Superman: Sacrifice

Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1.5

by Greg Rucka, Mark Verheiden, Gail Simone

The pivotal story that forever alters the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman is collected here for the first time. Max Lord has taken over Superman's mind and has him in his total thrall. With his peers and loved ones threatened, Superman is helpless. But not Wonder Woman, who must battle past the Man of Steel and decisively end the threat. Her actions, and the repercussions, are explored in this controversial saga that leads into INFINITE CRISIS.

Collects: SUPERMAN #218-220; ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #642-643; ACTION COMICS #829; and WONDER WOMAN #219-220.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superman, Superheroes, Wonder Woman, Graphic Novels Comics

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2016

About the author

Greg Rucka, is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remember when Wonder Woman snapped Max Lord's neck?



Well, if you don't, it was a whole big deal where Lord was mind-controlling Superman into seeing shit that wasn't there and going on rampages. And after getting the shit beat out of her by Clark and realizing there wasn't really a way to stop him, she lassoed Lord and asked him how to put an end to it. His answer was that Wonder Woman would have to kill him because he'd never let Superman go.
So.
She did.
And then Superman & Batman got mad at her. <--which was just so fucking dumb.
But boys are stupid, so whatever.



Anyway. This is that same story but from Clark's point of view. So, you get to see the visions that Lord is feeding him. Most of them are Lois being killed by various enemies, but some of the visions have Jimmy and other friends being killed along with her.



Every time he sees her die or about to die, he goes on a rampage and ends up kicking his friends' asses thinking they were Brainiac or Darkseid. Batman looked like a lump of meat by the time it was over with, but Diana held her own pretty well.
Still.



I loved The OMAC Project and this tied into that storyline. But like I said, it was all about what was going on inside Superman's addled head. So. Eh. Some of it was just confusing and weird.
I could have lived without this one but it wasn't terrible.

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ties in directly with The OMAC Project. Maxwell Lord has slowly been subverting Superman's will over the last several months. What happens when someone who hates superheroes gains the ability to manipulate Superman? I really liked how you got to see what Superman was seeing versus reality and how he was being manipulated by his love for Lois Lane. This book irrevocably changes the relationship between DC's Trinity for years.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel poses the question what would other superheroes do if Superman were out of control and mind controlled by a supervillain, Maxwell Lord.



It all begins with the gradual erosion of Superman's mental capacity from reality as he's put in the impossible situation to save loved ones from evil that will destroy them at any instant. We also get to see Wonder Woman and Superman go at it and tear apart the world around them.





Greg Rucka, Gail Simone and Mark Verheiden put this tale together. Commendable artwork by a host of people (I don't know the artists as well as the writers).

Spoilers below the grades.

STORY/PLOTTING: A minus; CHARACTERS/DIALOGUE: B plus to A minus; ARTWORK PRESENTATION: B plus to A minus; THEMATIC FOCUSES: B plus; ACTION FOCUSES: B plus to A minus; OVERALL GRADE: B plus to A minus; WHEN READ: end of June 2012.







SPOILERS: Wonder Woman realizes Superman cannot be controlled unless she kills Maxwell Lord, who prompts her to do it which makes me think it's a trap. The murder of Maxwell Lord creates a rift between Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman. The latter two were against what she did but it does raise an intriguing question that if most of these superheroes lost their direction or were mind controlled who would stop them? Maxwell Lord even puts it out there and it's a question worth pondering heavily. Wonder Woman's tough choice to snap the neck of Maxwell Lord puts her in the dog house but if she hadn't done it what was the solution going to be to stop Superman? Nobody seemed to want to face that though blaming Wonder Woman was easy enough.

[Sud666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sacrifice was a surprisingly dark story.

There is something strange going on with Superman. Shit really hits the fan when he attacks and nearly kills Batman. It turns out he is having visions and being controlled. Since it is Superman that does indeed cause a problem. Wonder Woman will be forced to choose whether she will sacrifice her moral standing to save Superman.

A very interesting volume. The outcome of the story was actually well done. The artwork is also good. Not much more to say than this is a solid volume.

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting storyline.

It starts with Clark having doubts and then battling Black rock but then he starts having these visions of his enemies like Brainiac, Doomsday or Darkseid destroying his loved ones and killing Lois and he attacks them but when its revealed who it is he is hurting and the mind control plot and the person behind it and then the revelations and the fight between Diana and Clark and the one which changes their relation forever and DCU at large and the decisions they take and the fallout of it just magnificent to read.

I loved this volume as it just shows the falling out of everyones fear with Superman losing control and then the big fight happens and it leads to big changes for Diana. I like how this volume didn't hold back and asked those tough questions but never looked back with easy answers and the fallout will be interesting to follow.

And always love it when Conner is in the book! Great volume, big storytelling and a battle and finally the teased ending so worth it!

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I'm really not a Superman person, I'm just reading this because I'm trying to read up on the DC crossover events. I know that's like 50 trades, and I accept that I'm crazy for trying at this point. At any rate, Superman: Sacrifice was part of the buildup to Infinite Crisis. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten my hands on Project OMAC yet, and it seems like OMAC should probably be read first. There's a lot of intermingled events here. The basic idea is that Maxwell Lord (Luthor Lite) has managed to take control of Superman's mind. I'm not exactly sure how. If it was explained in the issues collected here, I missed it. Maybe that's in OMAC. The end result is that Wonder Woman feels compelled to do something that Superman and Batman both regard as essentially unforgiveable.

And it's ok. I guess everybody seemed more or less in character. The storyline itself simply wasn't that interesting to me. I get that an out-of-control Superman would be a very scary thing, but I don't think that was developed very well. Considering the implications, the entire storyline felt like it had been compressed, but that's probably partly to do with the crossover. Storylines need resolving in a set number of issues, no more and no less. Of course, I may not even be seeing the end of the storyline, and it may end up spreading out across a dozen or so trades. But what was here? It was ok.

[Xavier Hugonet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fifth part of my re-reading of the DC crisis events in order : The Superman / Wonder Woman « Sacrifice » story arc.

After the revelations JLA « Crisis of Conscience », mistrust between the leaguers is high. So, when Maxwell Lord, after having stolen the Brother Eye satellite, and killed Ted Kord, takes control of Superman and have him beat Batman to a pulp, he’s not the first suspect coming to the other heroes minds.

When Wonder Woman discovers the truth, she does the unthinkable to stop the threat and, in spite of this, random crisis events keep happening over the world, and OMACs are activated.

Which leads us to the main event, Infinite Crisis.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dependable writers Rucka & Simone were a selling point, but the first half of the book was kind of dry and repetitive until the involvement of the Justice League. But then . . . a mind-controlled Superman and Wonder Woman have a knock-down, drag-out brawl by Devil's Tower National Monument (a close encounter of the incredibly violent kind? ) that is pretty harsh and lasts for several pages. Or, to quote Superman - "HNAA-AAAAA-AHHH!"

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sacrifice starts off confusing with Superman losing his freaking mind. Seeing visions and people not really there till eventually is slowly revealed to everyone and the reader. It's a intense chapter in Supes life, but also effecting the entire universe. Wonder Woman becomes center stage by the end, doing what MUST be done, leading to some truly crazy moments.

Great stuff, brutal, and also fuck Lord Maxwell.

[Judah Radd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Equal parts fun and suspenseful, with a varied and enjoyable collection of talent to include Rucka and Gail Simone.

This takes place in the middle of The Omac Project. At first, it’s hard to see how it relates, but it all comes together at the end. Great dynamic between Supes and Wonder Woman.

Overall enjoyed it a lot!

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Superman book series just keeps getting better and better as this counts down to an event that is supposed to rock the DC Universe to its core.

[Katherine (Kat) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderwoman is the best thing about this whole Volume.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of comics that tell the story of what happens when the most powerful being is being controlled. Superman is losing his mind and during altercations he is not holding back. This terrifies humans and his fellow Justice League members are also affected by Superman's recent outrage.

I have read other collections that lead up to the Infinite Crisis storyline and I liked those better. This was a decent collection but it did have flaws. My major concern with this collection was there wasn't enough exploration of Superman not being in control. This collection's storyline portrayed humans distrusting Superman as if it was instantaneous. It felt like it was rushed. Also, there was no explanation of how Superman lost his mind. I am not a huge DC fan and maybe serious fans will know how this happens as they read this collection. Also, I thought the artwork was up and down.

There were positives to this collection. There were several scenes that were poignant and the writers and illustrators handled them perfectly. The handling of the big three coming apart was touching. Also, there were some funny panels that made me laugh out loud.

All in all this won't blow off your socks but you also will not feel like you wasted your time reading this. I would suggest reading the other collections to this huge storyline before reading this one.

[Rylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story deals with Superman being mind controlled by Maxwell Lord and is pretty essential to the Omac Project. I liked seeing what was going on inside of Superman’s head when Maxwell Lord took over, it’s interesting to see that in all the fake scenarios going through Superman’s head it’s always Lois dying that pushes him over the edge. The fight between Superman and Wonder Woman was brutal and very well executed, it reminded me how strong both characters are. I felt bad for Wonder Woman because both Superman and Batman both act like jerks towards her after she snaps Maxwell Lord’s neck even though he left her no choice.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 2 out of 5]

Piñas van, piñas vienen, pero los muchachos no se entretienen. Hay tantas incongruencias argumentales en este comic que las ganas de releerlo para escribir una reseña más elaborada son mínimas. Ahora que finalmente encontré la edición de SD a un precio accesible la compré por una cuestión de completismo tardío. Lástima que por culpa de este tomo no metieron el capítulo correspondiente de Wonder Woman en la miniserie OMAC, aunque ahora que la tengo ya no me molesta mucho que digamos.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superman is mind-controlled and goes nuts. Wonder Woman saves the day and gets shunned for it. Batman... is a huge jerk.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A seemingly confusing story about a mind controlled Superman. The ending just left me with more questions.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this side of Wonder Woman!

[Cristhian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonder Woman es la única de la trinidad que sabe cuando es necesario lograr algo por cualquier medio necesario.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've gone 10+ years never really knowing what Infinite Crisis was about, only that it was a snarl of crossovers that just made me sad. But then I couldn't even get through Greg Rucka's Wonder Woman run without running afoul of IC. So now I've read this book (which is actually the penultimate storyline of Rucka's WW, sandwiched in between Land of the Dead and Mission's End), I have finally learned that the giant repugnant OMAC Project / Infinite Crisis / Checkmate / 52 clusterbomb which is really what led to the shambling horror The New 52 and ruined DC for like ten years mostly starts here (and in all the other books which like happen simultaneously or were maybe literally all just born in hell together).

And the plot of all these books, seriously, is the same plot as Civil War, the Marvel title published at the same time that was. um...8 isssues long. And quite good. Civil War was a story about government oversight, and in it the heroes have to decide whether or not to submit to a Registration Act after some villains accidentally blow up a school.

But in Sacrifice, villains suddenly decide that the heroes have too much power and so they have to be stopped before they kill somebody. And then the heroes get wind of that and kill someone in order to stop the villains from stopping them.

It is just so fucking terrible.

The reason that Marvel can make morally ambiguous superhero comics and DC just can't is that Marvel comics are, and have always been, comics for the horny angry teenagers inside us, while DC is for our inner ten year olds. Seriously. You want to know the difference between the two companies-- the central difference? That is it. DC comics are about reaffirming the primal ideas of a child, and there's real value in that. Marvel is about dealing with how weird the world is, and there's value in that too.

And there's certain kinds of things DC comics can do involving big crazy universes and exploring essential questions about consciousness, and there's things Marvel can do like question the nature of heroism and get into the nitty gritty of the superhero metaphor, but they can't do each other's things and DC basically forgot this for ten years and was like let's make the good guys into killers and the bad guys into serial rapists and everyone was like SERIOUSLY FUCK YOU and the Wonder Woman movie may be the first time DC has actually been able to remember itself since this fucking terrible bunch of comics i am reviewing was first published in 2005.

It's just looking into the center of shit-hell, this comic. It's the comic that killed a brand for a thousand years, or at least a solid eleven.

Two stars because the art's not bad in places, though.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superman: Sacrifice

Wonder Woman discovers that Maxwell Lord is manipulating Superman's mind, causing him to injure Batman and forcing her to do what must be done to save Superman. Kill Maxwell Lord.

An important prelude to the 'Infinite Crisis' arc, it shows our heroes at their most vulnerable and, it could be argued, at their most human. Simone's plotting shows how awful Diana's choice has become and allows readers to appreciate the ramifications for the Justice League.

[Daniel Sepúlveda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puntaje: 4.5 Estrellas.

Continúo mi travesía por la colección de Héroes y Villanos DC con el tomo de Crisis Infinita: Sacrificio, una de las historias más interesantes de toda la colección, en la que veremos a Max Lord llevar a Wonder Woman a extremos inimaginables, los cuales tendrán fuertes consecuencias en la crisis infinita.

Este es un tomo que debe leerse simultáneamente, si no después del Proyecto OMAC, pues ambas historias se complementan entre sí. Si lees “Sacrificio” primero, no entenderás nada muchas cosas, pues Proyecto OMAC contiene el contexto esencial de la historia.

En este tomo tenemos mayor claridad sobre cómo funciona el control mental que tiene Lord sobre Superman, y explora uno de los más grandes temores de cualquier miembro de la Liga de la Justicia: ¿Qué pasaría si Superman se sale de control?

Me gustó que podemos notar el miedo que varios miembros de la Liga tienen ante esta situación. Imagínense estar en esa situación, sabiendo que no pueden detener a Superman (y que si lo intentan, probablemente todo salga muy mal), pero igual deben hacerlo.

En fin, esta es una historia fascinante que debe leerse en conjunto con los diferentes arcos que componen a la crisis infinita. Esta es una de mis crisis favoritas, así que sus arcos son altamente recomendados.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

If superheroes like the Justice League really existed would we worship them or fear them? I picked up this book on a whim. I have not read a lot of the past pre-Flashpoint DC Comics runs. So this was a pleasant experience. This one book has definitely given me an understanding of why so many longtime DC comics fans miss the character continuity that existed before the New 52. Written by Greg Rucka this collection of the Superman series that ran in 2005 sees our hero being taken over mentally by Maxwell Lord, the leader of a spy organization known as Checkmate. Checkmate's goals seem to be to take down the Justice League because of their fear that the super heroes potentially can bring against human kind. It is a dark time for the DC universe. Supes finds himself more isolated as human kind begins to fear his supernatural abilities. It is heartbreaking to watch how Clark becomes distant from his wife and friends. What is very impressive is that this superhero tale is not short on action and balances it well with a truly emotional story.Their are alot of great artist on this issue which include Ed Benes, Rags Morales and my personal fan favorite Tony Daniel. This is a great superman story and actually has one of the best Wonder Woman tales as well.

[Bevans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that, when mind-controlled, the first member of the Justice League that Superman takes out is Batman should tell anyone just how big of a threat Batman is to everyone, despite having no superpowers (and Superman almost kills him).

Maxwell Lord is quite an interesting villain, as his reasons for wanting to kill all the superheroes actually makes a lot of sense: if he can control them, someone else could too, so they're basically bombs waiting to go off.

The fight between Wonder Woman and Superman was very well done. They seemed fairly evenly matched, even though Superman is certainly more powerful. His only disadvantage is his uncontrollable rage, caused by Lord making him think Lois is dead.

The final scene (which I unfortunately knew about already) was amazing, as Wonder Woman is forced to snap Lord's neck to break his mental grip on Superman. It's a very brutal, shocking way to end such an interesting character's life...at least until he gets resurrected at the end of Blackest Night.

[Dasamur76 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una delicia visualmente, de guión (¡dejadnos en paz, a mi tilde y a mí!), de principio a fin... El equilibrio perfecto entre ver darse estopa a los mayores héroes de DC, y la reflexión de los valores que intentan defender. Por tomos como este tiene sentido una colección de este estilo.
La única pega que le puedo encontrar, es que no se haya mantenido el orden del todo con la línea temporal en el conjunto de las entregas de la colección, ya que hay detalles que se pierden en algunas viñetas referenciadas. Pero es algo menor, el sabor y la satisfacción de tener una historia tan fuerte entre las manos hace que te olvides hasta de que has perdido el tren...

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edición argentina. En su momento costaba 35, un precio relativamente caro.

[Tyler Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great comic, period. Leave it up to Greg Rucka to understand the dynamics between Superman and his fellow Justice League teammates. Very rarely do we get to explore the relationships between Justice League’s most famous members in such a serious way. We also see the Trinity tested in ways they’ve never been before. The writers did a great job at making it feel like the League was truly in crisis mode due to Superman’s inability to control his powers. We see those around him start to lose faith in him, even those closest to him, like Lois Lane. It was very interesting to see Clark as this always stereotypical good boy come to grips with the fact that he could ever be a danger to the world he loves and protects.

As Superman’s delusions get more and more dangerous it’s clear that he’s beginning to lose control. The writers are completely ruthless with his delusions too by the way. They explode someone’s head and it was so cool, but also like holy crap they just exploded that really important character’s head, wtf!? That’s the other great thing about this comic, it’s completely screwing with the reader’s reality, just like Superman’s. After Superman puts Batman in a coma, it’s clear to JL that they are out of their realm and depth. Once they discover villain Maxwell Lord is behind the delusions and actually has control over Superman’s mind, all bets are off.

Despite the League’s horror, Wonder Woman and Superman clash in an epic fight that really had the inner kid in me freaking out. And I’m so sorry Clark, but I was definitely rooting for Diana the entire time. That fight was so crazy! From throwing punches inside the sun, Diana being a bad ass after Superman breaks her wrist and using her bracelet as a cast, to her making him temporarily deaf with her bracelets and slitting his throat with her tiara. It really has all the goods. So does its climax, which shows Diana making a choice that will forever change her place in JL. For the record, I support her choice and she’s one of the only few people who could’ve did what needed to be done.

The artwork was also phenomenal in this series. I thought they did a great job at using colors to aid in telling their story. Everything was very vibrant and helped the reader feel Superman’s delusions way more vividly. My only qualms with the series are the sexualization of the female characters, but that’s to be expected from a comic of its time, and I don’t like how Superman and Batman quickly and harshly judge Diana for her quick decision. They weren’t in her shoes and quite frankly they both don’t have the balls to do what she did. But honestly, this just makes me want to find the run and continue reading this series because I want to know how they all work it out in the long run.

[Jason Tanner · Rating 1 out of 5]

This entire concept is hot garbage. For one thing, Sacrifice is a multi-issue interlude for another miniseries entirely. DC created probably the most cynical miniseries ever in The OMAC Project, from the destruction of Max Lord and the JLI, to the personality transplants of Superman and Batman, to the shameless act of placing one of the key plot points of the miniseries in an entirely different series.
That's what Sacrifice is: the middle act of The OMAC Project. Padded to eight issues over four series with three writers. I have been complimentary of Greg Rucka's characterization over my previous reviews of his Superman run. I am not here. The only character I recognize in this series is Wonder Woman. Superman is an ineffectual dupe. Batman is a total jerk. Max Lord, who became a decent-if-flawed person over dozens of issues of JLI is now a paranoid megalomaniac, and whose powers once were simply suggestion are now so subtle and powerful that even the Martian Manhunter cannot effectively combat them.
Greg Rucka is not the only writer on this series. The opening and closing chapters are written by Mark Verheiden, who had a decent-but-forgettable Superman run concurrently with the runup to Infinite Crisis. Gail Simone, who I love, also writes one chapter, but it is effectively filler. Actually, it's all effectively filler. If you have to know what's going on, Read Wonder Woman 219 and forget the rest.
The only reason to read this comic is if you are obsessed with the nadir of DC comics in the mid-2000s. You do not need to read it to follow Rucka's Ruin story. Skip it. Skip it hard.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's my big problem with this whole "shattering of the trilogy" conceit behind Infinite Crisis - it's not believable. Superman particulaly is bent so out of character to make the story work that I just can't buy it. He turns his back on Wonder Woman, like a spoiled ten-year-old. Even if he disagreed with her actions, he can certainly recognize the need. Worst case scenario, the story should've ended with Superman saying, "I wish it hadn't come to that."

The epilogue, with wishy-washy Superman teaming up with wishy-washy Superboy for a pointless skirmish was pretty lame as well. Verheiden's scripting is too heavy-handed and the behavior forced - such as Superman's over-reaction in the battle against Blackrock - and it shows in the final chapter.

Superman whines about people being afraid of him - as if that has ever stopped him from doing the job before. Then, just when Superman starts to show a hint of spine, Superboy gives some self-pitying crap about how he's just a dumb kid who can hide from his problems (what?!), but Superman has to "get over it."

Ugh. Forcing characters to fit into a story that you want to tell, regardless if it makes sense, is never satisfying. (And I won't even get into Max Lord's out of character behavior, because it ultimately could've been any penny ante "mastermind" in his shoes.)

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 1 out of 5]

No es necesariamente estúpido o una mala historia, es simplemente que encabrona la forma de actuar de todos.

Se siente más real la parte de Secret Six y la unión de villanos que dicen "hey, si los chicos buenos andan lavando cerebros necesitamos oponernos" y comienza toda una odisea. Pero en el caso de los "buenos", es justo una estupidez andar hablando de código ético, razones, reglas y acuerdos.

Es cierto: Superman no se puede dar ofender ni pedir que lo respeten como humano, porque no lo es. Literal, ni siquiera es humano, es técnicamente un refugiado. Y sería algo tan absurdo como en Crepúsculo cuando Edward tiene que contenerse para no partir en dos a Bella, que quiere tener relaciones sexuales. Batman también está raro, se ofende de que no puede confiar en los demás y de pronto casi causa la aniquilación total de todos, y está como "simón, fue mi culpa, y?"

Wonder Woman, la entiendo. Es cierto, le tiran mierda por matar al wey que quiere destruir el mundo, y nadie le dice "gracias" por apagar el reactor que casi mata a una ciudad entera. No es solo absurdo, es que caga escuchar a Superman ofenderse de que la morra tuviera que matar al malo, que lo controlaba para casi matarla a ella. Pinche hipocresía el "wey, por qué mataste al wey que casi me hace matarte? te hubieras dejado morir, mientras yo imaginaba que mataba al wey que mata a mi esposa".