Deriving Novelty from the Inane: Action Comics #962

The following is my review of Action Comics #962, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

When is it okay to put the proverbial genie back in the bottle? Is it even possible to accomplish without destroying the bottle and everything within a five-mile radius? That radius may be much wider when Superman is involved. It may also involve more than one bottle. It sounds confusing and it certainly is. It's a major reason why the events of DC: Rebirth are affecting Superman more than most, but not because of anything Doomsday or Lex Luthor are doing.

DC: Rebirth decides with little to no depth that the genie needs to go back in the bottle. Superman needs to go back to his pre-Flashpoint method of operation. That means every meaningful change from the New 52 has to be nullified, rendered meaningless and pointless in the grand scheme of things. It gives the impression that the narrative of Superman and Action Comics is inherently shallow. It's not that nothing really happens. It's that nothing can happen that has any lasting impact on Superman.

Dan Jurgens is tasked with crafting a meaningful story with this narrative in the first post-Rebirth arc of Action Comics. However, the meaning is often lost in the confusion of all the contrivances attempting to purge New 52 impacts and the all-too familiar clashes with Doomsday. It can't acknowledge that Superman fought Doomsday on multiple occasions during the New 52 era. It can't acknowledge any dramatic entanglements that may or may not have occurred in that era either. It doesn't just limit the story. It flat out ignores the context.

If there is a strength within this confusion, it's Jurgens' efforts to re-frame Superman's story as a husband and father. Action Comics #962 tries to use this strength to complete an arc that relies too much on contrivances and disaster porn. It isn't enough to circumvent the flaws that inevitably emerge when putting Superman back into the pre-Flashpoint bottle, but it does keep the story from falling flat.

Any battle involving Superman and Doomsday has to be destructive. It has to be epic. This is the creature that actually killed Superman at one point. It can't be ended by one punch or by some secret gadget in Batman's utility belt. There has to be destruction, danger, and desperation every step of the way. Jurgens definitely goes the extra distance in capturing these elements. Stephen Segovia's artwork goes just as far in capturing the visuals.

Things blow up. Mountains crumble. The laws of physics are strained in ways that would make Einstein cringe. The aesthetics are definitely there. They help distract from the fact that this is a battle we've seen before. It's a battle that doesn't bring anything that new to the table. Other than Superman having a wife and son, there isn't much in this battle that hasn't played out before. It feels slightly more novel than seeing Batman punch the Joker again, but not by much.

Beneath the aesthetics though, there are still flaws. There's still a sense that this story has to ignore, negate, or undermine the stories that came before it in order to function. The substance of a battle between Superman and Doomsday may check all the right boxes, but the circumstances of that battle have too many blanks and details have some distressing implications.

While the outcome of the battle is never in question, the effects it reveals along the way are telling. It basically pulls back the curtain and shows the actual process of putting Superman's various genies back in the bottle. The revelation of his secret identity is undermined. His romantic history with Wonder Woman is flat out ignored. Lex Luthor's efforts at being a superhero come into question in a way that's fairly predictable. Ignoring circumstances may work with the Joker, but it doesn't work with Superman.

There's little mystery. There's tension. The purpose and goal of this new era of Action Comics is clear even if it's stated indirectly. Superman is going back to the way he was before the Flashpoint reboot. The only difference now is that he has a kid. That may keep the story from feeling regressive, but it still comes off as contrived.

That said, Jurgens manages to make the most of Jon's presence. His personality and youthful charisma add some much-needed novelty to the story. He also creates an extra dimension of drama with Superman. Him being a family man on top of being a superhero helps add some new dynamics to battles that have played out before. He's able to make those dynamics work in Action Comics #962. Peter Parker would be wise to take note.

DC: Rebirth, as a concept, works because it doesn't try too hard to be edgy or modern anymore. After years of trying too hard to make every character more like Batman, this initiative attempts to re-focus on the basics. The approach works when it happens organically and naturally with the characters. With Action Comics and the Superman comics as a whole, there's too much force behind the effort. Superman defines himself by being careful with his vast powers. It's a lesson that DC Comics would be wise to heed.

In this case, putting the genie back in the bottle causes the bottle to crack and fracture. At the very least, Action Comics #962 keeps it from shattering completely. There are one too many predictable plot lines, but there are also new and interesting dynamics emerging within the story. It doesn't prevent some parts of that story from being inane at times, but it still finds a way capture the heart of what makes Superman so iconic.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Official Trailer 2 [HD]

Not gonna lie. This gave me an erection...a big one. Next year is going to be all about Marvel's big Civil War. There's no way around it. But DC will at least provide a hell of a distraction. Nuff said!

Doomed Concept: Superman Doomed #1

The following is my review of Superman Doomed #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

The best tools have multiple uses for multiple tasks. That's how some people can be dropped on a remote desert island with nothing but a pocket knife and some duct tape and survive in ways that would put Gilligan's Island to shame. But some tools are defined by their utterly singular use. A sledge hammer only has so many functions. Nobody can ever say a sledge hammer helped them craft an ice sculpture of the Virgin Mary. However, these tools are often designed with this singular use in mind. It's fairly reasonable to conclude that the inventor of tequila didn't call it a success because it tasted good. Like any drink only meant for getting drunk, certain characters are brewed for one desired outcome. Doomsday is basically the sledge hammer/tequila of the DC Universe, which makes an event surrounding him conceptually questionable.

Doomsday as a character has only one use: to kill Superman. It has succeeded before to an extent. This was the creature that killed Superman in the now iconic Death of Superman arc, a story that might or might not have been nullified by the New 52 reboot. It has already shown up before in Superman/Wonder Woman, albeit briefly. Now an entire event is being built around Superman battling Doomsday. The main selling point is that unlike 99 percent of Superman's enemies, this one is as strong as him and fully capable of killing him. That means that those who complain that Superman is too powerful will have little to complain about in Superman Doomed #1, the first issue in a crossover story that will consume every Superman comic.

This story effectively builds on Doomsday's earlier appearances. Before, this mindless creature was like Stan Lee in the Marvel movies, popping up every now and then and not having much of an impact. Now the creature has stopped biding its time and begins making its presence known, which for Doomsday involves the kind of wholesale slaughter usually found only in Rambo movie. Superman, obviously not a Rambo fan, takes it upon himself to stop Doomsday. He gets help from everyone he can, including Lex Luthor. That alone demonstrates the power of this creature. It's dangerous enough for Superman to actually agree with Lex Luthor.

But this issue doesn't just involve Superman looking for ways to battle Doomsday. This battle unfolds in the midst of another conflict that involves everyone in Smallville falling into a coma. This is how Lois Lane and Lana Lang get involved, adding some personal stakes to what could have otherwise just been a glorified street brawl between overpowered characters. However, the link between this story and Doomsday is poorly defined. The lack of connections make it an aside of sorts. The same thing happens with Steel, who briefly gets to have a shot at Doomsday. But he might as well be a warm-up battle because little comes of it. So while there is an effort made to make this story about more than a mindless beast capable of killing Superman, those efforts lack refinement. It's like a computer with no WiFi in that its function is limited.

In the end, it still turns into a story that's mostly about Superman battling Doomsday and therein lies the flaw in the concept. This is pretty much the only way for the story to go. It's like a destination that has only one road leading to it. The story has to unfold this way. As a concept, it's inherently predictable. As a theme, it's exceedingly narrow. However, an effort is still made to ensure Superman Doomed #1 doesn't become just another Death of Superman knock-off. While most of the story does involve Superman fighting Doomsday, the end result opens the door to paving a different path that helps make it at least somewhat less predictable.

There's no question that when Superman is focused on a single task, he's more than powerful enough to see it through. This is someone who has moved planets, traveled through time, and managed to befriend Batman. So when he takes on Doomsday, he doesn't hold back. But in doing so, he finds out the hard way that he's fighting something he doesn't fully understand. This is yet another instance where Superman could learn a thing or two from Batman because by focusing on stopping Doomsday from hurting anyone else, Superman sets into motion the most menacing threat from the creature. He essentially sets the stage to become Doomsday himself. That's something Batman would've figured out, albeit at the last possible moment. But in the end, it's too late.

So even though the battle between Superman and Doomsday doesn't turn into a ripoff of Rocky IV, it's still somewhat predictable. Superman tries to defeat Doomsday, but by using only his fists, he incurs some unexpected damage. It might be an epic, visually stunning battle, but it's only the first round. And few fights that don't involve Mike Tyson or Muhammed Ali in their prime end in the first round. Future rounds promise to take on a very different form, which involves Superman fighting himself even harder than he fought Doomsday. And that's another concept that is inherently flawed on many respects because if the only way to stop Doomsday is to become him, then that just reinforces the character's primary purpose of challenging Superman.

Flawed concept or not, the execution of the story is still solid and the conflict it creates is set to expand into every Superman title. The connections to this story are still not in place, but the scale of the conflict has been effectively set. Superman Doomed #1 manages to set itself apart from a typical Superman-battles-a-killer-monster narrative. It creates a conflict that is both daunting and personal for Superman and one that will rely as heavily on his supporting cast as it will on his strength. While the concept may be akin to a very simple tool with a singular use, this doesn't make that tool any less effective.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Super Anger Management: Action Comics #30

The following is my review of Action Comics #30, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Good anger management skills are vital in certain fields. Regardless of whether someone has superpowers, the impact of poor anger management skills is the same. Nobody makes rational decisions when they're angry. In an angry mind, every mental resource is dedicated to putting the perceived source of that anger into horrible pain. Sometimes it's a telemarketer, sometimes it's a traffic jam, and sometimes it's just some random person who says the wrong thing at the wrong time. This is why people who work in fields like technical support, nursing, and sales have to have good anger management skills. It's also why people who play contact sports can get away with having only mediocre anger management skills. But for Superman, he has to have the best. Since he has the power to throw the Earth into the sun if he has a bad enough day, he has to know how to control his anger.

This ability for a powerful being to control his temper is the main challenge Superman faces in Action Comics #30. For the past few issues, someone has been attacking him on multiple fronts with ghost soldiers. It's not the strangest way someone has attacked Superman, but it is definitely more effective than most. What better way to attack a man who can kill pretty much anything in any number of ways than to attack him with soldiers that are already dead? These ghost soldiers have attacked Wonder Woman, slaughtered innocent creatures from Subterranea, and put Lana Lang in the crossfire. Just one of those acts would be enough to upset Superman. But doing them all at once is like annoying someone the day after their dog got run over. It's too much, even for the Man of Steel.

As frustrating as these attacks may be, they are consistent with the most daunting challenges that Superman faces. There are very few threats in the DC Universe that threaten Superman physically. Aside from Doomsday, General Zod, and Darkseid, he can usually punch his way through most major threats. The biggest danger he faces is losing control of his power or having someone else control him. This is what happened during the events of Trinity War. Superman let himself be controlled to a point where he took a life. But controlling Superman's mind is a task that few have the means to attempt and even fewer have the means to succeed. For most people, it would be like a caveman attempting to hack the NSA. That's why making Superman angry is a much easier way to make him lose control. And it requires no powerful psychic so anyone who is sufficiently annoying or foolish can do this.

The fool in this instance is Harrow. She commands The Tower, which has been coordinating the attacks on Superman. She also has the most effective non-robot army it's possible to have. She raises the dead and uses them to do their bidding. And since they're already dead, they provide a challenge that Superman can't solve with punching or heat vision. That and they're not subject to labor laws either.

By all accounts, she has the perfect army and she uses it to frustrate Superman in ways that would test anyone's anger management skills. Even with all his power and his ideals, Superman still has the capacity to get pissed off. And that's what gives his struggle in this story meaning. In the same way it's difficult to find credible threats for Superman, it's just as difficult to find threats that push him to crossing those lines that he cannot cross. These are lines that characters like Batman, Wolverine, Green Lantern, and Iron man probably cross while sleepwalking. But Superman can't cross those lines because he's supposed to be that ideal that everyone is supposed to strive for. And that ideal shouldn't have anger management issues.

Harrow pushes Superman's anger management skills to the edge. It's painfully obvious that Superman wants to just solve this problem with a few punches and some heat vision. That's probably how most people would solve such a frustrating problem if they had Superman's power. But he manages to keep himself from crossing that line. He constantly muses on the value of taking a deep breath and counting to ten. It's one of the most basic anger management skills anyone can learn. Most teenagers learn it when they find out that hormones are a potent fuel for irrational anger. Yet it ends up working for Superman so it must have some merit.

It should mark another victory for Superman. He is able to avoid crossing that line. He can continue to be that ideal that he's supposed to be. However, Harrow turns this around on him completely and she does so in a way that's far more reasonable than anything Lex Luthor has attempted. She essentially uses his victory over her dead army to prove that Superman is more a threat to the world than anything she or his enemies can ever conjure. It may sound like the desperate musings of a defeated villain, but it's not entirely wrong.

By being an ideal and not crossing certain lines, Superman prevents himself from making difficult decisions at times. And no decision is more difficult than one that involves taking a life to save others. It's a decision that police officers, doctors, and soldiers have to make on a daily basis and they don't have the luxury of being more powerful than a locomotive. It's easy for anyone to ask who has the right to determine whether someone lives or dies. But in Superman's case, he has the power to end a threat before it hurts others. Harrow points out that he could have ended her and her attacks by simply making those hard decisions and living with the consequences. He chose not to. His actions might be ideal on paper, but in practice he basically left a festering wound untreated. He might be able to handle those wounds, but others might not.

This powerful message gives the impression that Superman lost the battle in Action Comics #30. Harrow made her point and while The Tower was destroyed, she proved to Superman that he could have avoided all these infuriating frustrations easily. But he chose not to and only made it worse. It provides a sobering message for Superman and one he'll have to consider when facing threats like Zod and Doomsday. This issue is billed as a prelude to the upcoming Doom crossover event and in many respects, it provides the perfect context for the challenge that Superman faces. But that's part of what makes him Superman.

Final Score: 8 out of 10