Superman #34 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Eddy Barrows, Penciller; Eber Ferreira, Inker; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Joshua Williamson has done a lot of incredible work over at DC, but his crowning achievement might just be the redemption of Superboy Prime. The character was both universally hated and seen as pure evil, but under Williamson’s pen, he’s getting one hell of a storyarc – so much so that people are even comparing him to fan favorite Steve Harrington of Stranger Things. Of course, the one doing the real heavy lifting here is Lois Lane, who has been left to supervise Prime and a lone Superman robot while Superman is off competing to become a God. With her powers restored and the Legion temporarily repelled, the trio head off to try to save who they can. Prime, naturally, doesn’t get why they should be working on minor issues like this, but the Superman Robot is programmed to be, think, and feel like Superman does – and he has some pretty profound things to say.
Prime’s always been an interesting hook for a character – a version of Superman from a world where Superman is a fictional character, and was corrupted when he lost his world. For the longest time, it seemed like he was too far gone and had no desire to change, but Lois’ influence and the words of the robot seem to get through to him. And when the Legion breaks free and goes on the attack again, we get to see exactly what he’s capable of. There’s also a brief segment that sets up the future matches of the DC KO tournament, and the return of the Time Trapper as he desperately tries to prevent Darkseid’s gambit, but the heart and soul of this issue is Prime and Lois, who are likely to get a lot more time to interact as Prime takes over the lead of this title in a few months. It’s one of the most surprising redemption arcs for a character since Jason Todd – not just in terms of heroism, but in terms of the fans’ reaction.
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