Thursday, March 03, 2011

Walking with Superman: Day 225

Superman arrives in Charles Town, West Virginia, responding to a call for help from the immortal wanderer Mitch Shelley. The so-called Resurrection Man shares with the Man of Steel a story that he only recently remembered, from a previous life, when he fought in the war to end all wars. They called it the Phosgene Phantom, a silent, ghostly creature that would sweep through Allied trenches, causing painful burns and choking death to any soldier it touched. No one ever discovered where it came from or what it was, but a trio of American soldiers were eventually able to bind it with arcane magic. Their power and their blood could not trap the creature forever, and so their spell would last "until the last Doughboy dies." Now, with the death of Corporal Frank Buckles, Mitch Shelley is the last living soldier who fought for the United States in World War I--and the next time he dies, the Phantom will be released to bring ghastly death to the Allied nations once more. It's up to Superman to keep Mitch Shelley alive while they search for the bound Phantom among Buckles' effects--in hopes of stopping it once and for all.

2 comments:

Eric TF Bat said...

Yes! Resurrection Man! One of the great concepts, so cruelly wasted by DC. Thank you!

Tom Foss said...

Resurrection Man is definitely one of the best; I wish Abnett and Lanning would do some more DC work.