Superman: The Man of Steel #25 (September 1993)
Superman: The Man of Steel #25 (September 1993)
REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN! Also: ANNIVERSARY ISSUE! Or, halfway point for an anniversary issue, anyway. The plot is structured around various characters converging on Metropolis’ bay area:
Lex Luthor Jr. and Supergirl: Chief Lackey Dr. Happersen alerts Lex that his scientists have detected some big-ass robot heading to Metropolis from the ocean. Since Metropolis is the one thing Lex actually gives a shit about, he sends a submarine crew to kill the robot with bombs, but they end up killing themselves instead.
(Apparently the submarine was staffed entirely by helicopter pilots.)
Believing the robot must be Doomsday 2.0 or something, Lex sends Supergirl after it this time, since he clearly doesn’t give a shit about her.
The Man of Steel: Steel has heard the reports saying that the Last Son of Krypton blew up Coast City, but he ain’t buying it. Not just because the two kinda parted on friendly terms when they last met (Man of Steel #24), but because Steel was able to fight off the Last Son by himself that day, so it’s a little weird that he’d be powerful enough to defeat the Cyborg and Superboy and a whole city. So, Steel decides to head to Coast City to find out what’s going on.
Superboy: The Kid has finally managed to free himself from the elaborate robotic shackles where Cyborg had him trapped (thanks to the little motivational video Mongul showed him last month in Action #690). However, now he knows he’s not strong enough to take on the Cyborg by himself, so he opts to fly back to Metropolis for assistance. Character development!
Lois Lane: Lois also decides to go to Coast City because she doesn’t trust the Cyborg and wants to find out the truth… and, uh, because she kissed a dude and wants to get as far away from him as possible. (More on this in the plotlines section below.)
And so, Supergirl, Steel, Superboy, and Lois all bump into each other on Metropolis’ bay area (the closest point to Coast City, I guess) just as the aforementioned robot arrives. Some punching ensues, and Steel is the one who finally manages to take it down, because it’s his comic after all. And then, just as Superboy is updating all the others on the Cyborg’s plan to pull a “Coast City” on Metropolis (read: blow it up), the defeated robot seemingly gives birth to…
…some long-haired dude in a gimp suit? Really? Come on, DC, this is the flimsiest Superman pretender so far.
Mullet-Watch:
It's here. For better or worse… it's here. Yes, this issue marks the reality-shattering debut of the Super-Mullet – and I say "reality-shattering" because, seriously, where did that thing come from? The last time we saw the Kryptonian Battle Armor's occupant in full (Action #689), there was no mullet in sight. That was only a few days ago in the storyline's timeline, which is nowhere near enough time to grow a mullet, as anyone who has attempted it can tell you. Now, it's been established that the goo inside the armor is full of "healing nutrients" or something… maybe those nutrients include a fast hair-growing formula? Did Superman's ancestors in planet Krypton suffer from alopecia?
Note, however, that the character's hair seems to be pretty short on this issue's cover (unless it's so long that it turned into the darkness surrounding him) and on the "birthing" panels, so I have to wonder if the mullet was a last minute addition. That, or Jon Bogdanove drew it without asking anyone else, like that time Jack Kirby added some "nut on a surfboard" to a Fantastic Four comic.
Plotline-Watch:
Steel has gotten so good at fighting street gangsters with automatic weapons that he spends two pages effortlessly dealing with a bunch of them while mentally recapping storylines. He’s already a pro at this superheroing thing.
So. The kiss thing. Lois’ old college flame Jeb Friedman has been wooing from the moment he heard her fiancee was probably dead. A class act, that Jeb. In this issue, Jeb takes Lois to a sports bar, but she spends the whole evening thinking about the Cyborg and Coast City. My theory: she was so distracted that when he kissed her at the end of the date, it took her like 10 seconds to even notice it. She feels so dirty afterwards that she marches into Perry White’s office and demands that he let her risk her life and go to Coast City(’s crater) to find out what’s really going on.
Immediately after kissing Jeb (or letting Jeb kiss her), Lois hears a tap on the window and thinks it’s Clark, but it’s only a bird – a bird possessed by Clark’s angry, jealous ghost, that is! Probably. We’ll know for sure if Jeb shows up with bird poop on his hair the next time we see him.
There’s now an official name for Superboy’s unique special ability: “panicky power blasts!” Catchy. Speaking of which, I wonder if the following sequence where the Kid uses his powers to free Steel was originally meant to show him using regular (non-touchy) telekinesis, but they caught the mistake and added the “touch him with my foot” dialogue afterwards. Good thing they didn’t go with another body part.
By the way, the robot only seems hostile to Steel and the others because (as established in previous issues) the thing is actually on auto-pilot and Super-Fabio inside can't even see what's going on, since there's no visor or anything. That seems like a pretty poor design for a giant robot. That, or there is a visor but he still couldn't see with all that hair in the way.
Don Sparrow points out: "The meta romance between Spin Doctors and Jimmy Olsen continues unabated, even though the idea of Jimmy liking a band that got famous with a song about him wanting to woo Lois Lane gives me a headache."
For more art commentary and much more Jeb hate, check out Don's section after the jump!
Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):
We start with the cover, where we finally glimpse the face of the man who has been piloting that Kryptonian warsuit all that time (and we'll just forget that we already saw him a whole bunch a few weeks ago) and it's Ash himself, Bruce Campbell! Despite what I would call an overabundance of hatching lines, this cover has become a pretty iconic one, and really does grab you when it's sitting on a shelf. After months of trying to find hints or the real Superman in all these difference characters, we're confronted with what would seem to be the real steel deal--and he's pissed.
Inside we begin with a full page splash of Superboy locked down by the Cyborg. It's funny how much these characters vary, issue to issue. Last week he looked a little older and lankier than we are used to seeing him. This week, he looks youthful again, but his hair appears to have grown about a foot in length at the top! [Max: A lot of mysterious hair-growing going around in this issue.]
Next we're treated to a stunner of a double page spread showing Engine City in all its' gloomy industrial glory. I still harbour some doubts that things like pipelines and ladders could "grow" from mechanical seeds, but maybe they had some supplies on Mongul's ship to fill the gaps.
Page 6 features a strange detail on Mongul, where his chest cannon briefly appears to be on a chain, like a pendant. He wasn't depicted this way last issue, and he won't be next issue, so it's officially a goof. [Max: Maybe Mongul saw some rap videos on those monitors and wanted to copy their style, but then Cyborg pulled him aside and told him it wasn't working.] That same page features a very rushed-looking Cyborg face, so maybe Bog spent too much time on that great double page spread from earlier, and had to sketch this one in.
My hatred for Jeb is well known on this blog, and this is pretty much the highest peak of my rage level. Beginning with page 8 when Lois inexplicably holds hands with him, and crescendoing with Jeb's lowdown, dirty, rotten kiss on a bereaved Lois. While I hate everything about this writing choice, Lois' pained and regretful pose on the next page is very well observed and emotional.
Supergirl's landing in Lex's office is PANEL OF THE WEEK worthy shot, with her looking at once girlish, and powerful.
Lois also looks great in her aviation outfit looking into the sun to spot the Man of Steel landing. There are a couple great shots of Supergirl in the pages that follow, as her judo throw on the warsuit appears dojo accurate, and though it's a small panel, the perspective on Supergirl's calves as she flies Lex Jr out of danger is really well drawn.
John Henry smashing the warsuit with his hammer is well done, and really gives a sense of the leverage needed to puncture Kryptonian metal. I also appreciate the care the artist took to show that the handle is telescoping outward to gain some length, otherwise we would have to believe Steel is carrying a hammer twice his height around with him.
Lastly we get the big reveal of the main man himself, and the quote says it all. This is the first appearance of the super-mullet, and for all the times that the creative teams have gone out of their way to say that Superman didn't have a mullet (often saying it was more of a Tarzan look), dang, this really looks like a mullet.
STRAY OBSERVATIONS
More Cyborg hubris--again Mongul alerts the Cyborg about Superboy working at his restraints, and again Cyborg dismisses him and is immediately proven wrong. I like that his craziness is showing in greater increments.
There are some terrific character moments in this issue for Superboy, which is nice to see, especially considering Adventures of Superman is "his" book, and this is supposed to be Steel's showcase. Superboy resolving not to be cocky or grandstand is some real growth, and neat to see.
Godwatch! During my least favourite scene inmy entire collection (when Jeb kisses Lois) she invokes "the Lord" and also says "oh, God, what have I done"? Seriously, if that's what women think after you kiss them, Jeb, you're doing it wrong.
There are many reasons I hate Jeb, but in this issue, the main one isn't the kiss, or that he's trying to put the moves on a friend who is deep in the grip of grief. No, it's his outfit that I find unforgivable. Yikes!
I love that Lex II is slowly descending into legit villainy despite his efforts to be squeaky clean, being a controlling weirdo of a boyfriend (even manhandling her arm in a way that I find disconcerting) and callously assuming the whole crew of the submarine are dead. Kinda heavy that all those crewmen died, and Superman is completely oblivious in there. (It would be interesting to bring back one of the crew, or one of their relatives in some future issue where they demand revenge on either Lex or Superman for not doing more to save them). [Max: Maybe they run into Doctor Stratos down there and form an Underwater Superman Revenge Squad!]
Though he's being a manipulative and controlling jerk, Lex Jr. isn't wrong to think it possible that the warsuit is a danger, though he reveals toward the end of the issue that his main motivation was indeed just to keep Supergirl at his side.
I dig that Steel puts it together that something isn't right in Coast City all on his own, and it's a credit to him that unlike Maggie Sawyer and the loathsome Jeb, Steel actually takes Lois' concerns to heart.
Is that just water that was in Superman's chamber,or some kind of fluid? It's fluid, isn't it? [Max: Hair-growing tonic. Pay attention, Don.]
I would have thought Pulitzer Prizes were nicer.
[Max: The Pulitzer isn't as respected in this universe since they have the much more prestigious Baldy Award.]