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->''"Reality is: ''you'' are an ''android''. ''I'' AM A ''MAN''!"''
-->-- '''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''', while [[TalkToTheFist punching Ben Boxer in the gut with enough force to smash a hole through Ben]]

''Superman: At Earth's End'' is an Creator/DCComics one-shot published under the ''Creator/{{Elseworlds}}'' imprint in 1995, written by Tom Veitch and drawn by Frank Gomez.

It's the 22nd century. Earth has passed through ''two'' [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt apocalypses]] (one occurring in the predecessor, ''ComicBook/{{Kamandi}}: At Earth's End'' [[note]]a [[DarkerAndEdgier gritty reboot]] of a Creator/JackKirby character who lived in [[AfterTheEnd a post-apocalyptic Earth]][[/note]]). A group of [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul emotionless, logical]] {{cyborg}}s named the Biomech Sevens are overseeing Earth's return to greatness. For the last year, [[InNameOnly Superman]] has been regaining his lost strength in a hovering city, where he is able to receive the benefits of the sun's rays. While recuperating, he learns that [[ComicBook/{{Batman}} Gotham City]] is next in line to be "cleansed", [[NukeEm via a nuclear bomb]]. It has been overrun with mutants and other such degenerates.

After battling the Biomech Sevens' leader Ben Boxer, Superman goes down to Gotham, where he is attacked by bat-like mutants that bear a striking resemblance to the Dark Knight and is saved by a mohawked [[ChildSoldiers youth]] [[AllBikersAreHellsAngels biker gang]], and finds that the underground of the city houses a [[ElaborateUndergroundBase fortress]] where the evil DNA [[XtremeKoolLetterz Diktators]], who kidnapped the gang's parents and took Bruce Wayne's body from his manor. There he meets the leaders of the Diktators: twin [[YouClonedHitler clones]] [[StupidJetpackHitler of]] UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler!

If you frequented the internet during the late 2000s/early 2010s, you're likely aware of the comic from Creator/{{Linkara}}'s ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'' review of it, the story being one of his earliest video reviews; it can currently be watched [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WpE1MScgT8 here]]. The reviewer went on to take one of his {{catchphrase}}s from the comic ([[MemeticMutation "I AM A MAN!" *punch*]]) and make a RunningGag of the twin clones' declaration "Of course! Don't you know anything about science?"

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!!Tropes:
* AdaptationalWimp: Superman here is depowered by the lack of sunlight, and despite the "I AM A MAN!" punch, mostly relies on firearms.
* AfterTheEnd: By the time of this story, ''two'' apocalypses have occurred. The first one was caused by a nuclear war instigated by the [[AIIsACrapshoot computer known as Mother Machine]] (as shown in ''Kamandi: At Earth’s End'') and the second one occurred due to the outbreak of a deadly virus.
* TheApunkalypse: Gotham's surface is overrun by biker gangs, which is why the Biomech Sevens want to destroy the place.
* ApocalypseHitler: Superman blames the Hitlers for everything bad related to mankind. Though at a stretch, his wording seems to suggest he blames them for [[ButterflyOfDoom forcing the countries of the world to arm themselves to stop him, indirectly leading to the Cold War and eventually, the subsequent nuclear Holocaust]].
* ArtisticLicenceHistory: So there was no war before UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler became chancellor? Guess we can write out [[UsefulNotes/WarOf1812 the War of 1812]], [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution the Revolutionary War]], [[UsefulNotes/HundredYearsWar the Hundred Years War]], UsefulNotes/TheCrusades, [[UsefulNotes/PunicWars the Punic Wars]], UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne (in which he himself fought in the trenches before becoming Fuhrer), and countless others waged ''before'' 1933. In all fairness, while there was war and bloodshed prior to WWII, each war since then ended up being bloodier and bloodier than the previous one. (Korea, Vietnam and Bosnia come to mind.)
* AxCrazy: The [=DNAnimals=] are this so much, they cannot even speak words that ''aren't'' synonyms of "kill".
* BatmanGrabsAGun: Superman kills the Hitler clones with a giant machine-gun.
* {{BFG}}: The Expunger, which is a bunch of [[GatlingGood gatling guns]] attached to each other. It's unclear how it's supposed to be aimed. And not just Gatling guns, ''sawed-off Gatling guns.'' Look at how short the barrels are compared to, say, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GAU-8 a GAU-8 Avenger,]] which can slice tanks in half.
* BuffySpeak: For whatever reason, the Hitler clones don't seem to know what bullets are called, instead calling them "little bits of metal."
* ChildSoldiers: The young bikers. Unlike most examples of this trope, they're not actually taking orders from anyone, but simply trying to survive after their parents were taken by the DNA Diktators.
* CrapsackWorld: The world has already gone through two apocalypses. If you're not being preyed upon by deranged mutants, chances are you'll get killed by emotionless cyborgs. Suffice to say that it's not a nice place to live.
* CyberneticsEatYourSoul:
** The Biomech Sevens are completely devoid of emotion and devoted to imposing their totalitarian control on the remains of civilization.
** Superman chooses to kill himself to avoid this trope, knowing he can't live in the world anymore without getting modified to avoid succumbing to the fatal wounds he received.
* GatlingGood: Look at the trope image. It's less a gun and more a monster truck engine somebody attached ''four'' gatling guns to.
* GoodIsOldFashioned: Ben Boxer disparages Superman's ideals and insists that extreme methods are needed to restore order to the ruined world.
* GratuitousLatin: It finishes with "Finis" instead of "End".
* HalfHumanHybrids: The Batclones, [[BatOutOfHell human-bat hybrids]] created from Bruce Wayne's DNA, which are used as minions by the DNA Diktators.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: In the scene where the twin Hitlers are revealed, we can see tubes bearing nameplates like "[[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy J. Kennedy]]", "[[Music/ElvisPresley E. Presley]]", and "[[UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein A. Einstein]]"...and they passed all those guys over in favor of cloning Adolf Hitler... twice.
* InMediasRes: The very first panel shows an elderly Superman aboard an aircraft, being restrained by armed soldiers as he shouts, "You can't nuke Gotham City!". Well, you can't say they wasted time setting the tone.
* NinetiesAntiHero: Superman himself ticks all the boxes. [[HeroicBuild Ridiculously muscled physique?]] Check. [[PerpetualFrowner Face locked in a near-permanent scowl?]] Check. Willing to kill to stop an enemy? Check. [[SuperheroPackingHeat Dispatches the villains with lots of firepower?]] Check.
* OldSuperhero: Superman may be 150 years old, but he won't let a silly little thing like old age stop him from saving the day.
* PietaPlagiarism: Superman is holding Batman's corpse just like Mary holds the body in ''La Pieta.
* RandomEventsPlot: This story makes ''no sense whatsoever''.
* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: The Batcave is 30 '''miles''' long?! [[note]]New York City is a mere ''13'' miles long, to put that into perspective.[[/note]]
* SelfImmolation: Superman prefers to die in a funeral pyre than become a cyborg.
* ShoutOut:
** The Batcave scenes have some to the 1960s' ''Series/Batman1966'' TV series.
** The twin clones of Hitler are either a ShoutOut or a rip off of the Ira Levin book/movie ''Literature/TheBoysFromBrazil''.
* ShutUpHannibal: The famous line comes from a rebuttal to a HannibalLecture ("Reality is, you're an android... I AM A MAN!")... accompanied by TalkToTheFist.
* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Ben Boxer:"Foolish old man... [[ThouShaltNotKill your refusal to kill]] got you nowhere in 1999 -- where do you think it will get you now, in a world ruled by death?!"
* StepThreeProfit: The Biomech's plan of "saving humanity" in both ''Kamandi'' and this book makes no sense. They constantly want to nuke perfectly healthy cities to help humanity. '''Why?''' Aside from the ridiculous idea that introducing ''more'' radioactive land will help anyone, Gotham seems pretty healthy for a post-apocalypse. Heck, the skies are ''blue''.
* {{Stupid Jetpack Hitler}}s: The Diktator's SS consists of mutant [[ExpendableClone clones of Nazi stormtroopers]].
* SuperHeroPackingHeat: Superman loses his powers, so he is forced to use [[{{BFG}} The Expunger]] to fight the DNA Diktators' forces.
* TalkToTheFist: Instead of debating Ben Boxer about the ethics of creating a totalitarian state to rebuild civilization, Superman simply declares "I AM A MAN!" and punches Boxer in the gut.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Averted; this tougher and beardier version of Superman does not seem to have a no-killing policy. More exactly, he changed his mind and decided that his no-kill morality was no longer appropriate.
* TooDumbToLive: Let's clone Hitler and give him a twin! [[TemptingFate Nothing can possibly go wrong!]]
-->'''Linkara:''' Um, who the hell thought that was a good idea?
* TooManyBelts: Okay, it's just ''one'' belt, but an absurdly huge one with a huge buckle, and this being TheNineties, more pouches than Batman's utility belt.
* TurnedAgainstTheirMasters: The Hitler clones say their creators wanted to destroy them, but the Hitlers killed them first.
* WeCanRuleTogether: The Hitlers predictably offer Superman to join them.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Ben Boxer wants to bring order to the post-apocalyptic wastelands. If that means creating a totalitarian police state, then so be it.
* WorfHadTheFlu: An odd example. After having his powers drained and recovered in the opening narration, Superman's battle with Ben Boxer leaves him drained again for most of the story. Said "battle" consisted mostly of the page quote.
* YouClonedHitler: The BigBad of the story is not one, but ''two'' clones of Hitler.
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->''"Of course! Don't you know anything about science?"''
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