Data courtesy of the Grand Comics Database under Creative Commons license.

Issue Details

Issue #666
Published October 2007
Frequency monthly
Cover Price 3.99 USD; 4.75 CAD
Pages 52
Editing Matt Idelson; Nachie Castro (associate)
Notes This issue went on sale 2007-08-22 (2 weeks late from the solicited shipping date of this issue).

Cover Details - "The Beast ...From Krypton?"

Characters Superman; Wonder Woman; Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Green Lantern [Hal Jordan]; Supergirl [Kara Zor-El]
Genre Superhero
Pencils Walt Simonson (signed)
Inks Walt Simonson (signed)
Reprinted in Superman: Redemption (DC, 2008 series) #nn ([January] 2008) [minus all text (even the big 666) and the UPC].

38 page Superman story "The Beast From Krypton"

Characters Superman; Hawkman [Carter Hall] (cameo); Animal Man (cameo); Aquaman (cameo); Phantom Stranger; Jimmy Olsen (cameo); Lois Lane (cameo); Perry White (cameo); Wonder Woman (dream), Batman (dream); Green Lantern [Hal Jordan] (dream); Supergirl [Kara Zor-El] (dream); Zatanna; Lex Luthor (cameo, dream); Brainiac (cameo, dream); Parasite (cameo, dream); Doomsday (cameo, dream); Silver Banshee (cameo, dream); Mongul (cameo, dream); Terra Man (cameo, dream); Maxima (cameo, dream); Conduit (cameo, dream); Bizarro (cameo, dream); Darkseid (cameo, dream); Cyborg Superman (cameo, dream); Jonathan Kent (cameo, dream); Martha Kent (cameo, dream); Lana Lang (cameo, dream); Pete Ross (cameo, dream); The Demon; Rakkar the Nothing (intro, villain); Lords of Hell
Synopsis The Phantom Stranger comes to Clark at the Planet, and takes him away. Next, Clark is back home, and dreams of a world where Superman is ruler, and everyone is marked with his symbol. After awakening, he decides to go out, and Lois asks him to pick up pickles and ice cream. At the Foodopolis mart, he starts to lose his temper, and Zatanna appears, observing him. He sees her, and tells her since this is still a dream, he can blow off a little steam, and act however he wants. He literally blows her away, then is attacked by many of his old foes. He decimates them, killing many. He kills Jimmy and Perry, and destroys the Daily Planet. He goes to Washington DC, destroys the Washington Monument, and steals the throne that Lincoln sits on in the Lincoln Memorial, and sits on it in Earth orbit. He then goes to Smallville, creates an earthquake, and then enters into the earth, descending down into hell. The Demon confronts him, but is swatted aside, and Zatanna follows, watching. Superman confronts a ruler there. This ruler, named Rakkar, tells Superman that he is from Krypton's hell, and as Krypton died, its hell did too. But Rakkar managed to escape, but had nothing to feed on for years. But when Superman killed, it strengthened the demon, and he grew in power. His allies, the Lords of Hell, drew Superman into this corrupting dream. Now, Rakkar can attack Superman, and transforms his corrupted soul into a beast of hell. However, out of that transformed body pops Superman, normal as can be. He tells Rakkar that Rakkar's schemes were sensed, and the Phantom Stranger helped Superman divide his soul in two, creating a weak outer shell that was corruptible while his true soul stayed clean and unharmed to resurface later. Since Rakkar depends on the corruption, he is now powerless. Superman and the Lords of Hell strike a deal; they will withdraw their power from Rakkar and crush him, if Superman will just leave, and it is done.
Genre Superhero
Script Kurt Busiek
Pencils Walt Simonson
Inks Walt Simonson
Colors Alex Sinclair; Lee Loughridge
Letters John Workman
Notes A lot of the imagery for this story (the number 666, not being able to buy things without a mark on the forehead, etc.) comes from the book of Revelation in the Bible.
Reprinted in Superman: Redemption (DC, 2008 series) #nn ([January] 2008) [minus the credits].

1 page DC Nation promo (ad from the publisher) "DC Nation 73 [August 9, 2007] FINAL CRISIS"

Script Dan Didio?
Letters typeset
Notes Announces Final Crisis, and that Countdown is counting down to this event. Ads for Superman #667, Countdown #38, Batman #666, and JLA: Classified #41. Appears on page 50 in this issue.

2 page promo (ad from the publisher) "House Advertisements"

Notes House ads for: Green Arrow and Black Canary Wedding Special, and Countdown to Adventure. Appear in various places in the issue.

10 page advertisement "Ads"

Notes Total of 10 one-page ads for: Comic Collector Live (collection software, Midten Media), Five Star Flex (notebook/binder, MeadWestvaco Corporation), Alien Syndrome (video game, Sega), Five Star Sound (notebooks with speakers, MeadWestvaco Corporation), Above the Influence (Partnership for a Drug-free America), Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer (video game, Take-Two Interactive), Blue Dragon (video game, Microsoft Game Studios), Top 10 Ways to Tell if your Home has an Energy Hog (advice, Ad Council/7-Eleven), got milk? with Alex Rodriquez (milk), and Legion of Doom (action figures, Mattel). Appear in various places in the issue.