Superman #20 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: This title has gotten a huge infusion of energy from the All In era – and it was already one of DC’s best! The decision to give Lois powers of her own, from an unknown source, has led to a fascinating change in her dynamic with Superman – one that’s tested immediately by the return of his deadliest enemy. It’s clear that neither Clark nor Lois have gotten over the pain this beast caused last time, and his arrival is the definition of throwing them into the fire – especially since he is now empowered by hellfire and bringing an army of Doomhounds with him. Supercorp has plenty of contingency plans in place for him, but one of them fails horribly – leading to the shocking death of a character who has become a bit of a fan favorite in this run. Williamson and Mora do an excellent job of setting the scale of Doomsday’s return, something that has been lacking all too often when this character is involved.
But just as good as the main fight is what’s lurking around the fringes. For the first time in a very long time, Doomsday is being used as something other than a brute-force threat. His origin is playing a key role, with his future self returning as the Time Trapper – a cosmic, highly-intelligent being on the verge of being reincarnated as a God. He drops one cryptic message after another, but is no less terrifying as a villain in his new evolution. The issue is almost entirely a fight scene, but there are a ton of great little details in it, such as Lex’s role once again showing that without his memories, he might truly be a changed man. And the cliffhanger drops a new set of villains that have an eerily familiar look – hinting at a much bigger threat coming from space. It’s been so long since the Superman line was at the fore of DC Comics, but this is the kind of run this character deserves.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
