Back in 1992, a few months before Superman was infamously "killed" by Doomsday, DC published a one-shot special by Walter Simonson, appropriately called: Superman Special #1 by Walter Simonson.

 

And what is so special about this comic book?At the moment, it is the first of its kind. Not only is it the first graded example to be introduced to the CGC Census, giving it temporary OAK (One-of-a-Kind) status until others get graded, but it's also further distinguished by its triple signature provided by Geoff Darrow and Michael Golden (both artists contributed pin-ups illustrations), and by the man himself, artist and writer extraordinaire, Walter Simonson. The other things which merit personal praise: it's my original owner newsstand copy I bought from the racks over 21 years ago, and, the grade it has achieved, a 9.2 with white pages (a decent grade proudly awarded sans pressing), assures me all the hard work and efforts I put into keeping my comics preserved have paid-off. But the real speciality is in the controversy connected with the story: Does Superman die in this issue and come to be replaced by a being known as the Sand Superman?The Sand Superman was originally conceived by writer Dennis O'Neil and debuted in 1971. This rather bizarre creation was to play an integral part of a character and mythos re-launch of Superman. The revisionist approach occurred during a time when DC campaigned to re-invent their main characters (Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, et al), in an effort to distance themselves in the wake and fallout of the campiness and puerile nature of the 60's Batman TV show. In an effort to bring Superman to a more "mortal" level, O'Neil devised a way for Ka-El to lose two-thirds his power (much like John Byrne would later do in 1986 with The Man of Steel title). It all started in the pages of Superman #233 (cover art by Neal Adams) and ran through until issue 242. The Sand Superman was introduced as an incorporeal entity from another dimension known as Quarrm, who made its way to Metropolis by way of an extra-dimensional wormhole caused by a freak explosion. The entity was able to siphon energy from Superman, construct a body in the likeness of Superman made of sand, and eventually used the absorbed energy for superpowers that mimicked Superman's. Several encounters and battles with Superman allowed this Golem-like thing to grow as strong as the Kryptonian, all-the-while draining and reducing Superman's powers to nearly one-third of his original level (thus accomplishing O'Neil's mission). However, with the absorption of Superman's powers, the alien parasite also absorbed an aspect of Superman's personality and spiritual make-up, changing its moral compass as it came to the realization that what it was doing was both harmful to Superman and mankind. Ultimately, "Super Sandy" returned on its own volition to its home dimension. This fascinating yet convoluted mess of a story can be read in greater detail through the following links: http://www.supermansupersite.com/1971.html or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarmer or http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Sand_Superman_(Earth-One). In some vague and obscure way, I see some snippets of the O'Neil story, used in the ludicrous plot to the 1983 movie Superman III, where Clark Kent fights an evil doppelganger of Superman, created from the side-effects of the fission of Kryptonite and tar (I kid you not... tar). If you never seen the movie, the absolute best scene, and in my opinion, the only reason to see the movie, is the action-packed fight between the Evil Superman and his "pure" Spirit embodied as Clark Kent. You could see for yourself in two parts, brought to you by comiccollector87 and Christopher Gibbs (thank you both whoever you are):

; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yL12bbRPUz4. Jumping forward to 1992, Walter Simonson revived the Sand Superman. In this updated story, Lex Luthor, in an attempt to synthesize Kryptonite for a nefarious purpose, accidentally neutralizes its radioactive properties, leading to the creation of an energy parasite composed of sand. The creature forms a construct in the likeness of Superman. And after each successive encounter and battle with the Man of Steel, the sandy doppelganger not only drains and absorbs Superman's powers, but looks more and more like the real McCoy, until you cannot distinguish the fake from the genuine article. AUTHORS NOTE: The following paragraph is my interpretation of the end of Superman Special #1, by Walter Simonson, which admittedly, I could be 100% wrong since it is based on a hazy and spotty memory of a comic book I read 21 years ago and may possibly be co-mingled with my own imagination. So here it is (or how I believe it ended)......In the climactic battle between Superman and Sand Superman in the Fortress of Solitude, where both combatants are indistinguishable, the ambiguous ending, in my opinion, lends the reader to believe that the Sand Superman has killed Superman either by strangulation or by completely draining and cannibalizing Ka-El of his powers and life-force. Victorious yet remorseful, the sand creature rises over the lifeless body of Superman, looks solemnly over his corpse, and vows to carry-on the heroic legacy of Superman. I can only assume from that point, Superman is dead and Sand Superman assumes the mantle of the new Superman. Or has he? Check out this blog site for further speculation: http://siskoid.blogspot.com/2011/05/reign-of-supermen-210-post-crisis-sand.html And still further speculation as channeled through dialogue exchange by fans making some interesting points: http://www.comicvine.com/superman/4005-1807/forums/post-crisis-era-superman-died-in-1988-645961/Well... I met the man himself at NYComicCon, and after getting his inscription, point-blankedly asked him the question: "Did Sand Superman kill Superman?" With equal ambiguity to rival the comic book, Mr. Simonson slyly smiled and replied: "If that is what you want to believe." Well... to be honest, I don't know what to believe. I find it difficult to accept Superman's death at the hands of such an energy vampire, yet I am equally amiss to know Superman would choke a foe to death. That just seems too out-of-line with the Big Blue Boy Scout I've come to know and love. However, the Sand Superman was a bit of a crackpot with a pathological streak, and may have committed murder, only to pull a Talented Mr. Ripley. What do you think? SW3DTo see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.