Superman #2 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Jamal Campbell, Artist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The first issue of this fantastic new series plunged us into Metropolis by day—fleshing out the city of tomorrow like we haven’t seen in well over a decade. It seemed bright, alive, and filled with promise—which makes it all the more interesting that this second issue is so intensely bleak and dark. Parasite is unleashed, but not like he used to be—instead of growing when he absorbs Superman’s powers, the energy leech is now able to multiply and create more and more deadly Parasites. The culprit is experiments by mad scientists—but not the most famous mad scientist in Metropolis, with Luthor locked up in Stryker’s, his rival mad doctors have picked up the slack. Led by a pair of twisted brothers, the villains see Luthor’s incarceration as an opportunity—and they waste no time plunging the city into chaos. And Luthor continues to drive home to Superman that the only way he’ll stop this is with his help.
Josh Williamson began his run as a horror writer, so it’s no surprise that he falls back on those instincts here. His depiction of the Parasite swarm is genuinely creepy, vaguely reminiscent of the World War Z zombie swarm. Even creepier is the reveal of exactly how they can propagate—and what they do to civilians who encounter them. Also fascinating is the new antihero Marilyn Moonlight, who seems to have ties to Metropolis’ distant past. It’s much darker than your average Superman story—although maybe not compared to the recent Warworld Saga. What’s equally compelling is the new way Superman is doing things in this run—backed up by the massive “Supercorp” corporation led by Mercy Graves. The punny name, for anyone in the Supergirl fandom, is worth a few laughs, but Williamson has done the same thing that Philip Kennedy Johnson did last year. He’s taken an 80-year-old character and given him a completely new vibe.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
