Action Comics #1050
Lex Luthor makes the ultimate power play, and Superman responds in Action Comics #1050, by writers Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Tom Taylor, and Joshua Williamson, artists Mike Perkins, Clayton Henry, and Nick Dragotta, colorist Frank Martin, and letterer Dave Sharpe. This is a great comic, setting up the new status quo for the Superman family with a bang.
The crux of the comic is that Lex Luthor uses Manchester Black, hooked to a machine to enhance his powers, to make most of the world forget Superman’s identity. Lex lures Superman to him with a signal watch he built, telling him what he did and why. Superman goes ballistic, and the two have an epic battle, one that takes them to the moon. It ends with Superman taking him in for killing Black. He talks to Batman, who reveals that the heroes still remember who he is because of Martian Manhunter’s powers and that his family remembers because of the shield over Smallville. The Kents get ready for a new life. Meanwhile, Val-Zod finds another dead Kal-El and decides to look for Jon while Metallo wakes up in a new body, now a servant of Lex Luthor.
So, DC has released that they were going to make the world forget Superman’s identity, and this method is quite interesting. There are shades of the old Superman 2000 pitch in the story. That pitch had Brainiac erasing everyone’s memory of Superman’s identity, including the heroes and Lois. This one doesn’t go nearly that far, but that’s okay because it does what it needs to and sets up a penalty if he tries to tell people: they’ll die.
As for Luthor’s reasoning, it’s very Luthor. He’s realized the world needs Superman, so he wants to suborn the Man of Steel, using him as his servant. He wants the world to see him as a god, not as someone who is basically them. It works perfectly for Luthor, and it leads to an amazing fight between the two. This issue is so well done when it comes right down to it. Sure, one can wish that they went further with the mindwipe and all of that, but this is just a really entertaining issue. It grabs hold of a reader from the beginning and never lets go. The teases for the future definitely build anticipation for what comes next for the Superman family, meaning this book did its job.
Perkins, Dragotta, and Henry are brilliant. They each get their turns in the book, but Dragotta gets to handle the battle, which is awesome. He’s an artist with a very recognizable style, his line work simple yet still detailed. He gives the fight the hard-hitting power it needs. Perkins gets to bookend the comic, drawing the opening scenes between Lex and Black, as well as the stuff between Batman and Superman and the epilogues. His character acting is what makes these sections work so well, doing a lot of heavy lifting for the book. Henry is the membrane that connects both of them, his clean, detailed style really acting as a middle ground. Martin’s colors are gorgeous. He knows how to compliment each artist, making the art into something truly special.
Action Comics #1050 is yet another great book in this series’ repertoire. It expertly sets up the new status quo for Superman and really builds anticipation for what comes next. It’s a perfect Superman comic.
