Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come (1996) was a landmark DC mini-series written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Alex Ross. The story was based on Alex Ross's idea, and Mark Waid was added to the project due to his knowledge of DC history. Set in the not too distant future, the plot centers on an archetypal Superman who has retreated to his Fortress of Solitude, disillusioned due to a cataclysmic clash of values between the older generation of superheroes and a newer, amoral group of meta-humans.

The precipitating event of the graphic novel is the Joker's murder of Jimmy Olson, Perry White, Lois Lane, and the entire staff of the Daily Planet. Before he can be put on trial, the Joker is in turn murdered by a new superhero called Magog. Magog is later acquitted of murder, and this acquittal causes Superman to become so disillusioned that he isolates himself from human society.

Later events in the novel center upon Superman's return to Metropolis and his attempts to put things back into order. He creates a type of prison camp for metahumans he deems to be criminals. He eventually comes into conflict with a group of superheroes (and some supervillains) who have united around Batman, who feels that Superman has become too rigid in his ideals.

As the conflict reaches its climax, total disaster is averted by the sacrifice of Billy Batson/Captain Marvel. The remainder of the novel is devoted to a sort of coda wherein Wonder Woman become an ambassador for super-humans, Batman becomes a healer, and Superman essentially becomes a farmer as he begins to restore the Midwestern farmlands destroyed in the war.

Critics have always speculated as to who deserves most of the credit for the success of Kingdom Come. Possibly the best way to judge this is to look at what each creator produced in later years . Alex Ross was one of the creators of 2005 DC mini-series Justice. Mark Waid is probably best known in for his 'three-boot' of The Legion of Superheroes.