Mitchell "Mitch" Anderson[1] was a former lieutenant general of the U.S. Army who became the new director of the Department of Defense after Sam Lane retired.
After he attacked Superman, Tal-Rho, and Superman's Inverse World counterpart, Anderson went AWOL and stole weapons from Project 7734 along with vials of confiscated X-Kryptonite, leading to a warrant being issued for his arrest. Anderson then teamed up with Ally Allston and went to the Inverse World with her pendant and its Inverse World counterpart. Upon arriving in the Inverse World, Anderson realized he had misunderstood both Ally and Superman and joined him in the battle against Ally, but he was eventually killed by Jonathan-El.
Quick Answers
What led to Mitch Anderson becoming the director of the Department of Defense?
Why did Mitch Anderson attack Superman and Tal-Rho?
What is the significance of Project 7734 in Mitch Anderson's storyline?
What is the Inverse World and why did Mitch Anderson go there?
Biography[]
Head of the DOD[]
After Sam Lane retired from active duty, he recommended Anderson to replace him.[1]
Anderson tells Superman about the Supermen of America.
Anderson used an ELT to call Superman to the DOD after finding out that he has rescued a sinking North Korean nuclear submarine and returned it. Unhappy, he told him that America should come first and that he should've brought it by American soil. Later, Anderson revealed to Superman that he had started a new program, the Supermen of America.[2]
Anderson sent the Supermen of America to help Superman defeat Phillip Karnowsky, who had powers given by X-Kryptonite. At the DOD, Superman questioned Anderson about Tag Harris only being 18 to be on the team and Anderson didn't seem to mind.[3]
A "bizarre" Superman[]
Anderson learned of the confrontation between Superman and the armored monster that escaped the Shuster Mines and questioned him about it.
Superman reluctantly gave the being from the mines' energy signature to Anderson, but asked that if he detected the being, he would call him instead of sending his team. The Army detected the being in Bolivia, but instead of alerting Superman, Anderson sent the Supermen of America. The being, which turned out to be an alternate version of Superman, killed two of the Supermen and only Tag Harris escaped due to Superman's intervention.[4] Tag later gave the being's pendant to Anderson, who later refused to give it to Superman, as he believed he would use it to become more powerful.[5]
Anderson and Superman argue over the latter's counterpart.
After being reprimanded by General Hardcastle, Anderson went to the funeral of the two deceased Supermen and the mother of one of them blamed him and made him angrier at Superman. When Superman revealed that he had captured his counterpart and asked Anderson for the pendant so he could destroy it, Anderson denied it and grew increasingly paranoid of Superman. When Superman left, Anderson asked Erin Wu to investigate where he went. She said he went to save a village in Russia and Anderson concluded that Superman would never trust him. Then, he ambushed the hero with red sunlight and locked him in the same cell as Tal-Rho.[6]
Ambushing Superman and Tal-Rho[]
Anderson arrests Superman.
Despite being trapped, Superman still refused to reveal his counterpart's location and told Anderson that a cult leader named Ally Allston was the real danger. So Anderson tortured Tal-Rho with Kryptonite until Superman told him that his other self was in the Fortress of Solitude. However, all Anderson's soldiers found were the remains of the alternate Superman's armor. Meanwhile, Superman and Tal-Rho staged a fight in his cell that allowed them to escape. Satellites tracked them to the Badlands and Anderson thought this confirmed that Superman, Tal-Rho and the alternate Superman were part of a conspiracy. He took Kryptonite weapons and several vials of X-Kryptonite from Project 7734, as well as the pendant of the alternate Superman, and went after them.
Anderson kills Superman's counterpart.
Anderson attacked them at Tal-Rho's fortress, using X-Kryptonite to give himself superpowers. He was able to overpower them and shoot Tal-Rho with Kryptonite bullets. So Lara Lor-Van's A.I. freed the alternate Superman and he attacked Anderson while Superman took care of Tal-Rho. Anderson tried to use Kryptonite on the alternate Superman, but it only made him stronger, so he deduced that his weakness was X-Kryptonite and smashed several vials in the alternate Superman's face, weakening him and then Anderson broke his neck. He then escaped, going AWOL and stealing the weapons and vials of X-Kryptonite. Later, he sought out Ally Allston and gave her the alternate Superman's pendant.[1]
The Inverse World[]
Anderson and Ally's followers try to enter the Inverse World.
Ally told him that there was an Inverse World where everyone had a counterpart, and that with the pendants they could merge the two worlds. So she drugged him, allowing him to see the Inverse World and briefly possess his counterpart. Now with the two pendants, Ally, Anderson and a few of Ally's followers went to the Shuster Mines and opened a portal to the Inverse World. However, most of Ally's followers likely disintegrated when they tried to go through the portal. Superman arrived to save the survivors, so Anderson used X-Kryptonite and stole Ally's pendant, passing through the portal unharmed.[7]
Anderson appeared in the Shuster Mines of the Inverse World. His counterpart, Jonathan Kent's counterpart, Lana Lang's counterpart, and Ally's counterpart waited for him to arrive with the other Ally and some of her followers. Anderson merged the pendants and attempted to merge with his other self, but Ally ordered Jon to kill the other Anderson. Jon burned the other Anderson alive with his fiery breath, and Anderson fled in horror.
He went to the offices of Deadline Smallville Daily in Smallville looking for help, but as he was "talking backwards" to people, they thought he was crazy. He asked Chrissy Beppo's doppelganger to help him find Lois Lane of this world, writing "LOIS" on a piece of paper. Ally had already declared Anderson a fugitive and Chrissy told him to leave, but she wrote an address on the back of the note. Anderson went to the address and Lois' counterpart came to pick him up.
Lois took him to a bunker on the El Farm, where she was hiding with her father and son Jordan-El, who tried to ask Anderson what had happened to his father by showing him a family photo. Anderson realized that he had killed Jordan's father while he and Superman tried to save both worlds and Ally was the villain. Then he started crying and begged for forgiveness.[8]
Death[]
When Jon-El started beating up Superman over the pendants, Lois and Anderson intervened, with Anderson knocking Jon unconscious and apologizing to Superman. Both Allys, Tal-Rho and Lana-Rho came to the farm to get the pendants. Jon also woke up and joined them. Superman told Anderson to use his last vial of X-K to escape, but he chose to stay and help Superman fight. He fought Jon-El and initially did well, but couldn't match the teenager in aerial combat. He was eventually overpowered and killed on the ground.[8]
Personality[]
Anderson, like his precedessor, is devoted to America. Unlike Sam Lane, however, Anderson failed to understand Superman's job is to protect humanity and Earth as a whole, instead of a certain country. This resulted in a fallout with Superman's relationship with the Department of Defense, causing Anderson to replace Superman by using the Supermen of America, all of whom were teenagers. When Superman expressed his concern about one of the members being barely 18 years old, Anderson brushed it off. Anderson's hubris would later come back to haunt him when he sent the Supermen of America to capture an alternate version of Superman, costing two members their lives. When Anderson refused to take responsibility for his failure, he tried to blame Superman and branded him a traitor for withholding information about his counterpart.
Due to Kal-El's deformed, monstrous appearance and homicidal behavior, Anderson believed he was doing the right thing by killing him. Upon meeting Kal's family in the Inverse World, however, he realized that Kal was not the monster he thought he was, but simply a broken father who fell from grace and was trying to make things right. Anderson wept bitterly and attempted to console/apologize to Kal's family.
Upon arriving in the Inverse World and failing to merge with his Inverse World counterpart, Anderson quickly realized he had misunderstood both Ally and Superman. Owning up to his misunderstanding, Anderson joined Superman in battle against Ally and her allies, urging him to return to Earth-TUD25, taking on Jonathan-El before being killed.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers[]
Anderson using heat vision.
- X-Kryptonite enhancement: In order to fight and capture Superman's Inverse World counterpart, Anderson took various weapons from Project 7734, including several vials of X-Kryptonite. After killing him, Anderson went AWOL and stole the weapons and vials of X-Kryptonite instead of returning them.[1]
- Heat vision: Using X-K, Anderson was able to generate and shoot beams of heat energy from his eyes.[1]
- Superhuman strength: Using X-K, Anderson was able to take on both Superman and his brother Tal-Rho, and even get an advantage (albeit when they were weakened by Kryptonite).
- Superhuman speed: Using X-K, Anderson was able to move at incredible speeds, allowing him to keep up with kryptonians.
- Invulnerability: Using X-K, Anderson was able to take several blows from the Inverse World's Kal-El without any signs of injury.[1]
- Flight: Using X-K, Anderson was able to fly.[1]
Abilities[]
- Military training: As a lieutenant general in the U.S. army, Anderson has had proper military training.
- Skilled tactician: While fighting against the Inverse World's Kal-El, Anderson realized he had a weakness to X-Kryptonite, and defeated him by bombarding him with the substance, leaving him too weak to fight back, snapping his neck.[1]
Equipment[]
- Kryptonite gun: Anderson used a Kryptonite gun to knock out Superman.[6]
- X-Kryptonite inhaler: Anderson stole several weapons from Project 7734, along with vials of confiscated X-Kryptonite.[1]
Appearances[]
Superman & Lois[]
Season 2
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Behind the scenes[]
- In the DC comics, Mitch Anderson, also known as Outburst, is a member of the Supermen of America who inadvertently caused the death of Superman by asking to help the Justice League take down Doomsday. When he became a member of the Supermen of America, Mitch developed magnetic abilities. He debuted in Justice League America #69 (December, 1992).
References[]
| Other versions of Mitch Anderson | ||||
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| To see other versions of this character, click the Earth name below for that Earth's counterpart of Mitch Anderson. | ||||
| New multiverse | ||||
| Earth: TUD25 • Inverse World | ||||
| Original multiverse | ||||
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| Transmultiversal multiverse | ||||
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