SUPERMAN SECRET ORIGIN #2 (OF 6)

Review by: TheNextChampion

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Superman’s origin has been done to death. There I said it…

I admit that this idea for a comic has been done way to often at DC. I mean we just had a retelling of his origin with ‘Birthright’ only a few years ago. But here’s why I think this origin is going to be different and possibly be the best shown. It’s because Geoff Johns is not going to fully focus on Clark Kent’s beginnings of a hero. He’s going to be showing the early days of his friends and enemies as well.

That’s basically the premise for this issue for the most part. I mean we are still focusing on Clark Kent being Superboy, but there’s so much more here. Lex Luthor is definitely going to be a big factor to this mini, and I love this young Luthor. Johns is really showing how evil the man was as a child, but you can’t help but like the character. The whole discussion of Metropolis with Clark was great to read and it really shows how Clark is going to interact with Luthor in the future. Then you have the Legion section and it’s amazing how this is pretty much an extension of ‘Superman and the Legion of Superheroes’. It looks like panels from that arc by Johns is used again here and he shows how Kent first interaction with the team. It’s not confusing to read (as we only get six members here) and it was a lot of fun seeing the 30th century in the eyes of Johns again. Finally you got the interaction with Ma and Pa Kent, and damn you Johns for making me teary eye. He is great at writing dialogue for Pa Kent and the whole scene with the telescope was very inspirtational.

This is still some of Gary Frank’s best work with Superman or in general. The whole beginning with Luthor’s dad almost driving off a cliff was great to look at and it felt like watching a film. It seems like Frank is taking a cinematic approach to this mini because everything is so dynamic or even drawn in a widescreen look. I’ll conceit that his rendering of ‘Superboy’ is kinda off to me. I can’t pinpoint why, but for some reason seeing a young Clark Kent in a Superman outfit is kinda weird to look at. Other then that, the character models are really beatufiul and his fighting sequences are great as always. You really see the emotion poured out into these characters; so when Lana is upset or Phantom Girl/Triplicate Girl gushing over Superboy, it just feels real. Even with an iffy looking Superboy at times, I still find this to be Frank’s best work.

This issue as a whole was not as magical as the first issue. For some reason the first issue really felt like a special comic to hold onto. (It’s up there with Incredible Herc #146 as best single issue of 2009) Here this was a great issue to read, if it wasn’t for the Blackest Night comics coming out it could’ve been my pick again. But there just doesn’t seem to be anything magical about it. Still I don’t want to make people think this was a bad issue. I gushed over every single page of this and it is the best Superman story I’ve read this year. Yes the origin is done to death, but Johns is bringing a whole new meaning to the word ‘origin’.

Story: 5 - Excellent
Art: 5 - Excellent

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