The Concept of ‘Now’ in Superman #10 (1987)

During Superman #10: The Super Menace of Metropolis! (Byrne.1987) Superman’s powers begin to get out of control, depicting Superman hearing becoming overwhelmed by the voices of many others within the DC Universe. The effect is clever, as the dialogue overwhelming Superman is in fact from other comic books being published during the same month.

The inclusion of these quotes from other comics helps to solidify the connection to the DC Universe. That all these books exist in the same world. However, putting all of these quotes together in the same panel leads to some disturbing implications about the flow of time. By putting these quotes in the same panel, it is implied that these moments are happening at the exact same time. That while Booster Gold is saying ‘Sheesh! Dimension X! Those Titans should make Grade-B Films in their spare time!’ (Jurgens.1987:8), Batman is also saying ‘Performing for a captive audience tonight. Eh, Mime?’ (Collins & Cockrum.1987:20). For the most part, this is completely understandable, until you run into several paradoxes.

All of these instances are taking place in the United States, however, some moments imply it to be mid-day or morning, while others show that it is indeed the middle of the night. There are also instances of the Suicide Squad appearing in two places at once, appearing in both Fury of Firestorm and Suicide Squad.

From a time perspective, this implies that Superman is not hearing the fictional world around him, but instead is hearing the books around him DURING the printing process. This is most evidently shown by the release dates. That all of these comics were written, drawn and published together. What we see is not an example of three-dimensional space within his world, but instead, Superman breaking into the fourth dimension to our perception of time.

Given Superman’s own status within comics, as the originator of the Superhero genre, as well as his future god status as seen in DC One Million (Morrison & Semeiks.1998), it’s possible that this example of Superman’s hearing becoming overwhelming is a break between perspectives.

Bibliography:

• Byrne, J. (1987) Superman #10: The Super Menace of Metropolis! DC Comics: Burbank.

• Cronin, B. (2015) Our Live Together – Superman Overhears the Rest of the DC Universe. [ONLINE] Comic Book Resources. February 3^rd. Available from: https://www.cbr.com/our-lives-together-superman-overhears-the-rest-of-the-dc-universe/?fbclid=IwAR38P-6rHTlYSdKTG9bS2CeR-cNhpZu_SywVwvd5IsgA2IOwNB52zZ-Na24 [Last Accessed: 22.08.2021]

• Morrison, G. & Semeiks, V. (1998) DC One Million. DC Comics: Burbank.