I found in an issue shortly after the series reached #700 in the letter column someone saying that they will be here for #1,000 in 2019 and the then-editor was also excited stating that there is no way "we here at DC could even think of restarting Action from scratch". But that's the thing, I don't think DC values its history anymore. Partly because it's too long and convoluted. Over the years they've tried to keep the Justice Society around along with some of the Silver Age characters, all while trying to maintain that the modern-day heroes showed up "about 10 years ago."
The last few years have been crossover after crossover, retcon after retcon to the point I think they lost a lot of their readership. They certainly lost me. So instead of just trying to fix the mess Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns wrote all their characters into, they decided to get rid of what didn't work, stopped working or just didn't want. Next week, I will reveal how I would've handled all the convoluted history DC has and keep Action, along with Detective, Superman and Batman, going.
The first issue in our Action Comics Month is Action Comics #701, part 5 of "The Fall of Metropolis" where Lex Luthor, near death, launches bombs and missiles on Metropolis ultimately destroying about 80% of the city. Metropolis would be restored after DC's Zero Hour event but not because of Zero Hour but because of Superman, Zatanna and Perry White. Action #701 features the last appearance of Lex Luthor until Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #1 in the summer of 1995.
"Final Conflict"
Originally published in Action Comics #701 (July 1994)
Written by Karl Kesel with Louise Simonson
Penciled by Jackson Guice
Inked by Denis Rodier
Lettered by Bill Oakley
Colored by Glenn Whitmore
Superman created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster
All stories and characters are (C)1994 DC Comics. All rights reserved.
