Action Comics #1054 - Comic Review

 

The latest issue of Action Comics sees Superman come to blows with Metallo to save his children, Jon learns more about the alien princess as his parents deal with Doombreaker, and we spend some time with John Henry Irons as we get treated to three new stories. 

In the last issue's main feature we were left on a big cliffhanger as Otho left the apartment and seemingly attacked a Blue Earth protest, killing one of the anti-alien bigots. As Jon and Osul come flying in to grab her and do what they can to clean up the mess, it's revealed that the young Warworld refugee didn't harm anyone, and that the people she attacked were actually Metallo drones, who quickly burst out of their skin and start attacking. 

Whilst Clark arrives on the scene to help, Metallo grabs the Super Twins, and escapes with them. We get a moment here where Jon begs his father to be the one to go after them, revealing to his dad that the twins asked him if he hated them, and that he feels like he needs to be the one to save them to prove that he doesn't. This is honestly a really sad moment, and I feel bad for Jon and the twins. I said in my review for the last issue how Jon's issues with his parents thanks to losing his childhood have led to some interesting and complex emotions now that they've adopted the twins, and it's stuff I'd love to see explored more. Unfortunately, Clark doesn't allow Jon to go with him to help save them; which is perhaps the only part of this story that I didn't like. It's so clear that Jon needs to do this, for his own emotional well being, and Clark not getting that feels like a mistake.

Clark uses his senses to track down the twins location, and head over to stop them. It's during the confrontation with Metallo that it's revealed that his core is Warworld tech, and that that's what's corrupting and manipulating him. Using some fancy new powers, Clark is able to take him down and disable the device, freeing Metallo of the control. And in true Superman fashion, he offers to help Metallo find and save his sister before taking the man to jail. It's here that we find out who has been controlling Metallo this whole time. And it's a hell of a reveal! I can't wait to see where this story goes next, as this villain is a personal favourite of mine.

The second story continues to tell us what happened following the Doombreaker fight as Clark, Lois,a and Jon try to relax on their farm. As Lois and Clark search for their son they come under attack fro Doombreaker once again, who has continued to evolve. Not only does he have four arms now, but he's also got a large pair of wings. We don't get much of the confrontation between him and Clark, as most of the issue focuses on Jon, but it looks like it's going to be a tough fight for Superman if the few bits we see are anything to go by.

Whilst all of this is happening Jon is learning more about Glyanna, the alien princess that he's trying to help. After having escaped from her ship the two of them have crashed back to Earth somewhere in the pacific, and are trapped on an island together. Glyanna gives Jon (and the audience) a breakdown of her history, of the world that she comes from, and the reason why she's asking for Superman to help her (all stuff that feels like it should have come up before now to be fair). Jon, being the good kid that he is assures her that if she's trying to help people then his father will help her. Unfortunately, it seems like she's not completely on the level, and makes a bit of a villain turn towards the end. We'll have to wait to see if she's an out and out villain, or if she is a good person who's just making some terrible choices for how to get Superman to help her.

The final part of the issue is given over to Steel, and catches up with him in the events leading up to his speech at Steelworks in Action Comics 1051. This part of the story is acting as set-up, and it's a great way for those who are unfamiliar with Steel to get a feel of his character. The book shows why he became the hero that he is, and delves a little bit into his history as a tech designer whose concepts were stolen to make weapons. With the reveal that a shady figure is watching him at the end of the issue, it feels like this is going to be an important point, and that this story may be connecting back to that part of his life. With a Steelworks book coming out in June we'll have to wait to see if the events taking place in Action Comics will be a part of that, possibly building towards the series, or not. However, this story isn't written by Michael Dorn, who will be writing Steelworks, so it's likely it's own thing.

Overall, this was a really good issue of Action Comics. The main story has taken a surprising turn and has introduced a hugely exciting villain for our heroes to deal with, as well as showcasing some cool new powers, further exploring the family relationships, and showcased why Clark is a great guy. The Lois and Clark story has been one of my least favourites in the series so far, but this issue feels like the best part of that story, and all of the characters are going through something interesting at the moment. And whilst I think the Steel story is the weakest one in this issue, that comes from the fact that I'm already familiar with who John Henry Irons is and how his character came about. However, for newcomers to the character it's a decent jumping on point, and it seems to be getting ready to do something interesting with a character that I like, who rarely gets given a chance to shine. Overall, some really great stuff.

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