Review: Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #2

A while back I decided to drop Superman/Wonder Woman from my monthly review crawl. The characters in that title were simply warped versions of the Superman and Wonder Woman who I have come to enjoy over my life of reading comics. Superman wouldn't be cruel or brutal. Wonder Woman wouldn't be a killing machine or a Stepford wife. But most of all, I didn't feel that the relationship this book was built on was ever portrayed in a way that made it seem realistic or plausible.

So why is Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #2 being reviewed here? Well, I picked it up because two creators whose work always entertain and who I think are being woefully underused by DC appear in the credits. K. Perkins and Sholly Fisch both provide stories here and, no surprise, tell very compelling stories.

But for me, this issue answered some questions I have had about this relationship. It dealt with one of the biggest stumbling blocks of these two being together. And it showed how this relationship has slowly sort of crumbled. And for that I thought I needed to give it some space here.

Peter Tomasi and Keith Champagne both write other portions of the Annual. And the art is a wonderful mix. Marco Santucci, ChrisCross, Ken Lashley, and Matthew Clark provide the pencils. The book is really beautiful throughout.

The book opens with Clark walking through the Kent farmhouse, thinking about how loving and supportive Martha and Jon's relationship was, and thinking he might have found that in Diana. We see him reach into Ma's jewelry box.

But this is clearly early in the relationship. It is those dizzying, electric, physical part of a long term relationship. After a battle, while in the watchtower, the two can't keep their hands off each other. Superman removes her boots and it is implied things get quite hotter. (In fact, pics did get hotter. Yanick Paquette did the layouts of this issue and showed a significantly steamier scene.)

Who hasn't been in this sort of torrid part of a relationship where everything is forever rosy and hormones are raging.

But this scene is sort of replayed a couple of times in this issue and that is key for understanding what has happened to this romance.

The first story, written by Champagne and drawn by ChrisCross, shows an early double date, with Clark and Diana having dinner in Atlantis with Arthur and Mera. The two women break off and talk about Di's new beau.

Yes, the two women only talk about the men in their lives. But they do it in such a familiar way, you sense they have had many other conversations. They are friends so, of course, Mera is going to talk about this new development.

Diana talks about being worried about how complicated a romance might be. Mera discusses the hurdles that Arthur and her have overcome. It shows how true love and respect can overcome a lot. And since this is the beginning of this relationship, I can see how this might be positive reinforcement for Diana to continue to be with Clark.

The art and color in this section is stunning. And I like how this again shows just how wonderful anything and everything can be in the early parts of a fling.

The next story is written by K. Perkins with art by Ken Lashley. And this was my favorite story of the Annual because it addressed one of my biggest problems with the relationship. How could Clark deal with Diana being the God of War?

Now I read and enjoyed the Azzarello/Chiang Wonder Woman run, but in my heart considered it an elaborate Elseworlds and not canon. But it was clear that DC did not think that way.

So we get a story where Superman and Wonder Woman fight Dichara, an angry demigod. Superman is surprised when Dichara stops the fight because of Diana's station.

I like the rougher feel to Lashley's art here. It works in the battle. And it works in the more raw emotional sequences too.

Wonder Woman goes to Olympus and then returns to Clark's apartment afterwards.

Notice that Clark is near naked in this whole story. Wonder Woman is post-battle and removes her costume to change into pajamas. But there isn't the flirty, sexy, physical ending we saw in the earlier story. The relationship is more serious now, more real, more complex.

Diana tells him she is the God of War. She didn't tell him because she knew it might come between them. Not exactly a solid relationship move to keep a major truth from your partner. And Clark reminds her how she questioned his 'other life' as Clark and that her title is probable on par with his secret identity.

He poses a thought, one I have asked myself since this all unfolded in the comics.

How can Clark, who fights for truth and peace, who loathes war, be with her?

And how can she be an ambassador of peace, a bastion of love, AND the God of War? She says all wars spring from love. And that is a pretty skewed view of the world.

This doesn't sound like Diana to me, the one I have read all these years. And that is a big part of the problem here.

And look at the cold nature of Clark in that second panel. He can't even look at her.

Clark here says that her life as the God of War is going to affect them. How could it not.
And she realizes that there is a lot left unsaid between them.

Finally, the two of them aren't acting like infatuated and titillated teens. This is real relationship work here, trying to find their way through problems, and realizing maybe things aren't meant to be. And the book is addressing, head on, how her role on Olympus is troublesome to this whirlwind romance.

The last panel of the story is Clark watching the news, hearing about the horrors of war around the globe, and staring ahead. This is her life. Not his.

The next story is by Sholly Fisch and Matthew Clark. It includes a cool Easter Egg, a movie poster of Rita Farr being in 'Brunch at Tiffany's'.

But it tells a story of an aborted date night. Clark, temporarily powerless from using his flare power, pre-The Truth, is cooking dinner for Diana. Unfortunately, a JLA emergency calls her away. She joins the team fighting the Galactic Golem. Clark is left behind.

The dinner remains on the table uneaten. Clark heads to bed. Diana returns.

Again, we don't see him cradling her calf and removing her boot. There aren't libidinous giggles. There isn't an amorous interaction. Things have changed from that infatuation stage.

Clark is angry he was left behind. He felt, even powerless, he could help. And Diana won't hear it. She thinks this is Clark's ego. He can't always be the hero. He can't always be involved.

It, once again, shows how these two might not walk in lockstep, or even understand each other. It also gives us some background into Diana's actions in The Truth when Clark is truly depowered.

These blips are part of the bigger canvas. We are reminded of The Atlantis War, Super-Doom, the Darkseid War, and everything else that has strained the couple.

It turns out that Clark has been holding that engagement ring from the opening pages all along, waiting for the right time to propose. But now he realizes that maybe he and Diana aren't Jon and Martha.

This all makes sense to me as someone who has questioned this couple from the beginning. But, of course, DC and Tomasi needs to add the grim-dark nature of the current DC universe. Clark wonders if he'll ever find love. And he thinks that might be a good thing. Yeesh ...

Still, I have to applaud this issue for showing us all the problems that might spring from this love affair. It shows us that early, physical, glittering love and how that can tarnish when deeper issues are dealt with. They each build on each other nicely, especially when we see the different endings of a post-battle adrenaline rush. And it focused on some of the problems I have had trying to wrap my head around this romance.

Overall grade: B+

Review: Superman:Doomed #2

Superman:Doomed #2 came out this week and I am going to be honest and say that I am thrilled that this arc is over.

It isn't as if there weren't fine moments in this somewhat drawn out mega-crossover. There were. In fact, there were plenty of fine moments in this issue, many of which I will share. But finding those moments felt at times like panning for gold. You need to work your way through a lot of silt to find the treasure.

For every great character moment, for every nuance, for every bit of heroes acknowledging what an inspiration Superman there were many more empty cliffhangers, dropped subplots, and character gaffes.

Perhaps most annoying was the concept of the 'infected Superman' which changed issue to issue ... page to page. Was it an infection out of control? Could he will himself back to normal? Was he cured by 'good feelings' at one point? Was he dying? Without clearly understanding the threat of this Doomsday virus, I didn't feel invested. In one issue Superman is so out of control he exiles himself into space. In the next, Baka's warm feelings completely cures him. Huh??

And then there is the 'real villain' of the piece Brainiac. His plot is also something of a jumbled mess. He is draining the minds of humans starting in Smallville and Metropolis. He sends down drones that are a feint. He has the Cyborg Superman as a sort of misdirection. And he has a ship that in some issues is 4x the size of Earth but in others is like the JLA satellite. At least in Doomed #2 we find out his plan.

As if adding to the disjointed feeling of the overall arc, this issue has 9 credited artists. Each page is beautiful. But you can't go from Lashley to Churchill to Herbert without feeling a little dizzy from the stylistic changes.

Now listen ... I am about to show you the high points. And they are good high points. But as a whole Doomed was like a runny omelet. Some bites were delicious. But mostly it was a mess.

Last issue ended with Brainiac's ship arriving and Superman deciding the only way to break into the Collector ship and stop him is to go full-Doomsday mode. He sheds his humanity and lets the Doomsday in him surge. See ... maybe I am trying to think about this a bit too medically. How does this even happen? From human to Doomsday because he willed the infection to go out of control??

There are only a few free minds on the planet and Lana and Lois are among them. I like that first panel with the two most important women in Clark's life looking up, confident he will save everyone. It is nice that they have faith in him.

And I also liked the next panel explaining the coloring snafu of a couple of issues back when Lois was her normal skin tone. She turns green when she uses her psionic powers. Nice recovery.

 Superdoom basically begins tearing through the ship, hoping to get to the core and disable/dismantle the Brainiac tech.

While Lana and Lois were on the same page just before, here we see how they differ. And it might be the first time I haven't liked Lana in the Pak era.

Lois tells Clark to not lose himself to the monster, to not do something he might regret. But Lana ... she outright tells him to kill Brainiac. It makes me think that maybe Lana doesn't understand Clark quite as well as I thought she did.

 Like much of this arc, a lot of time takes place on the mental plane. Brainiac might be safe in his control room and Superdoom might be running through walls but the real confrontation is taking place in the mind as Brainiac tells Clark his plot.

It turns out that Brainiac is gathering all the sentient mind energy he can. He knows that observation can change reality. He hopes to have enough 'observer power' to recreate the universe.

It is a riff on the old 'light will behave like a wave or a particle depending on the belief of the observer' experiment. But it is a bit much to swallow.

But let's say that I decide to swallow it. Let's say that Brainiac needs lots of minds to do this (indeed he says he has already drained billions). The last place you would ever go is Earth!! Why go to the place with the guy who has trounced you over and over? Drain every other planet you find. Why poke the beehive?

 Back on Earth, Brainiac discovers that the resistance is hiding in the Fortress. So he sends his troops in hoping to distract them. One of his army is the Cyborg Superman.

Now after being sullied and mistreated in the prior big Superman crossovers, Greg Pak and Charles Soule treat her very well in her few moments in the book.

First off, the Cyborg tells her of Brainiac's plans, saying that Brainiac could give them back Krypton. He asks her who would even care about Earth when that could happen. It is basically the same hook that H'El tried to get Kara to help him The same.

And yet it is clear Kara has grown a bit. She isn't lured by that anymore. She cares about Earth and wallops him with a nice left jab.

 Again, conversing in their minds, Brainiac warns Superman what is going to happen if the fight on Earth continues, if Superman doesn't allow Brainiac to rewrite history.

Supergirl will kill her father the Cyborg. Then she will be forced to kill Superman who will be out of control as Doomsday. Then she will become infected by the spores and become Doomsday herself.

I had to include this page. There is something very meta about this page with an enraged Kara, having killed her father, splitting Superman in two and becoming a monster. It is drawn by Ian Churchill who drew the Jeph Loeb and early Joe Kelly Supergirl issues, the one where she is a monster who gunned down her classmates and was trying to kill Superman.

That has to be why he was chosen to draw these pages right? It would have fit right into the last Supergirl series, somewhere around issue #10 I would say.

That said, Churchill does draw the bottom of the costume differently. Look at the second panel. The red area is broader and it looks more like gym shorts than a bathing suit. I like that way more than the usual interpretation.

This is a very good page by Pak with a very good moment for Supergirl.

Superman tell Brainiac is that he doesn't understand the cousins. Kara might have been a little out of control at one point but she won't kill the Cyborg.

And she doesn't. Instead she just pounds him and is victorious.

After seeing him utterly defeat her and kill her in her own book a couple of times over, it is great to see Kara finally win here.

But this is Superman and Brainiac's battle on the psychic plane.

Brainiac enters the marauding Superdoom's mind and shows Clark possible futures ... if only Superman will let the Coluan recreate the universe. In one of them, Steel and Lana marry and become the heroes of Metropolis allowing Superman to retire.

In another, drawn by Dave Bullock, Superman's very presence has an effect on humanity. The world becomes a better place, inspired by Superman. Crime and evil fades away. And Batman gets to retire!

But these glimpses into a possible peaceful future doesn't change the fact that the universe would be rewritten by a tyrant. Superman is able  to shrug these off as folly.

Bullock's style is pleasingly like Darwyn Cooke's. It works for this sequence.

Oh yeah ... remember that subplot where Wonder Woman went into the Phantom Zone to convince Mongul to use Warworld to attack Brainiac? Remember?

Well, we get reminded of it for 2 pages. Diana fires Warworld from within the Zone, blasting Brainiac's ship, weakening Brainiac's defenses and resolve.

Can you fire a weapon from within the Zone, through a portal, and out into the universe??

And I think of the time spent in the Phantom Zone over the issues - hunting Dr. Xa-Du, fighting Mongul, etc. It all seems like a waste of time as none of it seemed to impact the story greatly.

With Brainiac weakened by Superdoom beating him up, the mental plane becomes something of an even playing field. In fact Lois is able to join Superman there to try to battle Brainiac.

In this state, Brainiac's true intentions are finally revealed. His origin includes him losing his wife and child. He is anguished by this. He wants a universe where they are still in his life. And that touches Superman. When Lois is about to psionically kill Brainiac, Superman talks her down.

They should want peace, not punishment.

It is a nice moment showing the core of Superman's beliefs.

That said, I am a bit tired of the 'sympathetic back story for a villain'.

This stay of execution is something of a pause. Brainiac ends up continuing his assault on Earth, is killing the population by draining them, and still wants to recreate the universe. There is no easy way to stop this plot now that it has gone this far.

The only solution is for Lois to drain Brainiac of all his power and then shove it into Superman.

Again, I have some problems with this. Brainiac is the most powerful psionic in this universe (personally I just miss him being super-intelligent). So how can Lois, a neophyte given powers by Brainiac be capable enough to drain him.

And then giving them to Superman?

Look at this panel. Is this what we want Superman to be? This monstrous amalgam. Can't we just have Superman? You know what it reminds me of ...

That's right. Morrison looked into the future.

And then a whole bunch of things happen that I don't know if I quite follow.

Superman, energized by his powers, Doomsday strength, and billions of sentients mental energy, grabs Brainiac and flies him to a black hole. Or maybe he creates the black hole with his 'observation powers'.  Somehow all of this strips Lois of her Brainiac power and rids Superman of all the Doomsday virus particles.

It may be that both Brainiac and Superman head through the black hole ... it's hard to tell. At the very least Superman shoves Brainiac through it.


So is it the black hole or the observation powers that does all this. I guess I have to roll with it.


But once again, the whole 'Doomsday infection' is so convoluted that it is hard to wrap my head around. Gravity cured him? Good feelings? And as this infection was the crux of this whole arc, I am both irked and underwhelmed.

But within the black hole, Brainiac seems to have been placed in a Hypertime like area of alternate realities.

There is a lot to digest here. That's a pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths JSA (based on Huntress costume). That's Plastic Man and Uncle Sam on Earth X, also pre-COIE. There's Lord Volt and Lady Quark, peri-COIE. But also a red trunked Superman, the Flashpoint world, the vampire Batman from the Red Rain Elseworlds. And a classic Harley Quinn!

This really had nothing to do with Doomed and might be the best page, with great art by Aaron Kuder.

So, mercifully, Doomed ends.

For this issue, we have Lois having faith in Superman, that great moment of compassion by Superman, the future sequence with a retired Batman, and all the Supergirl stuff as high points. But I have to weigh that against all the low points here ... the concept of rewriting the universe, the Lois power levels, the cure at the end. And against the big issues I have had with the Doomed arc itself, the feints, missteps, and inconsistencies.

Overall grade: C

Review: Action Comics Annual #3

Yesterday I reviewed Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #1, the third chapter of the Superdoom mini-arc of Superman:Doomed.

Today I am reviewing Action Comics Annual #3, the last chapter of the Superdoom section. Written by Greg Pak with art by a cadre of artists including Ken Lashley, Aaron Kuder, Jack Herbert, Will Conrad, Pascal Alixe, Cliff Richards, and Julius Gopez.

I thought the plotting of the SM/WW Annual was a bit choppy, sort of hard to follow, with subplots added and removed as feints, and with the Doomsday virus being so haphazard in its potency that I don't quite understand if I should be worried.

Action Comics Annual #3 re-adds another wrinkle into the many moving parts of this mega-arc - the Brainiac-possessed Lois. Now there are a couple of nice moments in this issue and one very good Lois moment, but overall I felt more befuddled about the overall plot after reading this issue. Now I suppose that it will all come together in the end. But the biggest thought I had after reading this was that I couldn't wait for Superman:Doomed to be over.

With the wide palate of the artists on board, the book has a sort of rushed hodge-podge feel to it. The individual pages are quite nice but together, bouncing from one style to another, didn't help my feelings of mild confusion.

And after reading Superman/Wonder Woman Annual #1 and this, I still had another Superman:Doomed issue on my pile.

The book opens nicely with some Aaron Kuder art pages showing just how trapped in her own body Lois is. I have been waiting to see Kuder's version for Lois and I am very happy.

I love Lois' tenacity as she tries to break out of this psionic cage Brainiac has placed her. We see how trapped she feels. We see her fighting, trying to bend the mental bars. And we hear just how angry she is for having to live all of this, experience it all, and be part of it despite not consciously doing it.

I keep going back to the original story where this possession of Lois happened ... the investigation of The Twenty, which started 5 years ago when The Collector initially came to Earth and infected 20 people with psionics. Is this mega-plot the culmination of 5 years of manipulation by Brainiac? Will we ever learn?

In the background, Batman has organized a group of people involved in recent Brainiac and Superman stories in hopes of stopping the Coluan. It has become clear that Brainiac is the major threat here. And without Superman, Earth is in trouble.

So Superman villain Harrow (from the Tower) released Superman villain Doomsday from the Phantom Zone by Superman villain and Phantom Zone inhabitant Dr. Xa-Du. But it turns out that Brainiac was already in The Tower's IT and was manipulating these events so that Doomsday would infect Superman and make him fly off the planet. Because Brainiac wants Earth intact but wants Superman off it.

Whew ... that is one crazy plot for a 12th level intellect. How many things needed to go right for it to even happen?

And then things could have gone wrong. What if Superman lost to Doomsday? Or died of the infection? What if Superman lost control and destroyed the Earth? What if (like Ghost Soldier says) Superman won't leave Earth?

Oh yeah ... Dr. Xa-Du is part of this story.

He hasn't been seen in this arc since Batman/Superman #11, released in the last week in May! Back then, he was dragged out of the Zone to help the heroes. He told the heroes that Doomsday broke out of the Zone on his own and Xa-Du wants to help re-cage him/kill the infected Superman.

But here ... after wondering what he has been doing this whole time ... he is trapped in some energy cage. And now he isn't talking about helping the heroes at all. He is doing villain talk here. He can't wait for Superman to kill everyone so he can escape and be a bad guy.

He seems like such an after-thought now. I was hoping for something more here.

This issue's main plot on Earth is Superman and heroes fighting the coma-probes or some sort of advance fleet from Brainiac.

Superman is completely Superdoom initially. But then he runs into the Martian Manhunter. And somehow J'Onn is able to use his mental powers to put a psionic wall in Superman's mind. And this telepathic block somehow puts the Doomsday virus into remission. Superman is normal again.

So is this an actual disease attacking the body? Is it a mental problem?

But this flip-flopping of Doom to Normal to Somewhere in the middle is confusing.

But the virus is too harsh for telepathic blocks. So how about tugging on the heart strings?

The Ghost Soldier brings Baka to the surface. Despite Superman being infected by the Doomsday virus, he looks normal here, and Baka can touch him directly without dying from a killing field.

Glad to see Baka again. Glad that Superman's mind and feelings can overpower the Doomsday persona. But things were so out of control that Superman left the Earth. Superman's friends - Lana and Batman, etc - couldn't get him to become normal. His significant other - Diana - couldn't get him into remission.

But Baka can?

Can you see why I don't quite grasp the magnitude of the Doomsday virus or the threat it represents?

Unfortunately, the next page Superman is back to Superdoom ...

Hey ... remember Dr. Xa-Du is here.

Well somehow Batman has a great plan. They will use Dr. Xa-Du's technology to turn the Kryptonite in the air intangible, whisking it away, so that Superman can defeat the virus.

And to use his tech ... for some reason ... Harrow has to physically beat him up.

Huh??

It somehow works. The Kryptonite leaves Earth (explaining how it happened last issue mid-fight with Diana).

At last ... the good moment.

Superdoom confronts Brainiac-Lois.

And somehow, Clark and Lois connect and talk on a mental level, a sort of meeting in the minds. It just happens. In one tiny thought bubble we hear that Lois finally smashes out of her cage and is able to talk to Clark with her telepathy. (Man ... I would have loved to see a panel of her smashing the cage. That is a big moment.)

There is this nice moment, showing maybe some smoldering CLois love? Clark takes her hands, amazed at how much she fought Brainiac. Heck, she defeated him by breaking free.

It is a very nice moment. It made me miss the Lois/Clark relationship.

But we follow that scene up with another moment which was hard for me to truly understand.

Despite being Superdoom, Superman so loves Lois that he sends the Doomsday killing virus to decay the Brainiac infection in her body. That is some tight control of something that before this was uncontrollable. I suppose it shows how much he cares for Lois. But it also makes me wonder about this condition all over again.

And ... let's not bury the lead ... she knows Clark is Superman. While still telepathic, she is free, and she knows.

I want a human Lois. So please remove the powers.

But will they leave her with the knowledge?

And then ... yet again ... another turn on the Doomsday virus. Batman's plan does work. The Kryptonite leaves the Earth. And somehow ... somehow ... the removal of that let's Clark completely suppress the Doomsday virus. He is back 100% and with Krypto ends up smashing the landed Brainiac army to bits. Look, the people love him! They are happy he is back.

My response?

Arrrrgggghhh!!!!

Just last month, pre-K-bomb, the virus was so out of control, he was planning to leave Earth anyways! He was near gone then! So why should the removal of the Kryptonite alone do this??

I just don't understand the clinical condition of Superman. Page to page, panel to panel, he is either a 12 foot tall spiked demon or a normal guy or a mix. What is happening???

Maybe this is my problem? But if the core plot, this infection, is treated haphazardly, I can't get into the conflict.

At least ... at least ... I got some fine Lois moments.

Overall grade: C

Review: Batman/Superman #12

Batman/Superman #12 came out last week, a sort of coda to the First Contact storyline that ran through this book and Worlds' Finest a couple of months ago. Writer Greg Pak continues to delve deeper into the crossover with Earth 2 that happened in this book's first arc. The differences between the younger, brasher Earth 1 heroes and the veteran, seasoned Earth 2 versions is great grist for the storytelling mill so I am glad to see Pak going back and exploring these things.

This time we see the Earth 1 heroes brought back to the pre-Darkseid invasion of Earth 2 and given a sort of Monkey's Paw wish. Will Superman and Batman do something rash, on a personal level, and regret the outcome? Or will they act more like their older versions?

The cover might be by Jae Lee but the internal art is by Ken Lashley and Tom Raney. The art is fine. But Lee's book is a big reason why I like this book. With the incredible delays that subsequent issues are suffering, I wonder if Lee can keep up.

Meeting Huntress and Power Girl has jogged the memories of Superman and Batman enough that they remember their jaunt to Earth 2 and more importantly remember Kaiyo, the chaos-bringer. You may recall that at the end of that adventure, Kaiyo was 'impressed' with the darker and riskier behavior by the Earth 1 versions of Superman and Batman. If anyone would have a chance to ultimately defeat Darkseid, it would have to be heroes willing to cross a line.

That recollection brings Kaiyo to Earth 1 where she gives our heroes the opportunity to change history. She brings the Earth 2 at the time of the Darkseid invasion and says they each can intercede once. Where and when is their choice.

It is the age-old question, would you go back in time and change something/change someone never knowing if things could be worse as a result.

I have really loved Greg Pak on Action Comics as I think he has a fantastic grasp of Superman. His Clark really acts the way I want the character to act. And we see some of that here.

Look at the longing in his face in the second panel as he sees his parents alive. He aches as they have small talk. If there is one part of the Superman mythos that has been underplayed, underrepresented in the New 52 Superman, it has been the impact the Kents had on him.

Pak finally is showing us more and more of it. The attitude, the outlook ... it is classic. So I appreciated this scene.

Parademons swarm the farm and just as the E1 Superman is about to use his 'wish' to save them, the E2 Superman shows up and does it instead. That's right, the E2 Superman had deep love for his family and rushed to save them.

And then we see some of that Kent wisdom ... being given by Ma!

'Superman' is too big to be worrying about two old folks. Superman needs to save the world, not just his parents. It is a simple but hard lesson. The good of the many ...

But it also speaks about who Clark learned to be. Your own wants sometimes need to be suppressed so you can help others. The right decisions are sometimes the tough decisions. It isn't easy to do the right things sometimes.

This is modern comics. There needs to be a little pathos, a little darkness, a little fallibility in our heroes.

While Superman was saving his parents, Parademons invaded Metropolis. In that fight, Lois (while hoping Superman would show up) was killed.

I don't know if I want this layer of guilt to be slathered on the E2 Superman but there is no doubt it is powerful. It also shows how a simple decision can have drastic and far-reaching ramifications.

Will these scenes resonate with our E1 Superman. Will he wonder again if he was meant to be with Lois?

Meanwhile, and much more interestingly, Batman actually uses his 'wish' to save Alfred. Hmmm ... Batman making an emotional choice? That is fascinating!

It comes down to the final assault as we saw in Earth 2#1. The E1 Superman shadows the Earth 2 Batman knowing his viral download is what stops the Apokiliptian invasion. And Superman holds back from saving Diana ... from saving his doppelganger.

I would have liked a little more about his watching Diana die given the current Superman/Wonder Woman romance in the DCU. What is it like to see the woman you love die? But it is glossed over.

I suppose for someone like me ... who doesn't quite understand the romance to begin with ... it is a double edged sword. I am trying to understand their relationship and some emotion at seeing this Diana die might have helped cement it a little more. But since I don't agree with the romance, I am also glad to see it glossed over.

And then we see who Superman saves. Helena was about to die in a fiery crash when our Superman does what he knows Bruce would want him to do. He saves her, sending her through the boom tube to Earth 1.

I think this choice speaks volumes about who Superman is. This is great.

Despite Kaiyo's promises, despite their intercessions, the outcome in this world is exactly the same. And Batman thinks that is the best outcome. As a reader of many time travel stories, I agree.

This isn't what Kaiyo was hoping for.

So we get a 'clean slate' next month ... whatever that means.

What does it mean, in general, that Kaiyo ... a chaos demon ... thinks our heroes are poised to cross some sort of line? It sort of sums up my issues with the New 52.

Anyways, I like that Pak has them act like heroes, even being sentimental a bit. I thought this was a decent issue. I certainly liked the Superman scenes with the Kents and saving Helena. That is who I want my Superman to be. But it didn't seem to have the same weight as past issues, especially the Jae Lee ones.

Overall grade: B

Review: Superman Doomed #1

Superman Doomed #1 came out yesterday, the opening chapter of the Doomed arc which will run through the super-books during the summer. It is a joint effort by the writers of the Superman books: Greg Pak, Charles Soule, and Scott Lobdell with artwork by Ken Lashley.

The issue could almost be called a prologue as we learn pretty quickly that the villain of this piece isn't going to be Doomsday but Superman himself. In a universe where Superman isn't beloved, turning him into a monster feels a little bit like piling on for me. The power of the original Death of Superman arc was that Superman's sacrifice effected everyone. He was the ultimate hero paying the ultimate price. In the New 52, even scientists snark at Superman. Turning him into a monster seems more like a natural progression.

Given that sentiment going in, I had little optimism for this storyline. And, happily, I will say that I was pleasantly surprised with was has come so far. DC starts the ball rolling by releasing the first 3 parts this week, giving the arc some momentum. And, surprisingly, there is a fair amount of characterization in the books, showing the issues that spring from the Doomsday event. Moreover, I feel like this arc is going to clear the decks of some lingering subplots like Lois/Brainiac and Clarkcatropolis. Geoff Johns might have a clean slate when he comes on.

Lashley is a great artist pick for this opening issue. His style is just rough enough to give the blistering Doomsday plague waves and power of the resulting brawls a chaotic feel.

 Remember we last saw Doomsday killing the prancing honeymooners in Superman #30.

It turns out that Doomsday actually has manifested several new powers. One is something I am calling the 'plague wave'. Basically, waves of power are emanating from Doomsday, sucking the life out of anything that it hits. The energy even breaks down the substance of nonliving things. Doomsday is a walking incinerator. And any life energy these waves snuffs out strengthen him.

I don't know how the script chores break down but this scene sounded like Pak. Superman is basically able to save only one Air Force pilot that was in the vicinity of the island. But Clark doesn't dwell on the man he saved. Instead he is dismayed at all the people he couldn't.

It is a nice shot. We see pure death in the foreground, a blasted skeleton among the fire. And Superman is small, almost inconsequential, in the background. Nice art/words mix.

Unfortunately Doomsday isn't around. Looking for answers, he heads to talk to Shay Veritas. Veritas notes the changes in Doomsday. How this Doomsday might be the evolved form of the larval Doomsday Superman fought before. And his 'plague wave' will ultimately destroy everyone.

It leads to a crisis in Superman. Is Doomsday sentient? Is he alive? Can Superman kill it without feeling that he has compromised his ethics. Veritas cuts to the heart of the question. What will Superman become if he kills?

In this instance, the question isn't just a metaphor. I thought this was a nice foreshadow to the crux of this arc.

But is Doomsday a sentient being? And did I have as much angst about this question when Superman battered him to death decades ago?

 Meanwhile, Smallville remains comatose. And both Lois and Lana are trying to get in to figure out why.

Look, it is the first time the two women in Superman's life (at least his past lives) finally meet. Lana actually looks like she is going to fight the army soldier guarding the entrance to Smallville to get in. Luckily Lois comes by and uses her 'jedi mind tricks' to talk her way in. We know that's probably Brainiac power.

I like Lana being an adventure scientist, even here hanging off Lois' moving car to sneak in. But going for a weapon to beat up a sentry? It seems just a bit much.

Clark seems resigned to the fact that he probably will need to kill Doomsday. But he continues to mull over this decision knowing it is a dramatic turn in his life. Looking for more advice, he talks to Perry White, cloaking his problem as more of an ethical conundrum in journalism.

White seems like the perfect sounding board - a man of integrity who has been doing his job for a long time. And Perry says that every so often, for the good of all, ethics need to be bent. And those breaches hurt when you do it, when you cross that internal line. But the fact that Clark is already weighed down by the decision, the fact that he is pained by it, is a good sign that things won't change that much.

I don't know if I want this to be a carte blanche for Clark to do anything. But I thought this was a good speech.

 Doomsday shows up again in Africa, sucking up the life of herds of animals, getting stronger and stronger. His rampage gets the attention of Steel (who just happens to be visiting the area - a bit of a stretch), Wonder Woman, and eventually Superman.

The plague wave seems to wither Steel and Diana. But Diana is fierce, running her sword through Doomsday's chest. But it isn't enough. And when Superman and Diana turn to face Doomsday together, Doomsday shows his newest power. He teleports away.

I like that we see Superman and Wonder Woman fighting this thing together. This scene works well, showing how powerful Doomsday has become and making it clear that he is threat that needs to be put down.

 Limping away with the post-Forever Evil Justice League, Superman gets a hard lesson from ... of all people ... Lex Luthor. Doomsday is gathering energy. He doesn't have enough yet to go toe-to-toe with Superman so he keeps blipping around. Maybe the best thing for Superman to do is leave and hopefully lure Doomsday away with him.

It is sound advice I suppose. But the flip side is without Superman around, Doomsday might simply tromp around the world killing everything.

I also wonder, if Doomsday is interested in gaining energy, why isn't he going around killing lesser super-heroes and villains gathering their energy? I wondered if this could be a sort of Dragon Ball Z 'Cell' story.

 Amazingly, Superman agrees with Luthor. He will leave ... but he will take Doomsday with him.

Now that does make sense. The main thing is to limit death and taking the fight somewhere else makes perfect sense. If only the Superman in the Man of Steel movie knew that.

Knowing he might die, Superman begins to settle up some business. I liked this moment when he gives Bruce a key to the fortress but lets him know that Diana has one too. I have never understood the Clark/Diana romance. But that was a nice moment.

 As I have said, I don't understand this romance. This is supposed to be an endearing moment I suppose. And I suppose that people who like this relationship think this is great.

For me this cemented just how disconnected these two are, just how much Diana doesn't understand this man. Behead it and bring me its head? Who would say that to Superman? We see how the idea of killing Doomsday is weighing on Clark already. Shouldn't she know that he isn't a killer ... a beheader? She simply doesn't get him.

And Clark saying it is romantic?? Really?

I just don't get this relationship.

Superman does indeed grab Doomsday and whisk him to Venus where he thrashes the monster. It seems like the fight is over, so Superman limps back to Earth.

Ah ... but remember ... Doomsday can teleport. Doomsday also returns to Earth leaving Superman no choice. He rips Doomsday apart. Again, the rougher art by Lashley works here, throughout this battle, making it feel frenetic and chaotic.

So ... Superman is a killer.

Well ....

This didn't irk me as much as the Zod death did at the end of Man of Steel. For me, this Doomsday is like a germ, a virus. I don't think Superman would have a hard time fighting a virulent strain of the flu to save people. Killing this Doomsday is like eradicating smallpox in my mind. So maybe he isn't a neck-snapping killer. At least in my mind.

Or am I simply trying to convince myself that Superman is still Superman, even in The New 52.

So, overall, I thought this was a decent opening chapter. For me the best part was seeing Superman mulling over the decision of dispatching Doomsday. There is that core that life is precious. And the best moment was Perry's nuanced speech. How far can a good person be pushed and remain a good person.

Doomsday is already dead, in the prologue! So on to the next chapters.

And as I said, this was better than anticipated.

Overall grade: B