Superman: Action Comics #1069 – Gail Simone, Rainbow Rowell, Writers; Eddy Barrows/Danny Miki, Cian Tormey, Artists; Rex Lokus, Romulo Fajardo Jr, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Gail Simone’s return to Superman has been another fantastic arc for what’s now an anthology series, and she brings it to a close in epic fashion as Superman faces his final test in an intergalactic gladiator match. With the fate of Earth hanging in the balance and a corrupt gamesmaster determined to make him lose, Superman has started to win the support not just of his fellow gladiators, but of the audience and the entire planet. This story has some similar themes to the recent, brilliant Warworld Saga, but with a much more comic-booky tone and more suitable for all ages. But the villain is not going to let his empire be taken away – and his final adversary for Superman has Superman’s powers and none of his scruples.
The choice of a Daxamite as the last villain was inspired – we haven’t seen too much of this species, but aside from Mon-El, what we saw wasn’t exactly optimistic. This villain provides a brutal final fight, but Superman is able to not only find his weak point but play on psychological elements that turn the tide of the fight in an interesting way. With a despicable villain and a Superman who truly represents the best in humanity, this is a quintessential Superman tale. Jimmy and Lois didn’t have as much to do this issue, but they played a great role in the run overall. Gail is having a fantastic renaissance, and while she’s very busy at the moment, DC would be smart to make sure this isn’t her last Superman story.
The Rainbow Rowell backup, which focused on the complexities hitting the Kent-Lane household now that Lois is Editor in Chief, wraps up neatly – maybe a little too neatly, but there’s only so much that can be done in around 24 total pages. Last issue left the couple in a bad place as Lois felt compelled to move Clark off the Superman beat for ethical reasons, and this issue, it turns out that all they needed was…to talk things out. It feels a little easy, but the characterization is strong and maybe more people could use this approach.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
