Jon has the boyhood he never had in Worlds Without a Justice League - Superman preview

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The Dark Crisis special is very different than what it was originally solicited as

Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Superman #1 art
(Image credit: DC)

Imagine a world in which the Jon Kent Superman wasn't rapidly aged to the young adult he is now, but instead matured normally and served as a Robin-like sidekick to his father.

Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Superman #1 (Image credit: DC)

That's the premise of Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Superman #1, a one-shot special that serves as a tie-in to writer Joshua Williamson's 'Death of the Justice' and Dark Crisis seven-issue event series. 

It's the first of five monthly specials that include a main story and a backup starring all the Justice League characters 'killed' in April 26's Justice League #75 at the hands of Pariah.

With the main Superman story written by Tom King with art by Chris Burnham, Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Superman is a "tribute" to the Man of Steel and was originally described by the publisher as a "look at a world of dreams he would never have thought possible while alive."

But of course, we now know the Justice Leaguers aren't really dead, just imprisoned on planets that seemingly fulfill each character's deepest desires, and Pariah is using them to try to create a new Multiverse. 

"It's an important and emotional story about what Clark missed when he missed Jon's teenage years, the pain and the glory of seeing your boy grow up," Tom King originally explained about the special. 

Here's a look at five pages from the special:

Image 1 of 6
Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Superman #1
(Image credit: DC)

Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Superman will also feature an Aquaman tribute story by writers Brandon Thomas and Chuck Brown and artist Fico Ossio, and will be followed by these subsequent specials: 

  • Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Green Lantern #1 (August) - by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artist Fernando Blanco; Hawkgirl backup by writer Nadia Shammasand artist Jack Herbert
  • Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Wonder Woman #1 (September) - by writer Tini Howard and artist Leila Del Duca; Martian Manhunter backup by writer Dan Watters and artist Bandon Peterson
  • Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Green Arrow #1 (October) - by writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Clayton Henry; Black Canary backup by writer Dennis Culver and artist Nik Virella
  • Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League - Batman #1 (November) - by writer Si Spurrier and artist Ryan Sook; Zatanna backup by writer Meghan Fitzmartin and artist Dan Jurgens

The 40-page Dark Crisis: Worlds Without a Justice League – Superman #1 goes on sale July 12 with a cover and variant by Burnham and an additional variant cover by Steve Beach.

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Michael Doran

I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.