Superman: Action Comics #1043 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Riccardo Federici, Will Conrad, Artists; Lee Loughridge, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The war for Warworld heats up, with a non-stop issue that gets all the key players in position for the final showdown. The battle has shifted to the Necropolis, a mysterious city that seems to be constantly moving and evolving at the core of Warworld. Manchester Black is being tortured by the deranged Teacher, but gets rescued at the start of the issue—just in time for a showdown with the massive Orphan, a mysterious child held within a giant robot exoskeleton. This story has shown off Johnson’s chops for sci-fi and body horror, much like The Last God did. The difference is, while that one had a cast of morally questionable antiheroes at its core, this one has Superman as he’s determined not just to topple Mongul, but save everyone he can.
And on the flip side, we have Mongul, who is starting to display the behavior of a dictator who realizes he’s losing. His behavior becomes increasingly erratic, his rage more intense, and he lashes out at everyone from his closest advisors to random planets that accidentally cross him. It’s clear he’s losing his mind, but it’s not clear if anyone has the power to stop him. But that shifts more as a Phaelosian with some deep roots in the city shares a mysterious prophecy with Superman, making clear that this may be a much larger conflict that’s been raging for countless years—and that Superman may finally bring to an end. Superman’s a larger than life character, but he’s rarely been this mythic in a long time—even without his powers.
The backup continues the main story, with Will Conrad on art and that same storytelling telling a group of children something we’ve never seen before—the origin of Mongul. It’s an unlikely supervillain origin story, because it’s essentially the tale of what happens when a simple barbarian is in the right place at the right time—and harnesses an incredible power with sheer, brutal force. This isn’t the same Mongul, of course, but Johnson has done an amazing job taking him from a B-list Darkseid to a terrifying force of nature.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
