Absolute Kingdom Come (First Printing, 2006)by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
Collecting Kingdom Comes #'s 1-4 (1996)
It's a bunch of years in the future, and everyone and their grandma has superpowers. Except there just isn't that much crime in the future, so the irresponsible super-people spend their time fighting with each other for turf. Superman's walked away from civilization because society hungers for a modern hero, and most of the other heroes we know followed behind Supes. They're a vintage relic by then.
Superman comes to realize that the world still needs him, and so he returns! The story from there is kind of a proto-Civil War (Marvel's big event from 2007). He wages a war on the new superheroes with the rest of the DC heroes, recruiting those who agree with him -- and imprisoning those who don't.
The government also gets in the story, deciding whether or not to nuke the superheroes as they fight amongst each other. There's some great commentary there about the morality of superheroes, but it feels a bit trite, a little old. Considering that it was published in 1996, it was probably groundbreaking for its time. The only problem is I was 6 during 1996, and the hardest reading I underwent was on the back of my Cheerios.
While the story isn't fresh to me, it's exciting to see how Mark Waid addresses all the DC heroes in a world that doesn't accept them. The Flash forsakes his tangible form and just all-out runs around Keystone City preventing every little crime!
