Superman #35 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Eddy Barrows, Penciller; Eber Ferreira, Julio Ferreira, Inkers; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: DC KO is the very, very rare event that not only delivers, but lifts its tie-ins up to its level. DC has had a streak of events that are fairly restrained with their tie-ins – a few books tying in a week, one-shots here and there – so it’s easy to keep up with and makes every book matter. This series has been one of the best tie-ins in a long time, thanks primarily to its unique redemption arcs for two characters no one ever expected to be rooting for – Doomsday and Superboy Prime. Williamson has been the architect of both stories, reinventing Doomsday as the Time Trapper and completely rewriting his origin story. In this issue, he learns some key details about his origins from an unlikely source that was hinted at in the prelude to DC KO months ago, and is set up for an incredibly key role in the finale of the event. But that’s a story for another day – and Superboy Prime’s moment in the sun is now.
Prime, Lois, and a surviving Superman robot are the last people standing against the army of Darkseid’s Legion, with Cosmic Boy leading the charge to kill anyone opposing Darkseid’s will. But along the way, Saturn Girl’s attempts to screw with Lois’ mind start to backfire. She starts seeing a world outside of Darkseid’s influence, and while she’s not free yet, it’s clear that she’s going to be the key to the Legion’s eventual return. As for Prime, we’ve been following him for months now as he went from a cruel, callow teenager who was only on the good guys’ side for fun, into a genuine hero, and it’s largely all due to Lois’ influence. At the end of the issue, she takes this one step further by setting him up for success as a hero the same way Clark was, with Superman missing in action. Prime will be taking over as the lead of this title next month, and believe it or not, I’m really excited for it.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
