Superman: Action Comics #1083 – John Ridley, Writer; Inaki Miranda, Artist; Eva De La Cruz, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: The penultimate installment in Superman: Superstars, John Ridley’s arc was a big change of pace from the explosive previous run. It tackled some thorny issues about prison reform and redemption as one of the villains Superman helped to turn over a new leaf re-offended in the worst way possible. Major Disaster not only robbed a bank, but killed a man, and was unable to offer any explanation when he was interviewed. Fellow reformed villains Atomic Skull and Scorch, both of whom were sliding back as well, were no help – and then a mystery attacker targeted Clark Kent, getting through Superman’s defenses with red sun weaponry. That leaves Superman at loose ends, seeking answers from Chief Kekoa and Scorch as this issue kicks off. But while Major Disaster seems to have given up, Superman hasn’t – and Scorch may just be the key to all of this.
I had a few guesses about what was going on last issue, but I can safely say I did not guess at all. The issue introduces a character who was a massive villain in the 90s, but has largely fallen into obscurity since then, and he has a scheme that is…really out there. But it leads to a clever reveal about exactly what’s going on with these villains who lose faith in themselves and return to their bad old ways. How much of yourself can you sell before you stop being yourself? This is a pretty good example of combining emotionally true storytelling with sci-fi concepts in superhero writing, and it does a very good job of showing just how determined Superman can be when a case really hits him in the right emotional place. The ending introduces another set of villains that I didn’t really recognize, but with only one issue left to go, Ridley has a whole lot of interesting elements to tie up.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
