Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Superman | Tagged: apollo, dc comics, future state, midnighter, superman, the authority, warworld

The Return Of The Authority – But What's Up With Midnighter/Apollo?

On December 17th, Bleeding Cool looked at gossip that The Authority were to return to DC Comics after we got the tipoff that a) The Authority would be mentioned in an upcoming comic and b) Apollo would return as well as Midnighter and Grifter from the Wildstorm universe. Whether their appearance in a Superman comic would lead to the long-rumoured plot that Superman would end up leading The Authority is unknown, it is very likely this was a Brian Bendis planned plotline that was abandoned when he left the character earlier than planned. But who knows? It could still be a fun idea.

And, the new DC Comics April 2021 solicitations mention The Authority as part of a Midnighter back-up strip, for the first time in years. Could this be the start of something… bigger?

"Meanwhile, in the Midnighter backup story, the bad boy of the Authority has to figure out what Andrej Trojan is up to in the present if he ever wants to get back to Future State and swap places with the Midnighter of 2021, whom he left stranded on Warworld."

Today sees the publication of Superman Of Ragnarok Warworld #1, with Superman stranded on another planet after being transported there, condemned to fight in gladiatorial combat. But a few other stories going on around him. Such as Mister Miracle, who has also made the trip from Metropolis, encountering Midnighter in the orbit of the planet.

And in the process, the first mention of The Authority in a DC Comics regular title. We've had a Stormwatch in the New 52, we have had Midnighter and Apollo, we have had The Carrier in DC Rebirth and now… The Authority for Infinite Frontier? But what of Midnighter's husband Apollo? Well, about that…

Nirodhium turned up in the previous Superman Of Metropolis, with Jonathan Kent as Superman, with Supergirl getting affected by the substance in a very red Kryptonian way, and getting all aggressive – a fight that may have seen her exiled to the Moon over in Superwoman: Kara Zor-El.

But the person developing it, who may have met Midnighter before, but they are definitely not a couple – is his husband Apollo. Hey, I thought everything happened and everything mattered. Or is it time to tell their story again? And will it make any difference that this god of the sun is fighting on the bad guy's side? Of course, The Authority were always the bad guys – hence the name.

FUTURE STATE SUPERMAN WORLDS OF WAR #1 (OF 2) CVR A MIKEL JANIN
(W) Various (A) Various (CA) Mikel Janin
This monumental Future State title features four big stories! First, Clark Kent is gone, leaving a Superman-shaped hole behind. People gather in Smallville to celebrate their hero, little realizing that he is across the galaxy helping others. Superman has gone to Warworld, where he fights as a gladiator in the deadly pits of Mongul. But this is Superman we're talking about—and his idea of a victory does not line up with the expectations of Mongul's hordes! Meanwhile, on the other side of Warworld, other agents are at work, struggling for a better life. Shilo Norman, the man known as Mister Miracle, has ridden a Boom Tube across the cosmos from Metropolis to finds himself at odds with an entire planet! At the same time, Midnighter, the greatest fighter from Earth, is punching his way through a whole mess of trouble. He's on the hunt for a new energy source deadlier than Kryptonite. His goal: to shut it down before it gets unleashed on an unsuspecting universe. On top of that, the Black Racer, a girl raised in the slums of Warworld to be one of its top competitors, turns betrayal into a crusade to fight for the freedom of others like her. This title is fully returnable at a later date.
Retail: $7.99 In-Store Date: 01/19/2021

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