We're in a good time for fans of the Superman family. There's Action Comics big showcase of all of the characters, a new creative team on Superman, Jon has his own series, and Steelworks is coming soon. And now we also have Conner leading his own story in Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow.
Our story begins with Conner trying to help out the folks of Metropolis by stopping Doctor Polaris from causing chaos. But, When the two Supermen and Supergirl show up to handle things it doesn't really leave much for Conner to do, and he begins to feel a bit like he's not needed. Heading back to the Kent farm, he chats with Ma and Pa about trying to find his place in a world that was recreated without him (Crisis shenanigans never make it easy for our heroes), and Pa tells him that he just needs to find a place that needs him, to expand his horizons.
The story for Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow is really enjoyable, and one that feels natural too. There are a lot of heroes on Earth, and a lot of members of the Superman Family (just look at how many books there are for S-shield wearing heroes right now), so it makes sense for Conner to be unsure of where he fits in or what his role in the world is. He mentions about the world having been remade without him, about having existed, then not, then coming back, and it really highlights some of the downfalls of the Crises that have happened over the years. that DC's continuity is a bit of a mess at times. I love this universe, and the characters, but sometimes trying to keep track of what happened how and when can be a nightmare; and it looks like it's that way for the people living there too.
Conner feeling conflicted about who he is has always been a small part of his character, thanks to being part Luthor, but thanks to all of the reality changes it's come to the forefront for him. Wanting to get away, to start afresh, and to be a hero out on his own feels like the right step for his story. Thankfully, the universe is a huge place, with a lot of problems that need solving.
The action on the alien planet are the real highlight of the book, and feature the best moments. Conner arrives on the other world and is immediately mistaken for another invader, and so decides to make it clear that hes a hero, tearing through enemy ships in an instant. Unfortunately, this means that the enemy has to unleash even worse foes for him to fight, and he gets attacked by a trio of super powered aliens. I really like the designs of these three, and there's some familiar design elements to them that's fun to try and pick out. One of the aliens looks like Despero, but has cybernetic parts to him, and another looks very much like they could be from the same species as Green Lantern R'amey Holl, but has a clear skull like the Fearsome Five villain Psimon.
The aliens are experiments made by a purple Dominator who seems keen on splicing powers from other beings together (probably explaining how his troops seem to be be combos of things we've seen before), and give Conner a pretty rough time of it. There's one moment where in order to deal with the bad guys he has to unleash a huge wave of power from his tactile telekinesis; and I loved this. This is one of the powers that's unique to Conner, but tends to be the power that a lot of people forget he has. It's hardly ever used, with him just becoming another standard Kryptonian, so it's great not just to see it, but to see it absolutely wrecking shit up.
Whilst the story is fantastic, I have to give some time to gush over the art, by Jahnoy Lindsay. The book looks absolutely gorgeous. Opening it up and flicking through the pages will absolutely grab people, because every location and character in this issue looks fantastic. Conner looks the best he ever has wearing this version of his costume. I've never been a big fan of his bodysuit and leather jacket, but Lindsay makes that look absolutely work for me. He looks cool and dynamic, but more than that he looks incredibly expressive. Lindsay makes Conner look young here, he's got a brightness to his face, with his big blue eyes and gentle features that sells that he's a teen. He has a vulnerability to him in some scenes that doesn't come from the writing, but the way he's drawn. Lindsay sells the emotional journey that Conner is going on in this book, and you can't help but feel for the kid.
I absolutely loved all of the designs we get when we hit space too. There are elements of the alien planet that reminded me of Namek from Dragonball Z. The way the environment looks, and the designs of the buildings could easily slip into that universe. And when the bad guys arrive their jump suits have a very Freiza Force look about them; and I'm pretty sure their boots are just the Saiyan boot design. These are either intentional nods from Lindsay, or subconscious design choices, but either way, I love it. It gives the book that same feel of going off on a space adventure against dangerous foes that that particular part of the Dragonball saga had. All of the Dominator creations look fantastic too, and I'm hoping that not all of those we saw here were killed by the Cosmoteers, as there were some fantastic designs amongst them.
Another small detail that I loved is that all of Conner's internal monologue boxes were sewn on patches. The red and yellow, with the tiny lines that show stitching match the look of Conner on the front cover, and how he's stitched his S logos onto his jackets. It's a tiny touch, but it helps the book to stand out, and for Conner to feel different from every other narrator.
Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow proves to be a hugely engaging, creative, and beautiful book. It's easy to see how it won the Round Robin competition, as everything about it feels fresh and new, and I can't wait to read the next one.
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