Now that I’ve read the next eight issues of Action, after being significantly bummed out from reading the “Reign of the Supermen” stories, I’m now feeling a little more confident in the decisions my 18-year-old self made. Granted, deciding to collect (or not to collect) a comicbook isn’t exactly on the same scale of decision-making as, say, what college to go to, or what career path to take. But if my run of Action Comics were to be an encapsulation of my collection in total, based off my reaction to the last batch of issues I reviewed, it would be disconcerting to think the majority of my collection would be something that doesn’t hold up to more adult scrutability. This isn’t to say these eight issues are shining examples of the best the medium has to offer, but much like A. Bizarro, I found them to be (mostly) enjoyable for what they are: fun, slightly breezy, entertainment.
The first issue of this batch, #692, is probably my favorite. Or I should say, the first half of this issue is mt favorite. Because the story opens with a series of character moments that felt genuine and unforced, unlike most of the melodrama involved in Superman’s death and return. The “saving” of Clark Kent was handled well enough, even though, when you think about it, it’s preposterous to think a guy could magically survive trapped in the rubble for a month but have plenty of food and water and enough room to exercise to stay in shape. But for me, what saves it is the equally silly idea that they could get away with it (within the world of the comic) because Supergirl could shape-shifting into Clark so Superman could “rescue” him. It’s such a “so crazy it just might work” idea that I like it for the sheer audacity. And really I loved how Lex realized the “real” Superman had returned because he thinks only the real Superman would be so sanctimonious to him. In fact, everything seems to be handled with just a nod and a wink, which is a much welcomed relief given the heaviness of recent issues.
Things change for the worse once Doctor Occult shows up. I suppose explaining exactly how Superman came back from the dead was necessary given how unclear things had been explained earlier, but first off, that’s a fault of the writers that the resurrection was so complex it required further clarification, and secondly, the heavy-handed exposition completely ruins the lighter characterization that had been going just fine until that point. When Dr. Occult says:
“A whole chain of events—physical and metaphysical—combined with things both of the Earth and of Krypton to restore him to life . . . and some of those elements no longer exist. Your will is strong, Superman, but your resurrection is not a repeatable phenomenon.”
I couldn’t help but read into this on a meta level, as if the writers were trying to put the genie back in the bottle. Having died and come back to live, it’s hard to think of any situation Superman could now face that would invest us emotionally in whether Superman survived. Here Dr. Occult seems less like a character and more like the writer’s proxy, trying to convince a skeptical audience that they should remain invested.
Fortunately, things truly move on from there. Of course, the interconnectedness between the titles is still a bit jarring, but not relentlessly so. Action Comics (and, I’m presuming, the entire Superman line of titles) alternates between stand-alone issues with interconnecting sub-plots and true cross-over storylines. There’s a clear difference between a storyline like “Spilled Blood” the plot regarding Superman’s increasing powers, which just runs through the Superman titles without a distinctive story name. Cross-over’s like “Spilled Blood”, “Bizarro’s World” (Issue 697) and “The Battle for/Fall of Metropolis” read more like parts of a greater whole; the rest of the issues stand up well on their own, even when continuing a plot thread from somewhere else, because those “ongoing” plots are mostly given secondary status to whatever the main thrust of a particular issue is really about.
Over all, I liked these issues. I liked the breadth of Superman’s world and the depth of his supporting cast, both in terms of their sheer number and the fact that so many are fleshed out characters. Granted, your team is bound to have a deep bench after playing for 50-plus years, but having not read these stories for so long, I was surprised to find that I did care about almost everyone who ends up in the spotlight. Reading these comics as an adult, I can’t say I find it so compelling that I want to go out and start reading Superman comics again, but, unlike “Reign fo the Superman”, I can see how these elements appealed to my younger self.
That said, some elements hold up better than others. For example, Cat Grant’s subplot about being sexually harassed at work by Vincent Edge reads awkwardly now, although as a teenager I was certainly more forgiving towards the two-dimensional handling of it all. And I still like issue 696 with Superman confronting the alien “Champion”. While the character made me feel that Roger Stern was aping Walt Simonson’s Beta Ray Bill, and with a name like “Champion” you know this was not someone intended to make a lasting impression, it was handled well with just enough parallel to Superman’s own situation that it didn’t feel too forced.
Of course, with the 700th issue looming, the more relaxed pacing of stories and subplots take back-seat as things ratchet up to this anniversary issue. Things start out a few issues before, as Lois investigates a murder that Lex Luthor is tied to, and through that she discovers that Lex Luthor II is really the old Lex in a new body. In many ways the 700th issue culminates the storyline began 100 issues prior, when Lex first discovered the Kryptonite poisoning that would “kill” him. There’s an interesting echo of that idea, as Lex’s current body suffers from some sort of “clone disease” that threatening to kill him for good this time. All this culminates in issue 700. Unlike issue 600, this is one 54 page story, as Lex, driven more-or-less mad by his degeneration, threatens to destroy Metropolis in an act of “If I go down, I’m taking you with me” logic.
Unfortunately, the writers (Stern wrote the issue but given the inter-connectivity of the titles it’s hard to think the whole story was solely his doing) hedge their bet and actually have Superman talk Lex down from that ledge. Thus, while Lex threatens to go through with a truly monstrous act, the writers opt to give him a shred of decency, which rings a bit hollow given how manipulative, cold-hearted, and murderous he has been shown to be. (When the difference is between a murder and a mass-murderer, how much sympathy are you willing to give?) Instead, it’s Lex’s assistant who activates the series of “sonic torpedoes” which uses “intense ultrasonics which pulverize rock and subsoil to a near-liquid state”. It’s pretty a pretty old-school-villain style scheme, and while it sounds over-the-top, it actually fits in well in a comic that, in the previous year, has seen all the crazy shenanigans regarding Superman’s return and his power-overload story.
But, just as those stories inevitably reverted back to the status quo, it’s hard to truly feel for the obliteration of Metropolis (or at least its downtown; Lois mentions that “most of the city is still standing” which would make “The Fall of Metropolis” more like “The Fall of One or Two Neighborhoods of Metropolis”). Given the Superman comic’s track-record, you know it’s only a matter of time before the city is back to its idealized-New York-self, which means the devastation has no real impact, despite Superman’s grief at failing to stop it and Perry White’s tears at the end of the issue.
The issue also chooses a strange juxtaposition to all this mass destruction: the wedding of Lana Lang and Pete Ross. I’m assuming the sub-plot is handled mostly in the other Superman titles, as in this run of Action Comics Lana is already engaged and only shows up two or three times. It’s a weird sub-plot for this issue, because there doesn’t seem to be any noticeable parallel between Clark Kent’s old flame getting hitched and Lex Luthor blowing up a city. Except for the very end, Clark/Superman doesn’t talk about it at all. Like Cat Grant’s harassment storyline, this subplot feels more shoehorned than organic. But maybe it’ll make more sense when I read the other titles.
Issue 700 was Roger Stern’s final for the title. Fun trivia fact: Stern had been writing for Action Comics since issue 600. Stern scripted the Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen chapters of that anniversary issue from Byrne’s plot, and during the Weekly phase of the comic, Stern wrote Superman’s adventures. Stern continued as the main writer from 644 onward, minus a few fill-in issues here and there). The title of this issue is “Swan Song” and I’m not sure if I should read into the fact that Stern ends his run blowing up what he had help build in the six years since Action Comics 600, but I would like to imagine that Stern enjoyed being able to end things with a bang.
As I’m sure I’ve said before, I’m not really a Superman fan. I don’t feel a personal connection with the character, so to me the interest in reading a Superman title isn’t because of Superman but because of the story. And though these Superman issues tend to be simplistic in its morality—the good guys and the bad guys are clearly delineated and anything close to moral complexity isn’t really explored in depth—that is what Superman’s world is all about. Though my current personal tastes may run more towards stories more morally intricate and nuanced, I’m enjoying my visit to a comic whose worldview is a little more straight-forward.
Superman is very much the embodiment of Truth, Justice, and the American way, so his stories should reflect that idealism. But in reading these issues of Action Comics, from Superman’s death through the destruction of Metropolis, it seems like disconnect between that idealism and the more cynical, muddled view of the “modern” world is something the writers of Superman struggled with. It’s understandable that the Superman stories of the 1990’s dealt with this problem, but it seems to me that these stories work best when they allow the stories to be about the qualities that has allowed Superman to endure all these decades: a sense of wonder, an almost naïve sense of fairness and the idea that one man can make a difference as long as he’s willing to try.
Up Next: Metropolis shifts through the wreckage, Bloodsport comes back, and there’s a little cross-over with a thing called Zero Hour. See you in a few days.
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