Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #2 – Kenny Porter, Writer; Jahnoy Lindsay, Artist
Ray – 8/10
Ray: Kenny Porter and Jahnoy Lindsay are giving Conner Kent his first solo series in over a decade (not counting the weird Superboy from the New 52), and it’s clear which era they’re fans of when it comes to the character. This Superboy is a throwback to his 1990s incarnation, complete with leather jacket and a whole lot of sass. He’s headed to space to try to find his own place in the universe and some people who aren’t being helped by the Earth heroes, and he found it—and more than he counted on. Not only is he going up against the space tyrant Dominator X and his army of clone/cyborg monsters, but he’s got to deal with a particularly intense group of young clone warriors looking for revenge against their captors—and this trio of vigilantes have no interest in Superman’s code of honor or anything but taking their enemies out with extreme prejudice.
This sets up an interesting dynamic for Superboy, as he started out wanting to get out of Superman’s shadow—and quickly found himself standing in for him. When he attempts to try to make the Cosmoteers see reason, he’s quickly captured and finds himself a hostage of the rogue leader. While he does eventually convince him that he’s not a mole or any other type of threat, they still have no interest in following his lead as the threat intensifies. While the dialogue here can be a bit on-the-nose and lacks subtlety, there’s one thing that absolutely does shine through about this run. Porter loves Superboy and is very familiar with his past and his unique power set—particularly his tactile telekinesis. This comes into play in a great way towards the end of the issue. While so far I’m not seeing anything that will make this a definitive story, it’s great to see the character just star in a fun old-school tale again.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
