Superman (vol.4) #4 (2016)
Superman (vol.4) #4 (October, 2016)
“Son of Superman, Part Four”
Story – Peter J. Tomasi
Story & Pencils – Patrick Gleason
Inker – Mick Gray
Colorist – John Kalisz
Letterer – Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor – Andrew Marino
Editor – Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99
Short preamble today… was stuck in the stacks most of the day trying to work out my Master’s Degree whatsits.
Glad to have completed The Life and Times of Tara Markov feature that took up the past nine days, and am looking forward to the future… a future that starts with tomorrow’s Two-Hundredth daily post here at the humble blog. Please WATCH out for it!
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Picking up where we left off, Superman and the Eradicator are locked in combat while Lois and Jon watch from the sidelines. Jon just watched Krypto get inhaled by the baddie, and lemme tell ya… he ain’t pleased! Making matters worse, all the while the Eradicator is calling him an impure half-breed! Talk about a low-blow, buddy. He zips up his super-jacket, and joins his pop… poppin’ the Eradicator in the mush.
Now missing his mouth-hole, the Eradicator begins spewing disembodied Kryptonian souls. Superman is rightfully shocked… and I’m just a little bit confused.
We shift scenes to the Ace O’Clubs, home of our fav’rit bar-owner, Bibbo Bibbowski! He’s arm-wrestling a buddy of his who dares to joke about the recent death of (New-52) Superman… bad move, pal… Bibbo slams his arm to the bar.
To the winner go the spoils, and today those spoils consist of a moon rock (sans certificate of authenticity). Bibbo takes it and is about to deposit it into his Superman shrine collection when it starts to float.
Now is when I go from confused to lost… the sky opens up, just swirling with Kryptonian souls… and the Kents Whites Smiths. Superman and Superboy are deposited unconscious on the matted felt of Bibbo’s billiards, and Sooperman’s number one fan is dumbstruck.
Lois, who is also there… but not adversely affected like her Kryptonian kin deduces that the moon rock must have traces of Kryptonite in it. She takes it and tosses it into a waiting hand amid the swirl of souls… but it’s returned, I think… now Bibbo’s got it, and at Lois’ command he throws it away as far as he can.
While not quite conscious, Superman gets a visit from Jonathan Kent… no, the other one! He builds his son up so that he can free the Kryptonian souls… and so he does. He speaks to them, makes them feel whole… and all is well… until…
The Eradicator hits the scene, still threatening to purify the “half-breed”. He begins a reboot sequence, and counts down from ten. Superman sees this as his only opportunity to ensure the safety of his family, and uses it to seemingly flee… much to the disappointment of his number one fan.
After the countdown hits zero, the Kryptonian spirits get involved to buy the Man of Steel some time. They cause an explosion of sorts that plunges the Eradicator deep into the harbor. With these few extra seconds, Superman loads his family into a submarine, and heads off…
… toward the moon.
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Still really enjoying this title… it’s definitely on my short list for top Rebirth books. That being said, I don’t really dig this feeling like a “part four”… ya know? I mean, it is a part four… says so right in the title! This is just starting to feel a touch “paddy”. Not saying it’s bad, please don’t get me wrong… I really dug it. I guess I’m just kvetching about the whole “writing for the trade” thing that DC said they wouldn’t do anymore a couple years back. I’m hoping this is just for the opener… so they can get a new “#1” trade paperback on shelves, then we can maybe tell some less formulaic stories.
Was thrilled to see Bibbo! It’s been too long, buddy! I just wish he referred to Sooperman as his “fav’rit” a time or two. There’s still time though, hopefully we’ll hear it soon enough. Him getting a chunk of Kryptonite-tainted moon rock may be a bit convenient, but whattayagonnado? It’s forgivable, and allows the creators to let us check in on an old friend.
I did feel a bit lost when the “exiles” began popping up. I’m hoping that all gets cleared up for me with the next chapter, though I can’t help but feel as though I’m missing something. We saw the Eradicator inhale poor Krypto last issue… is he like a walking and talking Phantom Zone in and of himself? Really not clear to me… which, might just be my being too dense to comprehend and/or follow. I ain’t too proud to say it may have just gone over my head!
Still diggin’ this… though, I am looking forward to getting past this opening arc, where hopefully we’ll get some solo Superman stories. Most definitely worth a look.
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