Superman Unlimited #13 – Dan Slott, Writer; Lucas Meyer, Artist; Giuliano Peratelli, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: One of the most emotional issues of the series so far, this installment seems determined to make us cry over both Superboys – and Super-monkeys. Now that everything is back into continuity and creators are trying to figure out how to update bizarre Silver Age concepts for the modern day, Slott is one of the best-suited for the job. His focus this issue is Beppo, who here is a chimp given Kryptonite-based superpowers by twisted scientists who look a lot like obscure supervillain Dabney Donovan. As in, they all look exactly like him. Bibbo takes in the confused chimp, shows him kindness – and that leads the evil forces right to them. After Bibbo takes a bullet, Beppo flies into a rage and is unleashed on Metropolis. And he’s not the only one – as Lois looks after the newly-restored ten-year-old Jon Kent, it becomes clear just how traumatized the boy is – and how dangerous his powers make him.
This new status quo for Jon is pretty fascinating, with the boy being split between two selves. The older Jon that we know is now Tomorrow Man, wearing a mask and pretending to be a mysterious new hero. That doesn’t work too well in Metropolis, and he has to lie to his mother to give the other Jon a second chance. The younger Jon, meanwhile, is deeply haunted by the time he spent in the pit with Ultraman and is not only prone to night terrors, but lashes out in rage when he thinks his family is being endangered. It’s a wild sci-fi plot, but it’s also a deeply tragic story about what trauma does to a child. While I don’t think this new Jon is what he’s supposed to be, I do think this story is doing an amazing job of exploring what the character would have been if things went differently. And despite how dangerous he is, I bet this new version of Beppo is going to be a fan favorite too.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
