Superman is black? Clark Kent is dead? DC's New 52 Review #7: "Action Comics"

The first surprise when reading the new "Action Comics" is the image of Superman on the cover wearing blue jeans and work boots. You'll exclaim "that's not Superman!" and then you'll have to file that thought away so you can get on with it and start reading.

"You know the deal, Metropolis - treat people right or expect a visit from me," our denim-clad Supes exclaims to a group of onlookers after he's just finished holding a corrupt business man above his head on the ledge of a balcony and then plummeting with him down the side of the building before safely dumping him on the ground as the man dumps his confession. This feels more like vigilante Superman, more Batman-ish. His tactics are a little rougher and his criminals more like the everyday white collar assholes running Wall Street right now than otherworldly bad guys in cool suits.

Like Batman, Superman's first appearance in issue #1 is hard for onlookers to interpret, and they try to arrest him when he takes off running. But one thing that hasn't changed is that Lex Luthor is looking for him. And soon after we get this information, we get the next "what the hell?" moment in the reboot when we learn that Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane do not work with Clark Kent, but at a rival newspaper. Say wha...?

Luthor captures Superman after he prevents a train accident from getting worse, and issue #2 begins with Superman strapped in an electric chair. As part of the reboot, this "Doctor Luthor" seems to be just discovering, as he's running electricity through the Man of Steel, that he is not human. Over the course of the next few issues, expert DC author Grant Morrison begins to build the Superman mythology and origin story back up, rebooted but familiar. To add interest, this occurs in a non-linear fashion, beginning with Luthor's people, who find themselves unable to shoot bullet holes through Superman's indestructible cape.

Lois Lane's father, it turns out, is General Sam Lane, who is working on the Superman case and must fend off his daughter's attempts to call in a nepotistic favor for the benefit of her newspaper reporting. While her father tries to fend her off, Superman breaks free and ends up discovering the small vehicle that transported him to Earth as a baby. He begins to have an other-worldly connection to his past and history while gazing upon the small ship, hearing names from his past.

For something different, Morrison and his crew end issues 2 and 3 with interviews with Morrison and artist Rags Morales about many of the details that have gone into both the "Action Comics" reboot as well as the other characters and titles in the Superman universe. Everything from Superman's new attitude to his revised clothing choices is covered in detail, and this is a must-read for fans of the character.

By issue #3, Superman is facing a hostile Metropolis, and I was reminded of how film director Christopher Nolan ended "The Dark Knight" with people being misled to believe that Batman was the villain. Much of this is thanks to the public relations work of Glen Glenmorgan, the aforementioned business man who was once hanging by an ankle from a building at the hands of Superman and is now riling up the public against him. Police search the apartment of a vaguely Harry Potter-ish Clark Kent, but it is his landlady who makes a discovery when she pulls out Clark's Superman uniform after they leave. In addition, this issue gives up the back story as to what gave Superman's parents cause to send him away, and delivers the creation of potential foe Steel when a lab experiment backfires.

John Henry, the man trapped inside the robot soldier's armor, is clearly possessed by some other force as he takes on Superman in issue #4, and an origin story for the character ends the issue. Morrison and Morales appear to be ending each issue with shorts to supplement the ongoing story, and one of the best things about "Action Comics" is that the issues actually feel meaty, almost justifying the $3.99 price tags, which is the elevated-by-a-dollar marquis amount charged for only the flagship titles.

Issue #5 takes a step back and gives us the detailed origin story of how Kal-El came to Earth and was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. The issue's touching back story short, "Baby Steps," chronicles the Kents' struggle to conceive a child of their own and makes more rich the bond between them and their eventual adopted son. Meanwhile, in the present, as Superman looks upon the ship that brought him here and relives his history, a few other super-humans arrive. Most interesting among them is a Superman from five years in the future.

The plot of "Action Comics" really begins to thicken at issue #6, and to the point where multiple readings might be required to gain understanding. It's so complex, in fact, that I hesitate to recap some of it for fear of getting it wrong, but one moment that sticks out is when one of future-Superman's traveling companions accesses his memory and we see a young Superman tackling bulls under Jonathan Kent's watchful eye. This is a lovely moment of back story establishing the home-spun, fatherly wisdom of Kent, leading up to us witnessing Superman's first moment of flight. The issue-closing "Last Day" shows Clark Kent unloading his adopted parents' farm after they've both passed away.

Issue #7 connects Superman to the memories of his past as the name of his home planet Krypton is spoken and sinks in for him as more than just a vague recollection. He finds out that he's hearing these things from the "Collector of Worlds," who knows "everything there is to know." The Collection reveals the various forms its identity takes on various planets; on Earth, for instance, the Collection is amusingly revealed as the Internet. But the Collection also poses Superman with a terrible challenge; he can save either his home planet or Earth. This is meant as a test to see where his allegiances lie, but Superman is set on not making a choice. Nor will he join the Collection, which already has Steel in its sway.

In issue #8, Superman rescues Steel from the Collection, and Superman appears to be back in Metropolis' good graces. And then, Superman becomes a black man.

Say what?

Yes. Issue #9 introduces us to "Superman of Earth 23," United States President Calvin Ellis. No subtlety was attempted in drawing comparisons to Barack Obama. The issue is interesting and slightly confusing and includes everything from the apparent death of Jimmy Olsen to the hint at a "multiverse" from which this new black Superman originated, reinforced when he calls in the Justice League and all of them are alternate versions of the characters we know as well.  The issue wraps on an amusing note as black President Superman places a call to the leader of a country called Quarac to play hardball over their nuclear program and we see that the president is making the call from a bluetooth headset while on duty as Superman. I'd be lying if I said I understood what was going on here, but unlike the confusion aroused in me while reading "The Savage Hawkman," these are curiosities that I'm actually interested in finding answers to.

The story gets more normal when, at the start of issue #10, a man named Maxim Zarov, who goes by "Nimrod," is milking information about Clark Kent from the farmer to whom Clark left his parents' house and land. Nimrod clearly knows Clark's alias and plans to murder him. But before Nimrod can get to Clark, it appears that Clark is blown up by a suicide bomber outside of the Daily Star where he works. That's what Clark's landlady tells Zarov, too...that is until Superman appears to take care of Zarov, which confuses her further, especially when Superman tells her that Clark is, in fact, dead, and that he'll return to explain things to her later. We're left with the impression that Superman has decided that his Clark Kent identity was no longer safe and had to be destroyed, a nice cliffhanger.

Because another month has gone by since I've collected my first 10 issues of "Action Comics," I've already had the chance to buy and read #11, so I'm including a little bonus summary here. The issue begins with the introduction of a new enemy called Metalek and ends with the apparent mental takeover of some key individuals in Metropolis. In between, we witness Superman discuss the death of Clark with Batman, a really interesting and satisfying exchange.

Like I said before, there's something satisfying about how dense "Action Comics" is with plot, mythos and detail. It certainly keeps me interested. At the moment, I see no reason to stop reading the title, other than the fact that Superman has never ranked at the top of my list of favorite characters in the DC Universe. I am also curious to see how this title compares to "Superman," a book I've also collected this past year but have not yet read. Once I do and post a summary and review for that book, I think I'll have a clearer sense as to whether or not I'll continue on with this title, that one, or both. In any case, I am sure that writer Grant Morrison continues to be one of the most significant DC names holding a pen. And given that Superman's back story is perhaps the most famous one of all, it's been really interesting to see how Morrison and his crew give that famous history a fresh coat of paint. In addition, the "death of Clark Kent" is a bold early move to keep us reading. That said, the black, parallel-universe Superman is confusing and unclear.

For now, I'm still reading. 

A flying gladiator weighed down by his origins - DC's New 52 Review #6: "The Savage Hawkman"

I don't think I ever knew a thing about Hawkman's origin story, and I know I never bought any Hawkman books as a kid. But he still made an impression on me. As a team member of the Super Friends in the 1980s, I remember most that my Hawkman action figure was the biggest one. He was taller than Superman. More ripped than any of them. And with those huge wings that flapped when I squeezed his legs together? Kick ass.

Reading "The Savage Hawkman," one of the New 52 titles in the DC Universe, was therefore something I was really looking forward to. But I got lost quickly, and frustrated in my confusion.

We begin the story of Hawkman with a man who will do anything to deny his past and start clean. Through narration, Carter Hall tells us that he was once known as Hawkman but "that's ancient history...that ends right here, right now." Pulling his pickup truck to the side of the road in a remote location, Hall starts a fire and throws each piece of Hawkman's uniform into the fire. But the costume, made from a property called "Nth metal," reacts in the fire, causing an explosion. Hall is engulfed in flames but wakes up somewhere else to find that he's not only alive, but healing.

It appears that Hall wakes up at a lab where he works. He puts on a hazmat suit and joins other scientists in viewing some sort of alien life form. One explodes from its trappings and begins killing, and Hall, while trying to fight one off, feels his body changing. The Nth metal, it seems, has morphed with his muscles and he transforms mid-battle into Hawkman (in a way that sort of reminds me of how Bruce Banner becomes the Incredible Hulk). His foe, we learn, is Morphicius, an alien that feeds off of energy and, upon grabbing Hawkman, is delighted by the unique and power Hawkman is giving off. But the Nth metal is too powerful for Morphicius, burning him but also empowering him.

The scene moves to Manhattan and the Non-Lethal Alternative Studies headquarters, where Hall is recuperating. Here, he wonders if since he can't escape the Nth metal, he can learn to control it. When he returns to the place where Morphicius first escaped captivity, the Nth metal triggers Hawkman and a hologram appears to warn him of Morphicius's power. Inside the lab, Dr. Hoarth Kane and an assistant named Askana appear to be helping Morphicius. Instead, they are dissecting him, and yet he survives the dissection. Once again, Morphicius engages Hawkman in battle and refers to Hawkman's powers as being "Thangarian." (This perked me up, as I remembered that Thanagar to be the planet where Green Lantern Isamot Kol is from.) Hawkman defeats Morphicius but Dr. Kane escapes. Issue #4 ends with Carter Hall walking down the street and realizing that people passing him appear to be corpses. He wonders if the Nth metal is toxic and poisoning him as mercury would.

Professor Ziegler calls Hall to his lab. He hands Hall an ancient text, and when he touches it, the symbols come to life for Hall. As Hawkman, Hall confronts a man named Digby who gave Ziegler the book. Suddenly, a between-worlds apparition appears, known as the Gentleman Ghost. Hawkman is able to connect the Gentleman Ghost to what he saw in the book. Gentleman Ghost tells Hawkman that he invited him to see him so that he could request that Hawkman find something called the "mortis orb."

While searching for the orb, Hawkman meets a woman who claims that her husband was buried with it. Learning that the mortis orb can raise the dead, Hawkman puts two and two together and digs up the grave of Julius Gates, where he finds it. After grabbing the orb, Hawkman experiences a surge in power and the dead begin to rise. The Gentleman Ghost tells Hawkman that the orb needed to contact with the Nth metal to break a spell and allow the dead to rise. He takes the orb.

While searching for "Gentleman" Jim Craddock, Hawkeye encounters Static, a new hero in the DC Universe who, if I'm not mistaken, already crashed and burned as a title/series. A punky kid with the ability to channel electricity, Static helps Hawkman deal with the undead. They soon catch up with Gentleman Ghost and defeat him for the orb, which Hawkman flies to Anarctica to hide. As issue #7 ends, he is home in Manhattan, where Askana arrives. An alien shape-shifter, she shows up to fight Hawkman but then reveals that she actually wants his help.

Do you want me to stop? Because I really want to stop.

Suffice it to say that I have found Hawkman to be too complicated to get into. The Nth metal, the undead, the alien origin planet, the book, the orb...It's just so confusing! Some improvement comes in issue #9 when the somewhat watercolor-y and non-traditional artwork of artist Philip Tan is replaced as a part of a new team overhaul for "The Savage Hawkman." This made me think of "Green Arrow," another title that didn't seem to be gaining traction, leading to a new creative team (though in that case, the new team made it worse for me, not better).

Come issue #9, the drawings of Joe Bennett truly kick "The Savage Hawkman" into gear, and he is now looking like the bad ass Hawkman I always remembered. But sadly, the origin mythos is so dense and complicated that even the new creative team could not pull me back in. The villains in issue #10 range from people dressed like "Tron" to a juiced-up, armored ninja, and Hawkman himself appears to have elements of an ancient Rome gladiator thrown into the mix with his futuristic metal suit. Whatever the case, it all just gets to be too confusing for me.

I really wanted to like "The Savage Hawkman," but I'd also like to stop spending so much money every month at the comic book store. I think I might be interested in picking up the #0 origin issue that comes out in September, but unless that really changes my mind, I think I'm done with Hawkman, though I hope the dude shows up in some JLA stuff, because there's something about him that I still think is pretty cool.

To the depths of Dick Grayson - DC's New 52 Review #5: "Nightwing"

While cleaning my office the other day, I found a stack of old "Nightwing" comics and took a pass through the original issue #1 from October 1996. Aside from reminiscing about spending $1.95 for the comic (today's "Nightwing" #1 cost $2.99), I was reminded that Nightwing was trained by Batman as former Robin Dick Grayson, branched off to work with the Teen Titans, and then operated solo in a place called Bludhaven, which was supposed to be geographically near Gotham City, but worse. "If it's too coarse or too vile or too awful for Gotham, it winds up here," it says in that issue.

The notes for that 1996 first issue mention mention that Nightwing was "the most popular character in the DC Universe who's never had his own book," introducing the series after what it says was 12 years since the character's introduction into the universe. Original writer Chuck Dixon writes in that essay some things that I felt about the character, too, that Robin was never cool and nobody wanted to be Robin when they could choose Batman, but Nightwing was cool because at the end of the day, we liked Dick Grayson. I loved that he had Batman's skills but was less dark. I loved that his athletic abilities were born from a childhood spent in the circus. And I loved the outfit: a shock of bright blue around the collarbone, chest and arms of a tight black suit. I was probably in the general vicinity of Grayson age-wise when this comic came out, and it was a favorite.

So there was no question that I'd be following the relaunch of "Nightwing" with the New 52. I already knew that the blue in Nightwing's outfit had been changed from blue to red (I still think the blue looks a lot better and makes a lot more sense), and that Batman's sidekick story lines had grown a lot more complicated with what now stands as a lineage of four Robins, Grayson having been the first. And the cool logo for the title, with the center "T" stretching over the other letters like a new-aged bat symbol, has been replaced by something more lame and less creative. So, too, had I given up on following the Teen Titans, perhaps out of embarrassment that, as a grown man and father of two, if I was to continue to follow comic books, I should probably give up on the titles that feature "boy," "girl," or teen heroes. (You'll find out if you continue to follow my blog that I still gave a few of these titles a try.)

I read the new Batman first, and Dick Grayson plays a very dramatic role in the early issues of that relaunch as a sample of his DNA allows him to be targeted by Bruce as someone trying to kill him. By the end of the first handful of issues of that series, which if you've read a previous post, I've stated is one of the best (if not the best) of the New 52, we learn that Grayson was meant to be a high-ranking assassin in the Court of Owls and has a family connection to this terrifying organization.

Armed with that, I went into "Nightwing," which finds Grayson back in Gotham. The central emotional journey of the new title has Dick revisiting his past as Haly's circus - the one he grew up in - is in town. This is the very circus in which a young Dick watched his parents die before being adopted by Bruce. Dick reconnects with Raya, a circus performer from his past, and is soon up on the trapeze reliving old times until he's called into battle against an unknown masked foe who is every bit Nightwing's equal in acrobatic ability.

Dick loses track of his yet-unknown new foe and, in issue #2, is coaxed by Raya into a visit to the dying Mr. Haly, who hands over the deed to the circus to Dick. On the way home from the visit, Dick receives a phone call from the stranger, who identifies himself as Saiko. Saiko knows that Dick is Nightwing because he forced it out of Haly just before essentially killing him. At Haly's funeral, animosity grows over Dick's new role as owner of the circus because his presence has put a target on all of their backs. Dick is blamed by many for Haly's death. Raya tells Dick that Saiko was likely sent by Zane, a former circus associate who deflected after the circus fell apart. As Nightwing, Dick finds Zane in Chicago, where Zane gets in his head and forces Dick to relive the death of his parents and question his worth.

At the start of issue #4, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) is in the streets fighting a shapeshifter and shows up at Dick's place, surprised to find him there with Raya, who seems very uncomfortable with the implied history between Dick and Barbara. Batgirl enlists Nightwing's help to take care of Spinebender (the shifter). Soon thereafter, while going through some of Haley's possessions, Dick uncovers a mysterious book that includes a bunch of names, the last one being his own. A surprise twist by the end of issue #5 further clarifies who Saiko is and who he's working with.

Raya invites Dick to participate in an anniversary tribute performance in memory of Dick's parents. Dick deduces that this will be where Saiko will attack, that he'll be looking for a public stage to do so. Still reluctant to be involved in the show at all, a visit from Alfred convinces him to go ahead with it. As expected, Saiko shows up, and mid-battle, Nightwing learns his true identity. The two have a history. Saiko sets a chemically-based fire off in the circus tent and reveals to Nightwing that he was "chosen by them" only after they couldn't get Dick, their first choice.

In a crossover with "Batman," with the key scene duplicated in "Nightwing," Dick goes to the Batcave, where Bruce is analyzing the body of The Talon and reveals to Dick that this high-ranking member of the Court of Owls is related to him. The man's name, William Cobb, was a name that appeared in the book Haley left to him. Issues #8-9 are part of the "Night of the Owls" story that carries over various Batman titles. Issue #8 ends with a cliffhanger, as Dick's chest and shoulders are filled with the same throwing knives that pierced Bruce at the hands of The Talon. The Talon/Cobb tells Dick that he was sent to murder him because he did not submit to the Court as he was destined to do. I don't want to spoil the details, but these later issues really deepen the history between Cobb and Grayson, as well as the story of the whole Grayson family and how the Court of Owls fits into it. If nothing else, "Nightwing" is required reading for those reading "Batman" just to understand these details more fully.

Issue #10 nicely sets up what should be a compelling new chapter in the Nightwing story, as Sonia Zucco, the daughter of the man who murdered Dick's parents, approaches Dick with an offer to revitalize Gotham's dilapidated amusement park as a new tourist destination to improve the city; she wants Haly's circus to remain at the site as its central attraction. The issue ends with Nightwing in jeopardy of being killed again, this time at the hands of a group of fighters led by someone who calls himself Paragon and tells Dick that he is "Gotham's true son" and that "the future of this city hinges on your death."

Writer Kyle Higgins is choosing to keep this rebooted "Nightwing" more closely tied to the Batman story, at least for now. What this does, to some extent, is it makes the reading of "Nightwing" fairly critical to "Batman" readers, no doubt a sales strategy with the reboot. Personally, I like that Dick Grayson is back in Gotham where his history lies, as opposed to having him fighting crime in his own version of Gotham City like had in the past. The glimpses of crossover work with Batman have an added layer of complexity because Nightwing is now, in a few ways, Batman's equal. The artwork in "Nightwing" is also consistent with the work in "Batman" (though "Batman" trumps it).

While Dick Grayson/Nightwing is no longer my absolute favorite character in the DCU (Green Lantern took over that honor for me right around the time that the 1996 "Nightwing" title was launched, ironically), he remains high on my list, and I can't see myself discontinuing my reading of "Nightwing" if I'm still going to read "Batman." I am impressed by the depth Higgins and his team are bringing to a character I thought I knew so well, and invigorated by his ability to use slow reveals and cliffhangers to keep me coming back for more.

"Nightwing" gets a "yes" for me as a title to keep reading in the New 52.