Two Hits and a Big Miss in This Week’s Super-Sized SuperChat

A triple offering of Super-comics this week, looking to the Man of Steel’s past, present, and future. Over in Action Comics#1,034, the members of the House of El are doing all they can to stop Warworld from spreading its influence on Earth, stopping both all-out war and ending a home invasion – but are these just stopgap measures for a much more dangerous invasion? Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, drawn by Christian Duce, colored by Adriano Lucas and lettered by Dave Sharpe, with a backup story written by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad, drawn by Michael Avon Deming, colored by Taki Soma and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

Someone must have flown the planet backwards at superspeed, because we find ourselves back in 1978, with Superman ‘78#1, in a world established by the classic Superman films of yore, seeing Christopher Reeves’ Superman face Brainiac for the very first time. Written by Robert Venditti, drawn by Wilfredo Torres, colored by Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Dave Lanphear. 

Lastly, we take a look at the legacy Superman leaves his son in Superman: Son of Kal-El #2, as Jon tries to figure out his own way to live in a world he’s trying to save. Written by Tom Taylor, drawn by John Timms, colored by Gabe Eltaeb, and lettered by Dave Sharpe.

Armaan Babu: It’s definitely a mixed Super-bag this week, Tony! Action Comics continues a strong run with an intricate, fascinating tale that included some big moments, and Superman ‘78 was a delightful return to a brighter world. As much as I wanted to enjoy it, though, Superman: Son of Kal-El left a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m not entirely confident about how much I may enjoy the series going forward. How did you enjoy this week’s stories?

Tony Thornley: What a week. Five Superman-related books! Only three that we’re covering, but still! I just wish it wasn’t such a mixed bag…

Also- Hey DC! How about you spread out the Superman books a little? We had two last week, and FIVE this week, with none the two weeks of the month before!  Now, again, we’re only talking about three of them, but for Superman fans, that’s a bunch to read all at once! Spread out the love!

Armaan: I’ll have you know, DC, that I wrote out a terribly indulgent A Week Without Superman Superchat and if we get another Superman skip week Tony might actually join me in completing it? Is that what you want? Is that what you want?

Tony: Matt and I did laugh about it quite a bit.

Is Mongul an A-List Villain Yet?

Armaan: So we have the excellent Daniel Sampere replaced by Christian Duce this issue, and he makes a hell of a first impression! Where we last left off, Lois Lane was left to confront three of Warworld’s mightiest with nothing but the Fortress’ best space gun to defend herself, and though we know Lois is going to be okay, we’re reminded of the threat with an opening panel of some truly great gladiator aliens glaring right out at the reader. The Darth Maul-like one is my favorite; fuschia never looked so menacing – Adriano Lucas’ colors are always A+. 

Tony: Duce was one of the artists in the rotation for the end of Joshua Williamson’s run on The Flash last year. Though I think his work here leans a little too far in DC House Style, he’s continuing to grow. He has a lot of energy in his work, and his Superman is just about as stunning as Sampere’s. And Lucas’s color work is rapidly approaching some of the best DC has on staff. Good stuff, art-wise.

As pretty as it is, this opening is just NERVE WRACKING!

Armaan: Luckily for Lois, Thao-La’s not about to let our intrepid reporter get hurt, and joins the brawl against these leering home invaders. It seems that Mongul prepared for this eventuality, however, as one of his enforcers has some sort of energy device that even Thao-La’s new powers can’t defend against. One thing I appreciate is how the device is slowly irradiating this alien – as the fight goes on you see blue radiation shining out from his decaying skin; it’s subtle but really sells how dangerous this weird blue weapon is.

It’s a scene that also really sells our new Mongul as a villain. Super powerful aliens in chains who worship him, taking gleeful delight in cruelly forcing loyalty out of anyone who might stray. I keep thinking of what those chains mean – a link added to them for every time they defeat an opponent in battle. Master of chains indeed – Mongul keeps a tight leash. Thao-La pays for her momentary defection with the death of her fellow Kryptonian captives. It’s a moment that causes her to unleash her heat vision, frying the intruders completely…but it’s too late. She realizes that she’s got no easy escape from Warworld, and believes that she’s got no choice but to follow the orders that she’s been given.

How did you enjoy this part of the story, Tony?

Tony: This issue surprised me quite a bit, but it did have an ending that was a huge relief. I did find that weapon you mentioned really interesting, especially when you pair it with Thao-La’s unique heat vision. It also feels like a strange new form of Kryptonite, maybe one that affects the Phaelosians instead of Kryptonians? And in a different way? Or just something generally dangerous…

This new version of Mongul keeps getting more interesting and he’s barely even shown up on page. He’s cruel and has an iron grip on his subjects. He’s increasingly proving himself one of the most formidable of Superman’s enemies. It sets him up as a direct opposite to Clark- while they’re both physically powerful, Mongul uses that strength to oppress others, and he holds his power to himself.

I’m glad that Johnson is playing the long game with this story, because it’s setting up its antagonist to rightfully take his place next to Luthor and Brainiac in Superman’s top tier.

Armaan: It’s definitely something that needs good build-up, because Mongul tends to be rather one note as a villain, as far as I can remember. 

Tony: I would agree. Outside of “For The Man Who Has Everything” Mongul is just a fascist space dictator who likes gladiatorial combat in the vast majority of his appearances.

Armaan: But Mongul isn’t the only threat here – out in international waters, the caped side of the family are doing their best to stop a war.

There are two things that I love about this scene, and that will make it stick in my mind for a long time to come. The first is the truly awe-inspiring feat (that awe helped along considerably by the art time) of separating two armies by essentially creating two giant waves and then just freezing them. After all these years of Superman reading, it’s rare for me to be able to see him use his powers in ways that thrill me, but this scene completely nails it.

Tony: Agreed, and it’s done with a pitch perfect execution in the script and the art.

Armaan: The second thing that sticks out to me here is – and you might disagree with me on this, a lot of the fandom might – is that I believe Superman made the wrong choice here. Or at least, he handled it in the wrong way, but more importantly, I believe he also did so in a way that’s completely in keeping with his character.

Superman is an inspiration, yes, but he’s not a perfect one – nor is he a diplomat. I like that there are situations that don’t always speak to his strengths, that he can’t always inspire people the way he needs to. I like seeing that, sometimes, he’s frustrated enough to try to cut right through a Gordian knot because it’s the fastest way to save lives, and I like that he’s called out on it. What could he have done better in that particular situation? Not even Supergirl can say, but it all adds up to a scene that both elevates the Super with a masterful display of power while also humanizing Clark by showing us that sometimes, he just falls short of the ideal and does the best he can.

Tony: Yeah, this scene is exemplified by Clark’s humanity. He does what he does here out of impatience and anger, not serving the greater good. I don’t think enough Superman stories reflect on this side of Clark Kent. He’s great, but he’s not perfect.

I like it!

I also like that before Jon and Kara can get Clark to pause to reflect on what he’s done, they realize that something’s wrong. The Fortress has gone completely silent, which isn’t possible with Lois and Thao-La still there with no way out. I always like when writers use Kryptonians’ sense to notice the lack of something.

Armaan: Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues to show that he’s put a lot of thought and creativity into Kryptonian powers, which is very much my jam. Thao-La and Superman are finally going head to head next issue, and while Superman is clearly going to win the fight, it’s winning Thao-La’s trust that’s really at stake here. I’m itching for that next chapter, Tony…and the several ones after that.

You’ll Remember When You Believed A Man Could Fly

Armaan: Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the kind of stories we’re getting in Superman comics right now, but sometimes you want some good, classic fun, and it doesn’t get any more classic than Christopher Reeves’ Superman. Believe it or not, Superman III was the first live action superhero movie I ever saw – I wouldn’t see the others until much later in life, though I’m actually grateful for that. I was old enough to appreciate what a great film that first movie was.

Still, it’s been a while since I’ve seen any of those films, so I’m not sure how well it evokes them. However, what it does do is evoke the feeling I remember from those films – that brightness, that cheeriness, the charm of the Daily Planet team, and the feeling that every new day could be an adventure. I would honestly recommend this book to people whether or not they’ve seen the movies – it’s a great read. What’d you think?

Tony: Superman II is probably the earliest superhero movie I remember seeing, and it was just such a great film. Reeves was just in a class all his own as Clark Kent AND Superman; Vendetti, Torres and Bellaire just captured the feel of that movie so well.

You can hear Reeves and Margot Kidder’s voices here, which is how well they captured it. Torres captures the feel and the environment of the story perfectly and his character acting is great. The likenesses aren’t perfect (I have a suspicion that’s more to do with likeness rights than Torres) but I think they’re depicted in such a way that it’s not taking me out of the story when I see it. This is a near pitch perfect nostalgia story, but it’s also a very good continuity free Superman versus Brainiac story. 

Armaan: A Brainiac story with a bit of a twist – a retelling of Marlon Brando’s Jor-El farewell scene, in all its pomp and ceremony, gets a last minute addition as it appears Brainiac bottled Superman’s parents and their city just before Krypton exploded. It looks like Superman might get to meet his parents in the flesh somewhere down the line, which I’m looking forward to seeing.

I’m happy that these stories are getting the unlimited special effects budget that they deserve. Getting to see Superman in action against a superstrong robot is a lot of fun, especially as this Superman pulls out just enough corny quips to remind me why these fights were so much fun to begin with. Not enough comics give me a hero saying, with all the earnestness in the world, “Nice–to–meet you!” while punching a robot’s head off, and I’m glad this comics oversight has been rectified.

Still, this first issue, while being a lovely introduction, does not yet give us a lot to sink our teeth into. It’s a re-establishment of this world, and the coming threat, and I have a feeling that it’s not until the next issue or the one after that that we really get to see what this series can be.

Tony: I agree. It’s like the first twenty minutes of a new sequel to the original movies. This is what Superman Returns should have been, now that I think of it, instead of the warmed over remake of Superman: The Motion Picture that we got.

I feel like it’s worth pointing out that this was very obviously written and drawn for DC’s old digital format, releasing half-size pages for an 18 page story. I kind of wonder how that version of the story would read.

I’ll be very interested to see where this goes in the end though.

Is It Too Soon To Politicize This Comic?

Armaan: Alright, we’ve put this off for long enough. It’s time to discuss Superman: Son of Kal-El. 

Tony: So I think we could sum up this book in one statement. Good art bordering on great, decent character work, some of the worst plotting I’ve seen in a Big Two comic in the last decade.

And first of all, I mean it about the art. Timms at this stage feels like he’s just on the edge of being a superstar artist. He has a magnificent energy in his pages, and does a great job framing his shots. His layouts are good… I think his figure work just needs a little bit of refining and he’s there. I mean, look at the cover for this issue!

But this plot. Man oh man Armaan. This plot. I’m stunned that we’re getting this issue.

Armaan: I get what Taylor’s going for here. The son of Superman was always going to have a new take on the world, want to do more for it – to be aware of social issues and want to be more than just someone who puts out fires.

A teenager is not going to have the most nuanced view of societal ills, or how to combat them. He’s going to make mistakes, he is going to have terrible takes, he is going to say and do things that express his frustration with the world but don’t actually do anything to further his cause. He’s going to want to be better, but he won’t know how, and he’s going to do cringeworthy things in his pursuit of that, because all teenagers (and a fair few adults) mess up on that front sooner or later.

What I shouldn’t be feeling is that this comic was written by that teenager. With the preview we got, we were braced for this, but that didn’t make it better. This story opens with Jon Kent’s new secret identity being exposed as he stops a mass shooter – one who engraves “thoughts and prayers” on his bullets, whose first line, as he aims a gun at a crowd of innocent students, is “Shut up! It’s too soon to politicize this!”

As bad as it is, what makes it worse is just how throwaway it is. This isn’t an issue about school shootings, the only purpose it seems to serve is to force Jon to abandon his secret identity to save other people.

As someone who lives in India, the issue of school shootings is a lot closer to home to you, Tony, than it is for me – what did you feel about how this was handled?

Tony: I am 100% in favor of comics that cover social and societal ills. I feel like our fictions needs to address our realities in some ways, and with a story about a young person in the modern world, Jon is positioned perfectly to do exactly that.

However, the writer needs to take the time and care to address them correctly, and that’s where I feel Taylor fails and fails badly. Jon moves on from the attempted shooting in about a page and a half, largely makes it about himself. Then he moves on to immigration, and he yells at some cop not to arrest this batch of immigrant asylum seekers. Boom, he backs off and Jon saves the day.

These societal ills are not that easy to fix Taylor.

Armaan: This book includes a heart to heart with SuperClark (there are two Supermen in this book we need to differentiate them somehow and seeing “SuperClark” in Infinite Frontier really cracked me up, okay?) up on the moon, looking out on to Earth. Jon asks his father why Clark never did more for the Earth, and though its asked with the short-sightedness of a teenager, it’s still a valid question.

Tony: Yeah, and I don’t disagree with that. I mean, the easy answer is, “It’d break the fiction.” However, in universe, that question needs to be asked sometimes. Who better to ask it than Jon?

Armaan: I think that there are a lot of very valid reasons why Superman doesn’t just use his powers to fix everything – a lot more reasons than he has time to get into, and definitely a lot more reasons than Taylor seems interested in exploring. Jon is impatient, he wants a better world now, and he rushes in without really thinking of the consequences. It’s a real missed opportunity not to dive properly into the pushback he’s going to receive for the waves he’s making. 

Yes, the book promises “consequences” to come – but as far as I can tell, the only real pushback Jon’s going to receive is from outright villains. There seems to be no one good, or even morally grey, who might have a problem with Jon brute forcing his way into a better world (heh, remember the last time a Superboy tried to punch his way to a better world?) – which means that this comic seems to show no interest in questioning whether or not Jon could ever do the wrong thing. It reads like Jon is going to be thrown challenges that are harder and harder to overcome, but not once question whether or not he’s fighting the right way – or even for the right reasons.

That you can summarize the issues this comic covers in a single paragraph speaks to how little weight they’re being given, when these are all heavy issues that demand that time to be treated properly, to be treated respectfully. That respect is lost in the service of making Jon look as heroic as possible and that? That is going to make this comic that much harder to enjoy going forward.

Tony: Absolutely. And unfortunately the ending of this issue doesn’t seem to point towards that respect being involved. Instead we get the reveal that the fictional country of Gammora, where the immigrants are running from, is being ruled by a supervillain– Henry Bendix, formerly of Stormwatch.

So… seems like he’s going to punch his problems away, just like you said.

Let’s hope this issue is a hiccup, not a trend then…

Daily Planet Headlines

• I (Armaan) am very glad SuperJon’s new secret identity was so quickly discarded because Finn Connors looked terrible and I hope that’s the last we ever ever ever hear from him again.
• Once again, Wonder Woman’s absence is felt. She and Jon need a heart to heart about the intricacies of diplomacy and international relations – and it looks like SuperClark could use a refresher course too. Sadly, she’s got her own problems right now.
• The Midnighter back-up comes to a conclusion next week in an oversized special.
• It’ll be interesting to see if Taylor can give Jon an interesting supporting cast, one of the most difficult parts of a new character getting their first series.
• One high point of Son of Kal-El was without a doubt Jon getting a brand new, way less busy costume. It’s about time.