Superman #12 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; David Baldeon/Norm Rapmund, Artists; Rex Lokus, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Joshua Williamson has built one of the best Superman events in recent memory over the last year by going in deep on the complex, often dysfunctional bond between Superman and Lex Luthor. Now, Luthor’s many sins have come back to haunt them both, as the Lex Luthor Revenge Squad—let by his estranged mother Leticia—have weaponized his research on Kryptonite to potentially poison all of Metropolis. The entire city is toxic to anyone who breathes it, the clock is ticking—and Superman can’t enter the fray, or he’ll be dead in seconds. That leaves it up to Luthor to save the day in his old Superman-inspired armor—and ironically, Superman to take control of Supercorp and step into his new role as a corporate leader whether he’s comfortable in it or not. It’s a fun role reversal that sets the stage for an action-packed issue filled with dramatic twists and tense battles.
Flashbacks to the first meeting between Luthor and the villainous duo of Pharm and Graft shed some interesting light on what motivated Luthor to make this experiment a reality. But the more pressing threat is his deranged mother, using his old armor to push him to the limit. Lena isn’t seen too much this issue, but she does make a very interesting and risky choice towards the end of the issue that makes me wonder what her true agenda is. She’s probably the most intriguing character in this series at the moment for me. The ending seems to set the relationship between Superman and Luthor back on track as they’re both committed to their unique partnership, but nothing is ever simple where Luthor is concerned. The ending has two major new threats coming for Earth, kicking off the epic House of Brainiac story—which will unite this title with Action under the same writer for three months. Can’t wait.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
