It is impossible for me to talk about today’s preview card without mentioning the comic book that contained his first appearance. Superman Annual #11 . . .
What?
You don’t care to hear my rambling reminiscence about my favorite comic book characters of all time? You just want to see the darned preview card?
Fine.
Here.
I’m still going to talk about the comic, though. I had never cared much for Superman before the release of Superman Annual #11, but I picked it up because it was written by a young upstart writer from England named Alan Moore. Moore had been writing some stuff in Warrior Magazine that I really liked, and I was excited to see his take on an American comic book icon. (Yes, I really am that old.)
If you have never read Moore’s “The Man Who Has Everything,” I strongly urge you to find one and read it as soon as possible. I am confident that it’s the best Superman story ever. It’s better even than Mike Flores’s favorite (also written by Moore), “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow.”
The story introduces an intergalactic despot named Mongul. He gives Superman a birthday present that sends him into dreamlike state where he experiences his fondest desire¾a “normal” life on Krypton with his parents, wife, and children. Batman, Robin, and Wonder Woman show up and find Superman unconscious. They revive him and go toe to toe with a villain who can hold his own against Superman.
As I said in the opening paragraph, I had never really cared for Superman. I’d always preferred the darker edge of the Batman stories to the vanilla adventures of the Big Blue Boy Scout. The last part of Superman’s name never seemed more apt than when he was woken from his Mongul-induced slumber and ripped away from his heart’s desire. It was the first Superman comic I can ever recall that offered a glimpse of Supes inner life and the burden he carried as the last son of Krypton.
Find it. Buy it. Read it. I believe it was also adapted into an episode of the JLA cartoon, though I haven’t seen it.
Now, on to the preview card.
Mongul has cosmic, a mechanic that was explained earlier by Danny Mandel. Cosmic is interesting because it allows the R&D squad to make cards with abilities that they could never otherwise print¾they would be too powerful. With cosmic, you get at least one use out of the ability, and if you want to keep it in play, you have the challenge of protecting your cosmic counters with plot twists and savvy curve jumps.
If you can attack your opponent’s 5-drop with your 4-drop and send Mongul to pick on a smaller character, his cosmic counter should stick around for at least