Superman Unlimited #8 review

Lois Lane is going into space on billionaire Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket… sorry, billionaire Sebastian Stagg’s Starliner.

“The ‘man’ that built this rocket’ is indeed an unusual chap.

It looks like Simon Stagg’s son is sneaking aliens onto the spaceship, and they’re not the only extraterrestrials taking an interest.

No, not him, this lot.

Speaking of the Green Lantern Corps, you saw Guy Gardner on the cover, and here he is inside the issue.

Guy has been assigned by the Justice League Unlimited to escort the Starliner out of the solar system, and when trouble breaks out in the form of the alien alliance’s attacking armada, he’s joined by Superman.

Blimey, could Superman be more condescending towards Guy? Sure, he’s all about the braggadocio but he’s a first-rate Green Lantern, as he’s shown in multiple cases alongside the Man of Steel.

He certainly shows his worth here, smashing most of the armada. As for Lois, she uses her brains, and some green kryptonite lipstick, to stop some stowaway Durlans shape-changing their way onto Earth.

Impressive as she is here, I did expect Lois to be taking a bigger part in this issue’s action, last issue having given me the idea she was going to be the spotlight star.

The lipstick, of course, comes from the massive stash carried to Earth by a comet in SU #1. Presumably that’s also the green K powering Stagg’s rocket. Regular writer Dan Slott’s returning dialogue man Jeremy Adams doesn’t give the context, even though it’s meant to be the driving force of this series. As for the new golden super power that came along with the comet, it’s not mentioned at all. Heck, for the second issue running Superman is barely in the book, which was sold as the jewel in the crown of the Superman line. Solicitations tell me the Kryptonite Kingdom we’ve seen in a few issues is back next time, but honestly, it’s dribs and drabs – I just want Slott to wrap things up and tell great stories without some big concept that will never stick around.

Artist Lucas Meyer, I’d love him to hang around, his slick stylings are a real boon to a series that generally hasn’t shined as it should, artistically. We’ve already seen what a great Superman he does in previous guest shots, and now we see how well Meyer gets Guy Gardner, with a scene showing just how the GL gets his distinctive haircut a highlight. Throughout the issue, the way Guy’s costume drapes, right down to his boots, is a treat. The space scenes, with colours by Marcelo Maiolo and Jão Canolo, look terrific. And Meyer’s storytelling is magic.

As for the nasty ET fellas, they ring a bell… (looks up the name ‘Ulla’), aha, they’re the prisoners-turned-servants of Brainiac from Superman #698. Is their sniffy attitude towards Earthlings a nod to the way some people in real life talk about immigrants? One odd thing is that while these guys seem to be speaking English, the Durlans hiding in the Starliner have a cute ET font courtesy of our excellent letterer, Dave Sharpe.

Another odd thing is that we see Durlans with the #698 gang as the beak man expresses alarm at how far Earth folk have got with space travel, yet four of their fellows are actually on the rocket. Are there differing Durlan factions?

A subplot begun last issue, which had Clark suggesting to Lois she was spreading herself too thinly, is here given a page, then tied up in a single panel. Did the writers realise it made Clark look a total hypocrite? It’s weird.

Dave Johnson’s cover is really good fun, capturing Guy’s attitude perfectly.

Anyway, this isn’t a bad issue, it’s a decent read, diverting, with great art, but it does feel rather underwhelming. Next issue’s villain should be a perfect fit for Slott, though, so let’s see how that goes.