Between Action Comics and Superman it appears that Superman is the stronger of the two titles. I like the direction that Busiek is going with this title. I expect Superman #655 to be a very good read. Let’s hit this review.
Creative Team
Writer: Kurt Busiek
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: This issue starts with a flashback waaaay back to Paris in the year 1659. We see Arion in bed with several ho’s because he apparently has quite the voracious appetite for the ladies. Arion wakes up from a vision of the future. He conjures up a magic sphere and peers into the future and sees an airplane.
We then shift forward in time to that airplane. Clark Kent is aboard and headed to Kazakhstan for a press-conference being held by his ex-girlfriend, Callie Llewellyn. The thought of an ex-girlfriend gets him thinking about another ex-girlfriend, Lana_Lang.
We then jump back to a Clark interviewing Lana at her office concerning her new job as the C.E.O. of LexCorp. Lana mentions what a mess she has on her hands trying to stop the fiscal hemorrhaging of LexCorp. She is worried about inadvertently unleashing one of Lex’s crazy plans while going through the company’s inventory of various projects and inventions. Clark tells Lana that if she ever needs his help as Superman that all she has to do is say his name and he will be there.
Lana then tells Clark that she and Pete Ross are getting a divorce. That Pete has moved back to Smallville with their son. That he wants their son to get a solid Smallville upbringing. Lana says that there is no chance that she and Pete will ever get back together again and that she can never go back to Smallville because of too many memories. Lana and Clark stare into each other’s eyes. Clark knows that these memories are good ones of the two of them that Lana will never be able to recapture. Suddenly, Clark hears a distress call for a fire and changes into his Big Red S outfit and takes off.
We cut back to Clark on the airplane. His thoughts turn to what trouble Callie must be having to ask for him to cover this story.
We then shift to the base in Kazakhstan. It is on fire and in ruins. We see an injured Callie praying that Clark arrives soon. We cut back to Clark on the airplane. Clark hears Callie’s cries for help. He slips out the back of the airplane and blasts off for the base.
Superman arrives and pulls Callie out of the wreckage. Superman goes back into the base to rescue more people when he is suddenly punched vary hard. Callie yells out to Superman that she must tell him what he is fighting so he can defeat it. Superman tells her to keep talking and that he will be able to hear her while he is in the lab fighting. Callie tells Superman that the Soviet Union had an old project that they abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union. Some locals broke into the lab in Kazakhstan to see if they could find items to sell. They came across this project that was beyond their scope to handle so they called in the Kazakh government. This was called Subjekt-17 and was a living creature sedated in a nutrient bath. The government then called in Callie for her expert opinion. This creature was either alien, ancient or unknown. While supervising the dismantling of the lab, the creature began to wake up. It eventually woke up and all hell broke loose.
We then see Superman locked in combat with Subjekt-17. We then see Arion looking at his magic orb and viewing Superman and Subjekt-17 fighting. Arion comments that they are all idiots. Arion stated that it is absurdly inconvenient that he is dead at that point in the future. Arion then dresses and creates a time portal and says that he has to go see if he can fix it all before it is too late. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Busiek serves up another dandy in Superman #655. I am really enjoying the comic book and I’m not even a big Superman fan. Busiek is crafting a well developed and nicely detailed storyline full of various entertaining plotlines. I liked the pace of this issue. We got a nice dramatic scene between Lana and Clark. We got some nice introspective time with Clark rummaging through his thoughts about his ex-girlfriends. Then Busiek mixed in some nice action with the brawl between Subjekt-17 and Superman. Nice balance and a pleasant read.
Busiek has a fantastic feel for each character. I like Busiek’s Lana Lang. I also like Busiek’s Clark Kent. He gives Clark some depth and makes him something of an interesting character than the usual boring cardboard character that he has been written in the past.
I was thrilled to see Arion in the beginning of this issue. Awesome! I’ve always liked Arion and I like that Busiek did not let the small obstacle of Arion being dead prevent him from using this character. Just have him do a little time traveling to the present time and we get some instant Arion goodness. I am very curious to find out Arion’s connection with Subjekt-17. I definitely didn’t see this coming and am excited to read more about Arion in the next issue.
On the surface, Subjekt-17 seems to be a generic monster villain. However, the addition of Arion makes this monster villain a lot more interesting. I’m curious about Subjekt-17’s origins. This should be a pretty interesting storyline.
I loved the scene between Lana Lang and Clark. It was beautifully done. Busiek really shows off his ability to craft nice poignant and touching scenes. You could feel the tension between Lana and Clark. Here is Lana Lang assuming one of the premier jobs in the world. Most people would be envious of her. Most people would think that she has everything. But, we see that Lana has nothing. She and Pete are divorced. Pete has custody of their son. And now, Lana is in the same city as her ex-boyfriend whom she still loves. Busiek does a great job showing how memories, even good ones, are just too painful. I am very curious to see what Busiek has in store for Lana Lang.
Carlos Pacheco delivers some strong artwork. I am really enjoying Pacheco’s artwork more and more. He draws a great Clark Kent and also cranks out a fantastic looking Superman. Pacheco’s Lana Lang looked hot. Much better than his Lois Lane! Pachecho’s artwork compliments Busiek’s splendid writing and makes Superman #655 a extraordinary comic book to look at.
The Bad: I have no complaints at all. This was a very solid issue.
Overall: Superman #655 combines excellent writing and great artwork. The writing is balanced and masterfully blends action with drama and character development. Busiek and Pacheco are doing a sterling job on Superman. This is definitely a title worth checking out.