X-Lapsed, Episode 240 - Shang-Chi #3 (2021)

X-Lapsed, Episode Two Hundred Forty

Shang-Chi (vol.2) #3 (September, 2021) [LGY#129]

"Shang-Chi vs. The Marvel Universe, Part 3"

Writer - Gene Luen Yang

Art - Dike Ruan

Colors - Triona Farrell

Letters - VC's Travis Lanham

Edits - Gregorowicz, Shan, Cebulski

Cover Price: $3.99

On-Sale: July 28, 2021

Through gritted teeth we head off the beaten path and take a look at a Wolverine guest-spot in Shang-Chi!  Now, the "gritted teeth" ain't an indictment on the quality of the story... it's due to some dental work I had done earlier in the day!  So, not even lockjaw (not that Lockjaw) will keep us from our (self)appointed task!  Apologies in advance if I sound rough(er than usual) today!

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Superman (vol.3) #42 (2015)

Superman (vol.3) #42 (September, 2015)
"Before Truth, Part 2"
Writer - Gene Luen Yang
Penciller - John Romita, Jr.
Inker - Klaus Janson
Colorists - Dean White, Wil Quintana & Tomeu Morey
Letterer - Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor - Andrew Marino
Group Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $3.99

DCYou... remember that?  Me neither.

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We open on the outskirts of Metropolis where Clark, Jimmy, Lois and Condesa are collecting themselves following Clark having been shot.  Oughta mention, this was around the time he discovered his Solar Flare power, which would leave him powerless for 24-hours following use... and boy oh boy did he use it... like every issue.  The group is suddenly ambushed by a group of Techno Ninjas... which Clark just thrashes his way through.

When the techno-dust settles, Lois finally confronts Clark.  She's noticed things ever since he... and Superman... arrived in Metropolis.  He isn't terribly keen on continuing the conversation, and pulls away... unfortunately for him, she won't let go... and his clothes tear.  Welp, that's underwhelming.

Lois is surprised, and rather ticked that he'd been keeping this from her.  She's even less pleased to learn that he'd already let Jimmy in on his secret (a few issues earlier).  And, wouldja look at that, Condesa also knows!  Ya see, she worked with Hordr_Root, who has been sending our man some threatening text messages of late.  Hordr_Root?  Have I said "underwhelming" yet?

Condesa also mentions a top secret campus where Hordr_Root and his, er... followers? students? employees? work.  They need to wear  strange techno facewear in order to enter, as these diet-Dr. Doom masks will serve as their identification cards.  Condesa speaks some binary techno-babble into the mask to program it... is there anything she can't do?  The answer to that is... sigh, probably not.  Oh, she's also flirting with Jimmy, I should probably mention that.

Anyhoo, the gang masks up and waits for a campus-bound bus... which, it would appear, travels the road less traveled.

Along the way, Clark tries to continue his chat with Lois... who despite choosing to sit right next to him, isn't in the mood to talk.  She says that she no longer thinks of him as a friend... or partner.  Condesa tells them to shut their yaps as they're just about to arrive.

After touching down, Clark, the gang, and the entire Hordr_Horde are addressed by a giant holographic image of Hordr_Root.  We learn that their ultimate goal is to "remake the world".  What an original idea!

It isn't long before Clark and company are found out for their bogus facial apparati.  They find themselves surrounded by some armored types... maybe robots, who knows.  Anyhoo, Clark grabs Jimmy and Lois and super-speeds them to safety.  He didn't choose to leave Condesa behind... she had wandered off.  He brings them to a building, and punches a hole in the wall revealing something pretty interesting...

The trio are then greeted by the man himself, Hordr_Root (which hasn't become any less annoying to type).  He brings with him both Condesa and... an offer.  He claims that everything he'd put Clark/Superman through these past few weeks were just a test to see if he was Horde material... and wouldn'tcha know it, he passed!  Clark tells him to pound sand, and a fight with Hordr_Security is on.

While he fights the bots, Superman calls out to Jimmy and Lois, imploring them to chase Hordr_Root, and try to make all of the other employees leave the Hordr_Plex.  Jimmy happens across Condesa (which I keep trying to spell with two S's) and she easily puts him in a hammerlock and presses him, face first, into a wall.  She whispers in his ear that her IQ is 150, and she scored 1580 on her SATs... okay, no she didn't... but she does tell him that she's not really with Hordr_Root, she just sided with him to protect a secret of her own... probably something to do with her perfection.

Back in the monitor room, Lois clocks Hordr_Root in the head with a metal pipe.  He goes down like a sack'a potatahs, and his mask shatters.  It would appear that Root is no more than a child... go figure.  As Lois grabs him by the collar, he digitizes and vanishes, claiming that this body is just a "node".

Elsewhere, Condesa has led Jimmy to the holographic PA system, so his freckly face can take to the skies above the campus and issue a warning.

In the monitor room, the robots are proving to be rather difficult for Superman to take down... and so, this being a DCYou era book, he resorts to the, say it with me... Super Flare.  Toldja it was like every issue.  Even Jimmy says "Oh no... again?!"

The issue wraps with Condesa getting the flying bus started as Lois and Jimmy load Clark's naked, powerless backside on board.

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Sooooo... hmm.  I do believe I said "underwhelming" a few times during that synopsis.

Now, let's take this discussion piecemeal.  There's a bit to dig through here... we've got the story, the threat, the cast, and the reveal.

Let's start with the reveal.  Like I said, underwhelming.  This entire story is the systematic removal of the secret identity.  Many people, myself included point to the New-52! as DC aping Image in the 1990's.  If you were to ask me, I'd say DCYou is DC aping Marvel around the turn of the century... the Bill Jemas days.  Where things like "secret identities" were just those "comic booky" things that forty year olds who live in their parents' basements cared about.  So many things they were throwing at the wall in hopes that something... anything would stick.

I can't imagine where DC saw this going... and I have a difficult time thinking that Rebirth was already in the works at this point.  Despite claims to the contrary, I still feel that DC licks their finger and holds it up to see which way the wind's blowing on a regular basis... which fuels a bit of my trepidation and affects my level of commitment with the organization's wares.

Keeping with the reveal, let's talk creative team.  Nothing against Gene Yang or JRJR... I've liked most everything Yang has written, and I remain a staunch Romita Jr. supporter, I feel this storyline... being a (would'a/could'a/should'a) DC Universe-altering one, it should have been left to a more seasoned DC Comics storytelling combination... and not a fella writing his third or fourth DC Comic, and one of the biggest and most identifiable Marvel artists of all time.  It just made me feel that DC wasn't making a big enough deal out of something which, in my opinion, should have been huge.  I mean, we're talking almost eighty years of secret identity being flushed away here.

Speaking of flushed away... I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned this here.  I know I've said this a few times, but can't recall if it was here or social media or a podcast or something... there is that bit about not being able to put any genies back in the bottle.  I mean, not completely, anyway.  As of this writing, the secret identity is "back", in that nobody knows Clark and Superman are one in the same... but that doesn't change the fact that we have already read the story in which they did!  We know how Perry, Lex, and the world at large react to learning the secret.  This wasn't meant to be a "What if...?" story or "Imaginary Story" (and I don't subscribe to Alan Moore's "... aren't the all?" line of thinking).  These reactions and the stories that sprung from them were supposed to be the real deal.  It kinda takes any oomph out of any future secret identity-centric stories... and weakens the concept of secret identity as a whole.  Who knows... maybe it's just me.

I think back to Spider-Man's big reveal during Civil War (aka, the book that cured me of my Marvel-Zombitude).  We saw how the world reacted to it... we say Jonah's frustration, anger, and feelings of betrayal... we dealt with all that, we digested it.  So, when Brand New Day happened, they tried putting that genie back in the lamp... but, if you ask me... they couldn't.  We already know how people, good, bad, and indifferent are going to react to the reveal... so, it's not a story we'll be "cautiously looking forward to" ever again.

Back to the issue itself... Hordr_Root.  He's not a bad idea for a villain... I actually quite like the concept.  I don't think he should've been the catalyst behind the reveal... but, then again, a lotta folks thought Doomsday shouldn't have been the one to kill him back in 1992.  I will say however, I'm a bit "over" heroes coming across a bank of monitors which show all of their secrets.  Seems like we're going to that well a bit too often these days.

Let's talk Condesa.  Wow... when they got on the bus, I was half expecting it to break down as they were passing a high school football game... so she could score the winning touchdown, then repair the rig.

Overall... the story isn't a bad one... if we take all the reveal nonsense out of the equation.  I purposely didn't reread the one where Lois sends the magical worldwide "tweet of revelation", because I didn't want my brain to leak out of my ear... but this issue... underwhelming, but not offensively so.

If you wanna read about the first, real, and only marginally less underwhelming "Lois finds out" issue, feel free to check out my coverage by clickin' the cover below:

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508

New Super-Man #1 (2016)

New Super-Man #1 (September, 2016)
"Made in China, Part One"
Writer - Gene Luen Yang
Pencils - Viktor Bogdanovic
Inks - Richard Friend
Colors - Hi-Fi
Letters - Dave Sharpe
Editor - Paul Kaminski
Group Editor - Eddie Berganza
Cover Price: $2.99

I'm gonna level with ya... outside of my "wheelhouse" books, that is to say the Titans "family", I really didn't have much faith in the DC Rebirth once-a-monthlies.  They seemed like they would be pretty far behind the bi-weeklies in priority and importance.  From what little I've sampled (including the Titans... Teen and otherwise) they do sorta-kinda feel a step behind... a bit less important.  We're not even gonna talk about the upcoming price-hike... oi.

When DC announced that several of the Super- titles were going to be once-monthly, I didn't really have high hopes.  Seeing the actual line-up, only compounded my worry.  What would Superwoman be?  Would they really be launching a solo book for a member of the Crime Syndicate?  Then there's the book we'll be discussing today... just what in the world is a New Super-Man?  My earlier answer would've been "A book I'm going to ignore"... however, due to a bit of raving coming from some folks whose opinion I value, I decided... hell, I've got the books, why not give 'em a whirl, right?

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We open in the shadow of a bully.  A chubby lad in glasses runs down an alley... baddie hot on his tail.  He wants his Soder Cola, and he wants it now.  I didn't think New Super-Man would be a little fat kid... oh... OH... it's the bully!  Yeah, yeah... I'm playing... we all saw the cover.  Anyhoo... the chubby kid is called Lixin, and this bullying seems to be a regular occurrence.  Oh, and our main man's name is Kenan.  Kenan snags the suds and walks away... only to be whacked in the back of the head by a box lunch.

Kenan turns around and gives chase, and finds that Lixin has been grabbed by the super villain Blue Condor.  Ya see, Lixin is part of a very rich and powerful family... and this baddie's MO is messing with that sort.  Without thinking, Kenan hurls his Soder can at the Condor, causing him to drop Lixin.  Once he recovers, the Condor stares menacingly at Kenan for a bit... and then flies off.

Lixin runs up and hugs Kenan... to which, our man tells him to give him all the money he has in his pocket... which he does, happily... with promises there'd be more later.  This event caused a bit of a crowd to gather, including one news reporter named... Laney Lan... oof.  She chases our man down and asks if she could swing by his place later on for an interview.  She'd recorded the entire event on her phone, and it's already at a half a million views... ooh boy.

We shift scenes to a bank of monitors, all airing the same Kenan footage.  We are now in what looks to be a government compound of sorts, with two women looking on intently.  The short-haired one suggests that they've found the one they were looking for.

Kenan heads to the auto garage where his father works to share the events of the day.  His pop looks... less than enthused.  Ya see, he's already seen the video... and he's bothered.  Not because his son could've died... but because he was hanging around with Lixin.  We get confirmation that Kenan is a serial-bully here... as Lixin's father calls with regularity to threaten legal action.

Kenan mentions Laney Lan coming over that night to ask some questions... but dad says he won't be home.  He has a meeting with his writer's group... he's a bit of a conspiracy theorist, and he and his pals are out to prove that a thing called "The Ministry of Self-Reliance" exists in China.  Crazy, right?

Crestfallen, Kenan leaves... and heads to the graveyard where his mother is buried.  While there, he is approached by that short-haired government type from earlier.  Her name is Dr. Omen, and she expresses that they were impressed with his "heart of a hero", and she is here to offer him powers to match.  She shows him video of Superman... the New-52 version, who had just died.  She tells him that she... and The Ministry of Self-Reliance (dun-dun-dunnnnn) have devised a way in which to build a Superman of their own.

Kenan is swept away to the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai.  He is then dressed in an S-branded jumpsuit and led to something called the Origin Chamber.  First it fills up with a gas... but then, a burst of energy!

Inside, we see inside Kenan's dream.  He is dressed in a Superman costume... and he is trying to save his mother's life.  It's here that we learn that she died in a plane crash... and the airline she was flying is owned by Lixin's family... ohhhhhhh.

The MSR ladies look on while the chamber begins to come apart... they both fear the worst, however... Kenan bursts free, alive and well!

He is now a "New Super hyphen Man".  He is clearly out of his depth, and has very little control of his new powers.  Dr. Omen commands him to cool his jets... but he just ain't having it.  She decides to call in some muscle... in the form of the Bat-Man and Wonder-Woman of China!  Uh-oh.

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Welp, gotta say... pleasantly surprised.  As I read, bits and pieces did feel a bit familiar.  I guess I at least flipped through this one when it was first released, but didn't actually give it a full read.  Glad I rectified that today.

I'm getting a bit of an early Booster Gold vibe from our pal Kenan.  There's a certain aloofness... we see him bully Lixin, and at the onset... I figured that perhaps Kenan was just an insecure jerk who needed to assert his dominance on the chubby little rich kid.  As we close out, we learn there might just be something more to it... Kenan's mother died in a plane crash... on the very same airline Lixin's father owns.  He asks himself... is that why he treats Lixin so?  I'd like to think that he does it as a distraction... perhaps a way of assuaging his own guilt for what happened.

We see when he first enters the Origin Chamber, he sees himself as Superman... and his mission is to save his mother.  Does Kenan harbor any guilt?  I can't claim to have read past this issue... so, for all I know, this has already been answered.  Anyhoo... if Kenan continues to punish Lixin... demanding cash and snacks, perhaps that is his way of making things right in his head... while still making sure somebody pays for what happens.  Also, the bullying becomes a "thing" unto itself... perhaps moving the "dead mom" to the back-burner.  I dunno... I'm probably thinking too hard.

Kenan's attention-seeking and glory-hogging reminded me a bit of Kon-El Superboy from immediately after The Reign of the Supermen.  He was a petulant shallow little twit... but we always knew he would come around.

Regardless of how wrong my predictions may be, I think this will ultimately wind up being a nice little coming of age story.  At least that's how I view them telegraphing it... again, similar character trajectory to Booster (and Kon).

With all that said... I found myself enjoying this a great deal.  Thanks to Reggie and Gerry for championing it!  I'm glad I have the next six or seven issues of this waiting for me in the stack.  I feel like it might take an issue or two more for me to get into the art.  It's mostly great, but Kenan does look a bit Fred Flintstoney.  I do hope that by the time the $3.99 wave washes over this one that it's already built enough of an audience to keep it afloat.  If you haven't checked this one out yet... give it a go.

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