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1
00:00:03,786 --> 00:00:05,246
in the comic
book industry.
2
00:00:05,245 --> 00:00:06,835
And Marvel was
flying high.
3
00:00:06,830 --> 00:00:08,410
- My favorite comic
book is the X-Men.
4
00:00:08,415 --> 00:00:10,835
- Oh, yeah,
we like X-Men.
5
00:00:10,834 --> 00:00:15,044
- NARRATOR: 1991's X-Men
#1 sold a mind-blogging 8.1 million
6
00:00:15,047 --> 00:00:17,767
They also launched
Marvel Films
7
00:00:17,758 --> 00:00:21,008
which introduced hit animated
series for The Hulk, X-Men, and Spider-Man.
8
00:00:22,679 --> 00:00:26,509
Meanwhile, at DC, plans were
underway with the Superman team
9
00:00:26,517 --> 00:00:30,737
for a big idea the company
hoped would shift attention bak to them.
10
00:00:30,729 --> 00:00:33,099
- Don't you think that
Jimmy Olsen would be the perfect best man?
11
00:00:33,107 --> 00:00:35,407
- Yes, I think that's
great. Write that down.
12
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,230
- NARRATOR: But an
unforeseen event
13
00:00:37,236 --> 00:00:39,786
would change the course of
comic book history forever.
14
00:00:39,780 --> 00:00:41,990
- Knock, knock! We gotta
talk. - [knocking on door]
15
00:00:52,751 --> 00:00:56,421
- Every year, the entire
Superman team would get together.
16
00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,460
And we would work out
the continuity roughly
17
00:01:00,467 --> 00:01:03,387
for the next years'
worth of stories.
18
00:01:03,387 --> 00:01:06,477
- USLAN: Marvel was
dominating, so how do you shake up an industry?
19
00:01:06,473 --> 00:01:09,313
Great stories, great characters,
20
00:01:09,309 --> 00:01:11,519
and important earth-shaking
events that will grab the public's attention.
21
00:01:12,771 --> 00:01:14,481
- SIMONSON: The
big denouement
22
00:01:14,481 --> 00:01:16,861
was going to be the
wedding of Clark Kent and Lois Lane.
23
00:01:16,859 --> 00:01:20,069
But, unknown to us, there was
going to be a new Superman TV show.
24
00:01:20,070 --> 00:01:22,190
- REPORTER 1: Lois & Clark
is part comic book
25
00:01:22,197 --> 00:01:24,787
and part romance novel
in a television series.
26
00:01:24,783 --> 00:01:28,703
Think of it as the Man of
Steel meets Danielle Steele.
27
00:01:28,704 --> 00:01:31,204
- At least I personally was
unaware of it. Other people may have been aware of it.
28
00:01:31,206 --> 00:01:34,506
And then Jenette Kahn comes
down, who was the publisher, and says...
29
00:01:34,501 --> 00:01:37,421
- So we have to put a hold on
the wedding story line for now.
30
00:01:37,421 --> 00:01:39,341
- What?
31
00:01:39,339 --> 00:01:43,049
- The Lois and Clark TV
show want them to remain unmarried,
32
00:01:43,051 --> 00:01:44,591
and they're worried
it's gonna confuse the audience.
33
00:01:44,595 --> 00:01:45,975
- [scoffs]
34
00:01:45,971 --> 00:01:48,511
- SIMONSON: We were
a bit perturbed.
35
00:01:48,515 --> 00:01:51,475
We had to come up with something
else to do for the next year.
36
00:01:53,395 --> 00:01:54,815
- Let's kill him.
37
00:01:54,813 --> 00:01:58,813
- [scoffs] Yeah.
- No... let's kill him.
38
00:01:58,817 --> 00:02:00,827
- SIMONSON: Jerry
Ordway would always say,
39
00:02:00,819 --> 00:02:03,319
when we couldn't think what
to do next, "Let's kill him."
40
00:02:03,322 --> 00:02:05,322
And this time when Jerry said,
"Let's kill him,"
41
00:02:05,324 --> 00:02:08,284
we said, "Yeah,
let's just kill him."
42
00:02:11,914 --> 00:02:14,504
- REPORTER 2: He may be able
to leap tall buildings at a single bound...
43
00:02:14,499 --> 00:02:16,789
but Superman is
in a super slump.
44
00:02:16,793 --> 00:02:18,293
- NARRATOR: The world's
most famous superhero
45
00:02:18,295 --> 00:02:20,715
seemed like he was
past his prime.
46
00:02:20,714 --> 00:02:22,884
Younger fans saw him as
stodgy and old-fashioned...
47
00:02:22,883 --> 00:02:24,763
and sales were slumping.
48
00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,470
- He's been around for a
long time. There were a couple of hundred issues.
49
00:02:27,471 --> 00:02:28,681
People are getting
bored of him, I think.
50
00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:30,890
- I think he's corny.
51
00:02:30,891 --> 00:02:34,431
- I don't like him. He's like a
boy scout compared to other superheroes.
52
00:02:34,436 --> 00:02:37,946
- KAHN: One of the best ways
to engage our readers was to torture them.
53
00:02:37,940 --> 00:02:40,020
And the way to torture our
readers was to torture our characters.
54
00:02:43,904 --> 00:02:45,324
- SIMONSON: You know, I've
done some terrible things to characters.
55
00:02:45,322 --> 00:02:48,912
I'm like a monster, actually,
when it comes to comic book characters.
56
00:02:48,909 --> 00:02:51,329
- KAHN: Once we had
decided to kill Superman,
57
00:02:51,328 --> 00:02:53,988
we had to think of a death
that was worthy of him.
58
00:02:53,997 --> 00:02:56,837
So, we created a
character called Doomsday
59
00:02:56,833 --> 00:02:59,883
who was just
astonishingly strong.
60
00:03:02,506 --> 00:03:07,056
- In comics, we kill
people all the time, but they get better.
61
00:03:07,052 --> 00:03:09,392
I never kill a
character in a comic book
62
00:03:09,388 --> 00:03:10,928
that I don't know how
I'm going to bring them back.
63
00:03:10,931 --> 00:03:13,681
Which we knew would
have to happen.
64
00:03:13,684 --> 00:03:15,894
- Finally, from us this evening,
murder most foul.
65
00:03:15,894 --> 00:03:18,144
- Today is the day that
Superman meets an un-super fate.
66
00:03:19,564 --> 00:03:21,734
- Well, the Man of Steel
has apparently met his match.
67
00:03:21,733 --> 00:03:23,613
And its name is Doomsday.
68
00:03:23,610 --> 00:03:26,190
- TUCKER: Mainstream media
outlets that before that
69
00:03:26,196 --> 00:03:28,906
would not deign to stoop
to cover superheroes
70
00:03:28,907 --> 00:03:30,917
were suddenly
covering superheroes.
71
00:03:30,909 --> 00:03:32,699
- I'm finding this all
very upsetting, actually.
72
00:03:32,703 --> 00:03:34,243
It's weird.
- I know. Isn't it awful?
73
00:03:34,246 --> 00:03:36,376
- I don't think
they should kill off Superman.
74
00:03:36,373 --> 00:03:38,753
- REPORTER 3:
Superman's fans are stunned.
75
00:03:38,750 --> 00:03:41,130
- It's definitely
surprising. I would never guess they would kill him.
76
00:03:41,128 --> 00:03:45,708
- They killed off Superman?
What's next? Who's gonna save the world?
77
00:03:45,716 --> 00:03:50,386
- SIMONSON: I was surprised
at the time that people really were believing...
78
00:03:50,387 --> 00:03:54,687
that a character as iconic as
Superman would be allowed to be permanently dead.
79
00:03:54,683 --> 00:03:57,893
- REPORTER 4: The Death of
Superman issue that flooded comic book stores today
80
00:03:57,894 --> 00:04:01,154
is expected to sell close
to three million copies.
81
00:04:01,148 --> 00:04:03,108
- TUCKER: There was
this feeding frenzy
82
00:04:03,108 --> 00:04:06,478
among people who did not
necessarily read comics month o month,
83
00:04:06,486 --> 00:04:11,456
going into comic book stores and
looking for this issue where Superman's gonna die.
84
00:04:11,450 --> 00:04:14,740
- Sold out in just a couple of
hours. We've doubled and tripled our orders.
85
00:04:14,745 --> 00:04:16,955
- And this is happening all over
the city, and probably all over the country.
86
00:04:16,955 --> 00:04:19,465
- COHEN: Suddenly there were
lines out the door at the comic book stores.
87
00:04:19,458 --> 00:04:23,208
"If I buy this, it's gonna
be worth a ton of money."
88
00:04:23,211 --> 00:04:28,301
"Kid's college is paid for. I
just have to buy 20 copies of Superman #75.
89
00:04:28,300 --> 00:04:31,720
The issue where
he dies. I'm set."
90
00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,220
- I think he's a kind of
dumb and boring, but I'm just collecting it for the money.
91
00:04:34,222 --> 00:04:36,392
- SIMONSON: We had to sign
non-disclosure agreements.
92
00:04:36,391 --> 00:04:39,771
So we couldn't say, "No,
really, don't buy 200 copies of that.
93
00:04:39,770 --> 00:04:41,640
Yes, he's gonna get better."
94
00:04:41,646 --> 00:04:43,946
- Freddy already made me buy 50
copies of that damn comic book
95
00:04:43,940 --> 00:04:45,230
and he's saving up to buy more.
96
00:04:45,233 --> 00:04:47,193
- [sighs] Oh, wow.
97
00:04:47,194 --> 00:04:47,984
- Do you think they're
gonna be worth something?
98
00:04:49,446 --> 00:04:52,326
- You know, um...
I think that...
99
00:04:53,700 --> 00:04:55,700
Um... Do you want a cookie?
100
00:04:55,702 --> 00:04:57,742
- Yeah, please.
101
00:04:57,746 --> 00:05:00,756
- SIMONSON: I felt guilty.
That's not how it works, people.
102
00:05:00,749 --> 00:05:04,789
Something they print millions of
copies of are never gonna be worth anything.
103
00:05:04,795 --> 00:05:05,835
- We're gonna put them through
college selling these books.
104
00:05:05,837 --> 00:05:07,887
- [coughing]
105
00:05:07,881 --> 00:05:09,091
- That's the plan.
- Mmm-hmm.
106
00:05:10,801 --> 00:05:13,631
- You okay?
- [muffled] Mmm-hmm. I'm great.
107
00:05:13,637 --> 00:05:16,477
- NARRATOR: A single copy of
the first printing of The Death of Superman
108
00:05:16,473 --> 00:05:19,473
will get you, at most,
about five bucks.
109
00:05:19,476 --> 00:05:23,396
But the value of that
comic book to the industry was immeasurable.
110
00:05:23,397 --> 00:05:27,317
It lured long-time fans back
to comics and brought in new readers.
111
00:05:27,317 --> 00:05:30,237
And for the first time
in years, made DC the place to be.
112
00:05:33,782 --> 00:05:36,322
- We've produced an
unbelievable amount of comics...
113
00:05:36,326 --> 00:05:38,086
but there's one
comic that has sold
114
00:05:38,078 --> 00:05:40,908
more than any other comic
in our entire history.
115
00:05:40,914 --> 00:05:43,374
The one that's inside
the bloody poly bag.
116
00:05:43,375 --> 00:05:45,925
It is Superman #75,
The Death of Superman.
117
00:05:48,422 --> 00:05:52,052
And what's really amazing
about this comic is that in his death,
118
00:05:52,050 --> 00:05:55,510
we had a chance to examine
how we've lost track of how important Superman is.
119
00:05:55,512 --> 00:05:59,102
You cannot like superheroes
and not like Superman.
120
00:05:59,099 --> 00:06:01,309
You may not think
you need to like Superman,
121
00:06:01,309 --> 00:06:04,269
but he is the original DNA
that exists in every character.
122
00:06:04,271 --> 00:06:05,601
He's the man who
created it all.
123
00:06:05,605 --> 00:06:06,855
It's like Robert Johnson and the
blues. There's nothing like Superman.
124
00:06:11,111 --> 00:06:13,241
- SIMONSON: Everybody
knew who Superman was.
125
00:06:13,238 --> 00:06:17,068
I think that that made people
think it was a very important thing.
126
00:06:17,075 --> 00:06:19,375
And in a way, it was,
127
00:06:19,369 --> 00:06:22,119
but in a way, it was because
they didn't let us marry him.
128
00:06:23,707 --> 00:06:27,257
And Jerry said, "Let's
kill him." Blame Jerry.
129
00:06:27,252 --> 00:06:31,302
- The death of Superman
clearly has turned into a killing.
130
00:06:31,298 --> 00:06:35,258
- NARRATOR: The Death of
Superman finally put DC back on top.
131
00:06:35,260 --> 00:06:38,680
It took the competition
across town completely by surprise.
132
00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:40,930
- Whatcha guys thinkin'?
- [grunts]
133
00:06:44,019 --> 00:06:45,099
You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?
- Yes.
134
00:06:45,149 --> 00:06:49,699
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