Hope

Hope is one of the main themes of this story.

In the beginning of the story, the reader sees that Norman has no hope for humanity. He watches the world erode around him and feels helpless. As a pastor, he believes he should encourage his congregation to have faith, yet he himself does not have faith anymore. Instead, he discourages them by preaching gloom and doom that he says is certain to be sooner rather than later.

Wonder Woman approaches Clark, hoping Superman will intervene to help save the world. In this segment, the reader learns that Superman lost hope for humanity ten years earlier and left crime fighting for self-imposed exile. He left when people voiced their preference for the new breed of super heroes that actually killed their foes. In Superman's view, it was his job to thwart the villains' attempt at wrong doing, then leave...