Kingdom Come Review: Waid & Ross’s Epic
Mark Waid and Alex Ross's gorgeous painted DC epic.
By Web Admin
Some superhero comics argue with the genre; a few try to redeem it. Kingdom Come does both. Written by Mark Waid, painted by Alex Ross, and published by DC Comics as a four-issue prestige series in 1996, it is one of the most beautiful and most ambitious superhero books ever printed — a Biblical-scale story about aging icons, a reckless new generation, and what heroism costs. Thirty years on it remains a fixture of every serious “greatest DC stories” list. This is our full review of Kingdom Come: what it is, why it still stuns, and which edition to buy.
What is Kingdom Come?
Kingdom Come is a standalone “Elseworlds” story — DC’s label for tales set outside its main continuity — written by Mark Waid (The Flash, Daredevil, Irredeemable) with fully painted artwork by Alex Ross. Originally released across four oversized prestige-format issues in 1996, it runs roughly 230 pages in its collected form and typically sells for about US$20 in paperback. It is set a generation into the future of the DC Universe, when the heroes we grew up with have grown old, retired, or lost their way.
The premise is simple and enormous: Superman has withdrawn from the world after a tragedy, and in his absence a new breed of “heroes” — violent, careless, and indistinguishable from the villains they fight — has taken over. When their recklessness causes a catastrophe that irradiates the American heartland, an aging Superman returns to impose order. The question the book asks is whether even Superman can save humanity without becoming a tyrant.
The story: a generational reckoning
The narrative is framed through Norman McCay, an ordinary, doubting pastor chosen to witness the coming apocalypse alongside the wrath-filled Spectre. That choice is the book’s masterstroke: we watch gods clash from the eye level of a frightened, decent human being. Norman’s crisis of faith mirrors the reader’s own question — are these beings our protectors or our replacements?
Waid structures the story like scripture, complete with chapter epigraphs drawn from the Book of Revelation, building toward a literal end-of-the-world confrontation. Superman assembles the old guard — Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman — to re-educate the new generation, but his methods harden into something authoritarian. Batman, meanwhile, plays a careful third side, trusting neither the old gods nor the new. The collision of these three philosophies drives the plot toward a genuinely tragic climax.
Alex Ross’s painted art
You cannot talk about Kingdom Come without talking about the art. Alex Ross paints in gouache from photographed models, and the result is superheroes rendered with the weight and texture of Norman Rockwell portraits. These are not idealized cartoons; they are aging, tired, monumental people. An older Superman with graying temples, a weary Wonder Woman, a haunted Batman held together by exo-braces — Ross makes them feel real, and therefore mortal.
The scale is staggering. Ross fills splash pages with hundreds of recognizable DC characters, rewarding longtime readers with an endless game of “spot the hero,” while newcomers simply feel the sheer density of a lived-in universe. The painted approach slows the reading down in the best way; you linger on pages the way you would in a gallery. If any comic justifies buying a large, well-printed edition, it is this one.
The themes: idealism versus fear
Beneath the spectacle, Kingdom Come is an argument about what superheroes are for. Published at the height of the 1990s “grim and gritty” era — a time of blood-soaked antiheroes with pouches and impossibly big guns — the book is a direct rebuttal to that trend. Waid and Ross look at the cynical, violent characters dominating comics and ask, plainly, whether that is heroism at all.
Superman represents old-fashioned hope; the new generation represents nihilistic power; Batman represents pragmatic control. The book refuses to let any of them off easily. Even Superman’s noble crusade curdles into control, and the story’s tragedy is that good intentions, applied with overwhelming force, can look exactly like tyranny. That tension is why the book endures — it takes its own idealism seriously enough to interrogate it.
Meet the cast
- Superman — returned from a decade of self-imposed exile, older and more uncertain than we’ve ever seen him.
- Wonder Woman — the story’s warrior conscience, pushing Superman toward harder measures.
- Batman — physically broken but strategically sharp, running his own agenda from Gotham.
- Norman McCay — the mortal pastor who narrates the apocalypse.
- Magog — the poster child for the violent new generation whose actions trigger the catastrophe.
Content and tone
Kingdom Come is largely appropriate for teen readers and up, but it is not a light read. It deals with mass death, a devastating act of near-genocide, moral compromise, and religious apocalyptic imagery. The violence is rarely graphic in a gory sense, but the emotional stakes are heavy and the ending is bittersweet. It rewards a reader with some grounding in the DC characters, though its themes land even if you only know Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman by reputation.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Alex Ross’s painted art is genuinely museum-quality
- A complete, self-contained story — no continuity homework
- A thoughtful, moving argument about what heroism means
- Endlessly re-readable, with new details every time
Cons
- Dense; the theological framing can feel heavy
- Best appreciated with some knowledge of DC’s roster
- The bleak, bittersweet tone isn’t for everyone
How Kingdom Come compares to other painted and “future” epics
If you love the elegiac, “what happens when heroes get old” register, Kingdom Come sits alongside a small handful of essential books. Here’s how it stacks up against the comparisons readers most often reach for.
| Book | Creators | Best for | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom Come | Waid & Ross (1996) | Painted, mythic DC epic | ~US$20 |
| The Dark Knight Returns | Miller (1986) | Aging, angry Batman | ~US$20 |
| All-Star Superman | Morrison & Quitely | The ideal Superman | ~US$18 |
| Watchmen | Moore & Gibbons | Deconstruction | ~US$20 |
For the full landscape, see our guide to the best DC graphic novels and our roundup of the best superhero comics of all time. It also pairs beautifully with the Dark Knight Returns review as a study of aging icons.
Which edition should you buy?
There are a few sensible ways to read Kingdom Come, and because the art is the whole point, format matters more than usual.
| Edition | Format | Approx. price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard paperback | Softcover | ~US$20 | Most readers |
| 20th Anniversary Deluxe | Hardcover, extras | ~US$35 | Fans who want annotations |
| Absolute Kingdom Come | Oversized slipcased HC | ~US$100 | Appreciating Ross’s art |
For a first read, the paperback is perfectly good. But if you fall for it — and you might — the oversized Absolute Edition prints Ross’s paintings at a scale that turns the book into a coffee-table object.
AmazonCheck price on AmazonWhere it fits in Superman’s story
Because it’s an Elseworlds tale, Kingdom Come exists outside the main timeline, so you can read it any time without disturbing your continuity. That said, it hits hardest once you understand who Superman is supposed to be. If you want the canonical journey first, our Superman reading order lays out the essential runs, and pairing them with this book makes the ending land even harder.
The verdict
Kingdom Come is one of those rare superhero books that works as art, as argument, and as pure spectacle at once. It is gorgeous, thoughtful, and unafraid to complicate its own heroes. Three decades on, its central question — what do we actually want our protectors to be? — feels more urgent, not less. It sits near the top of our best DC graphic novels list and anchors our DC hub, and we recommend it to anyone ready for superheroes taken seriously.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know DC continuity to read Kingdom Come?
No. It’s a self-contained Elseworlds story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. A passing familiarity with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman is plenty, though longtime fans will catch far more of the cameos.
Is Kingdom Come part of the main DC universe?
Not originally — it was published as an Elseworlds tale set in a possible future. Elements were later referenced in mainline continuity, but the book itself stands entirely on its own.
Is Kingdom Come appropriate for younger readers?
It’s generally fine for teens and up. There’s no explicit content, but it deals with mass death, apocalyptic imagery, and heavy moral themes, so it suits mature younger readers rather than small children.
Why is Alex Ross’s art such a big deal?
Ross paints in gouache using photographed models, giving superheroes a realistic weight and texture rarely seen in comics. The result reads more like a series of oil paintings than traditional line art, which is why oversized editions are so prized.
Next, explore the definitive Man of Steel in our All-Star Superman review, or browse the whole DC hub for more essential reads.
