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- NARRATOR: The '90s began
with the biggest boom period
ever seen
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00:00:04,713 --> 00:00:06,173
in the comic
book industry.
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00:00:06,172 --> 00:00:07,762
And Marvel was
flying high.
4
00:00:07,757 --> 00:00:09,337
- My favorite comic
book is the X-Men.
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00:00:09,342 --> 00:00:11,762
- Oh, yeah,
we like X-Men.
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00:00:11,761 --> 00:00:15,971
- NARRATOR: 1991's X-Men
#1 sold a
mind-blogging 8.1 million
copies.
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00:00:15,974 --> 00:00:18,694
They also launched
Marvel Films
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00:00:18,685 --> 00:00:21,935
which introduced hit animated
series for The Hulk,
X-Men, and Spider-Man.
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00:00:23,606 --> 00:00:27,436
Meanwhile, at DC, plans were
underway with the Superman
team
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00:00:27,444 --> 00:00:31,664
for a big idea the company
hoped would shift attention bak
to them.
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00:00:31,656 --> 00:00:34,026
- Don't you think that
Jimmy Olsen would be the perfect
best man?
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00:00:34,034 --> 00:00:36,334
- Yes, I think that's
great. Write that down.
13
00:00:36,327 --> 00:00:38,157
- NARRATOR: But an
unforeseen event
14
00:00:38,163 --> 00:00:40,713
would change the course of
comic book history forever.
15
00:00:40,707 --> 00:00:42,917
- Knock, knock! We gotta
talk. - [knocking on door]
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00:00:53,678 --> 00:00:57,348
- Every year, the entire
Superman team would get
together.
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00:00:58,767 --> 00:01:01,387
And we would work out
the continuity roughly
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00:01:01,394 --> 00:01:04,314
for the next years'
worth of stories.
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00:01:04,314 --> 00:01:07,404
- USLAN: Marvel was
dominating, so how do you shake
up an industry?
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00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,240
Great stories, great characters,
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00:01:10,236 --> 00:01:12,446
and important earth-shaking
events that will grab the
public's attention.
22
00:01:13,698 --> 00:01:15,408
- SIMONSON: The
big denouement
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00:01:15,408 --> 00:01:17,788
was going to be the
wedding of Clark Kent and Lois
Lane.
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00:01:17,786 --> 00:01:20,996
But, unknown to us, there was
going to be a new Superman TV
show.
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00:01:20,997 --> 00:01:23,117
- REPORTER 1: Lois & Clark
is part comic book
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00:01:23,124 --> 00:01:25,714
and part romance novel
in a television series.
27
00:01:25,710 --> 00:01:29,630
Think of it as the Man of
Steel meets Danielle Steele.
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00:01:29,631 --> 00:01:32,131
- At least I personally was
unaware of it. Other people may
have been aware of it.
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00:01:32,133 --> 00:01:35,433
And then Jenette Kahn comes
down, who was the publisher, and
says...
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00:01:35,428 --> 00:01:38,348
- So we have to put a hold on
the wedding story line for now.
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00:01:38,348 --> 00:01:40,268
- What?
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00:01:40,266 --> 00:01:43,976
- The Lois and Clark TV
show want them to remain
unmarried,
33
00:01:43,978 --> 00:01:45,518
and they're worried
it's gonna confuse the audience.
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00:01:45,522 --> 00:01:46,902
- [scoffs]
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00:01:46,898 --> 00:01:49,438
- SIMONSON: We were
a bit perturbed.
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00:01:49,442 --> 00:01:52,402
We had to come up with something
else to do for the next year.
37
00:01:54,322 --> 00:01:55,742
- Let's kill him.
38
00:01:55,740 --> 00:01:59,740
- [scoffs] Yeah.
- No... let's kill him.
39
00:01:59,744 --> 00:02:01,754
- SIMONSON: Jerry
Ordway would always say,
40
00:02:01,746 --> 00:02:04,246
when we couldn't think what
to do next, "Let's kill him."
41
00:02:04,249 --> 00:02:06,249
And this time when Jerry said,
"Let's kill him,"
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00:02:06,251 --> 00:02:09,211
we said, "Yeah,
let's just kill him."
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00:02:12,841 --> 00:02:15,431
- REPORTER 2: He may be able
to leap tall buildings at a
single bound...
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00:02:15,426 --> 00:02:17,716
but Superman is
in a super slump.
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00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:19,220
- NARRATOR: The world's
most famous superhero
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00:02:19,222 --> 00:02:21,642
seemed like he was
past his prime.
47
00:02:21,641 --> 00:02:23,811
Younger fans saw him as
stodgy and old-fashioned...
48
00:02:23,810 --> 00:02:25,690
and sales were slumping.
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00:02:25,687 --> 00:02:28,397
- He's been around for a
long time. There were a couple
of hundred issues.
50
00:02:28,398 --> 00:02:29,608
People are getting
bored of him, I think.
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00:02:29,607 --> 00:02:31,817
- I think he's corny.
52
00:02:31,818 --> 00:02:35,358
- I don't like him. He's like a
boy scout compared to other
superheroes.
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00:02:35,363 --> 00:02:38,873
- KAHN: One of the best ways
to engage our readers was to
torture them.
54
00:02:38,867 --> 00:02:40,947
And the way to torture our
readers was to torture our
characters.
55
00:02:44,831 --> 00:02:46,251
- SIMONSON: You know, I've
done some terrible things to
characters.
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00:02:46,249 --> 00:02:49,839
I'm like a monster, actually,
when it comes to comic book
characters.
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00:02:49,836 --> 00:02:52,256
- KAHN: Once we had
decided to kill Superman,
58
00:02:52,255 --> 00:02:54,915
we had to think of a death
that was worthy of him.
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00:02:54,924 --> 00:02:57,764
So, we created a
character called Doomsday
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00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:00,810
who was just
astonishingly strong.
61
00:03:03,433 --> 00:03:07,983
- In comics, we kill
people all the time, but they
get better.
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00:03:07,979 --> 00:03:10,319
I never kill a
character in a comic book
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00:03:10,315 --> 00:03:11,855
that I don't know how
I'm going to bring them
back.
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00:03:11,858 --> 00:03:14,608
Which we knew would
have to happen.
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00:03:14,611 --> 00:03:16,821
- Finally, from us this evening,
murder most foul.
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00:03:16,821 --> 00:03:19,071
- Today is the day that
Superman meets an un-super fate.
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00:03:20,491 --> 00:03:22,661
- Well, the Man of Steel
has apparently met his match.
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00:03:22,660 --> 00:03:24,540
And its name is Doomsday.
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00:03:24,537 --> 00:03:27,117
- TUCKER: Mainstream media
outlets that before that
70
00:03:27,123 --> 00:03:29,833
would not deign to stoop
to cover superheroes
71
00:03:29,834 --> 00:03:31,844
were suddenly
covering superheroes.
72
00:03:31,836 --> 00:03:33,626
- I'm finding this all
very upsetting, actually.
73
00:03:33,630 --> 00:03:35,170
It's weird.
- I know. Isn't it awful?
74
00:03:35,173 --> 00:03:37,303
- I don't think
they should kill off Superman.
75
00:03:37,300 --> 00:03:39,680
- REPORTER 3:
Superman's fans are
stunned.
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00:03:39,677 --> 00:03:42,057
- It's definitely
surprising. I would never guess
they would kill him.
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00:03:42,055 --> 00:03:46,635
- They killed off Superman?
What's next? Who's gonna save
the world?
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00:03:46,643 --> 00:03:51,313
- SIMONSON: I was surprised
at the time that people really
were believing...
79
00:03:51,314 --> 00:03:55,614
that a character as iconic as
Superman would be allowed to be
permanently dead.
80
00:03:55,610 --> 00:03:58,820
- REPORTER 4: The Death of
Superman issue that flooded
comic book stores today
81
00:03:58,821 --> 00:04:02,081
is expected to sell close
to three million copies.
82
00:04:02,075 --> 00:04:04,035
- TUCKER: There was
this feeding frenzy
83
00:04:04,035 --> 00:04:07,405
among people who did not
necessarily read comics month o
month,
84
00:04:07,413 --> 00:04:12,383
going into comic book stores and
looking for this issue where
Superman's gonna die.
85
00:04:12,377 --> 00:04:15,667
- Sold out in just a couple of
hours. We've doubled and tripled
our orders.
86
00:04:15,672 --> 00:04:17,882
- And this is happening all over
the city, and probably all over
the country.
87
00:04:17,882 --> 00:04:20,392
- COHEN: Suddenly there were
lines out the door at the comic
book stores.
88
00:04:20,385 --> 00:04:24,135
"If I buy this, it's gonna
be worth a ton of money."
89
00:04:24,138 --> 00:04:29,228
"Kid's college is paid for. I
just have to buy 20 copies of
Superman #75.
90
00:04:29,227 --> 00:04:32,647
The issue where
he dies. I'm set."
91
00:04:32,647 --> 00:04:35,147
- I think he's a kind of
dumb and boring, but I'm just
collecting it for the money.
92
00:04:35,149 --> 00:04:37,319
- SIMONSON: We had to sign
non-disclosure agreements.
93
00:04:37,318 --> 00:04:40,698
So we couldn't say, "No,
really, don't buy 200 copies of
that.
94
00:04:40,697 --> 00:04:42,567
Yes, he's gonna get better."
95
00:04:42,573 --> 00:04:44,873
- Freddy already made me buy 50
copies of that damn comic book
96
00:04:44,867 --> 00:04:46,157
and he's saving up to buy more.
97
00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,120
- [sighs] Oh, wow.
98
00:04:48,121 --> 00:04:48,911
- Do you think they're
gonna be worth something?
99
00:04:50,373 --> 00:04:53,253
- You know, um...
I think that...
100
00:04:54,627 --> 00:04:56,627
Um... Do you want a cookie?
101
00:04:56,629 --> 00:04:58,669
- Yeah, please.
102
00:04:58,673 --> 00:05:01,683
- SIMONSON: I felt guilty.
That's not how it works,
people.
103
00:05:01,676 --> 00:05:05,716
Something they print millions of
copies of are never gonna be
worth anything.
104
00:05:05,722 --> 00:05:06,762
- We're gonna put them through
college selling these books.
105
00:05:06,764 --> 00:05:08,814
- [coughing]
106
00:05:08,808 --> 00:05:10,018
- That's the plan.
- Mmm-hmm.
107
00:05:11,728 --> 00:05:14,558
- You okay?
- [muffled] Mmm-hmm. I'm great.
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00:05:14,564 --> 00:05:17,404
- NARRATOR: A single copy of
the first printing of The
Death of Superman
109
00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,400
will get you, at most,
about five bucks.
110
00:05:20,403 --> 00:05:24,323
But the value of that
comic book to the industry was
immeasurable.
111
00:05:24,324 --> 00:05:28,244
It lured long-time fans back
to comics and brought in new
readers.
112
00:05:28,244 --> 00:05:31,164
And for the first time
in years, made DC the place to
be.
113
00:05:34,709 --> 00:05:37,249
- We've produced an
unbelievable amount of comics...
114
00:05:37,253 --> 00:05:39,013
but there's one
comic that has sold
115
00:05:39,005 --> 00:05:41,835
more than any other comic
in our entire history.
116
00:05:41,841 --> 00:05:44,301
The one that's inside
the bloody poly bag.
117
00:05:44,302 --> 00:05:46,852
It is Superman #75,
The Death of Superman.
118
00:05:49,349 --> 00:05:52,979
And what's really amazing
about this comic is that in his
death,
119
00:05:52,977 --> 00:05:56,437
we had a chance to examine
how we've lost track of how
important Superman is.
120
00:05:56,439 --> 00:06:00,029
You cannot like superheroes
and not like Superman.
121
00:06:00,026 --> 00:06:02,236
You may not think
you need to like Superman,
122
00:06:02,236 --> 00:06:05,196
but he is the original DNA
that exists in every
character.
123
00:06:05,198 --> 00:06:06,528
He's the man who
created it all.
124
00:06:06,532 --> 00:06:07,782
It's like Robert Johnson and the
blues. There's nothing like
Superman.
125
00:06:12,038 --> 00:06:14,168
- SIMONSON: Everybody
knew who Superman was.
126
00:06:14,165 --> 00:06:17,995
I think that that made people
think it was a very important
thing.
127
00:06:18,002 --> 00:06:20,302
And in a way, it was,
128
00:06:20,296 --> 00:06:23,046
but in a way, it was because
they didn't let us marry him.
129
00:06:24,634 --> 00:06:28,184
And Jerry said, "Let's
kill him." Blame Jerry.
130
00:06:28,179 --> 00:06:32,229
- The death of Superman
clearly has turned into a
killing.
131
00:06:32,225 --> 00:06:36,185
- NARRATOR: The Death of
Superman finally put DC back
on top.
132
00:06:36,187 --> 00:06:39,607
It took the competition
across town completely by
surprise.
133
00:06:39,607 --> 00:06:41,857
- Whatcha guys thinkin'?
- [grunts]
134
00:06:44,946 --> 00:06:46,026
You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?
- Yes.
11670
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