The Kingdom #1 is an issue of the series The Kingdom (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 1999.
Synopsis for "Never Ending Slaughter"
Prologue
The citizens of some version of Metropolis watch and listen as its Superman pounds away at some barrier in the sky, with the narrator saying "he deserved heaven...not prison".
The Story
Deadman finds himself with dozens of Supermen all killed one day earlier by various means by the powerful being called Gog. The Supermen from earlier times are filled in with who Gog is and why he is desiring to destroy Superman in this fashion. As Deadman leads the Supermen into their reward, the Phantom Stranger questions the intended goals his fellow members of the Quintessence have concerning the use of their agent Gog, and so decides to counter their move with one of his own -- his agent Hunter, who uses the chrono sands to slip away from his fellow Linear Men unnoticed while they try to figure out why Gog's destruction of Superman through time isn't causing any recordable anomalies in future history. He arrives at the time of Superman's and Wonder Woman's birth of a baby son, which becomes a joyous day instantly ruined by the appearance of Gog. He kidnaps their child and keeps most of the heroes at bay while Gog makes his escape. Waverider arrives on the scene and tells the heroes of that time not to interfere with the rescue of Superman's child from Gog for that would cause their history to be erased, but Hunter takes Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman back to 1998 in order to stop Gog nonetheless.
In 1998, Ma and Pa Kent are sitting out on the porch, enjoying a day of rest when they see a mushroom cloud form in the horizon, portending a disaster to come. Then Pa Kent is sucked toward the maelstrom, wrenched away before Ma Kent could grab his hand.
Appearing in "Never Ending Slaughter"
Featured Characters:
- Avia (Kingdom Come)
- Batman (Kingdom Come)
- Bulletgirl (Kingdom Come)
- Deadman (Kingdom Come)
- Dr. Fate (Kingdom Come)
- Flash (Kingdom Come)
- Green Lantern (Kingdom Come)
- Hawkman (Kingdom Come)
- Hunter
- Liri Lee
- Nightstar (Kingdom Come)
- Power Man (Kingdom Come)
- Power Woman (Kingdom Come)
- Ray (Kingdom Come)
- Red Tornado (Kingdom Come)
- Steel (Kingdom Come)
- Superman (Kingdom Come)
- Wonder Woman (Kingdom Come)
- Waverider
- Zatara (Kingdom Come)
Supporting Characters:
- Amazons of Themyscira (Kingdom Come)
- Quintessence (Kingdom Come)
- Ganthet (Kingdom Come)
- Highfather (Kingdom Come)
- Phantom Stranger (Kingdom Come)
- Shazam (Kingdom Come)
- Zeus (Kingdom Come)
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Lots of Supermen from various realities (Dies)
- Ma Kent
- Pa Kent
- Superman and Wonder Woman's child
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- This story is reprinted in The Kingdom collected edition.
- The origin of Gog is retold from New Year's Evil: Gog #1.
- The first appearance of the Kingdom Come Superman and Wonder Woman's baby, which they previously told Batman they were going to have in the epilogue following Kingdom Come #4 in the Kingdom Come collected editions.
Trivia
- At the beginning of the story, there is a figure resembling the Golden Age Superman banging against an invisible barrier of what appears to be an "Earth-Two reality". It was probably intended at the time that he is either the same figure as the one who entered the paradise dimension with his wife, Superboy-Prime, and Alexander Luthor Jr. at the end of Crisis On Infinite Earths #12, or simply a Superman of an alternate reality in Hypertime.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Kingdom Come Recommended Reading
- Kingdom Come (Volume 1) - collected in Kingdom Come
- The Kingdom (Volume 1) - storyline The Kingdom collected in The Kingdom
- Thy Kingdom Come - collected in Justice Society of America: Thy Kingdom Come, Part One and Part Two and Part Three
- Justice Society of America (Volume 3) #9 - JSA #17
- Justice Society of America Annual (Volume 3) #1
- Justice Society of America (Volume 3) #18 - JSA #20
- Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special Superman #1
- Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special Magog #1
- Justice Society of America Kingdom Come Special: The Kingdom #1
- Justice Society of America (Volume 3) #21 - JSA #22
- Titans: Who is Troia?
- Justice League: Generation Lost (Volume 1) - storyline Justice League: Generation Lost collected in Justice League: Generation Lost Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
- Batman/Superman: World's Finest (Volume 1)
- Strange Visitor: Batman/Superman: World's Finest #7 - Batman/Superman: World's Finest #11
- Heir to the Kingdom: Batman/Superman: World's Finest #20 - Present
