The Revolution has never been a fan of the big red S. He is a character that I have always had a hard time “getting.” Having said that, I started getting this title because of Busiek and Johns. I usually dig their stuff so I decided to give them a chance. Needless to say, I have not been disappointed. This current Up, Up and Away storyline has been a lot of fun to read. Will Superman #653 continue the excitement? Yeah, I think so.
Creative Team
Writers: Kurt Busiek & Geoff Johns
Artist: Pete Woods
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10.
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10.
Synopsis: The issue starts with Lex Luthor explaining the history of the Kryptonian battleship he is now piloting. How it was the most powerful weapon in Krypton’s arsenal. That the Kryptonians used it to destroy many planets in order to strike fear into civilizations around the universe and to keep galaxies in their iron grip. That the battleship’s crystal missiles after they have been fired and destroy their targets then will root into the planet and use the planet’s own matter to convert and reconfigure the missiles into crystal At-At walkers. Lex Luthor then continues with the fact that he is going to use this Kryptonian battleship to destroy Metropolis.
Superman tells Luthor to back off because Metropolis is under his protection. Luthor snaps and rants that he built Metropolis. That all of Metropolis’ successes are due to Lex Luthor. And that if the people of Metropolis choose to turn their collective back to Lex then he will not let them live in his city anymore. Luthor fires off dozens of crystal missiles. Superman can only block some of them. The others destroy buildings. Then the missiles transform into the crystal At-At walkers and continue their rampage to destroy Metropolis.
Superman can only take out but so many of the crystal tanks. And each time he breaks them they continue to re-form. Superman then streaks toward Luthor in the battleship. Superman asks Luthor where his cancer cure is or his miracle food program. That Lex has always claimed he could perform miracles if only he didn’t have to deal with Superman. And that for one year Lex didn’t have to deal with Superman and what did he do? He found himself a large destructive machine so he could break things. That all Luthor has done is destroy, or enrich only himself. Lex then retorts that Superman stole his city and turned the people against him. Luthor begins to blast Superman with the battleship’s cannon which hurts even the mighty Kryptonian.
Suddenly, we see the cavalry arriving. Captain Marvel, Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, Wonder Girl, Robin and Star Girl. However, Lex is one step ahead and activates a force field around all of New Troy Island in order to keep out the team of heroes. Lex tells Superman that this fight is just between the two of them. Superman then uses his increased brain function to scan the circuitry of the battleship to find the broadcast center that commands the crystal tanks and directs their ever move. Superman then pours on the heat vision like he has never done before. (The art for this is pretty sweet.) The battleship tries to protect the broadcast center, but Superman’s heat vision is too powerful and the broadcast center explodes and causes all of the marauding crystal tanks to fall apart.
Lex raves that this is a mere setback. That the battleship was Dru-Zod’s ship and that he doesn’t need the remote assault units to win this battle. Superman is shocked that Lex would know anything about Admiral Dru-Zod. Lex Luthor then activates another feature on the battleship and all of the sudden; the crystal battleship is not glowing green. Luthor has flooded the entire hull of the ship with green Kryptonite. Lex then blasts Superman with a massive green Kryptonite ray. Superman gets smashed into the ground as Luthor continues to blast Superman with the ray.
Jimmy Olsen exclaims that the ray is going to kill Superman. So, Jimmy grabs a metal trashcan lid and runs over to Superman and deflects the green kryptonite ray with the lid. Jimmy tells Superman to run. The ray is very hot and melts the lid and burns Jimmy’s arm. Superman grabs Jimmy and takes off with a burst of super speed. Superman drops Jimmy off at an ambulance and tells them that Jimmy has third degree burns and possibly radiation exposure. Superman then thanks Jimmy for his help.
Superman then flies back to the battleship weaving and rolling to evade all of the green Kryptonite ray blasts. Suddenly, a green crystal fist smashes Superman. Luthor has transformed the battleship. The battleship is the head and it now has a body. Superman realizes that he is losing strength and speed. That he remembers his plunge through Krypton’s sun. That it cost him his powers for an entire year. But, Superman has no other choice so he rockets as fast as he can right for Lex Luthor’s cockpit. Superman blasts through the hull and through the cockpit and grabs Luthor. They both smash out the back side of the battleship and rocket high up into the air.
But, because of the Kryptonite exposure, Superman’s powers fade away. Superman and Lex Luthor slowly drift slightly apart and start to free fall. They look at each other and Lex says “I hate you.” We then see a one page splash shot of the two men high in the air above the water as they begin to fall with Lex saying “God, I hate you.” End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Wow. Superman #653 was a great read! This issue is one awesome and nicely done brawl! You have to love a fight that lasts an entire issue. Nothing but pure brawling. And it was so nicely done. During the brawl, Busiek and Johns mixed in some great dialogue.
I loved how Superman called Luthor out about how Lex had an entire year without Superman and all he did was look for a giant machine to destroy. Superman does a good job exposing Lex for the fraud he is. That it isn’t because of Superman that Lex doesn’t have the time to create miracles for the world. It is because Lex could care less about the greater good of the world and only does things to benefit himself. Nicely done.
I’m also glad that the other heroes did not get involved in the fight. This is something that has to be settled between Superman and Lex Luthor only.
The scene with Jimmy Olson fearlessly jumping in to save Superman was perfect. Jimmy is a great character that has a lot of heart. Plus, he is a great friend. It was nice to see this amazingly powerful her in Superman being saved by a normal man armed only with courage. It sends a nice message that no matter how powerful you are, there are many problems that can’t be defeated or solved without the help of good friends.
I absolutely loved the ending. Just fantastic! Superman deciding that he has no choice but to rocket through the Kryptonite charge battleship just like he did the sun in Infinite Crisis. This scene did a great job of showing Superman’s strong resolve and really gave him some balls by showing that he will do anything to win regardless of what happens to him.
And the final two panels was one of the best endings I have read. It so perfectly encapsulated Lex Luthor’s pure rage and disdain for Superman. The image of these two men high in the air looking at each other while beginning to free fall was perfect. And then adding in the two simple sentences for Lex Luthor “I hate you. God, I hate you.” was fantastic. Those simple words in that situation where there appears no way for them to survive hit the reader like two strong punches. That was such a great ending panel.
Pete Woods did a great job with the artwork. I wasn’t overly impressed with Woods at first, but his style has really grown on me. Woods draws a great Superman. Woods also has a nice dynamic style that does a good job conveying all the energy and motion of the fight scenes. The facial expressions are also well done. You can really feel what the characters are experiencing. Woods does a great job complimenting and augmenting a very good story.
Busiek and Johns write a great Superman and Lex Luthor. They clearly have a great understanding for both characters. They do an excellent job conveying to the reader the disdain that each man has for the other. I also like how they are writing Jimmy Olsen. They are really showcasing the fact that Jimmy is a great friend and is definitely not short on courage.
Busiek and Johns also deliver very strong dialogue. The banter between Superman and Lex Luthor is very compelling. The pacing of this issue is perfect. We deserved to have an issue long fight between these two men.
I’m interested to see where they go with the Dru-Zod storyline and how Lex Luthor found out about Dru-Zod. I also hope that Jimmy is all right and won’t suffer any serious ill-effects from the exposure to the Kryptonite ray. And the ending was a great hook! I cannot wait to get my hands on the next issue to see what happens next. If Superman is able to regain his powers quickly enough to save himself and Lex. How Superman is going to deal with Lex? Will the heroes outside the force field be able to crack it to swoop in and save Superman and Lex? So many questions to an action packed issue.
The Bad: I have no complaints with this story at all. My only complaint with the artwork is that Woods draws Lois Lane, who used to be hot, as a boring soccer mom.
Overall: Superman #653 was a great issue. This was simply a fun read. The pacing was just right and the dialogue was well done. I am really enjoying Busiek and Johns’ Up, Up and Away storyline. This has been a well paced and fun ride. I have never liked Superman, but Busiek and Johns have gotten me into this title. That is a huge compliment to their abilities since it takes a lot of me to like Superman. If you aren’t reading this title, then I think you should take a look at this book.