The main story picks up the Superboy arc that Mark Waid and Skylar Patridge have been crafting, showing up how Clark became Superboy in Smallville. How he learned about his powers. How he fell in love with Lana. Waid uses this anniversary issue to basically give a quick primer on Superman's history and sort of closes the book on our Smallville arc.
The remaining stories set up the upcoming arc. Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere give us the return of present day Superman being found and heading back to the present with ... Superboy?? Sophie Campbell and Dan Mora show us Supergirl forming her super-team to head to El Caldero and the meeting between Superboy Prime and Conner Superboy (I've been waiting). Dan Slott and Lucas Meyer send us to El Caldero to show us what is going on there and revealing the super-villain of the next arc.
I love the fact that DC has used this issue to showcase all the Super-books and how they all are going to fold into this next event.
On to some particulars!
Everyone knew this would be a volatile meeting even if Prime has sort of proven himself recently.
Last issue ended with the time traveling villain Epoch about to fight a powerless Superboy who had clad himself in makeshift armor made from his ship. The timeline had been altered so much the heroes helping him (Booster, Mary Marvel, J'onn) all simply ceased to exist.
It somehow all gets better.
Clark gets repowered, his friends reappear, he punches Epoch and rips out a 'paradox engine' from Epoch's armor and the villain gets pulled like taffy into the timeline.
It all happens so quickly, a literal page turn where the threats of a powerless solo hero just disappear. But it's okay ... I guess.
Sorry to see Patridge's time on the title end. She was the right choice for this Smallville story.
Ryan Sook does art on the next section.
Booster feels that Superboy could help them find Superman in the time stream. And while they are flying through a rebuilt time bubble (with that Paradox Engine inside it), Booster decides to basically reveal to Superboy everything that will happen to him. (Seems wrong, but my guess is the Paradox Engine - which protects time traveler's from paradox problems - is going to be a panacea in the end.)
Boy becomes Man. His villains arrive. His friends arrive. This includes a very classic Legion.
I don't think Joshua Williamson's upcoming LSH book will look like this. But it was great to see a classic Legion one more time.
And Supergirl arrives.
How can I not include this panel! Ryan Sook gives us a take on the cover of Action Comics #252.
Look at how awesome that is.
This review of Superman's timeline goes all the way through Superman's death and the arrival of Jon.
Crazy that Booster is giving young Clark all this info.
But then Booster's plan actually works. Young Clark being around does lead to finding Superman at the end of time.
The young Clark flies out and helps rip present-day Clark out of the swirl and then the two of them are able to fly back to the ship.
Clark with a beard! Calling for Lois! Hoping this isn't a feint. Hope this is actually our hero. I guess we'll learn what happened in the upcoming annual.
Great to see Sampere on Superman art again.
At least we know that Superman did what he wanted to do, restore the future.
I don't think we ever heard why Superman took off at the end of K.O. Saving the future? Why couldn't he tell people that?
I hope we get some answers next week.
I hope we get some answers next week.
And then, even more perplexing than Booster giving young Clark a run-down of his life is current-day Clark telling young Clark that he can go to the present with the heroes and take a peek at things in person.
We hear old Clark say he doesn't remember meeting himself as young Clark so perhaps our present-day hero knows that nothing will come from this side trip since he himself doesn't remember it. But it seems like a dangerous gambit.
We switch to Sophie Campbell and Dan Mora picking up Supergirl's story. Kara now considers herself the Heir to the House of El and wants to head to El Caldero to get the sunstone crystal we know is meant for her.
But Lois walks in on a video game party with Kara, Conner, Jon, and Thundergirl.
I have to say, some of this feels off. I doubt any of those young heroes would have the place look like a disaster with pizza boxes everywhere. I don't think Lois would call Conner a 'pig in more ways than one'.
I do like that Supergirl admits she just needed a moment after all that happened in Kandor. That makes sense.
Great to see Mora drawing Kara again although she isn't in the full pants uniform we saw in Supergirl's own book recently.
There is one more member of Kara's infiltration team, Superboy Prime.
Prime killed Conner in a past reality.
Everyone knew this would be a volatile meeting even if Prime has sort of proven himself recently.
I like how Campbell breaks the fourth wall with Prime name-dropping herself. The 'Sophie Campbell era'!
The last chapter is from the Superman Unlimited team of Dan Slott and Lucas Meyer.
Here, the President of El Caldero is confused how the Kryptonite they have sent to other areas of the world is growing and toxic to humans (like we saw here).
Then 'Bruno', the head of the Krypto-Knights pulls off a coup, putting the President in Kryptonite mask (shades of Alexandre Dumas!) and taking over. Knowing the villain of the next set, I wasn't surprised when Bruno turned out to be Zod.
There is a lot to unpack here. Why isn't Zod hurt by Kryptonite ... I guess if he is still depowered, Green K doesn't work on him like in the Silver Age? How did he weaponize the Green K? Did he send the meteor way back in Superman Unlimited #1? Is he hoping an expanding Green K will kill off the human population?
I am sure it will all be explained.
Love Lucas Meyer's art on this section. The Green K Mask panels are pretty chilling, especially knowing the mask is toxic.
Overall this was more of a prologue to the event as opposed to a stand-alone story I used to see in anniversary issues. That said, the history section by Waid/Sook satisfied that craving for me.
Overall grade: A
Terrific review! I wonder if Clark learning about his future, bar that inconvenient death business, will tweak the Legion… or do they show up in the Annual?
ReplyDeleteKara: Lois, we both know full well that I have super-speed and could have cleaned up that room before your nervous system could even process the fact that it WAS dirty. One of the reasons we don't do that sort of thing very often any more is that Clark is worried that humans who encounter too many of those "threshold of perception" tricks may suffer dangerous neural side effects in the long term, and you're up there with Lex in terms of overexposure. So how about a little less "how to adult" lecturing and a little more thought given to just how little some cheese dust matters in the grand scheme of things?
ReplyDeleteIt was hit and miss with me. Waid and Campbell did good but Booster's actions were idiotic and I'm seriously debating dropping every Super book I read to avoid yet more Zod.
ReplyDelete