SuperChat Brings Us Tales of Supermen and Superboys

It’s Supermen, Supermen, Supermen, everywhere you look. Evil, electric, parasitic, young and space-faring and, of course, original flavor. There’s something for everyone!

Superman and his family deal with the threat of Metallo and his malevolent metallic minions — but there’s more than meets the eye in Action Comics #1053, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, drawn by Rafa Sandoval, colored by Matt Herms and lettered by Dave Sharpe. Power-Girl backup written by Leah Williams, drawn by Marguerite Sauvage and lettered by Becca Carey. Lois & Clark back-up written by Dan Jurgens, drawn by Lee Weeks, colored by Elizabeth Breitweiser and lettered by Rob Leigh.

Jon faces his worst nightmare, as he crosses the universe to put a stop to an Ultraman on a murderous rampage. The battle will push Superman to new limits, in Adventures of Superman — Jon Kent #2, written by Tom Taylor, drawn by Clayton Henry, colored by Jordie Bellaire and lettered by Wes Abbott.

With all these Superfolk protecting Earth, Superboy is having a little trouble finding his place in the world — so why not leave it behind entirely? Find out what space has in store for Kon-El in Superboy: Man of Tomorrow #1, written by Kenny Porter, drawn by Jahnoy Lindsay and lettered by Lucas Gattoni.

Finally, Superman turns to an unlikely ally to end the Parasite threat once and for all — and it’s not who you were expecting. Superman #3 is written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Jamal Campbell and lettered by Ariana Maher.

Armaan Babu: That’s a lotta Superfolk to talk about there, Tony. The Dawn of DC’s gone all in on the Super-Family, and we’re not even done adding new titles covering that corner of the DC Universe. How well do you think it’s all holding up so far?

Tony Thornley: Even the least of these are pretty damn enjoyable. There’s some flaws I’m looking forward to getting into, but overall, good stuff.

The Radioactive Robots of Action Comics #1053

Armaan: With the revamped Super-Family, I was expecting – at least initially – to see a lot of interconnectivity between the books, to establish the Super-Family as a team like the Bat-Family is. Disregarding the cameos of the other comics, Action Comics is the only place we really see that happening. We open with John Henry Irons thinking about the future — a little glimpse into what we can expect from the upcoming Steelworks comic, something I think we’re both excited for. He’s a man who is excited about the future — about making big changes for the next generation, which is something I have mixed feelings about. 

Comics always revert to a certain status quo. Any change that’s too big and too deviant from the superhero norm is one that eventually gets undone, so on a meta level, John’s work is either doomed or destined to be reversed. On the other hand, I enjoy reading about characters who are excited about the future, who are excited to make big changes, and it means a lot to me that it’s one of the Superfolk’s humans who is doing this. In this one field, John is exactly the person Lex Luthor wishes he could be — a paragon of humanity, ready to lead it into the future on the strength of his genius and not his alien-empowered super-strength. The fundamental difference here being that John is planning for his own obsolescence, for the day he retires and hands the world over to a generation that will surpass him. It’s an attitude I don’t think Luthor could ever accept.

Tony: John Henry has been in the background for way too long. When was the last time he got a titular story? Was it the pre-New52 one-shot? Johnson has really been getting the characters as characters. Everyone is occupying their own space, while staying interconnected. It’s real family dynamics juggling the superteam concept as well. If we weren’t getting the Michael Dorn-written Steel series in the next couple months, I’d still be pretty happy with this.

Armaan: John’s musings are cut short, however, by an attack from Metallo and his metallic minions against him and the Superfolk who show up. Xenophobic robots empowered by radioactive kryptonite and their even more toxic hate — all Metallo can see at this point are monsters, and the most monstrous win. It’s in this battle I enjoy the art the most — the acidic greens against the more comforting red heat vision blasts, the comforting red, blue and yellows of the Supersuits. There’s a certain intensity here. Metallo’s minions feel sickly, the flesh is literally falling off their metallic bones. The battle is tearing them apart, but their sole focus is the target of their seething hatred. They feel terrifying in a way that not even the Parasite army we see in Superman manages to be.

Tony: Agreed on the art. I think in a few spots Herms’ colors are a little muddy and overly dark. This scene, it clicks with the line art. Sandoval is a great choice for this series I think.

Armaan: Muddy is such a great choice of words there.

Though they nearly destroy Supergirl, Superman holds fast to his values: he’s not only refusing to kill, but to try and help the people who Metallo has transformed.

“If he dies, this is the best he will ever be.”

Phillip Kennedy Johnson veers into strange territory with his writing, but every so often he’ll give us a line or two like this — something that cuts right to the heart of why we all love Superman so much as a character. I’ve already forgotten half of the Warworld lore that he was trying to cram into the books (and still hasn’t entirely let go of), but it’s moments like this that make me glad he’s still on Action Comics. 

Tony: Yeah, he’s really gotten Superman as a character, and the family is coming with it. It kind of feels like the series should move past Warworld, but the character writing is just in a sweet spot.

Armaan: We learn a little more about Metallo. Something is still inside his brain, warping his actions, warping his very self. Luthor admits that he’s put something in there – a voice, an entity – but we’re still no closer to finding out what that is. Metallo himself is being spoken to by a voice that takes the form of his sister — even at is reveals that his real sister is being kept captive, tortured by a strikingly horrific Warworld torture device. I’m haunted by Metallo here. He’s not just losing his mind — as his body’s Warworldian technology warps him, he’s losing whatever humanity he had left. Shreds of skin hang off his face and arms as he grows out of them. A simple line and shadow give his metallic face a desolate anxiety as he tells the voice in his head that he doesn’t know what’s real anymore. He dwells on his past, on the first time he saw a gun. The power of it, in his hands. How since that day he’s been slowly turning into a weapon, until that’s the only thing he saw himself as. That intensity we saw from his minions is here, too — Metallo is spiraling out of control with feverish dizziness, and it’s deeply disturbing to watch in a way I can’t look away from. 

Tony: So I think the solicits have spoiled who the actual malevolent entity is here (I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it), and the horrific moments we get make so much sense. If what I saw is true, one of my favorite Superman villains is the cause, and all these pieces will fit. It makes what Metallo experiences even scarier. 

Armaan: Well, thank you for sparing me the spoiler, I look forward to finding out who it is on-page! 

In a cozier moment at home, Jon is coming to terms with being replaced as the child at home. Lois and Clark have talked in previous issues about the Super-twins being a second chance for them — raising young children into adults, an opportunity that they were robbed of when Jon was aged up. Jon’s feeling the sting of that, and that’s something that Osul is sensitive to. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again — I don’t enjoy Sandoval’s work on faces. He captures horror well, but in this moment that’s making space for something deeply human and heartfelt, the work falls a little flat. Still, I’m glad this comic is making room for it — it’s something I don’t think we’d ever see explored in Tom Taylor’s Adventures of Superman book. 

Tony: Yeah, this is written so well. I love when the Kents are written as human and fallible. The Twins having empathy for Jon (though one expresses it better than the other as we’ll see in a moment) adds to that. Jon is still young and emotionally he’s a mess.

Armaan: The Super-Family is far from perfect. There is a lot about their dynamics that haven’t been adjusted to, and heart-to-heart moments like this between family members trying to deal with things like jealousy and misplaced abandonment are exactly the kind of things I want to be reading. Which, hey, brings us to the back-ups!

We continue with our two here — flashback adventures to Jon as a young boy and Clark as a sort of an understudy, under-the-radar Superman, and it’s perfect for a back-up tale. Simple, fun, with faded nighttime colors that are perfect for that surreal feel of strange adventures in the night. I don’t know if I’d enjoy this quite as much as its own ongoing, but as a bite-sized piece with its own unique flavor? It’s fun!

Tony: I’m not going to say much about this one. I’m on the record as “not a fan” and this chapter hasn’t done much to convince me otherwise.

Armaan: The Power-Girl, back-up, however, is something I have long wished was its own series, and not just because the Super-Family deserves its own female-led ongoing. It continues to be a weird story, I’ll admit, but it’s gorgeous, fun, heartfelt and intriguing. Power-Girl continues to delve into the minds of the rest of the Super-Family, and in this issue we dive into her feelings of being alienated from the rest of them. And, happily, DC has heard me — a new series is exactly what we’re getting!

She’s definitely gotten the short end of the stick on that front. All the Super-Family stuff, and Power Girl’s barely been around, despite having every right to claim herself as part of the family as anyone else in that group does. In fact, and correct me if I’m wrong — is this the first time she and Jon have even met?

Power-Girl is hurt. The wounds are clear, even as her defenses are up high. She refuses to let herself be vulnerable, even as she deals with new psychic powers that benefit from being open of mind and heart. All her uncertainties about her identity are surface level — she doesn’t have a true name, no family on this Earth, no roots, and an uncertain purpose in life, but she knows who she is. The only thing that eludes her is just where she fits in — and I absolutely love the way these back-ups have been exploring that. Not to mention the cute, gorgeous, vivid artwork that Marguerite Sauvage brings to the table, given full freedom as Power Girl explores the psychic realm. I’m excited that there’s going to be more of this!

Tony: My hell, this is good stuff. I don’t love the idea of re-naming Karen “Paige” but otherwise, this is a beautifully illustrated and well written back-up that deserves its own miniseries at a minimum.

A Matter of Injustice in Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent #2

Armaan: I had my complaints about the first issue, but honestly, this one was a lot of fun. It’s simple superhero shenanigans with a collection of great characters, which is where Taylor is at his strongest. The clean artwork works well with this story as well, as Jon says his goodbyes, heads to an abandoned city for his fight with Ultraman, and digs deep to unlock his new electric powers to take Ultraman out once and for all.

If there’s anything that gives me pause, it’s Taylor trying to have his cake and eat it, too, in regards to how much choice Jon had in this matter. After pouring a truly unnecessary amount of exposition about how Jon is the only person in the entire Multiverse who can stop Ultraman, we take a beat for Earth-2 Lois to tell Jon that his choice to be here makes him an inspiring hero. Yes, Jon made a choice, but his options (again, from an entire Multiverse of possibilities) were reduced to a binary choice — stop Ultraman, or let countless die.

It’s unsatisfying to be told that making the heroic choice here says anything at all about Jon’s character beyond the idea that he’s brave.

Tony: I really loved about two thirds of this comic. We’ll get into my problems with the final third when we get there, but this opening is Taylor at his best. Once again, he proves that when he’s writing character based drama he’s earned the reputation he has.

Armaan: We do get some warm moments in Jon’s goodbyes. A message from Earth-Prime’s Lois to come into play later, some playful banter with Jay as Jon kisses his boyfriend goodbye — even a pleasant conversation between Lois and Jay, as they share in their worry about the threat Jon is about to face. 

The battle itself is a good ol’ classic brawl, too. I appreciate how Ultraman here feels vicious, and unrelenting — but also that he’s drawn to look so much like Superman. More than most Ultramen I’ve seen, this one definitely has Clark’s face, which certainly feels a lot more disturbing as he goes all in on tearing Jon apart.

Tony: Oh yeah, that brawl rules. Ultraman tearing Red Tornado apart was genuinely shocking and then when he uses the Phantom Zone projector, it just worked. It showed Jon and Val should have been much more prepared than they were.

Armaan: The fight is interrupted by the Superman from Injustice — a ruthless tyrant who quickly snaps Ultraman’s neck. Now, I felt two things in the aftermath of this fight, as Jon and this Superman first lay eyes on each other. 

The first was a moment of hilarity — it’s not Clayton Henry’s fault, he’s pulling the design directly from the game — but that costume is truly awful. I feel that nearly all of the Injustice costumes are, and they look even more ridiculous outside the grim and gritty stylings of the video game. 

Tony: It’s SO BUSY. It’s not a good Superman design at all, and seeing it on the page here amplifies that so much.

Armaan: The second thing, however, is me remembering something I haven’t thought of since the very first issue of Taylor’s run with Jonathan Kent in Superman: Son of Kal-El #1. 

For those who haven’t read Injustice, it’s tie-in series to the video game. A story of how the Superman we all know and love becomes the tyrant and threat we see in the game. It starts with a moment of joy — Superman has found out that Lois Lane is pregnant. It’s a heartwarming opening to the series, a strong contrast to the tragedy that comes later, when the Joker kills the pregnant Lois Lane. It’s called back to in Superman: Son of Kal-El #1 — the Jon Kent we know on Earth-Prime is the son who never got to live in the Injustice universe. It’s a fact I had completely forgotten about until the last page of this issue, but it hit me strong.

Tony: Considering the Injustice Universe is mostly post-Crisis Earth-Prime up to the inciting event there, you’re exactly right. I mean, everyone pointed that out with the Year Zero prequel series.

Armaan: I still have a lot of love for Injustice, for all its flaws (and terrible costumes). All that nostalgia came rushing in at once. It’s a feeling Taylor tends to play with often, and cheaply, but you know what? For this one moment? I’ll give it to him, this was great. Can’t wait for what comes next.

Tony: Okay though, this kind of pissed me off. Injustice Kal murdering Ultraman has now upended the series. It’s taken an issue and a half of set-up and just completely discarded the concept. Val and Tornado are trapped in the Phantom Zone with no way to get them back (unless Injustice Kal has a projector I guess) and the antagonist of the series is dead. His weapon that is enabling him to kill Kal-El’s is out there somewhere, just dangling.

It felt like shock value for shock value’s sake to me. There’s still lots here to like, but that ending just left me cold.

Armaan: You know, now that you mention it — it does feel like they wasted a ridiculous amount of setup for a storyline that gets so quickly nixed by the end of the second issue. What a waste!

Superboy…in Spaaaaace!

Armaan: Hey, everyone, it’s Superboy! Not unlike Power Girl, he’s trying to find a place in a universe that’s not quite the one he was born into. While he’s been a bit more welcomed into the Super-Family, a group of Kryptonians can cover a lot of ground on a singular planet, and he’s starting to feel a little redundant. Additionally, while the book doesn’t explicitly state it, Superboy’s not just content to be helping people out — he wants to be a star. I mean, look at that spiked jacket, you can’t deny it. His solution is to start heading out to places that may not have even heard of the House of El — and out in space, there’s a lot of ground to cover.

I’m frankly surprised this isn’t happening more often. How’d you enjoy this issue, Tony?

Tony: I’m a little biased here- the classic Kesel/Grummett Superboy series was my first ever DCU ongoing series. I LOVE Kon-El/Conner Kent Superboy. I liked a lot about this issue, even if it felt like it retreaded a lot of ground that had been covered previously.

Armaan: I thought this was a fun, if forgettable, first issue. I’m excited for what comes next. Superboy getting his own cast of characters, having strange adventures in a corner of the universe that’s remote enough for the book to be able to build something from the ground up, un-mired by continuity and exempt from all but the most cosmic of crossovers. How interesting this could be could honestly go either way — but I’m optimistic.

The art is serviceable. I like the energy it brings, the action scenes are a blast, and the just-this-side-of-garish coloring choices do a great job of making everything feel chaotic, alien, and the dangerous kind of exhausting. I’m not sure how much I like how young they make Kon-El look — really putting the “baby” in “baby blues” here — but hey, this is a Superboy comic, after all. I like that there’s a comic where you can just sit back and watch crazy battles play out, and Superboy’s a great character for that kind of storytelling.

Tony: It reminded me a little bit of an updating of the classic Superboy & the Ravers. It’s a solid dive into the DCU with its antagonists, using Conner’s recent history. It’s not exceptional, but it was a welcome return to Conner’s solo roots.

Armaan: Our main foe, for the moment, are the Dominators. Ones who have been inspired by Earth’s (frankly ridiculous) diversity of superpowers in the creation of their own genetically engineered army of sullen teens. I love that, even in a place that’s so far away they don’t recognize the House of El crest, Earth still has a reputation for being a place with more superheroes than you can shake a stick at. You can’t help but picture a Dominator warlord getting a battle report and just going, “Ugh, there’s a goddamned Earthling involved.” 

Tony: “A Kryptonian half-breed at that!”

Armaan: One thing the book does here that I’m really enjoying is first impressions. We see two teams introduced — the first is a trio of Dominator-created fighters, the second is a team of equally sullen teens who are here to save the day once the classic superhero misunderstanding battle gets out of the way. Both teams have visually striking looks, and the Dominator-created team definitely have powers that look great in action.

If fights like this one are the most we get from this book, I’m a happy reader. At the same time, it does look like we may also get a little bit of Kon-El trying to better understand who he is, and where he fits in this universe — and I’m a sucker for stories that explore that.

Tony: Okay, yes, and I LOVED that the Dominators basically have a legion (lowercase) of supervillains. This is a perfect Superman family set-up- overwhelming odds and a mission to do the right thing.

Unlikely Alliances Abound in Superman #3

Armaan: The current Superman series has been an education in how much good art can trick you into enjoying writing more than you ordinarily would. Joshua Williamson’s work has, in the past, been exhausting, and with a lesser artist this issue would be the weakest of this month’s Superchat. Jamal Campbell’s work, however, makes this a real blockbuster of a comic. There are several fantastic shots here, starting with a vision of Superman bathed in red light, transformed into a Parasitic monster, lurching for Lex Luthor, all purple shadows and haunted yellow eyes. It’s monstrous, it’s eerie, it’s fantastic.

Tony: I think you nailed it. I enjoyed the issue quite a bit, but it’s a bit of a simplistic story. Lex and Clark work together to resolve the threat; the end.

Armaan: Superman’s breaking into prison to break out not Luthor – as Luthor has been urging him to do since #1 – but Livewire, who I really enjoyed here. I love her as part of a Superbook starter set as a sort of low-threat but visually cool villain for the hero to show off against, but I love her even more as an aspirational influencer who is just sick of the regular superhero shenanigans. I want a Livewire spinoff, or, even better, an in-universe Livewire podcast not unlike the fantastic Squirrel Girl podcast series. Hey, we know podcasters right? We could make this happen. DC, call us!

Tony: The updating of Livewire as a podcaster/influencer is so good, and I hope she sticks around to a certain extent. Subverting those expectations that Clark would be there for Lex is one of the better beats of the issue.

Armaan: Livewire is used as bait for the power-hungry Parasite pests over at Supercorp, drawing the original Rudy out. With Superman in a safety suit (I am fairly certain I had that exact action figure way back and was always baffled as to why he would need one), and the Prime Parasite finally coming into play, team Superman has everything they need to end this battle once and for all.

How it turns out is…well, a lot more horrific than I was expecting. I was beginning to see the littler Parasites as monstrous children, so seeing Poppa Rudy kick them away to sate his own needs had me indignant…but then he straight up eats the lot of them in a monstrous gorging that looks especial horrendous with Campbell’s work. The sheer glee in his eyes as Rudy absorbs the errant parasites into himself gave me chills. Now, how much these littler Parasites are their own entities is debatable, but still, the solution is a far cry from Superman’s more conventional MO of “saving everyone,” but hey, as the comic itself reminds us, this isn’t the kind of comic where you think about things too much.

Tony: Yeah, it makes sense, but also HOLY SHIT. I feel like there’s no good way to resolve a Parasite story at this point. It’s either overpower or drain. If the solution had been more novel, I think it would have worked a lot better.

Armaan: With the threat deatl with, we wrap up this opening arc — Clark and Lois have an absolutely charming moment dancing together back in Smallville (for an even more charming version of this, however, you might want to watch this season of Superman & Lois), Lex Luthor gets his own signal watch, and Superman tentatively agrees to work with him and Supercorp. Our stage is set — and next issue, it seems that Silver Banshee will be taking the spotlight. Now that we more or less know what we’re going to be getting from this book, Tony — are you looking forward to more of the same?

Tony: Yeah, you know, making this a more episodic book? I’m okay with that. Especially because I love Silver Banshee, and weird science is my jam. As long as Williamson continues to give Campbell cool stuff to draw, we’re cool.

Daily Planet Headlines

• The fact that Jon censors swear words even in his head is adorable. Delightful touch.
• Tom Taylor slips in a quick reference to DCeased in Adventures of Superman — how long d’you reckon before we have a crossover there, too?
• It’s a small, silly thing, but I’m glad Power Girl’s no longer a Karen. Paige suits her!