Superman #45 – Peter J. Tomasi, Writer; Patrick Gleason, Artist; Stephen Downer, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 8/10
Corrina: Nice Wrap-Up
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: Although there’s still an oversized one-shot to come in May, Superman #45 is the proper conclusion of Tomasi and Gleason’s Superman run. Corrina and I have both been pretty hard on it at different points, especially in the most recent Bizarro arc. However, the run has been at its best when it did simple, done-in-one stories focused on the Superman family. This issue says goodbye to Hamilton, Kansas, as Superman, Lois, and Jon return to their family home to pack up for Metropolis and close out the stories of their friends there in the process. A surprising amount of the issue is devoted to cleaning the family home, with Lois taking charge and using her boys’ abilities to make it easier. I was a bit iffy about a story based around Lois Lane overseeing the cleaning of a house, but there are a few nice touches that show the feisty, independent Lois we know and love, including her taking the house’s mailbox to their new home.
There are some great moments of Clark and Jon alone, as Jon struggles to say goodbye to the only home he’s ever known and Clark tries to teach him what his parents did – that change is inevitable, but it’s not always a bad thing. A fun guest appearance from the Flash helps the Kents with moving, which frees them up for a visit to the Hamilton County Fair, where they reunite with Kathy, Boyzarro, and Robzarro (who are apparently holding down steady employment now) and even Maya Ducard, who seems to have put her old demons to rest and found happiness in Hamilton. The issue ends with the town paying tribute to the two heroes who helped them turn their strange show-town into a real home, as Superman and Superboy head off into their next adventures. There’s a real heart to this issue, even if it didn’t carry over into some of the run’s bigger storylines. If this issue makes a case for anything, it’s that the Superfamily status quo really works, and hopefully, Bendis will keep it intact.
Corrina: Contrary to what the creators on this run might seem to believe, given how they had Lois beat up a strawman spouting how being a wife and mother didn’t lessen her (which sounded suspiciously like a reaction to a warped version of what I’ve criticized about Lois in these reviews), I thought Lois being in charge of moving was fine.
Why? Because she’s a military brat. She probably learned to pack up and move at a young age and, what’s more, she must have developed a system for it. Unlike making a pie, moving day would be right in Lois Lane’s wheelhouse. I liked her “you promised” asides to Clark about not taking off to do the hero thing much less but I’ll be charitable and believe it was Lois not wanting to let Clark run off and not help with a chore he clearly wanted to avoid, for emotional reasons, as it made clear in the text.
I liked the goodbye to Hamilton (they seem to have a ton of carnivals there, though), and I’m okay with the Boyzarro/Robzarro solution. And I like the Super-Family a ton and I’m thrilled it’s back and intact.
I simply have disliked Lois’s individuality being lost in her role as wife and mother–since Clark’s individuality, of course, remains. I guess we’ll see what happens with Bendis in charge.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
