Whom Gods Destroy (comics)

Whom Gods Destroy is a 1997 four-issue comic book limited series written by Chris Claremont with artwork by Dusty Abell and Drew Geraci under the Elseworlds imprint of DC Comics. The series, about Superman and Wonder Woman, involves Greek mythology and alternate history projected into the future.

Plot Summary

In the future, Lois Lane and Lana Lang have become old, but Superman is still youthful due to his superhuman physiology. The Third Reich in this future never fell, and Germany is still under Nazi rule. Lois has visions of Superman gleefully killing people, including Lana and her, but they are dismissed as dreams. In the meantime, Superman gets attacked by trolls and harpies, the latter which cause Lois and Superman to crash land a plane into German soil, where Lana - previously kidnapped - is being held.

Lois soon discovers that the Reich is ruled by the god Adonis, and Artemis and Athena are trying to kill him. Wonder Woman has betrayed Paradise Island and is now part of the Reich. At this point, it is also revealed that the Greek pantheon is in league with the Nazis, allowing them to employ mythological monsters to fight superheroes. A fight ensues between the German army and the Greek heroines, who die and give their power to Lois Lane, transforming her into a younger woman, essentially a new Wonder Woman.

Superman is transformed into an evil centaur by Circe. Lana Lang is imbued with the power of the Oracle of Delphi, and can perform magical feats. She tames the centaur Superman and persuades him of his real identity. She also gives Superman a sex change with her magic, because his "crimes as leader of the Maenads were against women, (and therefore he) must take their part". Female Superman then has to infiltrate the Great Hall of the Reich, which is guarded by the Minotaur. Lois Wonder Woman defeats Nazi Wonder Woman and ties her up with her magic lasso.

Finally, it is revealed that Zeus and Hera were playing a chess game, using the world as their playpieces. Adonis is sent to be taken care of by Hades. Lois, Lana, and Superman live together happily ever after.

Trivia

A scene in issue 1 has Lois Lane dreaming of Manhattan burning. An earlier panel in issue 1 shows (by a date typewritten on Clark Kent's page) that the dream takes place on September 11. (A later panel in issue 4 shows Air Force One having hit the U.S. Capitol.)

Other DC characters presented in the series are Bruce Wayne (aged, as Chief Justice) Hal Jordan (as President of the USA), Barbara Gordon as an FBI operative, Oliver Queen as US ambassador to the Reich and others.