Line #4 YMMV/WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow


1	----
2	* AntiClimaxBoss:
3	** The story seems to be building towards a major confrontation between Superman and Brainiac, but Brainiac is ultimately defeated by Lana, whose MercyKill of Lex [[KillTheHostBody robbed Brainiac of a viable host]]. Instead of a great battle, Brainiac simply breaks down at Superman's feet. Superman's true greatest threat is evil!Mxyzptlk.
4	** Lex himself, despite being Superman's most persistent and well known foe, is little more than a host for Brainiac's consciousness for the entire story.
5	** Evil!Mxyzptlk then ends up being this as well. Once he is revealed, he does not make use of the reality-warping powers Superman is ''powerless'' against, but just turns into a hulking monstrosity and taunts Superman, who quickly disposes of him through trickery and making him panic.
6	* CreepyAwesome: Mxyzptlk, for showing just how pant-shittingly dangerous a RealityWarper could be if he was evil instead of mischievous, singlehandedly playing the other villains like fiddles and turning even the harmless ones into violent killers.
7	* EvilIsCool: Despite appearing in a few panels, Moore's revision of Mr. Mxyzptlk has remained an iconic rendition of that character. Post-Crisis authors increasingly nerf him because Moore demonstrated quite successfully that the Fifth-Dimensional being is capable of being Superman's worst enemy.
8	* GatewaySeries: Among modern readers, this is probably the Silver Age Superman people most often read even if it's the last.
9	* HarsherInHindsight: The Prankster and Toyman were re-imagined as complete psychopaths in the Post-Crisis universe, making their decision to get back at Superman by murdering Pete Ross and outing Superman's secret identity more disturbing in retrospect.
10	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Superman and Lois being parents to a son named Jon in the final scene eventually happened in the main canon thanks to ''ComicBook/DCRebirth''.
11	* HilariousInHindsight: ''ComicBook/SupermanRebirth'' would reveal that every Mxyzptlk across every story and media is actually the same entity, due to his fifth dimensional nature. So turns out Superman technically didn't actually break his ThouShaltNotKill rule, and Mxyzptlk, who's still a trickster, doesn't have any hard feelings.
12	* {{Narm}}:
13	** After Brainiac surrounds the Fortress of Solitude in an impregnable barrier, the world's greatest superheroes appear and desperately try to brute-force their way in... including Batman and Robin, who can do nothing but wimply strike the energy shield with sticks.
14	** After Brainiac attempts to continue the battle by taking control of Luthor's corpse, in one panel it looks like Luthor is making a derp face.
15	** Mxyzptlk DarkerAndEdgier reimagining, at least once he actually appears on-screen. Before that point he displays a subtle, creative and downright terrifying use of his powers, but after appearing he just turns into a generic brutish foe, and while his transformation is visually impressive, it also makes the character less unique.
16	* SpiritualSuccessor:
17	** Many often see this as Superman's own ''[[ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns The Dark Knight Returns]]'', it has a DarkerAndEdgier tone, CharacterDeath, light-hearted villains becoming DarkerAndEdgier, and even Superman breaking his no-kill rule, the hero's identity is exposed to the public, it also ends with both supers FakingTheDead while going underground, and yet where Miller's Batman is a character who age has made harsher and colder, Superman still remains the same albeit circumstances drive him to the point of making a decision, making his turn more tragic in the classical sense. Unlike Miller who brought a distinctly modern and contemporary take on Batman with a radically new art style and character design, Moore is traditional in approach working with the classic Superman theme in all appearances but telling a very non-traditional story.
18	** Obviously, ''ComicBook/WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader'' by Creator/NeilGaiman is one, albeit one that has a different style and was a general summation to Batman a whole, not specifically or directly connected to the two events it tied into (the "Batman R.I.P." arc from ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'' and ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis''), it was essentially Gaiman's attempt to define and celebrate Batman in all his iterations up to that point.
19	** "To Have and to Hold", Creator/MattFraction's tribute to the Pre-OMD ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' status quo and especially his marriage is also one - it was written with the foreknowledge of a continuity reboot [[note]] Marvel officially didn't call it a reboot even if for all practical concerns it is [[/note]] and it was in the writer's mind a tribute and a goodbye to the Spider-Man that he had known, filled with references to major moments while also giving the OfficialCouple an affirmative coda, similar to Creator/AlanMoore who jumped at the chance for writing this "Imaginary Story" which in his mind, and that of many other fans of the Pre-Crisis Superman, is the GrandFinale and closure to the Superman that an entire generation had grown to love and care for.
20	** "The Last Adventure" a short comic published in Issue 16 of Creator/AlanMoore and Kevin O'Neill's ''ComicBook/CinemaPurgatorio'' series which retells the life of Creator/GeorgeReeves who played Superman on TV, features a lot of call-backs and references to this story. Such as one panel describing Reeves' roles in Pre-Superman movies as "Imaginary Stories" that may or may not happen, and the penultimate panel showing a giant Superman impression alludes to the opening image of this comic with the giant Superman statue.
21	** "The Lone and Level Sands," the final issue of Creator/PeterDavid's run on ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'' uses the same structure as this story, down to it purporting to tell the final adventure of the Hulk and the framing device of Rick Jones being interviewed 10 years after the Hulk's last appearance.
22	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Lex Luthor, who is Superman's greatest ArchEnemy, doesn't get to do anything, due to being reduced to Brainiac's meat puppet at the start of the story.
23	* TheWoobie: Lana Lang decides to aid Superman in the battle against Brainiac by bathing in the waters of a spring that gives her superpowers. Once she obtains SuperHearing, the first thing she picks up is Clark confessing that Lois is the love of his life, but he can't bring himself to hurt Lana's feelings. Regardless, she valiantly launches herself into battle, leading to her death at the hands of the Legion of Supervillains.

Context YMMV / WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow