Superman #36 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Alejandro Sanchez, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: Over the last year, this title has been dominated by one character who stole the show every time he appeared – Superboy Prime, who has gone from being a despicable villain guilty of mass murder way back in Infinite Crisis, to a reluctant hero who wants a second chance. And with Superman missing in action following DC KO, he might get his chance – but not everyone is on board. As Mister Terrific points out, with everything in continuity, people remember everything he did and they’re not exactly willing to let him casually join the Justice League. That means it falls to Lois Lane to supervise this slightly-evil alternate-reality teenage version of her missing superpowered husband, as her experience with parenting just continues to get weirder and weirder. But somehow, it works. Watching her talk this incredibly screwed-up kid through the process of what it actually takes to be Superman is surprisingly effective.
Williamson has always been a guy fond of deep-cuts, and that makes him a great fit for a character who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the DCU. The villain who is the main threat in this issue, Ignition, hasn’t appeared for decades and last played a major role in Emperor Joker, something Prime makes fun of. There’s another surprising villain who shows up at the end very unexpectedly from that era, and that should be a lot of fun. But I also really like what they’re doing with Prime’s civilian life is going to be a lot of fun. He’s got a crappy apartment, he’s got a job at a comic book store where he can use his crazy nerd knowledge. The character has gone from nearly universally hated to widely liked over the last few months, and it’ll be fascinating to see if he can actually pull off being the star of one of DC’s flagship titles. This first issue indicates he’s off to a strong start.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
