DC Comics Presents #27 (1980)
by Len Wein & Jim Starlin
Superman villains who are a physical match for him are quite rare, and he wouldn’t get one of the few non-Kryptonians until the 80s.
The credits for the artwork are for Jim Starlin and “Quickdraw”, which I though was kind of funny.
If probably refers to the inkers, which are not credited in the story but which are most likely Dick Giordano and/or Frank McLaughlin.
Mongul makes his entrance by sending a holographic message to Superman while he’s still in his apartment changing clothes.
Considering how paranoid Superman could be about his secret identity, it’s kind of refreshing that he doesn’t seem to mind.
Mongul then blackmails Superman by threatening the life of his friends. And Steve Lombard.
He wants Superman to retrieve a very special key from a planet that holds some significance, because that’s where Martian Manhunter retired.
Superman has no intention to give Mongul anything, but for the sake of his friends (and Steve Lombard) he plays along, reaching the planet.
Unfortunately Martian Manhunter is very, VERY protective of this place.
To explain why, he goes into full infodump mode. He tells the story of the ancient Warzoon people (yes, that’s how they were called) that used to be a huge threat.
And that is the origin of Warworld, which will become a returning problem for the DC Universe.
The Warzoon eventually died off, no doubt succumbing to the embarrassment of their dumb name.
So Warworld came under the protection of the Largas, super-pacifist aliens with an AMAZING design.
Eventually the Largas also died off, and the last of their kind gave the Martians the key that is the only thing that could unleash Warworld.
Now that he knows that he can’t give the key to Warworld to Mongul, Superman then… basically doesn’t give a crap.
This results in, you guessed it, a big dumb fight.
Superman is still too much for Martian Manhunter, who has to result to KRYPTONITE MISSILES to deal with him…
…which do absolutely nothing.
Remind me again why Superman is supposed to be the hero of this story?
Congratulations Superman, now you have the key to the largest arsenal in the universe.
Mongul shows up to collect, and he’s much smarter than you would think from his design.
Obviously Superman doesn’t give the key to Mongul, even if it means killing his friends (and Steve Lombard), but… what was the plan, exactly?
Fortunately for the humans, the device trapping them is sabotaged…
…by the REAL hero of this story: Martian Manhunter, using his invisibility.
Also Mongul has heat vision in this story, something he doesn’t typically have.
Mongul then leaves through a Foomp Tube.
That means that Mongul has complete access to Warworld now. Great job, Supes!
At least the story acknowledges that Superman is in the wrong here, and Martian Manhunter is 100% correct in scolding him, but… sheesh, that’s a bad look.
The story ends with Superman vowing to take Warworld away from Mongul, by enlisting the help of a fellow superhero.
But not Martian Manhunter because he probably told Superman to f### off.
DC Comics Presents #28 (1980)
by Len Wein & Jim Starlin
Said help is going to come from Supergirl, so this is a late addition to her retrospective.
After hearing a recap of the previous issue, Supergirl is the one to figure out a way to trace Warworld… weirdly shaped sub-atomic particles. (???)
At least Superman has learned not to be so overconfident, because now he’s beginning to worry about being injured without Kryptonite or magic.
Warworld is SO huge that it’s even bigger than a white dwarf star! Not as impressive as being as big as the Sun, sure, but that means that Warworld should be AT LEAST as big as Earth.
The two cousins check on Warworld with telescopic vision, and I think this is where Starlin’s artwork is not quite up to the task of selling the sense of wonder.
It’s supposed to be a larger-than-life construction, but it looks like any generic sci-fi planet.
At least until they zoom out to see how ridiculously humongous the missiles of Warworld are!!!
Superman, after the previous issue you are not in any position to lecture anyone.
Mongul then goes into a flashback of his own origin of having been the tyrant of his world before being kicked out.
As far as I know, this is the first time any member of his species is drawn with more human-like proportions instead of being a giant muscle monster.
I wonder if Len Wein planned to revisit this, because there’s a mention of the guy who kicked off Mongul becoming a worse tyrant.
Of course this comes from Mongul’s perspective so who knows, the guy may be a saint.
Once he’s done reminiscing, Mongul shoots the first missile at Superman.
Who just takes it.
Even then, these things are SO powerful that even Superman wouldn’t survive a second hit.
But luckily Superman has his first good idea of the issue: detonate the missiles BEFORE they hit him.
Then followed by a second good idea: the deduction that the Warzoon didn’t die off in a catastrophe…
…but were killed off one by one by the same control device that Mongul is using to control Warworld.
That takes care of Mongul, but there’s still the problem of Warworld still being active.
Supergirl takes care of that by RAMMING INTO WARWORLD FASTER THAN LIGHT.
Even THAT is not enough to destroy Warworld (what is that thing made of!?), so Superman has to reprogram its weapons to self-destruct it.
The issue technically ends on the cliffhanger of Supergirl missing, but that’s past the scope of this review. She’ll turn up fine.
I do, however, have to mention that the follow-up story is the one where Superman flies SO fast that he breaks out of infinity.
Which is followed by a scene where LITERALLY GOD HIMSELF tells Superman to knock it off and let the Spectre fix everything.
Comics, everybody!
Hilariously, the “voice of God” is only seen in the original version: the high-quality digital version colors OVER the font, making it seem like Superman is imagining everything.
Historical significance: 8/10
Mongul will become a regular Superman villain for a while; his importance seems to go through cycles. Warworld itself will return in various incarnations as well.
Silver Age-ness: 2/10
Surprisingly tame considering the subject matter.
Does it stand the test of time?
Part one: 5/10
Definitely the weakest part of the story. Superman doesn’t come off very well, with Martian Manhunter having every reason for criticizing Superman. What WAS his plan!?
Part two: 9/10
Now we’re talking! Mongul comes off as a credible threat, mostly thanks to Warworld but he also has a menacing aura that works despite the artwork not always been up to the task.
The backstory of Warworld is fascinating, having a very Star Trek feeling to it. Superman FINALLY uses his brains, his teamwork with Supergirl is great, and overall you could very easily do most of this today.
How close is this to the modern character? 10/10
It’s not like Mongul is a particularly complex character.
He has very few pre-Crisis appearances: his rematch with Superman is in the following year with issue #36 of this series (in a team-up with Starman of all people), after which he fights both Superman and the Legion in DC Comics Presents #43.
After that he only has 1 appearance in this continuity, the 1985 Alan Moore story “For the man who has everything”.
Which, in addition to being one of the best Superman stories ever told, is most likely the reason why Mongul managed to stay around.
Mongul would be re-introduced after Crisis in 1989, fighting Green Lantern as well. I guess the yellow skin made it inevitable!
And he was VERY significant to Green Lantern, being responsible for the destruction of Coast City.
He’s killed off in 1985 at the start of the “Underworld Unleashed” crossover by Neron (basically DC’s Mephisto but less interesting).
Not exactly a great loss, considering the same year his son is introduced.
He is ALSO called Mongul and he’s 100% interchangeable with his father. He did join the Sinestro Corps for a while, though.
Mongul also has a daughter named Mongal, who debuts in 1995 and lasts all the way until 1996 until she’s murdered by her brother.
Joke’s on him, because Mongal beats him by showing up in live action in 2017 James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad”.
