The Nail

Imagine a world where Superman does not exist.

In DC Comics’ The Nail, the Kents are prevented from driving their car through the country because their car tire got a nail in it.

Because of the nail they miss finding the rocket carrying the young Kal-el (Superman) as a baby.

The result is a world without Superman.

It is one of the most powerful Justice League stories ever written.

Alan Davis’s art is stunning.  It is fluid, organic and amazing in its details.

Years later Lex Luthor is mayor of Metropolis.  He heads a citywide campaign to rid the world of superheroes and masked vigilantes.  So powerful and compelling is his message that cities across the United States are emulating his campaign.

Anti-hero fervor is gripping the U.S.A., but who is behind it really?

As the Justice League and other heroes try to cope with the situation forces are at work to discredit any and all superhero activities.

As a result of the unseen manipulation of anti-hero sentiment unusual and planned strikes against the superheroes credibility begin to manifest.

One of the first incidents involves the Joker who has got his hands on some super weapons.  As Batman watches in horror the Joker literary rips Batgirl and Robin to ribbons and severely injures Catwoman.  Batman snaps and kills the Joker all on camera.

This only fuels the public’s distrust of superheroes.  

Other incidents occur, Metamorpho goes rogue, the Metal Men, stripped of their responsimeters, unemotionally attack the JLA resulting in dozens of superbeings being captured and incarcerated.

In a desperate last attempt to discover and stop the perpetrator of the war against super-beings the Justice League and other heroes set out to end the madness.

Things escalate, heroes die and eventually the true face of the enemy is revealed and it's a real shocker!

The 3-part, The Nail Elseworld mini-series offers a bleak future for superheroes.  It is a world without Superman all set in place by a simple thing as a nail.