When Kingdom Come hit the shelves in 1996, it was met with great fan and critical success. The Mark Waid/Alex Ross mini-series depicted a dark future for the DC Universe, as anti-heroes violently battled villains with little regard for preserving life, property or morality.
Beautifully painted by Ross, the series presented some wild scenarios in DC’s potential future, most of which have thankfully not come true. However, some threads were picked up by subsequent DC writers, and have found their way into mainstream continuity. Here are 5 key plot points from Kingdom Come that DC used in its future stories (and 5 more they didn't).
10 USED: Son of the Bat
One of the biggest themes to emerge from Kingdom Come was that of generational conflict, represented by the “straight-and-narrow” superheroes like Superman opposing the “grim-and-gritty” violent antiheroes like Magog. Batman is not immune to this, as he is shown to be at odds with his own son by Talia Al Ghul, Ibn al Xu'ffasch (translated to Son of the Bat).
A biological son for Bruce Wayne had been rumored in the DC Universe up until that point, and through this series, relegated to an Elseworlds tale. However, Grant Morrison introduced the character during his run on Batman, in the form of Damian Wayne, the current Robin.
9 DIDN'T USE: The Inhuman Spectre
Leading Norman McCay through his journey through the world of Kingdom Come is The Spectre, who as Deadman relates, has steadily begun to lose contact with his humanity, behaving more gaunt and remote.
Even forgoing the mortal trappings of clothing (save his cloak), Jim Corrigan seems to be permanently losing his tie to human affairs. However, in stories since the release of the series, he's either still very much involved and passionate about the human aspect of his mission, or has since moved on from being The Spectre altogether. In any event, DC has seemingly been unconcerned with exploring the idea of a Spectre that is slowly losing his human nature.
8 USED: Lois Lane’s Death
Part of the impetus for the growing rift between Superman and Magog is an attack on the Daily Planet that leaves hundreds dead, including Lois Lane. The instigator? None other than The Joker. Having tired of the cat-and-mouse game The Joker has played with law enforcement over the years, Magog blew a hole through his chest, to public approval and Superman’s consternation.
This is almost an exact summary of the main plot point of the Injustice: Gods Among Us video games and comic books. However, in this version, the attack on the Daily Planet is perpetrated by Superman himself (under the influence of The Joker’s hallucinogen) which then leads to a nuclear blast that levels Metropolis. In retaliation for his indirect involvement in Lois’ death, Superman punches a hole through The Joker’s chest and goes on to establish an authoritarian regime over the entire planet.
7 DIDN’T USE: The Luthor/Wayne Alliance
One of the most surprising plot twists in Kingdom Come revolves around the human resistance to the meta-human influence on world affairs. Chief amongst those resistance members is Lex Luthor, who leads the opposition, (named the Mankind Liberation Front) in exacerbating the adverse effects of meta-human behaviour so as to turn public opinion against them. Recognizing a need to expand his forces, Luthor shockingly joins forces with Bruce Wayne, who has similar reservations about how meta-human affairs are being conducted.
Although Batman and Lex Luthor have recently found themselves on the same side of battle through Luthor’s membership in the Justice League and his involvement as a hero, such a direct and close partnership between the two has yet to be explored in mainstream continuity.
6 USED: Superman/Wonder Woman Romance
Shippers everywhere rejoiced when Superman and Wonder Woman finally became a couple in Kingdom Come. Perhaps finding each other in common values and in loss (Superman lost Lois and Diana her people), their pairing promised a child, as Diana found she was pregnant in the series’ epilogue.
This romantic partnership was explored in mainstream continuity during the New 52 era, where the two characters dated until the New 52 Superman met his death. Although retconned out of existence by the reappearance of the pre-Flashpoint Superman in the New 52 timeline, this romance enjoyed a brief time in the mainstream spotlight.
5 DIDN’T USE: Batman’s Exposed Identity
When Superman makes his comeback to public life as a superhero, he embarks on a campaign to gather support for his cause. Starting with his old friends in the Justice League, he manages to recruit Green Lantern, The Flash, and Wonder Woman and then proceeds to visit Batman at Wayne Manor.
Depicted as a broken-down, shell of a building, it is revealed that Bane and Two-Face destroyed the mansion when Batman’s identity was exposed. Although Batman’s identity is perhaps disseminated to more individuals than it should be, it still remains a secret to the public at large in current continuity, indicating a plotline DC didn’t want to explore.
4 USED: Grayson/Wayne Estrangement
In many continuities, Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne develop a deep rift between them in the autumn of their years, usually over a traumatic event or opposing ideologies. Kingdom Come is no different, with Grayson choosing to side with Superman’s faction over Batman’s.
A Grayson/Wayne estrangement is nothing new to comics, as the two have famously not seen eye-to-eye during arcs like Prodigal and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive, sometimes even coming to blows. With Grayson currently being primed as a Talon by the Court of Owls as a result of their machinations and Grayson’s amnesia, expect a contemporary ‘Ric’ Grayson/Bruce Wayne estrangement to soon meet a fevered and perhaps physical pitch.
3 DIDN’T USE: A Broken Martian
A big part of Kingdom Come revolved around the inevitable battle between Superman and Captain Marvel. However, a third participant may have proved decisive in the fray- especially someone whose power levels easily matched the aforementioned combatants: J’onn J’onzz, The Martian Manhunter. However, due to his opening his mind telepathically to all humankind at once, the experience shattered his mind, leaving him incapable of the focus needed to be useful in battle.
Although the character has been killed and resurrected, there’s been no instance of the overload of his telepathic powers causing him a mental breakdown to the point of virtual incapacitation thus far in mainstream continuity.
2 USED: Superman vs ‘Evil’ Captain Marvel
The climax of Kingdom Come featured a knock-down, drag-out battle between Superman and Captain Marvel for the literal fate of the world. Having been mind-controlled by Luthor for so long, Marvel’s psyche is scrambled, and due to the nature of his power being magical, he is more than a match for even a super super-powered Superman.
Recently, the Dark Multiverse denizen The Batman Who Laughs has begun to infect mainstream DC heroes with his own brand of maliciousness, twisting them into evil mirrors of themselves. One hero to fall victim to this corruption is indeed, Captain Marvel, and a Kingdom Come-esque confrontation with Superman in the pages of Batman/Superman seems to be a forgone conclusion.
1 DIDN’T USE: Meta-Human Civil War
Aside from the ultimate showdown between Superman and Captain Marvel, the climax of Kingdom Come also featured a total war between Wonder Woman’s army and the prisoners of the Gulag, with Batman’s army thrown in for good measure. The battle was so intense and so threatening to the stability of the planet, that the United Nations sent nuclear bombers to destroy the combatants before they, in turn, destroyed the world.
Although there have been many instances in which groups of heroes and villains gather to have a massive battle in current continuities, there has yet to be a self-induced civil war between DC heroes that threatens to destroy the planet. It seems a Ragnarok-style ultimate conflict between meta-humans is something DC is comfortable relegating to the far-flung futures of its Elseworlds tales.