Superman #24 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Eddy Barrows, Penciller; Eber Ferreira, Inker; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: There are some books where things unfold slowly, and some where the entire concept of the book can be upended in around 20 pages. That’s definitely the case for Josh Williamson’s Superman, which is coming up on a big anniversary and sets up a lot. Lex Luthor is slowly regaining his memories, although he still seems to want a fresh lease on life, but he’s becoming more involved in SuperCorp’s development. And that’s led Superman to become a bit more skeptical – especially as Mercy says it’s time to go to market with some of the company’s inventions that could be used by the military. Superman is naturally dubious about becoming a corporate weapons baron, and puts the kibosh on it for now – but there isn’t much time to debate, as Markovia is under attack by the Khunds. Instead of Superman heading off, they decide that Superwoman will step in for him in Lois’ first Justice League mission.
The addition of the new Justice League format, which features just about every hero in the DCU, has been a lot of fun. Where else could we get a book that features Lois Lane and the Creeper averting an international disaster? Back in Metropolis, Chief Kekoa arrives to arrest Lex – because he’s getting his memories back, he can resume his sentence. This disturbs both Lena and Mercy, the latter of whom is beginning a relationship with Lex. But before the fallout can be played out, Lois returns from Markovia with a shocking reveal about why the Khunds were there and how it can be tied back to SuperCorp. This sets into effect a chain of events that reveals the true villain of the arc, as well as how far they’re willing to go to achieve their goals. The ending is a huge cliffhanger, and there are like ten different plot threads building in the final issue. Even amid all the flashy new launches, this is easily one of DC’s best books at the moment.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
