Superman: Action Comics #1080 – Mark Waid, Mariko Tamaki, Writers; Clayton Henry, Skylar Partridge, Artists; Matt Herms, Marissa Louise, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It’s the penultimate chapter of “Phantoms”, the thrilling arc that unleashed the entire Phantom Zone on Earth. Last issue saw it revealed that the invasion had broken containment and was now spreading out across the galaxy. As Supergirl tries to negotiate with Kandor and get their aid in capturing the villains, Superman leads a mission across the galaxy – as infamous Kryptonian criminals try to stake their claim to other worlds. This is a great opportunity to bring in some old, new, and obscure Superman villains – some so obscure I’m not sure if they’re originals or not. We’ve known that Krypton had a lot of prisoners, but it’s rarely established what they’re actually there for – until now.
The visuals in this issue are great, with each of the villains having their own unique aesthetic. You’ve got one who was Krypton’s only sorcerer, and another who was a mad scientist creating hybrid mutants. The hero teams that take them on have some fun twists as well, including Superboy and the Superman of China winning the day thanks to Superboy’s new Khund army, which he won in an alien brawl. But the heart of this issue is definitely the team-up between Superman and Mon-El, as some of the long-simmering issues between them come to light and Mon’s future remains uncertain. And of course, there’s one last “Final boss” for this arc still to come, as one of the most infamous villains of the zone returns.
The penultimate chapter of Supergirl’s story continues to intrigue, as the two alien siblings Kara is facing off with battle for control, with one wanting to take the war back to the universe and continue their destructive ways. This is a fascinating story, but a little hard to follow visually at times as it takes on a unique meta element this issue. The reveal at the end will probably play a bit better when reading this whole story as one unit, but overall it gets major points for ambition and visual sense.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
