Action Comics #719
Written by David Michelinie
Art by Kieron Dwyer and Denis Rodier
Colored by Glenn Whitmore
Lettered by Bill Oakley
Edited by K.C. Carlson and Mike McAvennie
Cover art by Kieron Dwyer and Denis Rodier
Cover date: March 1996
Originally published January 11th, 1996
"Hazard's Choice"
There is a moment in "Action Comics" #719 that gets at the very heart of why we look at the sky for heroes, and why, occasionally, we are terrified by what we see there. Superman is a character often accused of being "too powerful" to be interesting. If he can juggle planets and outrun light, where is the drama? The writer, David Michelinie, understands that the real drama doesn't lie in whether Superman can punch a monster; it lies in whether he can live with himself after the punching is over.
The story, titled "Hazard’s Choice," begins not with a cosmic invasion, but with a domestic tragedy. Lois Lane, cleaning her apartment, collapses. She has been poisoned by a souvenir: a Joker figurine from a past encounter. It is a slow-acting, cruel toxin. As she lies dying in a hospital bed, the Man of Steel is reduced to a frantic, grieving husband. "I can crush mountains," he says, in a line that carries the weight of a Shakespearean soliloquy, "are you saying I can't save one woman?"
This is the "Kryptonite" of the soul.
Superman flies to Gotham, and it’s here that the issue transforms into a dark, psychological chamber piece. He needs Batman, not for his gadgets, but for his restraint. They find the Joker in Arkham Asylum, and the Clown Prince of Crime presents a Faustian bargain: The only cure is to inject the Joker himself with the toxin. His unique, chemically altered blood will create an antitoxin, but the process will kill him.
The Joker, played here with a terrifying, nihilistic glee, isn't trying to win a fight. He is trying to win an argument. He wants to prove that beneath the "S" and the cape, Superman is just as selfish and murderous as anyone else. If Superman kills him to save Lois, the Joker dies a winner, having successfully dismantled the world’s greatest moral compass.
The art by Kieron Dwyer and Denis Rodier is appropriately moody, ditching the bright primary colors of Metropolis for the jagged, shadow-drenched reality of Gotham. They capture the look on Superman’s face: not the stoic icon we see on lunchboxes, but a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown. When he nearly kills Batman in his desperation, we realize just how thin the line is between a savior and a tyrant.
But Batman, the "tortured human," serves as the anchor. He understands a truth that Superman struggles to accept: that sometimes, being a hero means watching the person you love die because the alternative: becoming a murderer: is a price too high for the world to pay.
In a sequence that is both heartbreaking and frustrating, Superman makes his choice. He lets Lois die.
Of course, this being a comic book, she doesn't stay dead. In a twist that some might call a "cheat" but I find deliciously cruel, she revives. The "joke" was that the poison was never meant to kill her; it was a "suicidal prank" designed to trick Superman into killing the Joker for no reason at all. The Joker was willing to die just to play a gag on the Man of Tomorrow. That is a level of evil that defies a simple "kapow."
The most haunting part of the book, however, isn't the Joker’s laugh. It’s the final page. Superman tells the recovered Lois that he had to let her die, that she "would have wanted it that way." She says she understands. But in the final panel, as they hug, we see her thought bubble: "I think."
It’s a chilling ending. She realizes that her future husband, the man who is supposed to love her above all else, placed his moral code above her life. He chose an ideal over a person. Michelinie leaves us with a wedge driven into the heart of the world’s most famous romance. It’s a thoughtful, somber, and deeply human piece of storytelling that reminds us that the hardest thing about being Superman isn’t the flying: it’s the landing.
What makes David Michelinie’s script for Action Comics #719, published January 11, 1996, so enduring is its refusal to let Superman off the hook. While many Superman stories rely on a physical threat that can be punched into submission, Michelinie presents a psychological trap where the Man of Steel’s greatest strength: his absolute morality: becomes his greatest vulnerability. The "Hazard’s Choice" storyline succeeds because it strips away the "Super" and focuses on the "Man." By placing Lois Lane’s life in the balance against a horrific moral cost, the narrative forces Superman to confront the reality that he cannot save everyone without losing himself. The art by Kieron Dwyer and Denis Rodier perfectly complements this somber tone, capturing the raw, uncharacteristic desperation in Clark’s eyes as he faces a villain who doesn't fear death, but welcomes it as a punchline.
The story’s brilliance is punctuated by its haunting conclusion and the interpersonal dynamics between DC’s "World's Finest" duo. Batman is portrayed not as a rival, but as a necessary, cold voice of reason, representing the human capacity to endure loss for the sake of a higher principle. The true "hook" of the issue is the ambiguity of the ending; Superman chooses the "Right Thing" over his wife, and while Lois survives through a cruel twist of fate, the emotional fallout is palpable. Her final thought: "I think": serves as a chilling reminder that Superman’s choice has consequences that no superpower can fix. It turns a standard superhero one-shot into a deep exploration of the "Superman standard of conduct" and the isolation that comes with being an avatar of truth and justice.
It is impossible to read Action Comics #719 today without seeing it as the spiritual predecessor to the entire Injustice franchise. Seventeen years before NetherRealm Studios and director Ed Boon released the hit videogame Injustice: Gods Among Us, from April 2013, Michelinie laid the groundwork for the exact scenario that would eventually dismantle the DC Universe. The comic's premise: the Joker using Lois Lane as a pawn to force Superman into a murderous choice: is the precise "one bad day" that writer Tom Taylor used to kick off the legendary Injustice comic book prequel (2013).
While the 2021 animated film, produced by Rick Morales and Jim Krieg) shows the horrifying outcome of Superman actually killing the Joker, Action Comics #719 acts as the "road not taken." It proves that the Joker’s plan to "break" Superman wasn't a modern invention for the gaming era, but a foundational psychological threat explored decades earlier. This 1996 issue effectively "predicted" the narrative engine of one of DC’s most popular Elseworlds, proving that the Joker has always known that the fastest way to destroy a god is to make him choose between his love and his legend.
On a deeply personal level, "Action Comics" #719 holds a resonance for me that transcends the ink and paper. More than thirty years ago, I sat down and wrote a short letter to DC Comics about issue #715. I was enamored with the Gil Kane art and David Michelinie’s storytelling during that Parasite arc, but I’ll admit now, with a bit of a sheepish grin, that I also used that letter to complain. I felt that in issue #714, the Joker had been an ineffective, almost toothless villain against the god-like power of Superman. I didn't think the Clown Prince belonged in Metropolis.
When issue #719 finally landed in my hands, it delivered a trio of surprises that felt like a bolt of blue lightning. First, Michelinie quite effectively "shut my mouth" by crafting a plot so psychological and cunning that it proved exactly how the Joker could get beneath the Man of Steel’s skin. Secondly, I saw my own words staring back at me; editors K.C. Carlson and Michael McAvennie had actually published my letter! But the crowning moment: the one that makes this specific issue a permanent fixture in my heart—was seeing that I had been granted the Baldy Award. In the mid-90s, that was more than just a nod in a letters column; it was a badge of honor for a dedicated fan, a sign that you were part of the tapestry of Superman’s world.
This memory is now tinged with a poignant sense of loss as I look back on the life of K.C. Carlson, who passed away almost a year ago, on February 8th 2025, at the early age of 68. For those of us who lived through that era, K.C. wasn't just an editor; he was the steady hand guiding the Man of Steel through a period of immense transformation. Serving as the Superman editor from August 1995 to September 1996 was a labor of love, not just a job. He steered us through the emotional fallout of the "Death of Clark Kent" and the sprawling, cosmic stakes of the "Trial of Superman." I will always hold a special place in my heart for K.C., as he was the man at the helm when I received that first Baldy Award. He played a pivotal role in shaping iconic milestones like Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!, but more importantly, he ensured that throughout the chaos of continuity shifts and multiversal threats, Superman’s legacy remained anchored in heart, heroism, and hope. K.C. understood that the editor’s real task wasn't just keeping the books on schedule, it was protecting the soul of a legend.
by Fabio Marques, January 11th, 2026
My first Baldy Award from Action Comics #719
Action Comics #719 writer David Michelinie
Action Comics #719 Facebook Gallery
https://bit.ly/ActionComics719Gallery
http://www.fortressofbaileytude.com/fctc-episode-242-march-1996-part-1/
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