Holy role reversal, Luthor takes to the streets of Metropolis in his power suit to save the citizens while Superman dons a nifty lab suit to attack their problems from another direction.
Their problems are Dr Pharm, a cloud of green kryptonite tweaked to kill regular human beings and Lex’s mad mother Leticia.
The first problem is quickly sorted.
The second is more challenging.
As for the third…
As Superman surprises Lex with his facility for science…
…Lex tells Superman why beastly brothers Pharm and Graft hate him.
It’s true, Lex really did try to be a hero on first arriving in the City of Tomorrow. Of course, he was doomed to fail – I mean, look at that colour scheme, it just screams Villain. He fell in with Pharm and Graft, who were also obsessed with the possibilities of Kryptonite. Of course, he betrayed them and, separately, his tech bro mother. And now his chickens have come home to thoroughly poop on him.
Happily, Superman and Supercorp help Lex prevail, with a big green hand from a classic Suoerman foe. They prevent the people of Metropolis dying a horrible green death and get everyone bad behind bars – and that includes Lex.
The meeting ends on a note of ambiguity with the seemingly reformed Lex claiming he has no more secrets Superman should know. Which is nice. And unbelievable.
Meanwhile, this is another packed, fast-moving and, most importantly, hugely entertaining issue of Superman as writer Josh Williamson concludes his opening storyline, The Lex Luthor Revenge Squad. There’s a strong hint they’ll be back, and I’m down for that, if only to find out more about the Rocky Horror cosplayer and his silent sibling. The story concludes with a tender Lois and Clark scene and a final image of foreboding beautifully crafted by penciller David Baldeón, inker Norm Rapmund and colourist Rex Lokus.
The visuals are great throughout, whether we’re focusing on Superman, Lex, his doughty daughter Lena or any other member of the cast.
Everyone has bags of personality as they play out the latest Metropolis melodrama, with my favourite panels being a Smallville flashback and Lex at Peak Hero. Baldeón is a fine storyteller and veteran Rapmund one of DC’s top inkers, so of course things look good. Up and comer Lokus keeps things bright and beautiful while letterer Ariana Maher always ensures we know who’s speaking as dialogue moves to narrative boxes.
Jamal Campbell, who started as regular artist on this latest Supeman run but was then called to other assignments, provides a splendid final visual for the storyline. And the white and green Superman logo colour combo is a rarely seen delight.
All in all, I’d call this latest Superman multi-parter a triumph for Williamson and friends, giving us an irresistible combination of classic tropes and characters, new enemies, information, action and the freshest feeling. Metropolis in years. How about you?
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 
I have it but only read the couple scene at the back because Williamson. May I say I believe the Gil Kane redesign of Brainiac and Wolfman’s revamp of his character ruined Brainiac as an effective villain ever since? It took everything interesting out of Brainiac in much the same way Perez would get rid of the interesting bits from the Amazons and reduced them to savages who never used their immortality to improve their culture or science.
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Very fair. I like the Gil Kane design, but it should be for a side character, not Brainiac himself.
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Very good review a really good issue. It would appear that the Superman: Secret Origin history is still intact. Williamson is really making it look easy.
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Thanks for the kind words, Secret Origin was indeed good stuff.
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whew! This was one looooong story. And, while it had some interesting moments (Supes in the Wild West), I think I would have preferred if maybe it had been stretched out longer.
Rather than 12 issues of Luthor, Pharm and Graft, I would have liked to see some smaller stories break things up. A year is a long time to spend with these characters.
Can I say it? I kinda miss Bendis. Not his stories, per se, but I liked that we got to see so many characters over the course of his run. So many little stories. None of which really added up to a great big story, whereas this run Is the opposite. One loooooong story with none of the little bits I enjoy.
Setting aside my quibbles about how the story was told, I do enjoy this take on Superman. Williamson writes a sweet, hopeful character which is something I appreciate.
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There’s a very interesting interview with Williamson over at the AIPT (no idea!) website. It badly needs an editor, but there’s some intriguing content. https://aiptcomics.com/2024/04/09/house-of-brainiac-deep-dive/
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