Review: Action Comics #881

Action Comics #881 starts up The Hunt For Reactron crossover between Supergirl and Nightwing and Flamebird.

Unlike World of New Krypton which shied away from the immediate aftermath of Codename:Patriot, Action Comics #881 picks up right where that world has left off, with Mon-El presumed dead and any Kryptonian under suspicion for attacking Earth. With some simple illusion spells, Mirabai and General Lane have really turned the world against Superman and New Krypton.

The issue is co-written by Greg Rucka and Sterling Gates, so the main characters certainly act and talk like you would expect them to. Furthermore, Pere Perez provides the art and really does a great job. He has a very smooth and understated style that really jumps off the page. I know the art chores on Action has been a revolving door recently. I hope Perez is on the book for a while.

I have to admit that the one part of the book that falls a bit short is the opening scene.

Supergirl, Flamebird, and Nightwing all are teleported to an alley in downtown Metropolis. Slightly reeling from the transport, Supergirl attacks Thara yelling that Flamebird tried to kill her.

So this is the part that I don't understand from a couple of angles.

First off, why attack Thara? I understand that Reactron disguised Flamebird attacked Supergirl last issue, leading her right to Mirabia. In looking at Supergirl #44, it looks as though Supergirl see that it is Mirabai who has attacked her. It also seems that Supergirl would also see that Flamebird was actually Reactron as the panel shows the spell fading. Now I suppose I may be mistaken. Maybe Kara is unconscious in that scene and Mirabai is talking to an incapacitated Supergirl.

But secondly, and more importantly, why the heck would General Lane let these guys live? If you are Project 7734 and you hate Kryptonians and you have three Kryptonian heroes depowered and captured ... wouldn't you just kill them? Or at least keep them captured so that you could continue to impersonate them and destroy their reputation? Why release them at all so that they can hunt you down for revenge? It is sort of the James Bond problem ... why put him in some intricate trap when you can just put a bullet in his brain.

There seems little reason for these three to be roaming free.

Their fight spills out into the streets and we have this excellent 2 page spread showing the effect of Lane's propaganda against the young heroes. My scan is only a portion of it!

Standing smack dab in the middle of a Time Square equivalent, the Kryptonians see their faces splashed across the huge electronic billboards, branding them the murderers of Mon-El and enemies of the world. Labelled 'the Metropolis 3', they are said to have been laughing when Mon-El died and that Metropolis has needed to ration water because of the attack on the sewer system.

It is a great shot. By keeping the heroes small, you really get a sense of the immense feelings against the heroes. It is shown physically, but you also get a sense of how psychologically powerful the anti-Kryptonian sentiment is.

The Science Police show up with some advanced weaponry and brawl with the heroes, actually inflicting some minor damage on Supergirl and Flamebird. Realizing that they have been set up as killers and that the Science Police won't listen to them, Supergirl grabs the unconscious Thara and flies off with Chris following behind.

I don't know how I feel right now about this fight. A Science Police squad just shouldn't be able to hold their own in a fight against three Kryptonians. This should have been over in seconds. And yet, you need to have conflict in comics. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, the only thing the Science Police did was delay them for a few seconds. I can deal with that.

The arc is named The Hunt For Reactron so we finally catch up with Reactron. While Metallo is pressed and dressed in his military uniform, Reactron is in costume and stuck in the Project 7734 headquarters.

For some reason, Reactron is leaking radiation and is stuck off the battlefield until his condition has been stabilized. The source of the leak isn't known and so Reactron is probably off the grid for some time.

One thing that Gates has done is show us just how much of a sociopath Reactron is. You get the sense that he resents Metallo who is heading to a high-powered meeting in the Pentagon while he is stuck in the lab. He blames Mirabai's spells for causing the leak. And as we see above, he has developed an unhealthy hatred of Supergirl. He is a great first member of Supergirl's personal rogue's gallery.

My guess is that Reactron doesn't really like 'strict bed-rest' and is going to bust out the headquarters on his own.

Supergirl, Nightwing, and Flamebird have sped off to Paris. We see Thara meditating as she listens to not only international news transmissions but also the conversation that Kara and Chris are having below. Remember, Kara hasn't seen Chris since he went back into the zone as a school-aged kid.

At first Thara is happy to eavesdrop as she hears Chris confess to Supergirl that he has fallen in love with her.

But then things become a bit ugly. First, all the news programs seem to be focused on the horrors of the Metropolis attacks. But worse, Kara is telling Chris about Thara's obsession with the Flamebird/Nightwing myth and how she fears that Thara may be insane.

Sometimes it is the small things in comics that are the best things. Take this revelation, for example, where Supergirl tells Chris that she has apartments all over the globe acting as mini Fortresses of Solitude. Look at how happy Kara looks spinning around one of her homes. I love the small touches like the painting of Zor-El, the happy face pillow, the teddy bear, and the hologram of her parents seen there. Much like the famous apartment scene in Final Crisis, this gives us a little look inside Supergirl.

The three begin to try to figure out who framed them. But Thara let's it be known that she heard everything Supergirl said about her visions. The tension is pretty thick.

Meanwhile ...

Lois can't seem to get in touch with her suddenly living father.

She then tries to convince Cat Grant to not go on Morgan Edge's show, a propaganda tool that Project 7734 has used to its utmost potential.

Grant's response is chilling ... a reminder of how fascism is so tightly meshed with fear. Cat tells Lois that anyone who sides with the Kryptonians are probably going to be looked upon as an enemy of the state as well. Brrrr ... Cat is diabolical.

Back in Paris, Supergirl finally puts some of the pieces together, realizing that Reactron must have been part of this set-up since they all lost their powers briefly. She even figures out that illusions must have been part of the plot against them. It is great to see Supergirl shown as a detective, using her intellect to figure this sort of stuff out.

Supergirl figures the time is right to become pro-active, to go and get Reactron and this time bring him to New Krypton for justice. Thara warns Supergirl that bringing Reactron to Alura is basically sending him to an execution.

I love the exchange above. The tension between Thara and Kara runs pretty deep. Supergirl still blames Flamebird for Zor-El's death. Here she finally call Thara on it saying that Alura does her duty unlike Thara who was not acting as a good security chief while Zor-El was being murdered.

I know it is a bit exaggerated but I love Thara's expression in the lower panel. You can almost hear her saying 'Oh no you didn't!!'

I don't think it is really logical of Kara to hold this resentment against Thara. After all it was Commander Gor who literally brought Reactron and Metallo into Kandor. I think Kara is still hurting with Zor-El's death and needs to transfer that pain somewhere. Thara is an easy target.

In fact, there is a sense of sibling rivalry here as Thara reminds Kara that she was Zor-El's surrogate daughter for years inside Kandor and that she has been just as hurt as Kara by his death.

I don't think Supergirl likes that response. There is almost a sense of 'I loved Dad more' or 'Dad loved me more' competition here. Their emotions overflowing, they bring their battle out to the Eiffel Tower. And before Nightwing is able to drag them back inside, the public has called for help.

Here comes Squad K.

Now I have to admit, every time Squad K shows up they are either quickly dispatched or completely unorganized. I don't hold them up as a serious threat. But this can't help turn public sentiment ... to see Supergirl battling the Earth's defenders.

I have to say I really liked this issue. For one, from the beginning (when Thara said she 'earned' her title) there has been a lot of friction between Kara and Thara. When you add their mutual history as a 'daughter of Zor-El', Zor-El's murder, and Thara's religious fanaticism, I really felt like their relationship was a powder keg ready to explode. It was good to finally see their relationship explored.

Secondly, I really like how every time we see Reactron he acts creepier and creepier. I cringe when I read his lines as he seems like a completely antisocial misogynistic psychopath. He is a great arch-villain.

As I said above, it was interesting to see Kara's French hideout.

And I will say again, I really like Pere Perez' artwork here. Smooth, flowing, economic with his lines ... I thought it was excellent. In some ways it reminded me of Cliff Chiang's superior and yet minimalistic art.

All those things were enough to at least offset the inanity of General Lane's releasing the Metropolis 3. Why the heck would he do that?

Overall grade: B+