Review: ‘Superman’ #12 Fights For The Greater Good
by Tony Thornley
Superman is at his best when he’s fighting for the greater good. In Superman #12, we get to see that even when he can’t punch the problem he’s capable of so much.
Joshua Williamson, David Baldeon, Norm Rapmund, Rex Lokus and Ariana Maher show what Superman can really do for Metropolis.
Dr. Pharm, Mr. Graft, and their Luthor Revenge Squad have poisoned Metropolis, using one of Lex’s old traps to spread Kryptonite through the city. Now Lex needs to fight the bad guys while Superman puts his mind to work to save the city. The only thing that stands in their way is Lex’s own mother!
The culmination of a year of stories is a pretty big deal, and could be a huge stumble or a true climax. Williamson takes everything he’s done in the last twelve months of Superman — both from the first issue down to last month’s — and actually writes an extremely good action adventure. Why it’s successful is that it’s based on the relationship between Clark and Lex.
Without what he’d done with the characters for the past year, this could have just been a hollow beat-em-up. Thankfully, he threaded everything through their antagonistic bond, while adding plot points from different plot points of the run so far, to show how it all worked.
Baldeon’s extremely cartoony style isn’t always a fit for a story. Here, something about what he and Rapmund do fits. Every panel is dynamic, with some great splash pages. The action is clear through the layouts that are simple but very effective. I love how expressive the characters are too, and Lokus uses bright colors to make it all pop on the page.
Superman #12 is available now from DC Comics.
Overview
This issue landed just right for me. It’s a great blend of everything Superman’s survived the past year and I hope we continue to get more of it.
