Superman: Action Comics #1077 – Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Writers; Clayton Henry/Michael Shelfer, Meghan Hetrick, Artists; Matt Herms, Marissa Louise, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: As we get down to the last act of this weekly event, the stakes are higher than ever. Superman has escaped the Krypton of the past – barely – and returned to the Phantom Zone, where the mad Aethyr is transforming it into something even more horrific. With the inmates getting increasingly desperate to escape, Mon-El is fighting for his life alone until Superman returns – and maybe losing even more of himself in the process. And making things even worse, Aethyr’s power is directly sapping the Earth’s sun – potentially wiping out all life on Earth in a matter of days if Superman doesn’t manage to stop him. And the villain is looking like a much bigger target than he used to…
Aethyr is a villain with a very interesting setup, but he’s been largely set up off-screen and only appeared directly in a few issues. That’s always a tricky thing to do with a villain, but when he shows up for a direct battle with Superman, it’s worth it. He delivers some great villains, and has a twisted, tragic edge to everything he does. One of the most interesting parts of this story is definitely Mon-El, who has come a long way from the kind boy that Superman used to know – and maybe not entirely in a good way. This is the conclusion of act two, before the story shifts back to Earth for the big finale, and it continues to be a solid and entertaining tale with a fast pace and great visuals.
The Supergirl backup also continues to deliver, with a deeply tragic chapter that spotlights our mysterious masked planet-killer. She’s not a villain, per se, but it seems like she was part of a duo that was the scourge of the galaxy. And this is something Supergirl can relate to all too closely, as she was part of a revenge mission in the now-iconic Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. This is the rare Tom King miniseries that is firmly in continuity, so it’s interesting to see it followed up on here.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
