<h2>Metamorpho the Element Man #3 – Al Ewing, Writer; Steve Lieber, Artist; Lee Loughridge, Colorist
Ray – 9.5/10
Ray: The strangest and most inventive book on the DC stands, Metamorpho’s first solo title in many years is both a love letter to the Silver Age and a tribute to Al Ewing’s love for offbeat weird-science books – with a surprisingly strong emotional core. After last issue’s bizarre robot musical adventure, Metamorpho has chosen to break up with Sapphire and go his own way. Neither her weeping nor her father’s condescending cajoling – which reveals some of his own ugly secrets – convince him otherwise, so he’s happy to have an excuse to distract himself with a mission when Urania shows up. There’s just one problem – she doesn’t want Rex Mason as her team-up in super-spy business, she wants Java, and the hulking caveman is just as confused as everyone else. But deep in the South American jungle, a massive temple awaits – with Vandal Savage waiting inside it.
This is actually a really clever plot – Savage and his partner in crime Mad Mod are based in a temple from before modern civilization, and the only way to get in is with the help of someone who has been there before. Java comes from the same time period as Savage – and even fought him during his previous heroic days – so he’s the ideal candidate. He soon finds himself inside with no way out, and Rex and Urania trying to find their way in. There’s a two-page spread of the temple as a maze that might be the most clever and entertaining work of comic-bookery I’ve seen in the big two in a while. This issue also gives Java some surprising depth, and calls back to the continuity twists that happened during Metamorpho’s last major story in The Terrifics, which supposedly saw the death of Simon Stagg. I’m really glad that DC is letting creative teams take big swings and get weird again.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
