Superman #666

Overview

An extra-sized spectacular featuring art by Walter Simonson, as Superman goes to Hell — literally — during the most nightmarish adventure of his heroic career, and a dread portent of that which may be coming! Who, or what, is "The Beast from Krypton"? This issue — featuring the Phantom Stranger, Zatanna, the Demon and a host of other DC superstars from Wonder Woman to Animal Man — is guaranteed to send chills down your spine!

Phantom Stranger approaches Clark, letting him know something supernatural is happening that will concern him. We cut to Clark coming home to Lois and eventually laying down for the night. We see Clark's dream sequence, He's in a massive throne with millions of people around his feet praising him, each one with Superman's "S" emblazoned on their forehead. Within this dream we cut to a man without the "S" on his forehead trying to by some food from a vendor. The vendor shouts "Be Gone! you do not wear the Mark!" and we see Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Hal Jordan (each with the "S"), swoop in and do away with him. Clark wakes up, and decides he won't get any sleep and is going out. As he's suiting up, Lois, in half-sleep asks for him to get ice cream and pickles from the store. While at the grocery store, Clark, feeling that everyone has demanded to much of him, smashes the entire pickle display. Zatanna appears and when Clark notices her she exclaims she's in astral form and should be invisible to him. Clark refrains he knows he is still in a dream, and since he has, for some reason, dreamed her he can see her regardless of her form, then uses his super breath and blows her away. Outside the grocery store Lex is raising a ruckus, so Superman spits a glob of saliva through his head. He rubs his hands together creating "super-friction" which he states in turn creates static electricity and zaps Braniac. Doomsday and a large group of other villains show up and Clark takes them all out. Clark hears Jimmy Olsen's signal watch and digs him out of the rubble of a destroyed building. Clark complains that Olsen has no idea how annoying the sound of that signal watch is and then he whistles which causes Olsen's head to explode. Perry White approaches Clark saying he can't abandon the Daily Planet, it's what keeps him grounded. Clark stomps on the ground and the Daily Planet comes crashing down on Perry. Clark looks up to his apartment, using X-ray vision he sees Lois laying in bed thinking of baby names, then he blasts the apartment with his heat vision. Clark flies to Smallville and crushes a whole in the road revealing lava, which he lowers him self down through. Arriving in Hell, Clark is greeted by Etrigian the Demon easily tossing him aside he fights his way through the hordes of hell until he comes to a throne. A meek demon, named Rakkar, reveals himself questioning Clark if he is so sure this is a dream. Rakkar explains that when Krypton was destroyed, so was it's hell and since he has escapes the denizens of Krypton's hell have imbued him with their power in order to stop Clark. Rakkar attacks and his bite morphs Clark in to a monstrous beast. Beside the beast, Superman punches out from beneath the ground explaining that Phantom Stranger warned him and split him into two, creating a shell of Clark which was corruptible and gave in, while keeping Clark's true incorruptible self safe. The denizen's of Kryton's Hell appear and crush Rakkar. Clark explains that if he could destroy them forever he would but since their existence is tied to greed, hatred, and anger, they will always live. We end with Clark coming home to Lois saying he got the ice cream and pickles she wanted, and she cannot recall having even asked for them. Clark asks Lois if he has ever killed anyone and Lois assures him that he never has. In the deeps of hell we see Rakkar's smashed body, his eyes open slowly as he feeds off of Clark's doubt.