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Superman Post-Crisis #24
Superman: Bizarro's World
Lex Luthor is dying. Or rather, his cloned body is dying from a degenerative disease. In an effort to save himself, Luthor hatches a mad plot to recreate Bizarro, a twisted duplicate of Superman that should be immune to the disease. Just one Bizarro has a mission...to recreate the world according to his own weird vision. Bizarro's World is like no other.
Paperback
First published April 1, 1994
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About the author
Dan Jurgens
2,227 books285 followersDan 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.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 29, 2022
Imagine if you awoke to find himself in a world you didn't understand. A strange facsimile of your own world full of people who didn't recognize you and loved ones who feared you. To top things off, there is an impostor claiming to be be you. Clearly something terrible happened to your world, but you don't know what exactly. The only thing you know for sure is that you are the real Superman, and you have the power to make things right. Well, that's exactly how Bizarro felt in the first few minutes of his life. So being the hero that he is (or believes himself to be), he sets out in a desperate attempt to fix his world.
In this book, Bizarro is depicted as less of a "me do opposite" goofball and more of a tragic Frankenstein's monster. As a result, it's a much more poignant story than you'd expect from a Bizarro title. Well technically it is a Superman title, so it needs to balance a couple story arcs instead of focusing the existential crisis of Bizarro's existence. That means his story only has enough room to be good, instead of potentially great.
In this book, Bizarro is depicted as less of a "me do opposite" goofball and more of a tragic Frankenstein's monster. As a result, it's a much more poignant story than you'd expect from a Bizarro title. Well technically it is a Superman title, so it needs to balance a couple story arcs instead of focusing the existential crisis of Bizarro's existence. That means his story only has enough room to be good, instead of potentially great.
August 26, 2022
Part of my comic book reread project. Continued from The Return of Superman.
Really good story. More on that below. First, here are a few things of note that happen between The Return of Superman and this. Superboy moves away (I think to Hawaii, but that involves other titles). Clark gets his old apartment back, and Superman fights various villains. Cat Grant's son is murdered by the Toyman, and she gets a bit of revenge on him. I mention this only because the "punchline" of that story stuck with me for several years, and I would incorporate it into my first assignment for a creative writing course I took in college. It went over well. Speaking of Cat, she gets Vinnie Edge, the DC universe's version of Harvey Weinstein, put in jail, and she does it on the air during her newscast. Go Cat! Vinnie isn't a major villain as far as things go, but I hated him more than most others, and it was good to see him get put in his place at last, though I know he gets out later.
Superman battles the new Bloodsport for the first time. He's another villain I love to see get beat down. (He's pretty much a one-man KKK vengeance warrior). During the same story arc, Supes fights Hi-Tech, a woman who becomes a machine which made me think of this scene from Superman III. God, that part used to scare me shitless when I was a kid. I even used to jump into mama's lap when it was coming up, but I cut that nonsense out when I got to my mid-20's or so; there comes a time when one must simply grow up and face the television like a man.
A fight with Lobo takes Superman into space and clear across the galaxy, and it's here that we discover he no longer needs to breathe oxygen. Turns out his powers are increasing. This is slowly spelled out over a dozen or so issues, and they get dangerous during the Bizarro story because he can't control them as well anymore. Turning on his super hearing causes him to hear everything, and he can't focus on anything. Same with his supervision. Later... well, I'll get to that in the next update.
Superman is lost in space for a few issues, does some shit here and there, and eventually gets home. Meanwhile back on Earth, Lois is getting close to finding out that Lex Luthor, II isn't on the up and up with a lot of things, and may even be a murderer. Also, all of the clones from Cadmus are getting sick, some are dying, and the Underworlders, suspecting germ warfare, are preparing to attack Cadmus over it. Lex actually being a clone housing Lex Luthor, I's brain, is suffering from the disease as well, and that brings us to the...
Bizarro's World review!
, but everything else will have to wait for the next checkpoint.
Superman comics are more in-your-face action, and usually don't give you a lot to think about on a deeper level, at least when compared to Batman, but this story is a little different. It's pretty sad. Bizarro is a being with Superman's powers, but a small child's brain, perhaps with some kind of palsy, or autism, or something. He doesn't understand why everyone hates him for "saving" people and "fixing" problems. The people don't need saving, and the problems don't need fixing because they weren't problems to begin with, and as soon as he gets involved, the people are in danger, and he actually breaks anything he thinks needs fixing. E.G.: He sees a drawbridge going up, thinks it's breaking, forces it back together (which would've torn up the gears if the operator hadn't shut it down), and seals it closed with his heat vision so it won't "break" again. He has a heart of gold, but he's too dangerous to be allowed. Just what do you do with such a thing? You cry about it, of course, just like Lois Lane. So, this one tugged at the heart strings a little bit.
And now, a word from the sponsors. These are getting less amusing as I go along, so I don't know how much longer I'll continue this segment in my reviews. But here are a few that stuck out to me, mostly for personal reasons.
Yes, how could I not include the ad for Mortal Kombat on the Genesis and SNES considering the hours I spent playing it, not to mention the quarters I fed into the arcade machine. I was pretty decent at it. The SNES had better game play, but blood was not allowed, and neither were some of the more brutal fatalities which were replaced with lamer ones. Instead, they made the blood white and called it sweat, though that could be overridden with a cheat code. The Genesis had the blood and the original fatalities, but game play and graphics weren't as good. So, what to do? Considering Genesis sales stomped SNES sales, I'd say the choice was go with the gore. Looking at games in 2020, it's kind of amusing to think that almost 30 years ago a little bit of blood in video games was debated all the way up to Congress.
Do you remember Clayfighter? Of course you don't. I think I was the only person who ever played it. It was a Streetfighter II parody, and kind of fun, but I only rented it, and that was enough.
Great movie? No, not really. But I do really enjoy it and watch it every Thanksgiving.
I remember having to use pads back during the time that I was collecting these comics, but I used Oxy.
Next checkpoint: The Fall of Metropolis.
Really good story. More on that below. First, here are a few things of note that happen between The Return of Superman and this. Superboy moves away (I think to Hawaii, but that involves other titles). Clark gets his old apartment back, and Superman fights various villains. Cat Grant's son is murdered by the Toyman, and she gets a bit of revenge on him. I mention this only because the "punchline" of that story stuck with me for several years, and I would incorporate it into my first assignment for a creative writing course I took in college. It went over well. Speaking of Cat, she gets Vinnie Edge, the DC universe's version of Harvey Weinstein, put in jail, and she does it on the air during her newscast. Go Cat! Vinnie isn't a major villain as far as things go, but I hated him more than most others, and it was good to see him get put in his place at last, though I know he gets out later.
Superman battles the new Bloodsport for the first time. He's another villain I love to see get beat down. (He's pretty much a one-man KKK vengeance warrior). During the same story arc, Supes fights Hi-Tech, a woman who becomes a machine which made me think of this scene from Superman III. God, that part used to scare me shitless when I was a kid. I even used to jump into mama's lap when it was coming up, but I cut that nonsense out when I got to my mid-20's or so; there comes a time when one must simply grow up and face the television like a man.
A fight with Lobo takes Superman into space and clear across the galaxy, and it's here that we discover he no longer needs to breathe oxygen. Turns out his powers are increasing. This is slowly spelled out over a dozen or so issues, and they get dangerous during the Bizarro story because he can't control them as well anymore. Turning on his super hearing causes him to hear everything, and he can't focus on anything. Same with his supervision. Later... well, I'll get to that in the next update.
Superman is lost in space for a few issues, does some shit here and there, and eventually gets home. Meanwhile back on Earth, Lois is getting close to finding out that Lex Luthor, II isn't on the up and up with a lot of things, and may even be a murderer. Also, all of the clones from Cadmus are getting sick, some are dying, and the Underworlders, suspecting germ warfare, are preparing to attack Cadmus over it. Lex actually being a clone housing Lex Luthor, I's brain, is suffering from the disease as well, and that brings us to the...
Bizarro's World review!
, but everything else will have to wait for the next checkpoint.
Superman comics are more in-your-face action, and usually don't give you a lot to think about on a deeper level, at least when compared to Batman, but this story is a little different. It's pretty sad. Bizarro is a being with Superman's powers, but a small child's brain, perhaps with some kind of palsy, or autism, or something. He doesn't understand why everyone hates him for "saving" people and "fixing" problems. The people don't need saving, and the problems don't need fixing because they weren't problems to begin with, and as soon as he gets involved, the people are in danger, and he actually breaks anything he thinks needs fixing. E.G.: He sees a drawbridge going up, thinks it's breaking, forces it back together (which would've torn up the gears if the operator hadn't shut it down), and seals it closed with his heat vision so it won't "break" again. He has a heart of gold, but he's too dangerous to be allowed. Just what do you do with such a thing? You cry about it, of course, just like Lois Lane. So, this one tugged at the heart strings a little bit.
And now, a word from the sponsors. These are getting less amusing as I go along, so I don't know how much longer I'll continue this segment in my reviews. But here are a few that stuck out to me, mostly for personal reasons.
Yes, how could I not include the ad for Mortal Kombat on the Genesis and SNES considering the hours I spent playing it, not to mention the quarters I fed into the arcade machine. I was pretty decent at it. The SNES had better game play, but blood was not allowed, and neither were some of the more brutal fatalities which were replaced with lamer ones. Instead, they made the blood white and called it sweat, though that could be overridden with a cheat code. The Genesis had the blood and the original fatalities, but game play and graphics weren't as good. So, what to do? Considering Genesis sales stomped SNES sales, I'd say the choice was go with the gore. Looking at games in 2020, it's kind of amusing to think that almost 30 years ago a little bit of blood in video games was debated all the way up to Congress.
Do you remember Clayfighter? Of course you don't. I think I was the only person who ever played it. It was a Streetfighter II parody, and kind of fun, but I only rented it, and that was enough.
Great movie? No, not really. But I do really enjoy it and watch it every Thanksgiving.
I remember having to use pads back during the time that I was collecting these comics, but I used Oxy.
Next checkpoint: The Fall of Metropolis.
July 17, 2025
Good reintroduction of the character. Does a good job of maintaining the sympathetic view of Bizarro's Frankenstein Monster vibe.
June 9, 2018
My memories of this book are heavily colored from my early days as a comic book reader - I loved the story as a young'un, but the trade collection is somewhat less than. It's still an engaging Superman read, and the post-Crisis reinvention of Bizarro is a novel one, but I can't imagine this book being comprehensible to anyone who wasn't deeply steeped in the Triangle Era of the Superman books. We've got a decaying clone of Lex Luthor, a gang of Underworlders, a flood in Metropolis, Lois's formerly blind sister (in a panel or two), and Superman's powers on the fritz. There's the core of a strong Superman story here, but I acknowledge that the quirks I recognize from my youth will probably make this book a turn-off for less well-versed readers.
September 10, 2023
Perhaps the perfect Bizarro saga. An introduction explains the concept’s origins and history, the poignant turn so often overlooked in traditional depictions (mostly comic).
Anyway, further things to know:
-This takes place mere months after Superman’s return from the dead.
-Storytelling threads teased here lead to Lex Luthor “Junior” attempting to take all of Metropolis with him to his grave (before Underworld Unleashed allows the character a solid reboot and a whole forgotten renaissance with the Contessa saga ahead of him).
-And Superman’s powers going so out of control he mutates. Oddly Wolverine had a very similar arc in the same general time period, after Magneto strips him of his adamantium.
The highlight, and the real reason I scooped up the collection, for me, is Stuart Immonen’s earliest Superman art. Since he has two out of the five collected issues to his credit, it’s all but a spotlight for him, which I hadn’t really considered before. To my mind easily the definitive Superman artist of the decade, although he would have to wait a little to get the Adventures of Superman and Action Comics gigs that produce the bulk of his efforts.
Anyway, further things to know:
-This takes place mere months after Superman’s return from the dead.
-Storytelling threads teased here lead to Lex Luthor “Junior” attempting to take all of Metropolis with him to his grave (before Underworld Unleashed allows the character a solid reboot and a whole forgotten renaissance with the Contessa saga ahead of him).
-And Superman’s powers going so out of control he mutates. Oddly Wolverine had a very similar arc in the same general time period, after Magneto strips him of his adamantium.
The highlight, and the real reason I scooped up the collection, for me, is Stuart Immonen’s earliest Superman art. Since he has two out of the five collected issues to his credit, it’s all but a spotlight for him, which I hadn’t really considered before. To my mind easily the definitive Superman artist of the decade, although he would have to wait a little to get the Adventures of Superman and Action Comics gigs that produce the bulk of his efforts.
January 22, 2024
Unwelcome back, Bizarro! 1994 saw the return of one of the goofiest and loveable foes in Superman's gallery. And though he may be ridiculous and laced with humor, this Bizarro was not to be underestimated. What started as a silver-age attempt to bring levity into Superman comics by creating a silly opposite-day version of the Man of Tomorrow has since grown into one of his most intimidating, threatening, and unexpectedly sympathetic characters. Dan Jurgens' Bizarro World is in part to thank for the latter quality. The Frankenstein's Superman we see in this story is technically "Bizarro II" - though it was his first appearance "post-Crisis" - and therefore Jurgens had a little bit of liberty when writing this story. We are forced to look at the creature through the eyes of the intrepid Lois Lane, who sees him for what he really is - or at least what he thinks he is - Superman. In his own mind, recreating his own Metropolis and kidnapping Lois wasn't at all what he was doing. He was simply living out his life just like the real Clark Kent would. But he's misguided, and ends up always doing more harm than good. It's not entirely his fault, Jurgens emphasises. He's held back by his own degenerating intellect. He only wants to do what he knows, and he loves Lois deeply and truly in his own way - the same as Clark. Bizarro's World gives a new depth and style to the character that readers hadn't seen up to that point, and introduces him to a brand new era of comics. Jurgens paved the way for the return of the true "Bizarro #1" 6 years later, and after this little appetizer readers were ready for the main course. If you are a fan of Bizarro, Jurgens' Bizarro World is a great way to get introduced to the character without having to slog through dated silver-age material, but it is also excellent reading for anybody already familiar with the opposite-Superman. A quick yet terrific read for all.
May 3, 2022
Two things that don't hold up very well: mid-90s Superman and most Bizarro stories. This was pretty bad. The story of Lex's deteriorating health should have been handled much better and this seems like a lazy rehashed story. Bizarro is always sympathetic but I just never seem to care about him or his interactions with Clark. The art was both great and bad but landed in-between. Overall, this story doesn't resonate with me and doesn't have any long lasting hold on readers.
December 31, 2023
An interesting enough book with some entertaining portions. Bizarro is written very empathetically. Some of the written dialogue for the characters was a little stock and corny, but the overall plot wasn't bad. Great artwork. Overall, a pretty good good book, but not my favorite Superman story.
June 29, 2023
Me am happy for Bizzaro.
March 22, 2024
One of the favorite superhero comics of 11 year old me
September 14, 2025
I love nineties Superman, especially the Louise Simonson/Jon Bogdanove issues. And it's where Stuart Immonen got his start!
September 17, 2010
Through the character Bizarro, the writers of Superman: Bizarro's World illustrate that the best of intentions sometimes do nothing but harm. A monstrosity created from Lex Luthor's botched attempt to clone the Man of Steel, Bizarro commits a series of capers that include frightening Lana Lang when he means to save her and kidnapping Lois Lane when he means to impress her. In effect, the story shows a character misunderstood but yet manages to elicit empathy.
March 20, 2012
One of my least favorite re-imaginings of Superman, but the emotion this book stirs up makes up for it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews