If you think Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons only gave DC Comics Watchmen, it’s time you discovered one of the best stories the British duo gave Superman: For the Man Who Has Everything
In 1985 DC Comics experienced one of the defining moments in its history. While Marv Wolfman and George Perez were in charge of putting in order the immense DC Multiverse with Crisis on Infinite Earths, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, two of the best English creatives, joined forces to deliver us in Superman Annual # 11 (1985) “For the man who has it all”.
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Julius Schwartz, who was editor of the Superman titles for DC Comics, asked Gibbons to draw a story for the Man of Steel, with the advantage that he could choose which writer would be in charge of the script, so the artist asked that Alan Moore will take care of the story.
The result of this union was one of the most acclaimed tales in the history of the Man of Steel, which prepared him to face the dark ages of comics.
Utopian history with chiaroscuro hues
What he painted as a common birthday celebration for Superman, turned into the sweetest of the nightmares that The Man of Steel could have in his life if Krypton had not exploded several years ago.
The script by Alan Moore and the stroke by Dave Gibbons not only present us with the main story with Superman, and the subplot with Batman, Wonder Woman and Robin facing the evil Mogul. They also show us aspects that humanize Kal-El.
These details such as love for his family and concern for his environment were exploited years later by other authors, who showed that Superman’s true weakness is his loved ones such as Lois Lane or his son Jon Kent.
Beyond a threat to the Universe, or a potential apocalypse, the story of Moore and Gibbons gives everything to Superman, in exchange for a bitter awakening where the duel against Mogul takes epic overtones.
Even Moore and Gibbons had time to engage Batman in these fantasies that take any man from pure joy of heart to dark desire for revenge.
Later adaptations
For the Man Who Has Everything was adapted a couple of times, both in the CW series Supergirl (episode 1 × 13), where Kara Zor-El takes the place of her cousin and is a victim of Black Mercy, as well as in the animated series Justice League Unlimited, which did not have Robin in its story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtlmhNUAcUg
This chapter of Justice League Unlimited not only adapted the classic story of Superman Annual # 11 in its own way, it also received good criticism from Alan Moore himself, an author who has rejected adaptations of his works to other media.
What happened to Moore and Gibbons?
Alan Moore garnered prestige among fans by handling shows like The Swamp Thing Saga, while Gibbons pioneered the art in Green Lantern and the ambitious encyclopedia Who’s Who ?: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe.
A year after the publication of Superman Annual # 11, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons shaped the most influential graphic novel of all time: Watchmen, which is one of the most widely read stories of all time, to the degree of be on the list of the 100 most influential books of the 20th century, among other recognitions. (We share you at no cost in this link the first volume of Watchmen).
You can also read: The deaths and resurrections of Superman
Source: Dc comics
Find out what happened to the Man of Tomorrow in SMASH and DC Comics Mexico
He is the most powerful being in the world. The only survivor of a doomed planet, he has made the protection of our planet his life project. And while his never-ending battle for truth and justice continues to this day, one question has always haunted his brilliant legend: How will the story of Superman finally end?
SMASH and DC Comics Mexico bring you in a special edition Superman: What Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? A volume with the stories that Alan Moore built around the Man of Steel, and an approach to his mythology never before imagined.
In this volume there is also the classic story “For the man who has everything”, with the strokes of Dave Gibbons, the same duo that Watchmen gave us.
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