Do you like The Death of Superman and Knightfall?

[Darkseid Is]

I have friends who read comics back in the 90's who read each of these stories as they were happening as I'm sure a lot of people on this board have. I really think each story is pulverizing because some people absolutely hate them while the others think of it as a golden age. Like that was the high point of comics. What do you think?

Important to note: I don't mean the idea of these stories existing (Superman being killed, Batman being broken) because some of the people who don't like it just think the idea is stupid. I mean do you like the actual stories told?

[Vakanai]

I have friends who read comics back in the 90's who read each of these stories as they were happening as I'm sure a lot of people on this board have. I really think each story is pulverizing because some people absolutely hate them while the others think of it as a golden age. Like that was the high point of comics. What do you think?

Important to note: I don't mean the idea of these stories existing (Superman being killed, Batman being broken) because some of the people who don't like it just think the idea is stupid. I mean do you like the actual stories told?

While the characters might have gotten pulverized in the stories, by context I think you meant polarizing.

[kilderkin]

I loved the superman story, simple, dramatic and at the time rather shocking

The batman story just didn't work for me, I just never bought into bane as a real threat, I think that was more the visual depiction than the writing

[married guy]

Yes I enjoyed both.
I enjoyed MORE what came after the Death of Superman (Reign and the return).

Knightfall was great. The only thing I disliked about Knightfall was Shondra Kinsolving and her magical healing powers.
The ending was also VERY clunky. Obviously, DC had decided an Azrael monthly was a good idea, but Bruce letting Jean Paul leave like he did was VERY left field.
And again, what came after it was probably some of the BEST Bat books ever published.

[Buried Alien]

They were pretty much the defining events for Superman and Batman during the 1990s.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[SJNeal]

Eww, your friends must be really old!

I read both as they were happening, and still enjoy the whole Superman epic more so than Batman's.

[Darkseid Is]

While the characters might have gotten pulverized in the stories, by context I think you meant polarizing.

Well... yeah of course.

[Darkseid Is]

I loved the superman story, simple, dramatic and at the time rather shocking

The batman story just didn't work for me, I just never bought into bane as a real threat, I think that was more the visual depiction than the writing

The Superman story SIMPLE? That Return of Superman book was a nightmare. I really liked it though.

[Dred]

I see them kind of as reverses. I think the Knightfall story itself was solid, but the ensuing plotlines that spun out of it were awful.

I think the Death of Superman itself is a really shallow story of little value, but I like the Reign of the Supermen stuff that followed with Henshaw, Eradicator, Superboy etc etc.

[kilderkin]

The Superman story SIMPLE? That Return of Superman book was a nightmare. I really liked it though.

I was only counting up to his death, the following chapters were poor imo, far too convoluted as u say

[byrd156]

I love both. It probably would've sucked to read them as they were coming out but binging them in trade form. These were massive shake-ups that felt like they were building instead of destroying. I love stories where the hero overcomes odds that they have never faced before at such a large scale.

[j9ac9k]

I remember enjoying "Death of Superman" more than "Knightfall."
-- "DoS" seemed to be more of a cohesive story - from his death, to the Reign of Supermen leading to Superman's resurrection and the destruction of Coast City, etc. Knightfall seemed like a good concept, but I found the execution lacking. Maybe because Superman died in one big epic battle and Batman was just worn down over time until the final blow, which had a lot less emotional impact.
-- Azrael taking over in that horrendous outfit (even if it was meant to be ugly) didn't compare to the possibilities provided by the four new "Supermen." We all knew none of this would last, but at least the four Supermen characters were more interesting to read than JV just being a crazy Punisher type.
-- I personally don't even remember how Batman made his triumphant return, or how he took down JPV or Bane. Might be me, but it didn't leave much of an impression. Again, we all knew Batman and Superman would return, but Supe's return was better staged, imo.

[babyblob]

I really enjoyed the Death of Superman series. I got the whole thing in trade paper back form from my library at a book sale so thats how I read them. Seeing Superman the strongest man in the universe beat to death was a great read.

I have never read Knightfall so I cant say one way or the other but I like the idea of Batman being defeated so badly.

[Coco Loco]

Death of Superman itself was just a long fight. It was fine but there’s not much else to say about it. The aftermath, particularly the Reign of the Supermen, was the real meat of the event. I enjoyed that a good bit, although I don’t think it’s aged well.

Knightfall was a ton of fun. Knightquest went on too long and got repetitive though it had some good stuff too. KnightsEnd was cool, although I agree with some of the criticisms of the final issue.

[DCStu]

I'm actually planning on rereading the Death Of Superman arc. That was a pretty major comic for me at the time!