All language subtitles for Slugfest.S08.WEBRip.x264-ION10

- NARRATOR: The '90s began
with the biggest boom period
ever seen

in the comic
book industry.

And Marvel was
flying high.

- My favorite comic
book is the X-Men.

- Oh, yeah,
we like X-Men.

- NARRATOR: 1991's X-Men
#1 sold a
mind-blogging 8.1 million
copies.

They also launched
Marvel Films

which introduced hit animated
series for The Hulk,
X-Men, and Spider-Man.

Meanwhile, at DC, plans were
underway with the Superman
team

for a big idea the company
hoped would shift attention bak
to them.

- Don't you think that
Jimmy Olsen would be the perfect
best man?

- Yes, I think that's
great. Write that down.

- NARRATOR: But an
unforeseen event

would change the course of
comic book history forever.

- Knock, knock! We gotta
talk. - [knocking on door]

- Every year, the entire
Superman team would get
together.

And we would work out
the continuity roughly

for the next years'
worth of stories.

- USLAN: Marvel was
dominating, so how do you shake
up an industry?

Great stories, great characters,

and important earth-shaking
events that will grab the
public's attention.

- SIMONSON: The
big denouement

was going to be the
wedding of Clark Kent and Lois
Lane.

But, unknown to us, there was
going to be a new Superman TV
show.

- REPORTER 1: Lois & Clark
is part comic book

and part romance novel
in a television series.

Think of it as the Man of
Steel meets Danielle Steele.

- At least I personally was
unaware of it. Other people may
have been aware of it.

And then Jenette Kahn comes
down, who was the publisher, and
says...

- So we have to put a hold on
the wedding story line for now.

- What?

- The Lois and Clark TV
show want them to remain
unmarried,

and they're worried
it's gonna confuse the audience.

- [scoffs]

- SIMONSON: We were
a bit perturbed.

We had to come up with something
else to do for the next year.

- Let's kill him.

- [scoffs] Yeah.
- No... let's kill him.

- SIMONSON: Jerry
Ordway would always say,

when we couldn't think what
to do next, "Let's kill him."

And this time when Jerry said,
"Let's kill him,"

we said, "Yeah,
let's just kill him."

- REPORTER 2: He may be able
to leap tall buildings at a
single bound...

but Superman is
in a super slump.

- NARRATOR: The world's
most famous superhero

seemed like he was
past his prime.

Younger fans saw him as
stodgy and old-fashioned...

and sales were slumping.

- He's been around for a
long time. There were a couple
of hundred issues.

People are getting
bored of him, I think.

- I think he's corny.

- I don't like him. He's like a
boy scout compared to other
superheroes.

- KAHN: One of the best ways
to engage our readers was to
torture them.

And the way to torture our
readers was to torture our
characters.

- SIMONSON: You know, I've
done some terrible things to
characters.

I'm like a monster, actually,
when it comes to comic book
characters.

- KAHN: Once we had
decided to kill Superman,

we had to think of a death
that was worthy of him.

So, we created a
character called Doomsday

who was just
astonishingly strong.

- In comics, we kill
people all the time, but they
get better.

I never kill a
character in a comic book

that I don't know how
I'm going to bring them
back.

Which we knew would
have to happen.

- Finally, from us this evening,
murder most foul.

- Today is the day that
Superman meets an un-super fate.

- Well, the Man of Steel
has apparently met his match.

And its name is Doomsday.

- TUCKER: Mainstream media
outlets that before that

would not deign to stoop
to cover superheroes

were suddenly
covering superheroes.

- I'm finding this all
very upsetting, actually.

It's weird.
- I know. Isn't it awful?

- I don't think
they should kill off Superman.

- REPORTER 3:
Superman's fans are
stunned.

- It's definitely
surprising. I would never guess
they would kill him.

- They killed off Superman?
What's next? Who's gonna save
the world?

- SIMONSON: I was surprised
at the time that people really
were believing...

that a character as iconic as
Superman would be allowed to be
permanently dead.

- REPORTER 4: The Death of
Superman issue that flooded
comic book stores today

is expected to sell close
to three million copies.

- TUCKER: There was
this feeding frenzy

among people who did not
necessarily read comics month o
month,

going into comic book stores and
looking for this issue where
Superman's gonna die.

- Sold out in just a couple of
hours. We've doubled and tripled
our orders.

- And this is happening all over
the city, and probably all over
the country.

- COHEN: Suddenly there were
lines out the door at the comic
book stores.

"If I buy this, it's gonna
be worth a ton of money."

"Kid's college is paid for. I
just have to buy 20 copies of
Superman #75.

The issue where
he dies. I'm set."

- I think he's a kind of
dumb and boring, but I'm just
collecting it for the money.

- SIMONSON: We had to sign
non-disclosure agreements.

So we couldn't say, "No,
really, don't buy 200 copies of
that.

Yes, he's gonna get better."

- Freddy already made me buy 50
copies of that damn comic book

and he's saving up to buy more.

- [sighs] Oh, wow.

- Do you think they're
gonna be worth something?

- You know, um...
I think that...

Um... Do you want a cookie?

- Yeah, please.

- SIMONSON: I felt guilty.
That's not how it works,
people.

Something they print millions of
copies of are never gonna be
worth anything.

- We're gonna put them through
college selling these books.

- [coughing]

- That's the plan.
- Mmm-hmm.

- You okay?
- [muffled] Mmm-hmm. I'm great.

- NARRATOR: A single copy of
the first printing of The
Death of Superman

will get you, at most,
about five bucks.

But the value of that
comic book to the industry was
immeasurable.

It lured long-time fans back
to comics and brought in new
readers.

And for the first time
in years, made DC the place to
be.

- We've produced an
unbelievable amount of comics...

but there's one
comic that has sold

more than any other comic
in our entire history.

The one that's inside
the bloody poly bag.

It is Superman #75,
The Death of Superman.

And what's really amazing
about this comic is that in his
death,

we had a chance to examine
how we've lost track of how
important Superman is.

You cannot like superheroes
and not like Superman.

You may not think
you need to like Superman,

but he is the original DNA
that exists in every
character.

He's the man who
created it all.

It's like Robert Johnson and the
blues. There's nothing like
Superman.

- SIMONSON: Everybody
knew who Superman was.

I think that that made people
think it was a very important
thing.

And in a way, it was,

but in a way, it was because
they didn't let us marry him.

And Jerry said, "Let's
kill him." Blame Jerry.

- The death of Superman
clearly has turned into a
killing.

- NARRATOR: The Death of
Superman finally put DC back
on top.

It took the competition
across town completely by
surprise.

- Whatcha guys thinkin'?
- [grunts]

You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?
- Yes.