Originally published on Patreon
After the shocking events of Action Comics 1050, which saw the Superman status quo go through a huge change, a new era for the Super Family begins with an extra sized first issue packed with three separate stories, and almost every member of the Super Family.
In the book's first story we get to follow Clark and his friends as they ready Metropolis for a new era, one in which the Steelworks, led by John and Natasha, is set to bring new innovations and improvements to the people of Metropolis; and hopefully soon after, the rest of the world. We also bring a couple of new members into the family as Osul-Ra and Otho-Ra are officially adopted by Clark and Lois, and as soon dubbed the Super Twins by the media. Unfortunately, Metallo attacks the opening of the Steelworks, challenging the heroes.
This is a decent start to the new era. It lays out what people are planning on doing pretty well with the opening of the Steelworks, and the adoption of the twins. There's a moment where Jon seems a little disappointed by the situation, having not really realised that the twins were going to become members of both families; but Jon is a decent kid and treats his new brother and sister well and is hugely kind to them throughout.
The story with Metallo is interesting too, having been building for a number of months now in previous issues it finally comes to breaking point here as John comes into conflict with Superman. It's going to be interesting to see what comes from his new body, and how he's going to be a match for several super powered beings at the same time; though it does seem like he took Connor out of the fight pretty fast.
The second story is set in the past, and follows on from the events of the Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special story. Following the big fight Clark, Lois, and Jon have moved back to their old house in the country for some quiet time away from Metropolis. Unfortunately, it seems like danger might be lurking with the disappearance of the Doomsday bone, and the sudden appearance of a strange alien visitor.
This is a fun story, especially for those who are missing the days when Jon was younger. There are a lot of people who are sad that Jon has been aged up, and they want the old Jon back (probably never going to happen), so stories like this set in the past can help cater to that itch. This seems like an interesting first part, and there's not a huge amount known come the end of it; but there are enough mysteries to make you want to come back for the next part for sure.
The third story follows on from the events of Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton, which saw Power Girl developing new psychic abilities. With the help of Omen, Karen has been developing her new powers and learning to control them. The two of them have come to the conclusion that they use their powers together incredibly well, and have come up with a way of using them to help the world that doesn't rely on them being used in combat. Super hero therapy. Their first patient turns up, Beastboy in the form of a baby cow. Apparently following the events of Dark Crisis he's retreated into himself and isn't responding to anyone. So Karen heads into his mind to try and help the traumatised man.
This is a very interesting direction to take this new development for Power Girl, and one that I honestly wasn't expecting. To want to use these new powers as something other than just another tool in her arsenal, and to give Power Girl a new direction, is actually a really clever move. It also gets to show of a more empathetic and caring side to the character that can sometimes be overlooked in favour of her being a powerhouse. My one complaint about this story is that there are a few times where she's written as not really understanding certain phrases and idioms, and whilst I know she comes from another planet in another dimension she's never really been written this way in other things I've seen, and it makes her feel a bit off.
The book also introduces some new designs for everyone but Clark. Whilst he's sticking with his classic look the rest of the family are getting something of an update and a rebrand; lots of jackets! Most of the new looks are okay, and when all together it does have much more of a unified team look to it. I do really like Power Girl's outfit, and I like that Connor still has elements of his original costume look in his design that he's pretty easily identifiable too. I also like this new look over Super Girl's new design, especially as her big chunky metal belt sometimes became so big it looked like a corset (the latest issue of Monkey Prince was awful for this). It remains to be seen how long these new looks stick around for, and whether or not folks will eventually revert to their more traditional costumes; but for now they're pretty good.
Overall, this seems like a decent start to the new Super era, we get a taste of what some of these characters are going to be up to, and where the series might be going. With a Jon Kent series coming up, a Steelworks book, and a Superboy series it looks like this is going to be a decent time for Super Fam fans.
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