Along the way, throughout the years that followed their first meeting, the Supermen of two worlds met additional times. Mostly this occured at the annual gatherings of their teams, the Justice League and Justice Society... such as when their posh dinner at an elegant Gotham City restaurant on Earth-One was invaded by the minions of the Time Lord, or the time just prior to an epic battle with the Secret Society of Super-Villains led by Kal-L's foe the Ultra-Humanite on Earth-Two.
Sandwiched between encounters, was the occasion when Kal-L's old foe Atoman had been revived from a decades long coma, shifting his body over to Earth-One to bedevil Kal-El and that world's Batman, before being brought back to Earth-Two once more to face revised World's Finest team of that planet, Superman and an adult Robin!
However, the last encounter took place during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The incident started out innocuously enough, as Harbinger enlisted Kal-L along with other heroes and villains of both Earths to protect dimensional forks planted on each plane of existence, with the goal of protecting each universe from the spread of anti-matter sweeping the multiverse.
Alas, the villain behind this scheme, the Anti-Monitor, succeeded in thwarting each attempt at quelling his growing power at the cost of the cosmos. What resulted was the loss of individual universes, and specifically Kal-L's life, history, and world. But not the loss of his indomitable spirit.
While he would prove triumphant versus this daunting foe, playing an instrumental role in unseating this villain's power, the golden age Superman found himself lost in a dimensional void... cut off from a recreated composite Earth without a place for him or his dear wife Lois. Seeking the refuge of an artificial Metropolis complete with its own Daily Star, the Kents had years to reflect upon all they lost so that another reality might live a new day.
While that same hero eventually gave of his life alongside his reconstituted counterpart Kal-El, battling former friend Superboy of Earth-Prime, he is remembered here.
While each had similar supporting casts, in the form of Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Lana Lang... they also had distinct members of their extended families... for one, Lucy Lane, Linda Danvers (clone of Supergirl) Steve Lombard, and so forth... for another, Lucille Lane Tompkins, Susie Tompkins (daughter of Lucy), Steve Bard, etc. Additionally, their rogues gallery mimics one another with such familiar names of Luthor, Prankster, Toyman, Colonel Future and a pair of 5th dimensional imps... though there were distinct variations such as Brainiac and Ultra-Humanite, Parasite and Aroman, Metallo and Metalo, to name but a few.
Nevertheless, despite the subtle changes in their life course, they each measured up to the same high standard befitting the premier protectors of their pair of problem plagued planets.
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