Superman: Para el hombre que lo tiene todo

by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons (dibujo)

Traduce Superman Annual #11 USA.
Batman, Robin y Wonder Woman visitan la Fortaleza de la Soledad con regalos en el cumpleaños de Superman. Lo encuentran en estado catatónico. Hay una gran planta alienígena pegada a su pecho, sus brazos envueltos alrededor de su cuerpo. Al analizar la situación, el extranjero Mongul entra en escena, revelando el nombre de la planta (la "Misericordia Negra") y cómo ha puesto a Superman en coma, alimentándole un sueño extremadamente realista y plausible basado en el deseo de su corazón mientras que consume su bio-aura. Como él explica, Mongul toca la Misericordia mientras usa un par de guanteletes protectores de gran tamaño. Entremezcladas con las escenas de la Fortaleza se encuentran las páginas del sueño de Superman de vivir una vida normal en su planeta natal de Krypton, destruido hábilmente, felizmente casado con Lyla Lerrol con dos hijos: una hija Orna y un hijo Van.

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

68 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[Alejandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real gift for any comic book reader!


This is “Superman” Annual #11


Creative Team:

Writer: Alan Moore

Illustrator: Dave Gibbons


PARTY CRASHERS

Do you understand what you did to me?

The same creative team of Watchmen, nothing less, is responsible to deliver the eleventh anual of Superman, giving us the now iconic story, For the Man who has Everything.

Superman is celebrating his birthday, and Batman, Robin (Jason Todd) and Wonder Woman are coming to his Fortress of Solitude with gifts. Yes, I know, this sounds like something out of Superfriends (and hey, I love Superfriends!) but…

…people, it’s Alan Moore writing…

…so, don’t worry, this birthday party will be epic!

The Dynamic Duo and the Amazon Princess found the Man of Steel under a trance due an alien flower known as “Black Mercy”, courtesy of Mongul, one of the most powerful enemies of Superman.

The “Black Mercy” provokes the worst thing that you can experience…

…your deepest desire in life.

You may think that that’s not bad at all, but the contrary. Mmh. Aha. Are you sure?

Have in mind (pun intended) that this is flower, it’s not like you were magically teleported into a parallel dimension, an alternate reality, where you actually will experience your deepest desire. No. The real tragedy is that it’s just a dream, an imaginary scenario, and even while you think that’s real while you’re under the spell of the toxics of the “Black Mercy”, this won’t last, this will be ephemeral…

…you are living your deepest desire…

…and later you have to get back to reality.

Well, if somebody else is able to cut the connection between flower and host (which isn’t easy at all), and if you aren’t severed from the flower, eventually you’ll die, since the flower’s goal is to feed from your vital energy, every single drop of that…

…but the other option instead of dying is…

…to know that you finally were living your deepest desire and then…

…you’re being ripped out, back to your reality.

Maybe your current life isn’t anything bad at all and you actually enjoy your life. Cool. Cute. Peachy Peacheeree Peach. BUT…

…you never have been experiencing, smelling, watching, touching, hearing, talking, feeling, your deepest desire, a desire soooooo deep, that it’s very likely that not even you are concious of what is, but the “Black Mercy” will know, there are not secrets for the cruel flower, you were so happy, so content, so blissful, as you never will be, not matter how good you consider is your life, you will be living something that only your unconsciousness mind knew so far, and once it will be revealed to you, once you’ll realize how badly you needed to be really happy, then…

…you’re being ripped out, back to your reality.

Ironically (or maybe not) for being happy in life, ignorance is something quite valuable.

Maybe you think that Superman can’t need anthing else, he’s Superman, right? Well, then you may not know Superman at all…

…but the “Black Mercy” knows.

While Superman is “living” his deepest desire. Batman, Robin (Jason Todd) and Wonder Woman will fight (literally) for their lives against Mongul, an alien behemont, so strong, that only Superman would be able to fight him back.

I told you that this “party” would be epic!!!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the Man Who Has Everything.
This was always one of my all-time favorite Justice League Unlimited episodes, btw.



So what do you get Superman for his birthday?
If you're Mongul, you get him a plant called Black Mercy that traps your mind in your fantasy life.



Lucky for Superman, Batman, Robin, & Wonder Woman have all stopped by The Fortress of Solitude to drop off some very thoughtful birthday gifts. Of course, they all attempt to wake him up, and end up getting their asses kicked by Mongul for their troubles.
There's a bit of a tear-jerker moment when Superman realizes his son isn't real, even if his love for him is, and he breaks out of the fantasy kinda pissed off.



This one definitely deserves its spot in famous Superman one-shots.
Recommended.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have watched adaptations of this story but never had I read the original tale before.
The moment with Kal and his son made me tear up!

The art was great; simple yet gave you everything you needed. The flow of the story was good.
The one real surprise was Robin (the Jason Todd one). I know he’s on the cover but he’s actually quite important to the story!

A great story that every Superman fan should read!

[Scarlet Cameo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Con toda la sabiduría que Bill tiene esta historia demuestra que se equivoca, lo que Clark Kent representa para Superman es lo que él quisiera ser, vemos lo que hay en su corazón y cual es su más grande deseo que se límita a ser normal: tener una familia, hijos, un trabajo como cualquier otro, problemas familiares, que su planeta no explotará, es decir lo que cualquier a su alrededor puede tener. Esto no lo exime de problemas fuerte, de hecho Kripton no es una ciudad idílica como podríamos esperar dado que es la fantasía perfecta de un hombre, de hecho es un lugar donde una crisis política está a punto de explotar, liderada por Jor-El, padre de Superman, que se encuentra resentido con el gobierno por exponer su erronéa su teoría de que el planeta explotaría: es decir que entre golpizas, revueltas y familia Superman se encuentra en otro mundo. (Vamos que esto lo escribió Moore y ni las fantasías de mundo perfecto pueden ser utópicas).

Esta historia trata a peor tortura por la que un hombre, incluyendo a Superman, puede pasar: tenerlo todo para perderlo en un segundo. No sólo es el sufrimiento de la perdida, sino el conocimiento de que nada fue real. La Piedad Negra se revela como el castigo supremo, aquel que te matá si te quedas y te destroza si lo dejas.

Sin necesidad de demostrar todos los poderes con los que estos personajes cuentan la historia es más intensa de lo que podrían esperar, la misma premisa hace que se cree una conexión con los protagonistas, haciendo que los conozcamos y que se reafirme que, de no haber sido por ese evento que los marcó, ellos no serían héroes, serían sólo ciudadanos promedio.

Una historia que se agradecería que tuviera más páginas, que nos muestra aspectos diferentes de nuestros héroes, permitiéndonos ver a un Superman completamente furioso y desatado, pero igualmente su faceta más humana.

[Max's Comic Reviews and Lists · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Really Bad LSD Trip
Alright so it’s 1985. The year before the best year of all time for comics starts. And Alan Moore was knocking it out if the park for DC comics. Dave Gibbons was also showing his strength as probably the best artist in the Superman run at the time. And damn y’know what? This is the best annual I have ever read. This story is genius. Not a masterpiece, but a genius concept with amazing and visceral execution.

Wonder Woman, Batman, and Jason Todd travel to the fortress of solitude for Superman’s “firstday” and find him tripping balls. One of the main reasons I love this issue is because of the tone and aura seeping off of it. It’s all very in the moment and fast paced. Mongul is such a dick. He was really great because he doesn’t need to a really deep and compelling villain here like I usually want. He was just a dick wanting everyone at his mercy. The dialogue he spouts out is so causal and matter of fact. The dream sequences that Superman has are frickin brilliant. Because depending on what is happening in reality, his dream can get fucked up. And the emotional punches that happen and the political/family story built up in this 45 page issue just shows how skilled Alan Moore is. All the fights are really entertaining, but a little too broken up. What I mean by that is, that each fight scene is constantly cutting back to other stuff that’s going on during the fight. Like Robin getting the Black Mercy off, or Batman trying to help Kal. Just a nitpick though. Another tiny nit pick I have is Mongul’s eventual reveal of his hearts desire at first. I feel like Moore set that up for laughs because it almost seemed rushed and surface level.

Alan Moore makes 2 very noticeable jabs at the then current material coming from DC and the future material. In small subtle ways, but enough to make you go “you slick sonuvabitch” Wonder Woman at the beginning remarks how she thinks Jason Todd looks exactly like Dick Grayson, (which was very true) basically implying that the other DC writers got lazy with character design. And the other one is the best. Superman and Wonder Women do something near the end of the issue, and they remark that it was very cliche and predictable. This is obviously Alan Moore seeing the future into The New 52 where that very same thing happened and it was very cliche and predictable. So shit. He was right. There are many great moments I could talk about but my favourite has to be Superman getting so fuckin angry and says the line “Burn”. I was shitting my pants at that point.

Dave Gibbon’s art is frickin great. It’s looks enough like that classic Bronze Age art keep with the times and enough like Watchmen for me to fanboy out. He has such an expressive style that few other artist from this time I feel could replicate. Even one shot of Robin throwing a grappling hook got me to go “shit that is some damn nice art”.

I might have to go and read all of the other Superman annuals from the 80s and 90s because I want to see if any of them stand up to this one. It’s a really damn good story with a perfect dark tone and fantastic art. You can tell this is Alan Moore because the quality of the dialogue and the over all maturity of the writing shoots up. Definite recommend. Lettter Grade: (A)

[Benji's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much can be said about it, without spoilers, but I will say it's one of the best Superman stories out there that you don't need to read anything before it to understand.

Superman stories are often hit or miss and this was definitely a hit. Enough that WB adapted it into an episode of Justice League Unlimited titled, "For the Man Who Has Everything," one of my all-time favorite episodes. Alan Moore's writing is quick and Dave Gibbons art is wonderful as always.

Recommended.

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tight little fantasy with an alternate history feel and a complex setup for an ultimately simple one-shot. The art was oldschool comics, unfortunately, so I couldn't really care about it, but I thought the whole thing was pretty interesting and satisfying.

[Cristhian · Rating 5 out of 5]

De las mejores historias de Superman. Creo que no hubo una historia contenida en 40 páginas tan buena hasta el glorioso AC 775. No hay desperdicio en cada una de sus líneas. Moore toma a un semi dios como era el Superman de la era Pre-Crisis (on Infinite Earths, con eso de que ahora DC tiene crisis hasta para cuando se les quema el pan en el tostador) y lo humaniza tanto y lo acerca a uno, dándole una vida normal y feliz que uno se siente mal cuando tiene que escapar de esa vida de ilusión para derrotar al villano.

También este anual contiene una de las mejores, MEJORES, líneas de todos los tiempos en los comics, esa sola línea a posicionado a Mongul como uno de los villanos más interesantes del último hijo de Kripton, aunque esta historia ya no sea considerada Canon.

Happy birthday, Kryptonian. I give you oblivion.
-Mongul.

[Eddie B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

What if Jor-El was an old fool and Krypton wasn't meant to be doomed? What if Superman was just another Kryptonian John Doe? Would Kal-El really be the man who has everything?

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read, and I love how Jason defeats Mongol with his smarts and skills.

[G. Salter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may not be Alan Moore's best work, but it's definitely within his top 10. We've always wondered, is there any way to defeat Superman without Kryptonite, and this story answers that question with great pathos, incredible action sequences, and the hallmark of Alan Moore's work: well-written dialogue.

Like the best comic books, this story also raises some interesting philosophical questions. Spider-Man raised questions about humanity's fears, Batman raised questions about who far you can go into anarchy before becoming as bad as the criminals you fight. This story raises questions about why events happen. Is it possible some things happen because it's best?

Another great comic book, one that every Superman fan should read.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This single issue story featuring DC Comics' big three, is one of the best Superman stories I have read (or watched). It is a what-if story, but also shows what Superman is, is not, and could still be. It was written by Alan Moore when he was still on the rise and gave a glimpse at the man's power. Easily recommended.

[Arian M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iconic.

[Vigneswara Prabhu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superman has always been a difficult character for comic book writers to represent in the pages, while also being a character which readers found hard to connect with on a personal level, as opposed to say, the caped crusader.

It sort of came with the territory. When you write about the modern version of Nietzsche’s Ubermensch, a literal demigod or literal God among men, you can’t hold him to regular sensibilities. After all, this was a character who went from being faster than a speeding bullet and leaping tall buildings in a single bound, to someone who could throw around literal planets and sneeze away a whole solar system.

Stakes are non-existent, and threats are limited when your character is nigh invulnerable and invincible. Suffice to say, Superman might’ve been the OG Gary Stu. Or at least the Silver Age version was ( Superman One million might be the strongest version of the character, but Silver age Superman got shit DONE).

Hence subsequent writers have tried to often make him more vulnerable, either physically by McGuffins like the kryptonite ( something which has endured in popular lexicon as a term to describe a personal nemesis, a thing or person that saps the strength.), or by giving him character flaws and vulnerabilities which are aimed to make him more human

Which is ironic considering how one of the constant struggles of the characters is being a child of two worlds, and not being able to fit completely in either. Which is why titles such as ‘All Star Superman’ & ‘Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow’ make some of the most exceptional titles featuring the character. Alan Moore’s short story, ‘For the Man who has everything’, can also be, I believe, added to that list.

The premise is Superman’s birthday (which some records claim to be February 29, a ‘leap’ day), when Batman, Wonder women and Robin (Jason Todd) arrive at the fortress of solitude bearing gifts. The mood is quite jovial, until they enter the antechamber and witness the man of steel, standing dazed and completely out of it, with an ominous looking parasitic plant wrapped around his torso.

The semi-sentient plant called Black Mercy, was a trap set by one of his enemies, the tyrant Mongul. It was a creature which fed on the subject’s life force, while keeping them subdued by showing them the happiest versions of their lives, with their deepest wishes fulfilled.

While the team is battling out the powerhouse alien who is more than a match for Superman, the man in question is trapped inside the prison of his own desire, living a mundane simulated life on a undestroyed Krypton, with a loving wife, son he always wished for, and the affection of his family.

Unfortunately, the man who is Kal-el has to come to terms with the illusion which he is in. In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the entire 80 year run of the character, he holds his fictional son and says as much as I want you to be, you’re not real, and this is not my life.

The story ends as one would expect. Superman breaks out, beats up Mongul, who himself falls prey to the Black Mercy, courtesy of Robin. What works for the story is how it shows that underneath all that power and solar fueled invulnerability, superman is still a man, one who feels and fails, and one filled with desires and regret. It is like that dream you have on occasion, quite a lucid one, which shows the world that you wish was real, be it being with a loved one, or regaining someone lost to death.

This storyline was further refined and added to, in the brilliant Justice League Animated series, in an episode with the same name.

Superman is a difficult character to write. But storylines such as ‘For the man who has everything’ show that the way to go with such a character is to make the readers aware of their inner workings, vulnerabilities and failings, which make readers more empathetic to these demigods.

[Barbarroja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una de las mejores historias jamás creadas de Superman, y decir esto del —probablemente— mayor mito ficcional de nuestro tiempo, no es moco de pavo. Para continuar con esta sucesión hiperbólica, el cómic está escrito por Alan Moore, el mejor guionista de la historia del medio. Casi ná.

[Zeeshan Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember watching this story's adaptation in a Justice League episode (it deviates a bit from the original story, but retains the essence), and it moved me in a way that was quite amazing. I finally read the original comic, and I am in awe. What great writing. Think about it: Superman, the perfect man. He has everything. He is indestructible, and has all god-like powers one can ever dream of. Yet, there will always be a void in him. Like all of us, he will always have some wishes, regrets or dreams. This story tells us that Kal-El/ Clark Kent/ Superman is not that different from us. He gets to live his deepest desire, a world which he believes is perfect. And yet, it has its own tragedies. There came a moment in the Justice League adaptation where I felt broken, just like Superman. Reading the story that moment came again, when Kal tells his 'son' that he is not real, and Kal's perfect world collapses right in front of him.

I believe this stands as one of the best Superman stories. Too close to my heart. Beautiful, indeed.

[Ivan Markovskyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing work from Alan Moore, who mastered the ability to explore deep philosophical and psychological questions through well-written and entertaining sci-fi stories.

We all have dreams. We all have desires. We all wish for something more in life because even if it`s going really well right now, there`s always something missing. We`re all humans, therefore, we`re all flawed in that regard. We`re moved by this itch for more. It can be something from the long-lost past or something that we think we`re obligated to have in the future. We dream about it, we give ourselves to the comfort of our fantasy. The thing is, in one way or another, all our dreams are unachievable. But how sweet this lie is! Even if you understand this, it is hurt to give up of your fantasy. But there`s no other way. Eventually, you`ll need to let go of this dream because it isn`t real. Because in the end, the reality is what we`ve got. And you shouldn`t let illusions distract you from what`s really matters.

[Riccardo Caputi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute story! And it's weird, because its concept is terrible: Mongul literally shattered Superman's dream world, basically proving him that he is doomed to suffer. However, Superman does find the strength to go on, and to appreciate the joy of partying with his friends. Moreover, the goofiness of this story made me have a wonderful time.

Maybe a bit too wordy for my taste, but whatever, I really loved it!

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork by Gibbons and an amazing story by Alan Moore. This is a classic Superman story. Along with the story and the art, I find the title of the story amusing as well.

[Nebuchadnezzar Kander · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you stop to think about it, Superman's need to be "just a normal guy" is an extremely strange one. What Moore does here is bring depth to the extremely one-dimentional character of Superman. I havn't read much of Superman because I always thought it to be the worst of all comics (I still think so) but this short story is beautifully drawn and masterfully told.

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

Se logra transmitir la mística y los sentimientos de la mano de Alan Moore, su sello característico.

[Gino Canales Rengifo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gustosamente podría dedicarme a leer cien números de Superman escritos por Alan Moore.

[Rylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best superman stories ever

[Samuel Hickman · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

A fantastic 40 paged story. Great writing from Alan Moore and some of the best art of the period from Dave Gibbons. As is usually with Moores work, there is a more serious, thought provoking undertone despite the bright comic book imagery.

[Mert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Moore'ın yazmış olduğu en iyi hikayelerden biri. Superman hayalinde nasıl bir Dünya düşlerdi? Kendini Dünya'nın hakimi mi yapardı? Yoksa çiftçi mi olurdu... veya çöpçü? Cevabı bu çizgi romanda.

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pre-Matrix Matrix is a symbiotic fungus. Unfortunately this is a one-shot issue, so the resolution couldn't be more complex than a game of pass the hot potato, but any exploration of the rich tapestry of Superman's mind is well worth the time. There's a tragic Final-Destination aspect to the unexperienced yet catastrophic loss of Superman's, one without the easy counter-factual that Bruce has for instance, so even point-corrections do nothing. For a Krypton that survived the apocalypse, Jor-El's doomsaying in hindsight becomes the raving of a paranoiac, driving him into bitter self-destruction, yet Krypton shudders towards its inevitable collapse preserving the same pattern of cataclysm, ripped apart from the inside, except now it is not primal geological forces but primal psychological ones. A leaf out of this comic would place the solution of the grandfather paradox not in the arrow of entropic time but in the segregation of dimensions on which time can act independently, ie each human being as a sealed-off bubble of internalized time, immune to variations in the physical timeline.

[Avery Cagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first got to see this in animated form when I was a child watching Justice League: Unlimited. Ever since I found out that the episode was adapted from an Alan Moore story, I've been wanting to read this. And now I have! For The Man Who Has Everything is a short read, but a good one. It would have been nice to have a little longer story that's more fleshed out, but it's fine just the way it is. I really enjoy Alan Moore's work, and, thus far, I've not read a bad story from him.

[scribble · Rating 4 out of 5]

As expected, an iconic team doing an iconic story.
Batman bringing Kal roses named The Krypton and Diana fighting tooth and nail to save him? I mean, come on, what is there not to like.
This “darkish” tone of the story made the characters more real -even in their dream reality.
And of course, seeing Kara reminded me of something. I might need to rewatch Supergirl’s episode named For The Girl Who Has Everything!

[Echoes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story that awesome episode from the Justice League cartoon was based on. And pre-death Jason Todd is in it and he’s freakin adorable. And that shot of Wonder Woman with the giant ray gun was beautiful. I want that blown up and hung on my wall. This was such a great one-shot. Alan Moore deserves a freakin medal.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's something deeply tragic about the effect the black mercy has on Superman. It's supposed to create an immersive fantasy of someone's greatest desire, but Superman is so burdened with conscience that he cannot surrender fully to the fantasy.
And so, his greatest desire becomes a very personal nightmare.
Alan Moore GETS Superman.