Action Comics #837 is the first “One Year Later” issue for this title. This issue continues the storyline from Superman #650. Even though The Revolution is not a big Superman fan, we were interested enough to pick up this issue to see where Johns and Busiek are going with this story.
Creative Team
Writers: Geoff Johns & Kurt Busiek
Art: Pete Woods
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Synopsis: The issue starts with the news that LexCorp is in a horrible financial state. LexCorp is voting to break up the company and sell off the profitable divisions. Lex Luthor has been ousted from LexCorp. We see Lex in one of his underground labs watching the news. Suddenly, Superman breaks through his lab wall. Superman’s chest opens and out pops Toyman. Toyman built his own Superman robot for his own entertainment. Lex Luthor tells Toyman that he has retrieved a Sunstone from Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. Sunstone is an element native to Krypton and is the basis for much of their technology. Lex Luthor tells Toyman to contact the Prankster and tell him that they need his services.
We cut to Clark Kent nursing his injuries from the last issue where Lex Luthor gave him a beat down. Clark is still publishing negative articles about Lex Luthor. Clark tells Lois that Lex still has plenty of labs in the sewers and subways of Metropolis. Clark plans to uncover what Lex is up to and bust him. Clark then talks to Lois about how not having his superpowers has been a tough adjustment. Clark says that now he truly has a sense of being human.
We then go to Metro Square where Clark is snooping around the subways trying to find one of Lex Luthor’s labs. While he is searching in the subway he is talking to someone on his cell phone that he has found one of the labs. In the lab are a bunch of thugs from Intergang stealing a bunch of Lex Luthor’s green and purple suits of armor. The Intergang thugs hear Clark and start blasting away. Clark calls on his cell phone and tells the person that he needs help. Suddenly, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Hawkgirl bust onto the scene. And it’s a…….braaaaaawl!! After Green Lantern and Hawkgirl whoop up on the Intergang thugs, they fly Clark back to his penthouse.
We then cut over to Lex Luthor standing in front of statues of Superman and Superboy. Lex Luthor meets with a new and improved Metallo.
We then go back Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Clark Kent on Clark’s balcony. Hal Jordan tells Clark that he has done good work as a reporter, but he could do so much more with the right tools. Hal Jordan then tells Clark it is “time to get back in the game” as he hands him a Power Ring with the Superman “S’ on it. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: This issue has a pretty solid story. Johns and Busiek are taking their time properly laying the foundation for this story. They are moving at a nice deliberate pace so that it doesn’t seem rushed, yet the story is not dragging. Even though the Revolution isn’t blown away by the story, we are hooked. We will keep reading, Johns and Busiek definitely have something big in store for us.
Johns and Busiek also have a nice handle on the characters. Clark is boring, but they write him well. Obviously, Johns knows how to write Hal Jordan. I like their take on Lex Luthor. He still isn’t as interesting as the Lex on Smallville, but, they are doing a good job making him more complex than just some crazed power-mad megalomaniac. I like how Lex feels abandoned by the people of Metropolis. Lex has fallen so far down.
The Bad: Pete Woods’ art isn’t terrible, but it isn’t great. The Revolution just isn’t a big fan of his art. Woods’ Clark looks old and fat. Johns and Busiek’s story deserves stronger art.
Clark is boring. Johns and Busiek are good writers, but Clark, in essence, is just not interesting. Maybe the Revolution just doesn’t get it. And since Clark is so uninteresting, the story becomes a bit of a boring read if it isn’t an action scene or a scene with Lex Luthor.
Overall, the Revolution thinks that Johns and Busiek are doing a good job on this title. However, Superman is definitely not as interesting as all of the other DC titles that the Revolution reads.