Superman: Action Comics #1044 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Riccardo Federici, Will Conrad, David Lapham, Artists; Lee Loughridge, Trish Mulvihill, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: As we head to the last act of the Warworld Saga, Phillip Kennedy Johnson keeps dialing the tension up to eleven. Last issue saw the battle against the mysterious Orphan, who seems to be a fetus held within a massive battlesuit. The heroes managed to save the baby from oblivion, but now it’s displaying powerful psychic abilities—and they have to negotiate with it to get its help. A flashback reveals the origin of the mysterious child, dating back to the pre-Infinite Frontier event Justice League: No Justice, when half the multiverse was ravaged by the destruction of the Source Wall. These segments are brilliantly tense, and the reveal of how this strange hybrid being came to be is quite clever.
Superman and his team are still very much the underdogs in this story, but what’s fascinating is how they don’t seem like it anymore. They’re becoming joyful warriors, with Superman sharing the secrets of his culture with children and his legend growing. Mongul, meanwhile, is seeing some of his most powerful henchmen turning against him as he’s forced to put them down. OMAC, who betrayed the heroes to get Lightray back, has slowly lost their humanity and is willing to sacrifice Lightray’s as well to restore them—by any means necessary. This story began with so much brutality that it was hard to see how the day would ever be won. We’re getting close to that victory, and it’s all the sweeter for the difficult journey.
Johnson takes over as the full issue writer to set up future stories once Kal-El returns to Earth, and this issue has Supergirl take center stage as she makes a risky move to save their Phaelossian refugee. This is Kara’s first big spotlight since the conclusion of her recent miniseries, so it’s great to see her in action. However, just as intriguing is the last segment, which has a major figure from Superman’s past and a notorious villain who hasn’t had a major story in over twenty-five years return. This is a deep cut, and shows some major things have changed, and as a ’90s kid I can’t wait to see this play out.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
