like:

1. Nobody thinks Guy Gardener is awesome. He has red hair fashioned by the same barber as Moe from the Three Stooges. His last name is Gardener instead of, I don't know, BloodAxe. He's dressed like Pat Benatar becoming a Green Lantern. He's not badass just because he says sassy things.

2. Why would you try and make a love story between Supergirl (who is just some weird shapeshifter blob woman) and a monster man gladiator guy? Both of them are pretty much blank slates as characters, why make them in love? What does that gain anyone?

3. Can we please stop with Gangbuster, who is just a lesser Batman who raided the Spaceballs costume department?

This guy is so boring. And the graphic design of his logo, clearly a throwaway design from the company that made DARE t-shirts in the 90's, is terrible.

4. With all the flashbacks going on here, why don't you give us a single flashback to Lex Luthor's brain being in a cloned body and then pretending to be his own son? You don't think that's important information, but every other panel is someone going, "Gosh, I remember how you helped me out during that whole mess with the mole people or whatever, see issue #585." Not one nod to this developing, insane, soap opera plot where Lex Luthor is also apparently affecting an Australian accent to throw everyone off the scent?

I'm not totally on the "Only thing to do now is kill him" train, but I can see why Superman fans, and especially non-fans of comics, would be pretty bored with the boy in blue at this point.

[Richard Gray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t the first comic I read, but this trade collection was one of my first stops back in the early 90s when I was looking for a big Superman story to lead me into the wider universe. At the time, this fit the bill nicely.

Looking back now, I have no idea how I followed it. Several years after Crisis, Supergirl was a shapeshifter really named Matrix. Lex Luther was a redheaded and hirsute Australian. There were New Gods, Brainiac, a Warworld warrior Draaga who recently lost to Superman, and a sexy alien named Maxima that Supes had a liaison with. There’s also an alphabet of heroes and villains that even three decades of reading hasn’t helped me retain.

Yet from the exclamatory title to the the kitchen-sink narrative, this is an old-fashioned story that made 13-year-old me want to learn more about these characters. Decades later, it certainly doesn’t hold up as one of the stronger pieces, and perhaps it's because it has been replicated and bettered by both of the major publishers many times.

Still, for a comic crossover of its era, it’s a fairly straightforward delivery. The single issue originals spanned eight issues over four titles, but it all stayed within the Superman family. As a result maintained a coherent vibe across the many artists and writers. Yet the climax just kind of happens in a perfunctory way, which keeps this from being anything more than a slightly above-average outing.

This more recent edition of the collection is an odd duck too, as it expands on the well-worn trade paperback I bought almost 30 years ago. There’s an alleged ‘aftermath’ story that has characters I’ve never seen before or since, including the Egyptian themed Husque and a character named Flashpoint! These are really just the next couple of issues in the four Superman titles, so it's a nice reprinted snapshot of a moment in time before the Death of Superman.

So, it’s three stars as a jaded DC reader, but four stars from the 13-year-old who picked it up all those year ago.

NB: Read as part of my DC Crisis and Beyond Journey: #12

[Brendan Mckillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve read the Panic in the Sky collected storyline before, but was enticed to pick up this new edition that promised the “never-before-collected aftermath issues”.

The core Panic in the Sky issues/chapters are still entertaining. I love triangle-era Superman stories. The supporting characters in the Superman books during this era are great, and the intertwining sub-plots always entertain. The core Brainiac evading Earth story works well enough, and it’s always a kick to see the DC superheroes coming to together to battle a common foe. My gripe is that the conclusion feels rushed and anti-climactic given the build up involving Superman and he recruited DC heroes.

As for the “aftermath issues”, I struggled to see how they tied to the core PITS story. One of the additional 4 chapters included in this edition actually relates back to the core events in PITS. Taken together, they hardly feel like the “aftermath” issues that promotional copy on the back cover promised.

So ultimately this edition ends up being a fun Panic in the Sky Superman story with a few additional issues/chapters of 1990’s era Superman tacked on.

[Ondra Král · Rating 2 out of 5]

Velmi průměrný kousek, který se zoufale snaží být něčím větším.

Záporák-telepat chce se svým mimozemským světem zničit zemi, a tak Superman šikuje hrdiny do protiútoku. Část se mlátí v ulicích Metropolis (aka výplňové scény), část letí bojovat přímo s padouchem a jeho telepaticky ovládanými pohůnky. Prostě průměrná žánrová zápletka, která může fungovat jako fajn odpočinkové čtivo. Jenže nefunguje.

Nejvíc drhne asi panelování. Kresebný styl je seklý v osmdesátých letech a zoufale postrádá moderní vyprávěcí postupy. Epické rubačky tu tak působí dost nudně a nesourodě, potřebu cpát bubliny do každého panelu snižuje jinak dynamické tempo.

Druhý problém jsou charaktery, které tu vlastně skoro nejsou. Kdyby tu místo Captaina Marvela, Kovových lidí nebo Big Bardy byl kdokoliv jiný, vyjde to na stejno. Jediná role většiny postav je v tom, že mlátí emzáky a pronáší zaměnitelné fráze. Větší prostor dostávají pouze "antihrdinové", ale jsou sakra nezajímaví. Meh.

[Andrew Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this comic. I remember that, years ago, this was the first comic book that I ever read. Maybe I'm placing some nostalgia on the comic, but I don't think so.
The comic is so rich with DC lore. Even though it is a Superman comic, the arc touches on so much: Brainiac, the New Gods, War World, Maxima, Supergirl, Draaga, and many well known and lesser known comic book heroes. Now that I knw so much more about the DC multiverse, I am still amazed at how well this comic fits together!
However, after the Panic in the Sky arc, there are other follow-on comics that touch on some of the aftermath of Brainiac's attack. Most of them are not very good, but some versions of this story even include a later comic with the famous To Kill a Mockingbird quote from Superman, which is so important in the later Death and Return of Superman storyline.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have only now read this story which predates the 90s "Death of Superman" storyline by a little bit and it holds up remarkably well. Solid super-hero comics here and you can see that Jurgens is beginning to find his rhythm with the character. I say Jurgens as I think he was the primary plotter and the art is all excellent and paced perfectly. For 20 something year old 90s comics they are a lot of fun in the "new Superman/post-Byrne" era.
One minor quibble and MINOR SPOILER is that Superman recruits Deathstroke to be his "general" to fight Braniac and his minion. That works and Deathstroke was hot at the time but we all know is you need a superhero tactician it is always Batman.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed when monumental threats are met with the lone hero realizing he needs monumental help. This story brings together multiple elements from the line of Superman comics into a massive battle on two fronts. I love Brainiac but not this version of him. He's much better when he's a cold unfeeling construct as opposed to a green-skinned Lex Luthor ripoff. There were some switching of sides which made sense but at times the battle drug on. Overall, a decent war story that struggles to hold up.

[roberto ortiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Después de mucho tiempo pude hacerme con la saga de Pánico en el Cielo con todos los integrantes de los equipos creativos de Superman del 90. Cumple lo que promete con la invasión de Brainiac y Mundo Guerra, tal vez un poco desaprovechado el villano, con la presencia de la mejor nave creada en la década del 80 (la calavera metálica con tentáculos).

Siempre es muy bueno volver a ver a Tom Grummett dibujando al hombre de acero, con esta saga que precede a la Muerte de Superman que vendría hacia fin de 1992.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a lot of good stuff in Panic in the Sky. There's also a WHOLE LOT OF FILLER. It felt like 3-4 issues of story in a seven issue tale. There was also a lot of, "Hey! It's that character! Cool" Only to have that character do very little. Also, it definitely feels dated in a number of ways. Despite all those flaws, I still had fun with this. The writers all thoroughly understand what makes Superman great. And it was fun to be reminded why characters like Dubbilex were so fun and cool.

[Logan Muha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Panic in the Sky boasts a pretty meaty selection of comic book talent behind it, although they are rarely ever given time to show their writing chops to full extent. This crossover between Superman titles differs from a horribly mistreated main villain, and a large cast of characters that distracts too much from the Man of Steel.

[Adam Klatka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn’t realize this event was kind of meant to be the kick-off the Superman-led Jurgens JLA. Also didn’t realize there was a point in Super-history when he was more of a loner. That seems kinda wild to me.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

if i were eleven this would be a great book, as it is, its just another big team up story.

[Eldon Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an event, this was okay, but not terrific. Too often the case from DC back in the day.

[Indika de Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman Vs Braniac...

What more do you want?

Plus a huge cast of Superheros that is too long to be listed....

[Raj Aich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Superman stories. Old school people will like it, especially the Brainiac story.

[Chris Fluit · Rating 2 out of 5]

3 stars for the central Panic in the Sky story, 1 for the extended epilogue that spends way too much time following Professor Hamilton.