This panel. This panel right here, sums up not only why All-Star Superman will almost assuredly forever be the greatest Superman story ever told, but one of the greatest stories told period.
Why? Because Superman has never been about the man's powers. At least the classics. It's about the alien, being the most human of all. In this page, Superman, decided, out of all 7 billion people in the world, Regan, was the most important. Another blog post sums this up far more beautifully than I can:
https://braveblog.wordpress.com/201...st-moments-in-comics-1-the-girl-on-the-ledge/All of page 12 is a scene full of drama and potential tragedy and it is all set-up 5 pages before that in a moment that would almost seem trivial. Superman had just saved a runaway Metrorail car from crashing. He flies away, waving to those that are cheering and thanking him. But there is one man on a cell phone telling someone named Regan frantically to not leave their apartment and that he would be on his way directly. According to the page all of this happened at 4:35PM. It seemed like a throwaway bit of dialogue the first time I read the issue and I didnt think much of it. It wasnt until I re-read All-Star Superman in a collected format that I connected the dots between page 7, panel 2 and everything that happens on page 12. It never dawned on me that Superman had listened to the conversation on the cell phone. Of course he heard the situation, he has super-charged super-hearing.
So what happens on Page 12 that is so monumental and moving all at once? Well, here is the panel by panel analysis.
Page 12, Panel 1: It turns out Regan is a troubled young woman and the man on the phone was her Doctor/Psychiatrist. He wanted her to stay inside because she was suicidal. She is crying as she stands on the ledge of a building. There is no question of what her intent is as she stands crying on the ledge. This is human drama; this is a person in pain that cannot cope with the pain of life. We dont even know what her problems specifically are. All we see is a girl, on a ledge with clear intent.
Page 12, Panel 2: Regan is taking a deep breath. This is the moment. Tear stained face, running mascara, clasped hands, possibly in prayer.
Page 12, Panel 3: He is there. A broad chest clad in blue red and yellow. He talks to her, not harshly, not yelling. My lord as you read the words put in his mouth by Grant Morrison you can almost hear the voice of Christopher Reeve calmly speaking to this poor girl. Your Doctor really did get held up Regan. It is never as bad as it seems. Her look has changed from despair to startled. Not a horrified startled mind you, but nor is it one of suddenly being filled with hope. It is a look of genuine astonishment that someone is there on this roof with her and that someone cares. It doesnt matter that its Superman. The fact that it is, is amazing unto itself but it isnt like Regan specifically wanted Superman to reach out to her. She really just wanted someone, anyone to show that they genuinely cared. The fact that someone did is a blessing. The fact that it is Superman, that is miraculous.
Page 12, Panel 4: The Moment itself, the defining moment with that pure distilled ring of truth. Regan is still in shock that someone is there and in awe because that someone is Superman. Youre much stronger than you think you are. Trust me. Here is The Last Son of Krypton, knowing he is going to die any day now, doing everything in his power to make the world a better place. Why? Because despite being an alien; Superman is Human. Human in how he was raised, human in emotion and human how he relates to people, all people, be they human or not. He believes the world can be a better place for all humanity and, because of that, he views every human life as precious. It doesnt matter what Regans problems are at that moment, its the fact that she is someone in pain that matters to him. Youre much stronger than you think you are. Trust me is sending a message to Regan about how fragile all life is. Superman wrestling with his own mortality is one of the themes of All-Star Superman and here, on Page 12, panel 4 a representation of that mortality turns and looks him in the face. How could he not reach out and help? His message in those two sentences is that life is worth living but time is short so do not throw the gift of life away.
Page 12, Panel 5: Probably the most emotional moment in any comic I have ever read. Superman takes Regan in his arms and holds her close. Two people, both on the brink of death, opting to choose life. In one page and 5 panels Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely have told this moment of human drama. It is a story all its own. Regan is relatable to any reader because so many people have been in her shoes, theyve been that depressed, that desperate and felt that alone where they thought taking their lives was their only option. In five panels we have a story of intense drama, desperation and eventually relief. There have been writers who have spent years writing Superman and not told such a completely gripping story as Morrison and Quitely did in one page and five panels.
Pretty much sums up the entire Comic in one fell swoop. This is why Superman is my favorite hero. Sure I'm one of the few that thinks his generic power set is pretty cool, but I mainly fall in love with his character. Nearly every other superhero wants to be dark and edgy, and that's fine, but Superman is still an honest-to-God HERO, which in a way, makes him stand out among those comic book characters who misconceive "dark"=flawed and more relatable.
Regan is the definition of a throwaway comic book character, but right then, right there, nothing else mattered to the Man of Steel. Not his problems with Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, the League, other villains, his own mortality, etc. At the moment, all he cared about was telling a young woman that life was worth living, even when he knew he had weeks, at the most, to live himself.
That to me, is why he'll forever be the greatest superhero of all time.