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 
Ha, I read this issue, and rushed to your website to see if you’d reviewed it yet! Thanks for the shout-out! I don’t think I’ve ever called a plot point as accurately as I called this one!
Fun story, too! And I wonder if we’re leaving Clark’s early years after issue 1100. Sure, the returned Adult Superman is the star in the solicitation for the crossover that stretches across issue 1101, but it says there’s a young Clark Kent that’s guest-starring! I have a feeling we’ll get some more time in Smallville once the crossover ends. I think it’ll take a little more time to show the ramifications of Professor Lang’s book, for instance!
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I’m hoping Superboy will have his own series with Waid writing!
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Me too!
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You bring me hope, Rob! If young Clark is staying in his current berth I wish they’d tell me, I’d love some reassurance!
And well done on working things out. So what’s next?
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I don’t read solicits but would they answer these questions?
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Now that you’ve mentioned it, “Who Took the Super Out of Superman” deserves it’s own DC Finest collection, along with other Bates, Pasko, and Swan bronze age classics.
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That’d be excellent, we did have a slightly-bigger-than-digest collection in the UK from Egmont in 1978, findable on eBay but not in great condition
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I love this superboy arc and hope that when the big man returns they will keep superboy in action comics. The energy reminds me of super sons, which was so great until Bendis ruined Jon.
I am concerned at the way J’onn and Mary are portrayed at DC. Martian Manhunter is at least as powerful as Superman and the variety of his powers is greater making him far more versatile, yet I can’t help but notice how DC keeps making him inept and incapable with everything but telepathy.
Mary Marvel is probably as strong as a Kryptonian of her age and her power is magically enhanced which means it could surpass a Kryptonian’s power if she was at her limits and desperately needed it to. I fail to understand how Superboy is the strongest character here when he is just a kid and has not come into the fullness of his powers.
Over all I do enjoy this Action Comics Superboy storyline. I’d forgotten how much fun it was to have a real Superboy in the silver age style.
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Waid is the hero expert in general so while I sorta agree on the Manhunter observation, I think Mary is portrayed dead on. She should be nearly Captain Marvel’s level but not Superman’s.
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but this is not Superman, this is Superboy! Mary Marvel should be on par with a Supergirl or even Powergirl type, though I think Kryptonians seem to get stronger with age and exposure to the wavelengths of a star like the sun.
also, I have always considered Captain Marvel to be on par with Superman so if Mary is on par with him…
Of course this is all speculation about people that don’t exist.
I think that personality-wise, they are all being portrayed really well.
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I’ve never seen the Marvel Family as being as powerful as the Superman Family, to me their powers boiled down to the strength/durability and flight set. The wisdom rarely seems turned on, but the Supers, they have the vision powers. And Super-Ventriloquism… The Shazammers are magical, but it doesn’t really amount to an advantage when fighting Superboy, say, as loads of villains can hurt him if they’re strong enough.
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And Bendis may have taken Wee Jon off the table but that interminable and annoying maxi set before Jon was aged up said to me that the Super Sons concept had been mined as much as it could already. I thought Tomasi did as bad a job then as he had been good before.
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we will disagree on this wholeheartedly.
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I didn’t think the last big Super Sons story was the best, but it was a heck of a lot better than anything involving having Jon aged up.
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we will disagree on this wholeheartedly.
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Has Mary ever been shown to be as powerful and clever as she should be. It’s a rotten shame, and yes, Martian Manhunter too is totally underwhelming in most comics, compared to how awesome he should be.
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Martian Manhunter is often said to be an immense power but seldom shown to be such. I dare say that in the Justice League, he is the most powerful.
Unfortunately DC will not say that because for some reason Superman always has to be the most powerful.
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The spirit of Weisinger needs to be exorcised professionally from the DC offices. Multiple moves have clearly not helped with all of his Superman rules.
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Very fair comment!
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I love how Clark shifts in his wants and desires. Its such a teenager thing to pivot on a dime emotionally. Adding the burden of his self-imposed heroic deeds, I can understand how it could feel.like emotional whiplash.
J’onn is generally underutilized. He should have his own book. The fact that Absolute Martian Manhunter does well indicates there is a audience for the character. I also wish they would work with more abilities than his telepathy. He’s a shapeshifter, along with being a Kryptonian-level powerhouse, a supurb detective, and a natural leader.
This issue continues to prove Waid’s understanding of Mary, as shown in the last Shazam! series. (My only real gripe with that series was that although they are featured supporting cast, the three non-white Marvel Family members were not repowered. We need more representation in our heroes, not less.)
I feel like this isn’t the only cover of late that was out of sync with the interior. The latest issues of Supergirl and Justice League Unlimited come to mind.
When I was at Baltimore Comic-Con last year, Mark Waid said he has years of Superboy stories in him and he would do them as long as he was given the chance. Could we be so lucky as to get a Superboy backup in Action moving forward? Or get Adventures relaunched? Here’s hoping.
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Thinking on, this probably is the only time I’ve seen Superboy genuinely let his emotions out, as opposed to being red-K affected, mind controlled, hoaxing or whatever. It’s refreshing.
I did try the Absolute J’onn book for a few issues, but it’s not for me. A more mainstream take, though, I’d support that.
I’d be very happy to have all the Shazam kids back, it’s not like we didn’t have loads of Marvels in the Golden Age.
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Just what I wanted: an issue of Superboy and he has no powers. All snark aside, with the exception of one issue, the adventure of the Boy of Steel have a let down, and by Mark Waid no less. Too emo and needlessly punctilious. Superman is a foundling? Again?! Did we really need to shift back to the Golden Age and for what purpose? There is no dynamism and no sense of wonder, just Superboy “learning the ropes” and taking his lumps. Great review, disappointing series.
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It’s a shame you’re not enjoying this series again. I never liked the Jon Byrne business of a season-long storm and the Kents pretending Martha had a surprise baby, so I’m OK with the earlier stuff coming back. I shall enjoy it before cycles right out again in a few years.
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