Superman Unlimited #7 came out this week and was another sort of side-mission in this book which has been dealing with the over-arching plot of near limitless Kryptonite being available on Earth.
This is the second sort of side mission issue in this series already, with the Man-Bat issue also was off the beaten path. Now there are titles where a break from the action is a nice pause but here I kind of bristle. It took me a while to figure out why. Frankly, I am eager for the 'Bounty of Kryptonite' story to be done ... because we all know it will be undone somehow. And every pause we take means the story is lasting that much longer.
As for this issue, it is a Superman book in name only. This is a Jon Kent 'Super-Son' issue, focusing on Jon and a new life he is trying to create. I haven't read anything substantive about Jon since his mini-series a while back. He seems to be the forgotten El. So maybe a new, more stable life will help him. The story is plotted by Dan Slott with finished script by Jeremy Adams. There are a few fun moments but really this felt like a story where a punchline was thought of and the story was written to get us there. And a new wrinkle of labeling Smallville a 'weirdness magnet' is a more difficult choice for me as I like to think of Smallville as the place to escape the weirdness.
The art is by Lucas Meyer who has been popping up across my comic reading recently and who brings a nice polish to everything. He recently did the Supergirl/Robin adventure issue in World's Finest. Here he gives us a modernized Smallville with a slick looking Super-Son.
But this was really a pause. Can we get back to the main story so we reach the inevitable conclusion of 'not a lot of Kryptonite', 'everyone forgets Superman can go gold', and other pieces destined to be forgotten?
On to the book.
In a nice quirk, Clark asks Lois if she is also over-extending herself. Editor and on-scene reporter?
We are in Smallville and Jon is using some new 'anti-Kryptonite' defenses that Steel is creating. Somehow 'Intertron gauntlets' can eliminate Green K radiation allowing Jon to handle Kryptonite missiles with ease.
Sigh.
If you want to say that Inertron is like lead and can block K energy (which it must given the giant Green K meteor was covered in Inertron) I can buy it. But there is little explanation here. Jon is mostly unshielded but he can be within inches of these things because of the gauntlet? Maybe I just needed more info.
Moreover, like many 'Green K defenses' these are going to be forgotten once this story is over right? Remember 'red sun rifles' in New Krypton?
It gets even nuttier. This is a drill with fake civilians around. One of the phony citizens looks like Jay Nakamura. This distracts Jon so that a Green K missile can hit him in the back, taking him out.
So the gauntlets work like Diana's bracelets? So how do they block the radiation? If they radiate a shield, shouldn't they still work? Sigh. I'll stop thinking about it.
What was new to me was that Jay and Jon broke up!
I never really liked Jay as a character. He always seemed creepy or oily. So good riddance.
Given how Jon's character has been derailed a bit in recent years (your mileage may vary), Slott and Adams decide to do a soft reboot.
Lois is worried that all Jon has been recently has been a super-hero. He needs down time, a social life, friends. She also has opened up a Smallville Daily Planet office and she hires Jon (who has no journalism experience at all) as her lead reporter. After all, he is the son of Clark and Lois. She even persuades him to don some glasses and create a secret identity.
I like resetting Jon into a more traditional super-hero role. And I don't mind him being in Smallville, a sort of Superboy callback. But what do you think of the reporter role? Too close to Clark and Lois so he isn't really different? A bad case of nepotism?
Jon's first story? Head to Steelworks because there have been a number of odd things happening in town. Cows disappearing. People disappearing.
Love the art here. Meyer's Lois is luminous.
I love that second panel of Lois just being playful and dancing in an astronaut helmet. Utterly charming. And Meyer nails the tone and action.
In another fun moment, John Henry Irons is flummoxed by the addition of the glasses as a 'secret identity'. After all, Jon has been acting as Super-Son in Smallville for a while. Why should they work? Lana knows better.
In fact, side character Paco who was vocally attracted to Superboy doesn't recognize the bespectacled Jon.
I think Meyer having Lana chuckling in the background is perfect.
Steelworks is working on more than just Kryptonite defenses.
There is a big drill. There is alien corn. There are solar panel experiments.
Alien corn? Weird. But cool.
When Jon goes to explore, he finds a giant mecha-mole which can not only overpower him but also the combined might of him, Steel, and the Lana Superwoman.
Perhaps the only way to win is apologize?
I am sure there is a bit of recency bias but it feels like more and more super-hero comics are ending with a hug or an apology and less with a right cross or left uppercut.
Can we get back to the action please?
And then the end punchline.
Underneath Smallville there has been a community of Mole Men. Remember, Smallville is a weirdness magnet now. All of Steelworks drilling and experiments have upset the Mole Men community. They thought they were under attack. Now everyone can get along.
Clearly these are homages to the George Reeves' Superman and the Mole Men. Yes, a fun punchline. But was it such a great idea we needed a whole issue to give it to us? And enough to break away from the main plot?
Don't get me wrong. I love a good homage and nods to comic history. I mean Sophie Campbell's Supergirl is stuffed with them. But I think they need to add to the story ... not be the story.
Fun issue. Great art. But also an odd diversion.
Overall grade: C
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