Superman: The Kansas Sighting #2 is an issue of the series Superman: The Kansas Sighting (Volume 1) with a cover date of February, 2004. It was published on December 17, 2003.
Synopsis for "The Kansas Sighting, Part Two"
Captured by aliens and what appears to be Jor-El, Superman breaks free of his stasis bubble as he shouts at his captors "WHO ARE YOU?!" Jor-El states that he is Superman's father, but then suggests Clark check in on Laura Wright (the old lady who, years earlier, had her son kidnapped by aliens), who had also been abducted by the aliens that night. Superman tears her out of the wires and technology that the aliens have her hooked up to and Superman is shaken when he realizes that her reaction of terror is not terror of her situation, but a genuine fear of Superman, the alien she believes brought all this about whether directly or indirectly.
The pair wake up in the middle of a field in Smallville where they're found by Jimmy Olsen - Clark is back in his civilian clothing and glasses, but fears that Ms. Wright realized Clark Kent is Superman.
Clark is troubled and avoids Ms. Wright but finds that she is being interviewed by the sensationalistic tabloid show hot on the trail of UFOs in Smallville.
Dr. Berenson, the skeptic about Superman as hero vis a vis some subversive force of Krypton, agrees to hypnotize Clark Kent who fakes going under to remove Superman from the equation of who was on board the spaceship. But in the middle of his performance, it all becomes real as he suddenly finds himself visualizing Superman amidst a sea of aliens of all shapes and sizes, including Ms. Wright's long-lost little boy, Jonah.
Meanwhile, Martha Kent goes to see Herbert Moore, who sold out his UFO story seemingly for profit. Martha finds out the man is dying of cancer and needed the money from the tabloid journalism industry to pay for pain medicine. Martha also finds out that, while Herbert believes he saw what he did that night (and Martha knows he did - it was baby Clark's spacecraft after all), he never took home movies of the craft, that he let the TV tabloids embellish his story; after all it didn't bother him so long as he knew the story he was telling was true. After a brief conversation between Clark and Jimmy, suddenly those affected by the Kansas Sightings in the past begin receiving messages, beginning with Ms. Wright and even Superman.
Large crowds of those seemingly in contact with the aliens are suddenly gathered on Mr. Moore's property. Clark stops Ms. Wright on her way and transforms in front of her eyes to Superman, disclosing his secret identity. When Ms. Wright realizes the alien is right in front of her, an alien like those who tortured her and stole her child, she is initially terrified, but she sees the goodness in Superman's eyes and suddenly believes in him. Clark is grateful and understands her reticence given his alien origins. This experience, as he is explaining it to her, is putting him more in touch with the realization that, no matter what, he is not from Earth, he is an alien. Martha and Jonathan Kent decide to return to Herbert Moore's house and help him to realize his charade for the TV show brought out all the crazies, that now he'll never get a moment's peace. That's when - seemingly - the aliens return and Herbert, Ms. Wright and Clark are all struck by visions. Clark and Ms. Wright see Jor-El dressed like a cowboy.
Martha and Jonathan discover that Herbert has collapsed and can't call for help because he doesn't have a telephone. Herbert regains consciousness long enough to tell the Kents that his dead wife had visited and touched him and then begins having a seizure.
Jor-El, meanwhile, has seemingly transported himself and Superman to Krypton telling about the human mind being a hologram. Superman begins realizing that Jor-El took humans from Earth by sending a probe to Earth to research the planet. Superman beats Jor-El, almost begging for answers to the question of what Jor-El did to these people in Kal-El's name. While Clark continues with his conversation in this netherworld, Ms. Wright is in a field and comes back into contact with her son, Jonah. Jonah is still 6 years old and it is 35 years later and he seems quite fine with it. Apparently Jonah wasn't kidnapped but he made a choice before he was born.
Back in Smallville, the Kents finally get Herbert to a hospital and he suddenly doesn't have cancer anymore - at all. He claims that it was his deceased wife who touched him and cured him and the Kents, no stranger to aliens and life after death, seem to accept his story. He goes on to tell that his wife was visited by aliens her entire life, which she claimed, and that he had always believed her. Pa Kent, evoking memories of finding baby Kal's spacecraft, acknowledges that things happen that make people have to accept that some mysteries in the universe are just bigger than individuals. Back in the dimensional plain, "Jor-El" reveals himself to be some sort of other-dimensional creation manifested by collective consciousness, that he can be Jor-El if he chooses to be because his essence is all around them. He invites Superman to partake, and what he absorbs tells him what he needs to know - that any human specimens taken by Jor-El were already dead when he took them.
Suddenly, Superman finds himself in the field with Ms. Wright and Jonah, and is surprised that she wants to stay wherever her son is. The "Jor-El" manifestation reappears to say goodbye and Superman experiences in some fashion the rocket trip he took to Earth, landing explosively in Smallville - back in reality.
Superman flies to Dr. Berensen's office and thanks her for doing her job of distrusting him - that he realized that he is as uncertain about Superman as she is, except he is at peace with that. And, as Superman flies off, Dr. Berenson smiles, despite herself.
The story ends as it began, with an episode of "Mysteries of the Unexplained" - this time the completed episode being watched by Clark and Jonathan much to Martha's dismay on the Kent farm. The subjects of the evening: Superman and Herbert Moore. Clark postulates that he's just fine with the subject of the show, that he knows exactly what their conclusion will be and that is just fine with him - that Superman is a mystery that can never be solved.
Appearing in "The Kansas Sighting, Part Two"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Laura Wright
- Jimmy Olsen
- Dr. Alicia Berenson
- Herbert Moore
- Jonathan Kent
- Martha Kent
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
Items:
Vehicles:
See Also
- Cover gallery for the Superman: The Kansas Sighting series
- Images from Superman: The Kansas Sighting Vol 1 2