Action Comics Presents Doomsday Special #1 – Dan Watters, Writer; Eddy Barrows/Eber Ferreira, Max Raynor, Artists; Adriano Lucas, Andrew Dalhouse, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: DC has been doing some great work spinning larger stories out of single Lazarus Planet tales, and this dark Dan Watters book comes from the sad tale of Raphael Arce, the young new metahuman who accidentally generated Doomsday out of Metropolis’ residual rage. Doomsday was dispatched by Superman and Martian Manhunter, but Arce didn’t survive and the threat was over—or so we thought. As the issue opens, Supergirl is haunted by disturbing dreams, leading to a vivid conversation between her and Superman. But it’s not Superman who becomes Kara’s partner in tracking down the source of these nightmares—it’s Martian Manhunter, and their quest to find Doomsday will take them straight to hell.
Doomsday has been in the underworld, and the Kryptonian monster’s sheer brutality and irrepressible lust for carnage has led to him becoming a cult figure in the community of the damned—threatening to make him king of Hell. This forces Kara and J’onn to make a deal with the First of the Fallen—a new character who isn’t exactly the Vertigo version of Lucifer but absolutely feels inspired by him. Not a surprise given Watters experience with the demon king. While it’s Kara who takes on a cursed armor to fight Doomsday, it’s J’onn who plays the biggest role in neutralizing the threat by trying to prove there can still be hope in Hell. This is one of the darkest Superman stories in a while, with a very vivid and occasionally gruesome version of hell that is compelling but feels a bit out of place in the DCU.
But it seems like this will be a new element going forward, with the backup focusing on Bloodwynd. But wait, isn’t Bloodwynd just J’onn’s odd 1990s cosplay? Yes, and this story actually feels like a great chance to fix that twist. This backup is the story of Raphael Arce, as the doomed young man finds himself in Hell as punishment for unleashing Doomsday—and instead draws into a power of his own, becoming the “Superman of Hell” and taking on one circle of the realm at a time. I’m actually really excited to see more of this character.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
