DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #2
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics
Rating: ****
Wow! Fantastic! For someone who didn’t grow up reading the Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes stories, I have nothing to compare this issue to. However, I must say that this is a great story that I think longtime fans of those stories will agree that it can stand alongside those classic tales. If you didn’t read issue one, first off, go now to your comic store and get it; second, this issue can stand alone as a great story with some amazing art work. The creative team once again is Geoff Johns and Gary Frank. They introduced us to a teenage Clark Kent living in Smallville adjusting to his super powers and discovering where they came from. We’re also introduced to a teenage Lex Luthor who has an abusive, alcoholic father whom Luthor tries kill in the beginning of our second issue.
The issue opens with Lionel Luthor driving down a highway. There is rubble on the road and he tries to swerve and hit the breaks - unfortunately the breaks are out thanks to Lex. Lionel’s car goes over the side of the highway and is about to plunge into the water when Superboy saves the day. A beautifully drawn scene by Frank, but my one complaint is that I think Superboy looks more like a 10 year-old than a teenager in that scene. Lionel survives, but not for long as Luthor is successful in murdering his father at the end of the issue.
Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #2
Digg ThisAdvertisement
DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #1
Posted by David Torres Categories: Reviews, DC Comics
Rating: ****
There have been numerous Superman origins in the character’s 70 year history. From the original Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster origin, to the more recent John Byrne and Mark Waid origins or Superman’s early adventures that we’ve seen over the past 20 years. Now we get another new “origin” tale by Geoff Johns with this week’s Superman: Secret Origin. When I heard that they were doing this, I said to myself, “Is this really necessary?” Well with the recent continuity changes that have been made over the past few years, I guess you can make an argument for it. If it were any other writer doing it, I would not be picking this mini-series up, but since it’s Geoff Johns and I loved what he and Richard Donner did with their recent run on Action Comics, I decided to pick it up. Well, I’m glad to say that I’m not disappointed.
Our first issue opens in Smallville of course with Clark Kent as a teenager about to begin a pick up game of football with Pete Ross and some other Smallville teenagers. Clark catches the ball and runs into Pete, which breaks Pete’s arm. Distraught over the incident, Clark is confused by what’s happening to him. There to comfort him is his childhood sweetheart Lana Lang. She kisses Clark which gets Clark all hot and bothered, resulting in his heat vision to shoot off—he almost burns the school down.
Click to continue reading DC Comics Review: Superman: Secret Origin #1
Is Lex the Bad Guy?
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Television, DC Comics
Someone has to stand up for Lex Luthor in Smallville and it might as well be me. I believe that the only honest person on the show is Lex and here is why.
We have to assume that the real fans of the show have watched every episode. It would be very easy to say that Lex is a power-mad psychopath who is only interested in accumulating power for himself. Crazy maybe, but crazy like a fox, I say. See, Lexie has a motive that is pure. He believes that there are aliens out here and they do not have the best intentions towards our planet. And guess what? He is right.
Lex has had exposure to aliens and they all seem to want to conquer Earth. From Brainiac to Maxima to Zod, all these guys have bad intentions towards Earth and its people. He wants to create a super-powered army to oppose them. All his efforts have been to accelerate this goal. Sure, he wants to be the top banana, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone else that recognizes the threat and taking measures to counteract it. It is his money and intellect that propels every project to create this earth defense force. Even paranoids have enemies.
Let’s face it, everyone on the show is lying in one way or another. Sure, they are mostly lying to help Clark. But Clark was Lex’s BFF and his secret is not that he has super powers like every one else in Smallville exposed to meteor rocks, but that he is an actual alien. Imagine how life would have changed if Clark told his BFF the truth early in the relationship. Now Lex knows for sure there are good aliens as well as bad ones and they could work together to defend Earth. And another thing. Jor-El, from Krypton, sent John Jones, from Mars to help protect his son from, TADA, bad aliens who would do harm to earth. So I guess Lex isn’t so bad, afterall. Even though he threw his father through a window all the way to the Hero’s Universe to track down people with super powers.
Ironic huh ?
Friday Follies
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, Television, DC Comics, Marvel Comics
We are two episodes into Smallville, so a few comments are in order. Saturn Girl looks a lot better on TV than she did in the Wizard photos. I guess you don’t have to be telepathic to figure out what’s on the mind of every guy that meets her. Plus there were quite a few inside references. No flights, no tights for one. And why is Clark so uptight about even trying to fly? Tess, or as I prefer to call her MISS TESSMACKER, is talking merger with Ollie. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. With Lana back are they doing the deed? Saw the photo of Serinda Swan who will be playing Zatanna. Have they grabbed every good looking girl in Vancouver? Clark talking about teaming up more with Ollie and John Jones? How about teaming with guys who actually have super powers? You know, Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman who have already been introduced? And Martians lose their powers under a yellow sun? Since when? Jones is played by Phil Morris, who is the son of original Mission Impossible star, Greg Morris. And Chloe calling John ” My favorite Martian”? Where’s the antenna?
If you want the best explanation for Batman that I have seen click on the comment Bubba made about my Deaths of Batman posting. It is far better than anything I or my DC rep could come up with.
Whoa… I just got it, Faces of Evil is Foe’s. F O E. Took me awhile.
When I went to reorder the second printing variant of Amazing Spider-Man, I was told by Diamond that I already missed the third printing variant, but I could get the 4th printing in early February. How did I miss the third?
Over on Battlestar Galactica we now know the 12th cylon is the XO’s slightly dead wife. Of course she would have been resurrected had not the humans and renegade cylons not blown up the resurrection ship. Mind you, he killed her for betraying her people,which, of course, she isn’t and neither is he. And why, if you are making human looking cylons, would you make them susceptible to alcohol? No wonder he drinks so much. And where are they getting all this not home brewed liquor anyway? Assuming that there are only the 12 human looking cylons that they have told us about, that makes Starbuck not a cylon. People who remember the original Galactica remember the Lords of the Light who rescued the almost dead Apollo instead of Starbuck and sent him/her/it back in a brand new white viper. Well,they have borrowed quite a few plot devices from the original so why not one more?
Toon in Tuesday for the famous Tuesday Preview.
Smallville - January can’t come fast enough!
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Television, DC Comics
The other night we had Chloe’s wedding and it was the disaster that it was projected to be. Doomsday crashed the party and carried off the bride (yes, bride, they did get married before all the hullabaloo). Lana came back after learning Green Arrow’s secret and is working with some suspicious character. Lex came back plugged to some weird machine. Jimmy is half-dead. Lois thinks that Clark might be the One. Clark is plain pissed. A typical “Smallville” cliffhanger because they never put one person in peril when they can end a half or full season with just about everyone up the creek. But what do we have to look forward to on January 15, 2009 when the show returns?
Well, how is Clark to deal with Doomsday? Even with Impulse, Cyborg, Aquaman, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, and Green Arrow, it seems Supes is going to need more help. Even though a lot of shows, including “Smallville,” are cutting back to reflect the current economy, we still have room for a slew of guest stars. Well, comic book guest stars as opposed to big name actors.
On January 15, we are going to see the arrival of The Legion of Super Heroes. Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl are going to arrive from the 31st century with stock market tips and to help our hero out. No more worrying about corn prices for a certain Kansas farmboy. DC is digging a little deep from the bench, in my humble opinion, because time travel shows, even when fun, makes my hair hurt. Let’s face it. Go back in time, fail in your mission, then try it again 10 minutes earlier until you succeed. Surely those Terminators sending guys back in time must realize their guys have failed when John Connor and the resistance is still there. Didn’t kill him, try again for Sarah. Fail with her, try the grandmother, etc.
If I have the scenario right, this Doomsday is made from Kryptonese genetic material so he should be superior to Supes. Assuming green kryptonite doesn’t kill him, I wonder if magnetism, lightning bolts, and telepathy will do any good. Well, we will find out in January.
“Inside” Smallville
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, Television, DC Comics
One of the subjects my comic shop customers love to discuss, besides “Heroes,” is “Smallville”. To survive nine seasons on TV is remarkable in itself, but one of the things I most enjoy is picking up the insider references that they toss in. My comic shop partner, Jason, hates every one of them. Here are a few of them.
Just this season, Clark had to change into a suit at the Daily Planet. The only available place was a telephone booth. Clark said that he wouldn’t change his clothes in a phone booth and Lois had to push him in. Clark’s dog, back at the farm, is named Krypto. When he first met Bart Allen AKA the Flash, Bart was fleeing from Clark when Clark ripped open his backpack. Out flew a bunch of phoney driver’s licenses in the names Jay Garrick, Wally West, and Barry Allen. Bart later suggests they form a club or a league. When Clark meets Arthur Curry AKA Aquaman, Arthur suggests to Clark that they fight crime on the land and sea. Clark responds that he isn’t ready for the Junior Lifeguards of America.
In the very first season Lois is reading a book and explains to Clark that Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and asks him ” What planet are you from?” John Jones AKA the Martian Manhunter, drops Oreo cookies in his first appearance. Clark now works at a great metropolitan newspaper. Anyone remember others?
Personally, I love watching “Smallville” with my son and every time one of these inside references show up, I have to explain them to him. Father and son bonding - who knew Smallville could help.
How Does Superman…?
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, DC Comics
Back in the 1950s, also known as my misspent youth, the editors at DC Comics actually tried to answer all the “real life” questions that got tossed at their superheroes, particularly, Superman. Ignoring the fact that this isn’t real life in the first place, there were a million questions. As no one seemed to worry about continuity back then, a story was written that explained various things such as the following questions.
How did Superman cut his hair? Afterall, it was invulnerable, just like the rest of him. The answer is he used his heat vision reflected off a mirror. How he shaved they never got into.
Where did the supersuit come from? It had to be invulnerable because the bullets everyone always futilely shot at Supes bounced off it. If it wasn’t invulnerable, there would have been holes in the suit after the shot bounced off Superman. The answer was that Ma Kent sewed it from the blanket he was wrapped in when the ship that brought Superman to earth crashed. That, of course, begs the question of what kind of super needle she happened to have in her sewing kit. That’s neither her nor there at this point though.
And the glasses? I mean, was that all it took for anyone to not notice the resemblance between Clark and Superman? The answer is that one of Supes’ little know powers is super hypnotism and he used the glasses to focus it so that no one in the world would notice how much they looked alike. Believe me, I wish I was making this explanation up, but I am not. My colleague, David Torres, wonders what happens if Clark Kent loses the glasses.
Anyway, does anyone remember any more of these? Want to make up your own scenarios and answer them or have other readers answer them, leave your comments below!
Clark Kent Without Glasses?
Posted by David Torres Categories: Editorials, DC Comics
In one of the latest issues of “Action Comics,” Clark Kent is asked whether he would consider laser surgery so he can get rid of his glasses. This got me thinking. In order for Clark Kent to hide his secret identity as Superman, he wears a pair of glasses. Over the past decade more and more people have been getting laser eye surgery to eliminate the need for eyeglasses. If things continue to go on like this and technology continues to improve, will no one in the world have to wear glasses? If so, what does it mean for Clark Kent? Does DC Comics have to find another way for Clark Kent to hide his identity? The removing of the glasses and the ripping open of the dress shirt to reveal the “S” on his costume is an iconic image for Superman. Will this hurt the character if he no longer wears glasses? Sounds silly? Maybe. Something to think about kids… feel free to leave your comments!
The Future of Smallville
Posted by Joel Rosenberg Categories: Editorials, Movies, Television, DC Comics
So what is to become of “Smallville”?
As a comic shop owner, I am in weekly contact with DC. Everytime I ask them for some good gossip I never get any. Advance word of All-Star Batman 10 would have been real nice. So even though the season is not even half over, we certainly can speculate.
Click to continue reading The Future of Smallville
Recent Galleries
Recent Users
Statistics
- Total Posts: 462
- Total Comments: 260
- Total Trackbacks: 0
- Total Members: 17974
- Members Online: 0
- Guests Online: 35
- Anonymous Members: 0
- Most Visitors Ever: 5394
- Current Members Online:
Advertisement
© Gear Live Media, LLC. 2007 – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.