“I pledge to not renounce my citizenship….”
Action Comics Annual #3
DC Comics (1991)
“Executive Action” WRITER: Roger Stern PENCILER: Tom Grummett INKERS:Phil Rodier, Doug Hazlewood, Carlos Garzon, & Brad Vancata COLORISTS: Glenn Whitmore & Matt Hollingsworth LETTERER: Bill Oakley ASSISTANT EDITOR: Dan Thorsland EDITOR: Mike Carlin
Superman finds Apokolips’ soldiers looking to revive Kalibak away from Darkseid in order to convince him to seize power. Instead, Superman interrupts the soldiers and parademons, and takes on Kalibak himself until a boom tube takes all of them (except Superman) back to Apokolips. It was Metron who psychically nudged Superman into this encounter and the Man Of Steel isn’t happy about it. It’s at this point that Waverider returns. Things he saw in his first visit with Superman didn’t appear when he later scanned Batman’s future (Batman was forced to bring him down in that future). So Waverider has come to again confirm that Superman doesn’t become Monarch.
In this future, Jonathan is killed when a tractor he was foolishly working on while on a hill falls on him. (I’m starting to think we need a widowed Martha counter at this point.) After they morn his passing, Clark is chosen by Pete Ross to become his campaign manager as he runs for President, but during one rally someone tries to kill Pete, and Clark is forced to reveal himself as Superman to save him. Pete is still injured and unable to continue his run so he suggests Clark run (a check of his birthing matrix will show that he was officially born on Earth). Luthor’s son (which would later be revealed to be Luthor himself in a cloned body or something but not in this story) is arrested for announcing plans to Clark’s political rival to kill him, allowing the Secret Service to take him in.
President Superman works to bring the world together, end war, and all that other good stuff, but when he brings the superheroes together to become part of the disarmament plan, Guy Gardner takes offense as only Guy can, and tries to kill Superman himself. In the ensuing battle Superman ends up with Guy’s ring and the Green Lantern Corp arrest him for his actions. Later, Hal offers Superman the power battery but Superman, deciding nobody should have that much power on top of his powers as both Superman and President Of The United States, returns the ring to Hal, proving to Waverider that he isn’t going to become Monarch…but history changes again when Superman remembers Pa getting flattened by the tractor and instead flies off to rescue him.
What they got right: Whatever stretch was needed to get Superman in the Oval Office on the other side of the desk was worth it. It’s a good story that shows how great Superman is. To Stern’s credit, there are no pop shots at any one political opinion as Superman uses both liberal and conservative ideas to better the world. (Nowadays they’d insist he’s one side or the other, most likely whatever opinion the writer has.) And we don’t have to have Jonathan die thanks to Waverider’s intervention. The previous intervention also led him to taking down Intergang before he could blow up Metropolis like in the first visit. Speaking of Waverider, we get a nice moment where he’s merged with Clark and living out his date with Lois, which leads the former Matthew Rider to think about his failing relationship with his own wife.
What they got wrong: Although part of me assumes this was only added in to show Superman changing history again since it has no other impact on the story. Also, resurrecting Kalibak (killed by Darkseid himself in New Gods #12) seems way to important to stuff into a Superman story that also has no bearing on the main story. Or has this happened so often (Kalibak specifically) that nobody cares anymore? Is Kalbak the Kenny of the New Gods at this point? Finally, Stern keeps having Waverider refer to Monarch as “the Monarch”, which doesn’t match how he’s referred to by any other comic in this event.
Recommendation: A rather good story with a few minor hiccups. Pick this one up.
BW Media Spotlight 
[…] In a timeline that never was thanks to the events of Armageddon: 2001, we learn that based on how the post-Crisis DC Kal-El came to Earth in a “birthing matrix” rather than as a baby in a rocket, Superman was legally declared born on Earth, a native born American, and qualified to run for President. The only difference is that after these events were stopped thanks to Waverider’s unintentional interference nobody checked the birthing matrix. A baby adopted by American parents becomes American and his or her life only knows being an American even if the child’s adoptive parents teach that child about their homeland. Joe and Jerry were 1st generation Americans (Joe by way of Canada before his family moved down south to the States). Superman was never an immigrant or had the experience of an immigrant. All he even knew about Krypton came from resource material he had in the ship or a “super memory” from the Silver Age where he remembered everything of his few months on Krypton before being stuffed in a rocket and sent to a non-exploding planet. […]
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I had a copy of that comic book. It was a solid alternate portrayal of Superman.
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I like the Armageddon: 2001 event. It was kept to the annuals, so it didn’t take away from the regular story outside of killing Hawk & Dove just to keep the twist in this story. It’s like a semi-canon Elseworlds and I miss Waverider.
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Speaking of annuals, are you familiar with the tale of Superman and his sword in Superman Annual #10 (1984)?
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I think either Casually Comics or Comic Drake covered it, but that’s the only way I know about it. I can’t remember which one offhand so I only have a vague memory of it.
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