Superboy is powerless, his abilities drained by a weapon wielded by Epoch, the Lord of Time. And now he’s struggling to adjust to life as a regular Earth teenager.
As well as dealing with pain, he has the likely return of Epoch, who vanished after Superboy was blasted by his hi-tech armour, to fret about. He does have his three new friends – J’onn J’onzz, Mary Marvel and Booster Gold – on hand to protect him, Jonathan and Martha, but it’s a worry. J’onn can’t reassure him that the sunlight will restore his powers soon.
While his powered pals play the waiting game, something unexpected happens. Clark starts having fun.
The interaction with Lana is her asking him to a party at her house and brushing his hand, giving him a tingle of excitement he’s never felt through invulnerable skin.
Lana’s also in a good mood as she arrives home to find her parents have taken off of a tour to promote her father’s new book, the reason for the shindig.
So now we know why Professor Lewis Lang has been wandering around Smallville taking notes about his neighbours. I reckoned he was planning a Peyton Place-style novel featuring thinly disguised pen portraits of people he knows. From the title and Lana’s reaction, though, it looks like no names have been changed and he’s printing the unvarnished truth… or at least his opinion. And if you keep up with the comments around these parts, you may remember this from when we were talking Action Comics #1096.
Well done Rob!
Also this issue, a cameo from one of DC’s most entertaining Silver Age scientists.
Epoch does indeed return, but the heroes from Clark’s adult life aren’t able to be as useful as had been hoped, setting us up for next issue’s grand finale.
And we see how Pa Kent’s attitude towards his son’s superheroics have changed since this run started in Action Comics #1087, when he said it was too early for Clark to use his powers in public.
Writer Mark Waid once again gives us a pitch perfect portrayal of the superhero as a young man, showing the frustrations and fears that come with suddenly feeling vulnerable. And then, the silver lining. It reminds me somewhat of the classic Bronze Age Superman four-parter ‘Who took the Super out of Superman!’ in which an alien plot meant our hero had his powers when in costume, but not when dressed as Clark. It gave him a chance to drop the meek and mild act and have a proper date with Lois Lane, teach the bullying Steve Lombard a lesson, and so on. An instant classic.
I enjoyed Waid’s script hugely, savouring every page because it seems Superboy is vacating his feature slot after next issue’s grand finale.
Once again this is a two-artist issue, with Skylar Patridge and Patricio Delpeche bringing the visuals; I enjoy the work of both but their styles are so different that having them side by side is a little jarring. Delpeche’s work is tighter than last time, with panels like that overhead shot in the living room exemplary. He gets extra points for colouring his own work. And Patridge has only got better with every issue, here she really captures Clark’s emotional journey. Ivan Plascencia colours Patridge’s pages with sensitivity. As for the lettering, it’s by Steve Wands, so it’s great.
Ryan Sook’s cover is well done, but a little puzzling, depicting a scene from the beginning of last issue. Holy Crossed Wires, Batman.
Mystery apart, this is another first-rate issue. I really hope this Superboy run has been a hit for DC, I want more.
Too Dangerous For a Girl 2 