Action Comics #825 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of May, 2005. It was published on March 9, 2005.
Synopsis for "The Four Horsemen"
Gog tells Superman how he was inspired when he saved him from the destruction of Topeka. He spent his life studying time. He tried to go back to save his parents, but failed. For over two centuries he tried this, and finally he turned to revenge. He gave his younger self the power to kill Superman. Time and again he failed. Then he realized, he needed an army, so he would create an army of himself.
Dozens of Gogs, plucked from different points in time, attack the Man of Steel. Superman tries to fight them off, but the combined might of all of them forces him to the ground. When Gog is about to deliver his killing blow, Doomsday suddenly arrives and begins to toss Gogs around with little effort. As no one is going to kill Superman but Doomsday.
Up on the bridge, J'onn, Batman, and Superboy watch the fight. J'onn and Superboy want to enter the fight, but Batman tells them that their Doomsday Protocol exists for a reason. If Superman falls they beam the whole mess into the Phantom Zone.
In Smallville, Lois, Lana, and the Kents watch on the news when suddenly the front door explodes inwards and Gog walks in.
Waking up, Preus looks at the fight and realizes he is not needed here. Kandor needs to be freed. Superman asks Doomsday why he's helping fight Gog. Doomsday explains that he wants to explore his emotions, and there's only one Superman to kill. Gog tells him that he's with his parents right now. Superman tells him that he'll never leave innocents to die just to save others. With a mighty punch, Superman shakes the whole city. When the dust clears Superman is down and Gog stands triumphant.
Superman's death inspired a whole new wave of heroes, and that lead into the battle that waged for a hundred years. The League of Supermen led by a reformed Doomsday against an army of Gogs. But Gog was weary. He had achieved his goal. However, the world didn't know that Superman was still alive. Trapped for two centuries, tortured by Gog, the Man of Steel lived. Constantly Gog asked him why he didn't try to save his family, and every time Superman tells him that he couldn't trade other lives for theirs. As time went on, Gog began to offer Superman a trip to the past to save his family if he left Metropolis to him, and still Superman refused. Gog offered him the chance to go back and kill him as a child. Superman refused. He offered him the chance to save Krypton if he would only sacrifice one life. Superman turns the offer down. Finally Gog cannot take anymore. He grabs the Man of Steel, demanding to know why he won't give in. Superman tells him that sacrificing one for another renders it worthless. He asks Gog if his parents were murderers, and with that Gog suddenly realizes the error of his ways. Suddenly Doomsday bursts in and picks up the Man of Steel, and Gog feels shame at what he has become. Doomsday prepares to kill Gog, but he tells Doomsday that he can correct all of this. Doomsday drops him, and asks if he will have to be a monster again.
Back in Metropolis, the army of Gogs suddenly disappears, leaving only one. Superman, healed in time accelerated by Gog, easily dispatches this one with a solid punch to the face. Leaving Metropolis, Superman soars to Smallville where he finds another Gog, dead, outside of the Kent farm house. Superman sees Gog and Doomsday (from the future). Gog tells him that the future is now unwritten, but a great crisis looms, and he hopes that he can survive it. With that, the two reformed villains disappear.
Back in Metropolis, Gog digs through the rubble. He finds something, and smiles. All he needs is a little time.
Appearing in "The Four Horsemen"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Preus
- Gog (Flashback and main story)
- Repo Man (Flashback only)
- Doomsday
- Weapon Master (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Lois Lane
- Martha Kent
- Jonathan Kent
- Lana Lang
- Clark Peter Ross
- League of Supermen (Single appearance)
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- J.D. Finn is a pseudonym, though it is not known for whom. Speculation on the part of former writer Chuck Austen suggests that this issue was written by editor Eddie Berganza. However, DC Comics has credited the issue to Joe Kelly on their website - which may or may not be accurate.[1]
See Also