Adventures of Superman #444 is an issue of the series Adventures of Superman (Volume 1) with a cover date of September, 1988.
Synopsis for "Parallel Lives Meet at Infinity"
In the second part of The Supergirl Saga, Superman mourns at the loss of Superboy's adoptive parents and learns about the sad state the Pocket Universe Earth is in following Superboy's disappearance from its reality. As told by its Lex Luthor, he was trying to find out where Superboy had disappeared to by using his equipment in Superboy's secret lab when he accidentally stumbled upon the three Phantom Zone criminals -- General Zod, Zaora, and Quex-Ul -- who claimed to be innocent survivors of the destruction of Krypton and let them loose from their prison. Destroying both the lab and the Phantom Zone projector, the Phantom Zone criminals went on a destructive rampage against the whole world, claiming to be its rulers and killing anyone that got in their way. Lex Luthor formed a resistance group and even gave Lana Lang powers similar to Superman, but it only resulted in the Phantom Zone criminals going so far as to destroy the Earth by burning away its atmosphere, killing everyone except those in Luthor's Smallville citadel. Learning the existence of the main New Earth universe, Luthor sent Supergirl across the dimensional barrier, blanking her memory but planting in her mind a compulsion to go to Metropolis in order to contact Superman. Superman at this point vows to join the resistance force to put an end to the Phantom Zone criminals' reign of terror on this world.
Appearing in "Parallel Lives Meet at Infinity"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Phantom Zoners (Pocket Universe) (Flashback only)
- General Zod (Pocket Universe) (Flashback only)
- Quex-Ul (Pocket Universe) (Flashback only)
- Zaora (Pocket Universe) (Flashback only)
Other Characters:
- Bruce Wayne (Pocket Universe)
- Hal Jordan (Pocket Universe)
- Lana Lang (Pocket Universe) (Dies in flashback)
- Oliver Queen (Pocket Universe)
- Pete Ross (Pocket Universe)
- Kryptonians (Pocket Universe) (Flashback only)
- Legion of Super-Heroes (Flashback only)
- Cosmic Boy (Flashback only)
- Lightning Lad (Flashback only)
- Saturn Girl (Flashback only)
- Time Trapper (Flashback only)
- Adolf Hitler (Pocket Universe) (Single appearance) (Cameo)
- Batman (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Captain Atom (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Captain Marvel (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Firestorm (New Earth) (Cameo)
- The Flash (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Green Arrow (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Green Lantern (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Jade (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Robin (New Earth) (Cameo)
- Wonder Woman (Cameo)
- Jonathan Kent (Pocket Universe) (Mentioned only)
- Jor-El (Pocket Universe) (Mentioned only)
- Lana Lang (New Earth) (Mentioned only)
- Lex Luthor (New Earth) (Mentioned only)
- LexCorp (Mentioned only)
- Martha Kent (Pocket Universe) (Mentioned only)
- Superboy (Pocket Universe) (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- New Earth (Flashback only)
- 22nd Century (Mentioned only)
- Phantom Zone
- Pocket Universe
- Earth (Flashback and main story)
- Smallville (Flashback and main story)
- Krypton (Flashback only)
- Jewel Mountains (Flashback only)
- Earth (Flashback and main story)
- Pre-Zero Hour 30th Century
Items:
- Phantom Zone Projector
- Time-Viewer Scope
- Kryptonite (Mentioned only)
Vehicles:
Concepts:
Notes
- The story follows what took place in Superman (Volume 2) #21, and concludes in Superman (Volume 2) #22.
- This issue is reprinted in Superman: The Man of Steel Vol. 4 (2022 Edition).
Trivia
- The Lex Luthor of the Pocket Universe reality was seemingly identical to that of the Pre-Crisis Earth-One reality up until the point where Superboy disappeared prior to ever first meeting him, thus this Luthor was spared the fate of becoming a villain.