Justice League United #11 - Supergirl Bolted

It has been three months since the last issue of Justice League United was released. In that issue, the Infinitus Saga came to an end, Supergirl had an intriguing moment with Brainiac 5, and the team came together saying they should stay unit and work together. Stargirl and Equinox and Supergirl squealed about how they would be great friends.

Then Convergence happened. Supergirl was canceled and basically placed in limbo. DCYou came about with an attempted reinvigoration of the universe. And Jeff Lemire, the then writer of JLU, left the book.

The 'new' JLU was then given a sneak peek in the back matter of Convergence. New writer Jeff Lemire would have a small core unit of Leaguers. But those Leaguers would bring in mission-specific agents to fight targeted threats. Basically, Parker would suddenly have the every character in the DCU to play with.

Still, there was part of me that wondered. Why no Supergirl? How would that be explained?

Justice League United #11 came out and we learned the new state of this League.

Adam Strange seems to be living as a disembodied spirit in the Zeta-field. He can detect 'Breakers', beings worming into this universe but threatening the space/time continuum.

The current team is Animal Man, Equinox, and Alana Strange.

As for all the other team members? They are gone. J'Onn and Ollie had to 'cut out' without any warning.

And Supergirl? She 'bolted'.

She bolted.

Okay DC. The show is coming out soon. How about we get our act together and give us some news about Kara? How about something more substantial than she 'bolted'.

All that said, I liked the issue and the concept a lot. Fighting some odd evil plants/anti-Green beings, the League recruits Mera, Swamp Thing, Etrigan, and Poison Ivy. It is a trippy read. And the recruitment scenes are a lot of fun.

I am growing fonder of Travis Foreman's art. It is quirky and warped and stylish. But I can't take my eyes off it and I think that is the whole point. His Mera is stunning.

So, even without Supergirl, I guess I am going to get this title. It is sort of like a massive DC Comics Presents!

Review: Action Comics #13

The DCnU has been a pretty dark place since its inception. The heroes aren't trusted. The heroes feel isolated. Grisly acts of violence have become common. It has been sometimes hard to deal with this overall tone of even the good being tarnished.

And then there is Action Comics.

It hasn't been the typical Year One take on an origin story. It has had a zero issue, an alternate Superman issue, a flash forward story, and a whirlwind pace. And yet through it all writer Grant Morrison has continued to show us a true Superman. Someone who is here to help, who wants to help, who inspires. We have been shown who this Superman is; we haven't been told. And as readers, we see that this is a hero ... not isolated, not alone, not jaded. He is on the streets with us, fighting for us, and inspiring us to fight with him. It has been remarkably upbeat.

Action Comics #13 not only continued that trend but added the single brightest spot in the DCnU that I have seen since the inception. There is still that inspiring action by Superman. There is still that knowing wink and modern adaptation of Silver Age elements. And then there is that ending.

There is a Halloween theme to the issue and Travel Foreman's art is well suited for this issue.

The cover is by Bryan Hitch, someone whose art I have never been high on.

The beginning of the issue starts on Krypton at the trial of Xa-Du, a scientist who developed 'Living Death', a form of suspended animation which turned people into zombie slaves. The crime is so terrible that he becomes the first person sent to the Phantom Zone for imprisonment. The sentence is 20yrs at which point the council will reassess, to see if he has rehabilitated.

The scene smacks a bit of the Donner movie trial scene with the judges on high, in black and silver robes. And like Zod in that movie, Xa-Du promises revenge on the house of El, as Jor-El is the man behind the Phantom Zone projector.

Cast in the zone first, Xa-Du is truly alone and without any senses. It must be horrific.

The one quibble I have with the issue is the timeline. We are told Krypton explodes 20 years to the day that Xa-Du was sentence. And yet Jor-El was there, looking plenty adult, 20 years earlier at the trial. So how old is Jor-El when the planet explodes. Twenty years just seems a bit too long ago for it to make internal sense to me.

Back in the '5 years ago' time period of the book, Superman is in his arctic Fortress of Solitude reviewing Kryptonian artifacts which he has enlarged from Kandor with the help of Ray Palmer. It is an interesting mix of statues and weapons including the classic Jor-El and Lara holding the planet statue we have become used to seeing in a fortress. (It is sort of the equivalent of the T Rex or Giant Penny in the Bat Cave).

Among those artifacts is a large mirror-like object, a way to look into the Phantom Zone as well as a projector.

Now I don't know when we moved from the Collector satellite to the Arctic fortress so I suppose their is another story there. And I don't exactly know why Kandor would have a Jor-El and Lara statue in it unless he was that big a figure.

Looking into the mirror, Superman sees both paw prints on the inner part of the glass as well as Xa-Du who screams of having his revenge.

And then, suddenly, he is out of the Zone ... and uses the projector to have the ultimate revenge, sending Superman there.

We have seen Xa-Du in Action Comics #5 when Jor-El thinks of sending everyone into the Phantom Zone as the planet is exploding. It is in that scene where Krypto attacks Xa-Du and ends up in the Zone himself.

I love Morrison's take on Superman and his understanding that the Silver Age was a golden age for the character. Some of the elements of that Age can be used in the current comic landscape.

So I loved hearing the roll call of criminals threatening Superman when he enters the Zone. Ursa the She-Devil. Jax-Ur, destroyer of the moon. Ak-Var. Non. And someone saying he must kneel! (We know who that is.)

Not only do we hear these names but we hear their crimes. So the Silver Age origins of Jax-Ur and Ak-Var are back.

It is these sort of panels and landscapes that suit Travel Foreman's art style so well.

Xa-Du is not a nice guy and instantly thinks of taking over the planet. He will shatter the people 'made of glass'. He will expose the Kandorians to Living Death, making them his army of zombies. And he will abandon the other Zone villains, who probably lent some of their strength to help him escape.

In the zone, Superman runs into not only the criminals, not only Krypto, but the Phantom Stranger who got sucked in by Ecto-technology. The Stranger was investigating 'ghost voices' emanating from somewhere in Metropolis, the telepathic voices of the Zone convicts who were boasting of escaping. It had to be a trap done to lure Superman to the Fortress had he not already been there.

Even Superman has to question 'ecto-technology', one of those excellent throw away ideas that are littered throughout Morrison issues.

The Stranger can escape. Superman can conquer Xa-Du mentally and escape. But Krypto won't be able to. Krypto must stay.

It turns out Xa-Du is wearing a ecto-suit of pure consciousness (so at least he has that going for him ... which is good). I assume the suit was made by the combined concentration of the Zone criminals and Xa-Du was the one chosen to escape using it. But as a suit of consciousness, Superman can overwhelm it and take control.

I also love that Krypto followed Superman to the Earth portion of the Zone. He was going to be near his boy, Kal no matter what.

I have talked about Action Comics and Morrison's Superman has been a bright point in the otherwise grimy dark DCnU. Here is a wonderful example.

Superman's conviction is so strong that he simply wrests control of the ecto-suit from Xa-Du. It is the simple conviction that 'the best in us will triumph over the worst' that 'against all odds, good is stronger than evil'.

It is that simple. Now if only the other DC creative people could realize it ... if Geoff Johns who writes a floating Superman looking down on people ... if Matt Idelson who calls Superman a loner ... if they could grasp this simple concept that defines Superman ... maybe the whole DCnU would be a nicer place.

Using Xa-Du's body, Superman re-opens the portal, escapes, and pushes Xa-Du back in.

Unfortunately, Krypto is left behind.

But Superman had promised Krypto he would come back for him. And Superman doesn't renege on promises. Using some left over Xa-Du tech, he reaches into the Zone one last time and pulls Krypto out. After a super-speed trip to space for a yellow sun bath, Krypto is hale and healthy once more. I love ... love ... how Superman cuddles with him, telling Krypto he is the best dog in the universe.

If there is any place that needs the light touch of a super-powered dog playing with Superman in space, it is the DCnU. And we have that again. I can only thank Grant Morrison for writing the type of Superman that needs to be written.

As for Xa-Du, we see the gnome recruit him. It shouldn't come as a surprise given we saw him before in the flash forward story in Action Comics #6.


So this was just another fantastic issue in this run. Action Comics has been the best book of the DCnU for me, showing me that a more classic Superman can still work in the dark world of today's comics. An immutable hero in Superman. Silver Age elements reimagined. Even Krypto. That isn't even mentioning the new elements of the story - the little man and his anti-Superman army.

This book is a ray of sunlight.

Overall grade: A

Review: Superman 710

I can hardly believe that I am saying such a thing but I am actually enjoying Grounded right now. If you asked me if I thought that possible a couple of months ago, I wouldn't not think it was possible. And that means I again I have to say kudos to Chris Roberson as writer. If there was ever an arc that was suffering, it was Grounded. It did not look salvageable. But here I am about to praise the book for the third straight month in a row. It is hard to believe the about face this book has taken since that awful issue where Clark dismissed Lois.

I was never against the idea of 'Grounded', the idea that Superman needed to reconnect with his ideals and with the people of Earth, needed to get back to the basics and understand where he fit in on the planet as both a man and a hero. As has said here and in many other places, we have seen this sort of story before.

No it wasn't the plot that was holding 'Grounded' down, it was the actualization of that plot. It was the strange way Superman was choosing to reconnect ... telling a woman she could jump to her death, leaving the man with a heart arrhythmia on his porch, manhandling Lois. It all felt so wrong. None of those issues showed me a Superman trying to get back to his roots, trying to rediscover who he is.

What I am seeing now is Chris Roberson giving Superman a sort of roadmap, a way back to his ideals, that involves reconnecting with layers of his life and recalling key events that made him who he was. Last issue we heard about Kryptonian ideals and had Superman talk to a good friend, Barry Allen. This issue, Superman talks to a much closer friend, Batman, and talks about a time when they were early on in their heroic careers. Next issue he reconnects with his best friend Jimmy Olsen. In July he meets up with Superboy and Supergirl. It's as if he is going on a journey where he is reengaging the people in his life, moving inwards. At the center of this is Lois ... hopefully in the last chapters of Grounded in August or September.

But enough about the overall arc. Superman #710 is a microcosm of that big picture ... Superman reestablishing his friendship with Bruce, the first time they have met since Batman's return. And he remembers that early adventure where he first knew what kind of hero he wanted to be. It is another step towards healing.

The issue starts with Superman rescuing a woman in Utah from being run over by a truck. Blocking the semi with his hand, Superman flies her back to her 'home', a trailer at an archeological site.

One of the things I have really enjoyed about Roberson's run has been clear knowledge of Superman history and his use of that to supplement his stories. So when Superman says he knew it was a dig from his time spent with Professor Lang, I appreciated that. Small details help add depth to stories like this.

But look at the faces on the workers as they meet Superman and talk about their dig (finding Buddha-like statues in the middle of Utah). They are smiling, thrilled to meet the Man of Steel. It is a subtle but easily recognized change from earlier issues where Superman thought everyone was scowling at him. It is another detail that shows Superman is getting better.

As he talks to the team, he notices a Superman symbol in infra-red being reflected off the clouds. When he traces it back to its origin, he finds Bruce with a sort of modified bat-signal Super-signal.

I probably read too much into things like this but I love when Batman says 'I was beginning to think you would never look up.' Sure, he might be talking about literally looking up at the clouds to see the signal. But maybe he also means looking up emotionally, looking optimistic or happy. And we haven't seen Superman smile like he is here for a while. He looks 'up'.

Whether planned or not, I loved the subtlety of the language here.

Superman tells Batman how the archeology team is fighting a company to keep their dig from being demolished. That few against many theme reminds Superman of his earliest adventure with Batman.

Again, Roberson brings some continuity to the table. Batman asks if Superman means the Magpie adventure (their first meeting in Byrne's Man of Steel era) or the time they were on the Varanian Princess cruise ship (their first meeting in the Silver Age Superman #76). I know I like these small flourishes a lot.

I will say that Eddy Barrows, who does the framing sequence story, is either drawing Superman's chest to broad or his legs too thin. These two last panels seem slightly off.

Turns out Clark is talking about an adventure they had in their civilian identities in a temple in Bhutran. Both had been there in the past ... Clark out of love, Bruce out of training. I am sure this 'Bruce being trapped in Smallville' is another reference to a comic story I'm not aware of.

At first Bruce, ever the brooding loner, seems to treat Clark with some contempt. I think that makes sense given who these two are and where they are heading. Both know the woman in charge of the temple and she has called upon them to help her.

Vandal Savage thinks the temple knows the way to Nanda Parbat and he is going to invade with a faction of the Chinese Army to get that information.

Travis Foreman, who does the art on this inner story, does a good job in giving this a grittier feel than the slick Barrows pages. Even the muted colors give it a grungier texture, adding to the feel of this past adventure in a dusty mountain range. I love Foreman's Vandal Savage, a man who looks scary and as if he has lived a millenia already.

With Savage's army on the way, Bruce begins to plan how he will use the environment to his advantage while Clark erects a huge wall around the temple entrance with boulders. Both men now know their 'secrets' but have been sworn to keep them.

As their time together grows, Bruce becomes more amiable with Clark and both talk about Nanda Parbat and their respective heroes. Bruce talks about the Crimson Avenger, one of my favorite Golden Age heroes. Clark again talks about Iron Munro. It is interesting that both Clark and Bruce were comic fans and were fans of heroes much like themselves. Again, it is these building blocks of history, Clark enjoying Munro adventures, that are the foundation of who Superman is. This was a wonderful moment.

I will say I was hoping the Crimson Avenger would be Clark's hero ... red cape, newspaper man ... would be a nice fit too.

The battle is brief with Clark wading in demolishing tanks and melting weapons while Bruce fought on the ground.

But both talk about how that battle impacted them. Clark suddenly realizing how free he felt being a hero out in the open while Bruce learned to trust a partner, opening the door for not only the World's Finest, but Robin, etc.

Remembering this adventure has to rekindle those ideals of truth and justice in Clark, those very things he is currently missing in his heart. The heroes did the right thing, the just thing.

With the flashback over, it's time to talk about the what is happening now.

Bruce says he heard from Dick about how Superman was walking the country. Another thing Roberson seems to be doing is recognizing the failings of the early Grounded issues and addressing them as Superman heals. Remember when a woman told Superman he was like a gun in a crowd, remember when Superman preached to the man about how he should be a hero? Remember how awful I thought that was?

Batman comes right out and calls him on it, much like the fans called on J. Michael Straczynski. How could Superman lecture like that? It was wrong. (Last issue, Roberson cleared up the 'Flash only sees blurs when running' problem as well.)

Batman realizes that Superman was psychologically broken by the events of New Krypton. And he needs to grieve and get better. That emotional pain won't go away, but it will improve. Who better to talk about moving on from psychological trauma than Batman?

Another theme Roberson keeps bringing up is Superman's worries over his legacy. Is he a worthy role model, the right role model?

Batman talks about how he is a loner but knows the strength in numbers. I love the mix of art and words here as well. Batman looks almost as if he is preaching here, arms outstretched, talking about big ideas. But he also knows that Superman cannot lead until he deals with his loss. Like I said last issue, this is what normal people do when they are hurting, they talk to friends and lean on them for support.

It doesn't get better than the last panel, Superman heroically flying, smiling, looking confident while Batman tells him he is needed in the light.

It is another step in this journey of healing, this journey of Superman being introspective but also reaching out. Sure the flashback and framing story might seem a simple device but it works well here.

The two styles of art also complements the story-telling by adding the right visual tone. And I usually don't talk about the colorists (my bad I know) but the bright palette of the framing sequence by Dave McCaig just further accentuates a better disposition in Superman.

But as I have said before, I am hoping Grounded is nearing its finale. We know there are at least three more issues. And we still have to deal with the Lois reconciliation and battling the threat of the possessed teacher. Are there really going to be 6 more months of Grounded? That would make this a 16 issue arc (albeit with 2 interlude issues).

What I really want is to read a Roberson-written Superman book after Grounded. And if you asked me if I would ever say that after reading the Roberson-penned Superman #707 I would have said 'absolutely not'!

Overall grade: B+/A