"The Kingdom" | |||
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Cover of The Kingdom (1999), trade paperback collected edition. Art by Mike Zeck.
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Publisher | DC Comics | ||
Publication date | 1999 | ||
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Creative team | |||
Writer(s) | Mark Waid | ||
Artist(s) | Ariel Olivetti and Mike Zeck | ||
The Kingdom | ISBN |
"The Kingdom" is a story arc that ran through a two-issue, self-titled comic book limited series and multiple one shot comics published by DC Comics in 1999, written by Mark Waid and drawn by Ariel Olivetti/Mike Zeck. This is both a sequel and, in some ways, prequel to Kingdom Come, also by Mark Waid. Both books form an Elseworlds saga, meaning they are abstracted from official DC Comics continuity. The storyline extended into one-shot books entitled Gog, The Kingdom: Kid Flash, The Kingdom: Nightstar, The Kingdom: Offspring, The Kingdom: Planet Krypton, and The Kingdom: Son of the Bat. The entire storyline was later collected into a trade paperback.
The Kingdom does not use the same visual style created by Alex Ross, which was used in the four-issue Kingdom Come series. The storyline in The Kingdom is a direct continuation and extension of the original storyline fleshing out areas of the future that were not explored in the original four-part series. While Kingdom Come can easily exist as a stand-alone story, The Kingdom is not a complete storyline in and of itself and exists only as a continuation of the previous storyline.
Twenty years after the events of Kingdom Come, a survivor of the Kansas disaster is granted power by the Quintessence (Shazam, Ganthet, Zeus, Izaya Highfather, and the Phantom Stranger), who dub him Gog. The power drives him mad, and he takes out his anger on Superman, killing him and carving his "S" shield on the ground. He then travels a day backward in time and kills him again...and again. The Stranger opposes this action, as Gog now intends to accelerate the Kansas Holocaust, but the other four are prepared to let things unfold; Shazam hopes that Captain Marvel will no longer have to die, Ganthet hopes that Green Lantern will avert the catastrophe and become more renowned than Superman, Zeus hopes that the ancient gods may be 'worshiped' once more as Earth seeks something to believe in, and Highfather feels that a new war may fracture Earth in a manner similar to New Genesis and Apokolips.