Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #5 – Kenny Porter, Writer; Jahnoy Lindsay, Artist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: This has been a rather unexpected and dark journey of self-discovery for Conner Kent, who started the story by seeking a place where he felt needed in deep space and getting more than he bargained for. He wound up in a war with the ruthless Dominator empire, known for engineering clones and mutants, and teamed up with the mysterious Cosmoteers—a band of space rebels. Unfortunately, the Cosmoteers were led by a Travv, a radical who was seeking to raze the Dominator empire and anyone he deemed guilty of assisting them—no matter how many civilians died. When Conner tried to stop him, he was betrayed and left for dead without his powers or his teleporters. He’s found by a pair of young space boys who might be the only people out there who still idolize him, but he’s too far gone to see their hope for him and sinks into a deep rock-bottom, convinced he’s doomed the universe.
Watching him pick himself up from that is probably the most compelling part of this issue, as he gets to see himself through someone else’s eyes and get the motivation to take the fight back to Travv and Dominator X. Travv is the type of villain we’ve seen a lot of lately—the character who has a sympathetic motivation, but is so far gone that it’s clear there’s really no hope for redemption. As the Dominators wage war and Travv tries to take his revenge in a genocidal manner, even many of Travv’s allies start to turn on him. The renegade seems to turn his back on a last chance at salvation and meet his end—but instead is unleashed as a far more dangerous villain than we’ve seen so far. This is an interesting mini, primarily driven by a relatable question of what to do when you no longer fit into your family—but given a gonzo sci-fi edge that’s a lot of fun.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
