The new direction begins in Action Comics #1087. The story opens in the present day, at the Metropolis Expo of Tomorrow, where Superman has provided actual future technology (flight rings) for the exhibit. (Did you know that Perry White is now mayor of Metropolis? I didn't.) The story soon flashes back to Clark Kent's 15th birthday, when Ma and Pa Kent tokk him to Metropolis for the Expo of Tomorrow for that year. His powers have begun to develop, but he has not yet made a public appearance. He doesn't even have a public persona yet (the Kents are still working that out), but he does have a costume, which he is secretly wearing to the Expo under his street clothes.
The exhibition is soon attacked by a costumed villain/terrorist, and Ma & Pa give him permission to deal with the situation in costume. (His costume, BTW, includes red shorts and red tennis shoes.) This action bring him to the attention of General Lane (who reports to some mysterious cabal) as well as a shadowy figure who can fly.
ISSUE #1088:
At the Daily Planet, the name "Superboy" is provided by Charlie Lane's niece, who was in the office for "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day." Back in Smallville, the Kents begin workiing through the ramifications of "Superboy's" public appearance ahead of when they woud have liked. They agree to allow Clark to operate as superboy three afternoons a week (if his chores are done, at normal speed),, but they don't want him associated with Smallville, so he takes his show "on the road" to Gotham, Los Angeles, Central City, etc. His powers are still developing, and he needs a roadmap to follow the interstate highway system.
This issue also introduces Pete Ross and Lana Lang. Lana has been away all summer, and has, uh... "blossemed." This is the first year at the brand new high school building. A fire breaks out on the first day, forcing Clark to use his powers in costume to prevent the loss of life. He later confronts the contractor who installed the faulty sprinkler system, and learns a lesson about the difference between apprehending criminals and punishing them. Later, a knock comes to the door of the Kent home. It is Mr. Blake, one of Clark's teachers, who wants to talk to Superboy.
This series starts at the very beginning of Superboy's career. I can hardly wait until he meets the Legion of Super-Heroes.
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ACTION COMICS #1100: A "milestone" issue marred somewhat by the fact that it was achieved "illegitimately," by skipping issues. [SPOILERS follow.]
I'll stick around as long as Superboy continues to be featured.
Well, I do like the symbolic cover. You start out with a Joe Shuster homage in the upper left hand corner, followed by Curt Swan, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez and then the longer haired post Death of Superman version.
But unless you're counting The New 52 when all the titles were restarted with #1 which were added back into the legacies later, when did Action "illigetimately skip numbers"?
DC never published Action Comics #905-956. (I did say "marred somewhat" and put the word "illegitimately" in quotation marks.) That's not quite as egregious as how Spider-Man got to "1000" (see below), but either the issues are numbered sequentially or they aren't. In 1986, as I'm sure you know, DC released a new "Superman #1" but still managed to retain the original series' numbering (Superman #423 was followed by Adventures of Superman #424), to which it eventually reverted.
And yes, that is a nice cover.
There has never been a Superboy movie.
TV show, though.
Do they address why Superboy would want to come to the present? It means leaving behind his family, Lana Lang, Smallville High -- his whole life. He'll miss proms and football games and his sojourns with the LSH and college and growing up as Clark Kent. This doesn't feel like a reward.
Also, didn't DC learn anything when they aged Jon up and fans were outraged? It meant missing his teenage years and team-ups with Damian.
And what about us, the readers? The attraction of Superboy is seeing the future Superman grow up in Smallville, with all the joys and sorrows of adolescence. This makes him just another time-displaced action hero.
Unless they said it was temporary on the front end. Did they?
It's just planned to be a short visit, Cap. Everyone's intention is for him to go back to Smallville soon. (Looks like there'll be an unplanned adventure in the meantime, but that's comics for ya!)
Clark *does* see an awful lot of his future in issue 1100, and I assume will see more in the next few months, but I'm guessing there's a plan for that. (I always liked Saturn Girl's psychic implant, erasing any knowledge Clark might have of his own future when he's in his home time.)
I always liked Saturn Girl's psychic implant, erasing any knowledge Clark might have of his own future when he's in his home time.
It was Supergirl who placed that post-hypnotic block in Superboy's mind. (Nb. Adventure Comics # 334 [Jul., 1965]. # 341 [Feb., 1966], et al.)
"Unless they said it was temporary on the front end."
"It's just planned to be a short visit, Cap."
Yes, that's exactly it. Here's how it came down.
SUPERBOY: I was kind of wondering... we went through all this trouble to find you and get you back where you belong, I need to see it through, y'know? It feels like my destiny... So if I can check out your time...
SUPERMAN: After everything I just went through, I learned there are times you have to take risks and have some fun. So... maybe just a peek.
(Booster Gold's comment: "What could possibly go wrong?")
If there were a "Marvel NOW" All-New X-Men situation (2013), I'd be a bit more trepidatious, but with Mark Waid at the helm I'm confident in the outcome.
I have hopes for the "Kingdom of Zod" crossover that is coming. DC did good work with the assorted Superboy variants in the last few months (even Superboy-Prime) and they seem to have a workable plan for the characters going ahead, down to having just created yet another (unexpected and unusual) Superboy.
It will not surprise me too much if they decide to tie this to the simultaneous launch of a new version of the LSH. There are some hints here and there that some sort of timeline branching may be about to come, and it would IMO be nice for the Legion to be untied from the core continuity.
Also, I like the characterization of J'onn and Booster in #1100. Michael looks almost like he has some sort of plan in mind and is hiding it behind apparently reckless behavior.
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