I didn’t collect comics when I was a kid, but every so often, a parent or other relative would buy a stack for me so I’d have something to read on long car rides, boring dinner parties, etc. So, I was constantly reading these comics that would take place in the middle of a story arc, and I’d have no idea how they started or ended. Most of 'em have been forgotten, but one’s been kind of nagging me for a while now.
This comic would have come out at least fifteen years ago. I’m pretty sure it was DC, because I seem to recall Brainiac being in it, although I might be conflating things. There were all sorts of strange phenomena going on in the world, and they seemed to be somehow linked to these mysterious, vaguely Aztec pyramids that were being found in impossible locations: the arctic, the bottom of the sea, etc. The issue I had ended with some scientists who had invented a time machine going all the way back to the big bang, and finding another pyramid floating around in the vacuum a few seconds after the birth of the universe. And that’s about all I remember. If I’m correct about Brainiac being involved, I believe he had created some sort of impenetrable forcefield around a major city, probably Metropolis.
Anyway, anyone remember this story line? How did it start? How did it end? What was the deal with those pyramids?
Was Braniac the traditional green-skinned humanoid version or the mechanical robotic version? That transformation took place in 1983 and can help pinpoint the story.
The rest of your description sounds like the Forgotten heroes. A group of old DC heroes(among them Rip Hunter, Time Master) discover a series of pyramids set up by Vandal Savage in IIRC a plot to kill Superman.
Rip Hunter helped Superman travel back in time to recover his “other half” (Supes had been split into two beings through the magicks of Lord Satanus and his wife/mortal enemy Syrene) but Superman is pretty easy to remember by himself.
At first, I thought the OP might have picked up an issue from the Crisis on Infinite Earths mini-series (or an issue from another series relating to the Crisis), which was about 15 years ago, had a very confused storyline (does “red skies” ring a bell), and is one of the only times Braniac had scenes that didn’t directly involve Superman.
Here’s another vote for Crisis on Infinite Earths…it was published in '85, I believe, and seems to vaguely fit the description. The storyline’s a bit hard to describe, but I’m sure you could search the boards for a good description. If not another geek will be along shortly and explain it.
I’m not sure that Brainiac was in it at all. Like I said, I might be conflating two different comics. If it was Brainiac, it was the shiny metal one with a geodesic dome for a head.
I don’t think it was the Crisis. The Crisis story was one of the few times I made a concerted effort to collect the entire story run. Another was Marvel’s Secret Wars. I wasn’t 100% successful in either case, but I think I would have remembered if this had been a part of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, I could be wrong. The local Barnes and Noble has a reprint of it in their comic section: I’ll flip through it next time I’m there and see if I can find the comic I’m thinking of.
The weird towers thing sounds like Crisis, but the barrier around Metropolis isn’t something I remember. Crisis is in reprint in most B&N stores right now.