There is more to my powers than this, Superman. On this day, especially, I may yet find a purpose here....All Hallows Eve is a time of great movement in the spirit world. And because of that, these souls may yet be saved... 
- — Spectre
Action Comics #596 is an issue of the series Action Comics (Volume 1) with a cover date of January, 1988.
Synopsis for "Hell is Where the Heart Is..."
In the third part of this Millennium crossover story, the Spectre helps Superman confront the truth behind the supposed death of thousands of people in Smallville who were under the programmed influence of the Manhunters by transporting him into a supposed afterlife version of Smallville, where he finds all its people including Lana Lang still alive. He also finds a simulacrum of Doctor Whitney as a Manhunter who seemingly has the upper hand on Superman until the Spectre reveals the truth behind this afterlife and causes the simulacrum to rip itself apart, freeing the people from his control and bringing them back to life. Superman assures Lana Lang that, without the Manhunter programming, no one else but her knows that he is Clark Kent.
Appearing in "Hell is Where the Heart Is..."
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- House of El
- Jor-El (Cameo) (Flashback only) (On a TV or computer screen) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Lara Lor-Van (Cameo) (Flashback only) (On a TV or computer screen) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Kent Family
- Lana Lang (Flashback and main story)
- Pete Ross (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
Antagonists:
- Manhunters (Flashback and main story) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Dr. Whitney (Cameo) (Flashback only) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Mrs. Whitney (Cameo) (Flashback only) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Dr. Whitney's Manhunter (simulacrum only) (Single appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Krona (Cameo) (Flashback only) (Origin)
- Guardians of the Universe (Behind the scenes) (Flashback only)
- Green Lantern Corps
- 25 Members (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Flodo Span (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Batman (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Green Lantern (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Manhunter Agents (Unnamed) (Cameo) (headshots) (Flashback only)
- Herupa Hando Hu (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Nadia Safir (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- The Chosen
- Betty Clawman (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Takeo Yakata (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Xiang Po (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Nikolai Latikov (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Celia Windward (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Salima Baranizar (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Janwillem Kroef (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Gregorio de la Vega (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Tom Kalmaku (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Floronic Man (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Hawkman (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Captain Atom (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Looker (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Mr. Bones (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Arisia (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Kilowog (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Rocket Red (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Black Canary (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Black Lightning (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Firestorm (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Booster Gold (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Jade (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Citizens of Smallville (Unnamed) (Flashback and main story)
- Sleeper Agents (Apparent Death) (Resurrected) (Flashback and main story)
- Mayor Rutherford B. Small (Cameo) (Single appearance)
- Dr. G. I. Whitney (Cameo) (Dies in flashback) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Mrs. Whitney (Cameo) (Dies in flashback) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Four Teenagers (Unnamed) (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Citizens in Limbo (As a spirit)
- Lana Lang (As a spirit)
- Trick or Treaters
- Mikey (Cameo) (dressed as Batman) (As merchandise only)
- Dwayne (Cameo) (dressed as Darth Vader) (As merchandise only)
- Girl (Unnamed) (Cameo) (dressed as a witch)
Locations:
- Space
- Krypton (Cameo) (Flashback only) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Earth
- Kansas
- Small County
- Smallville (Flashback and main story)
- Whitneys' Residence (Cameo) (Flashback only) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Lang Farm
- Smallville (Flashback and main story)
- Small County
- Metropolis (Mentioned only)
- Daily Planet (Mentioned only) (from Superman (Volume 2) #13)
- Kansas
- Limbo
- Smallville (simulacrum created by the Manhunters)
Items:
- Green Lantern Ring (Cameo) (Flashback only)
- Green Lantern Power Battery (Cameo) (Flashback only)
Vehicles:
- Manhunter Starship (Flashback and main story)
- Kryptonian Rocket (Cameo) (Flashback only) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
- Kryptonian Birthing Matrix (Cameo) (Flashback only) (from Adventures of Superman #436)
Concepts:
Notes
- This issue is a "Millennium" Week Four tie-in issue.
- The Spectre appeared last in Spectre (Volume 2) #10 and he appears next in Millennium #5.
- The Spectre seems to know the complete history of the Manhunters in this issue, whereas in Spectre (Volume 2) #10, set immediately before this, he had never heard of them before.
- This story takes place on Halloween.
- This issue is reprinted in Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 3 (2021 Edition).
Trivia
- Martha Kent mentions, "That really is the Spectre, Pa! Just like I remember him from when I was a girl."
See Also
Recommended Reading
Links and References
  The events from this issue are related to Millennium, a 1988 crossover event spanning through all DC Titles, in which the Guardians of the Universe left and Earth was put in danger by the robotic Manhunter Cult. Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Millennium #4 · Action Comics #596 · Captain Atom (Volume 2) #11 · Detective Comics #582 · Suicide Squad #9 · Spectre (Volume 2) #10 · Teen Titans Spotlight #18 Week Five
Week Six
Week Seven
Week Eight
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