Merry X-Lapsed - X-Factor #27 (1988)

Merry X-Lapsed!

X-Factor #27 (April, 1988)
"Gifts!"
Writer - Louise Simonson
Pencils - Walter Simonson
Inks - Bob Wiacek
Letters - Joe Rosen
Colors - Petra Scotese
Edits - Harras, DeFalco
Cover Price: 75¢

Let's celebrate Christmas with X-Factor and those *other* New Mutants...

The watchword for today's installment of Merry X-Lapsed is... exposition, so do your humble host a favor and do NOT take a sip of spiked eggnog every time I say it!  The Simonsons work their hearts out to keep any X-Factor looky-loos who may've just popped their heads in to keep up with The Fall of the Mutants... and, well... it doesn't make for the easiest read... or, synopsis-writing experience!

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X-Factor #13 (1987)

X-Factor #13 (February, 1987)

"Ghosts!"

Writer - Louise Simonson

Pencils - Walter Simonson

Inks - Dan Green

Letters - Joe Rosen

Colors - Petra Scotese

Assistant Edits - Bobbie Chase

Edits - Bob Harras

Chief - Jim Shooter

Cover Price: $0.75

Today I'm going to start a project that I've wanted to start for... literally years.  It started life as an episode of Weird Comics History... shifted over to an episode of Chris and Reggie's Cosmic Treadmill... and then, well... we just never got around to it.  Listeners of X-Lapsed might know that there's this weird topic that I sometimes wax nostalgic over... one that, I perhaps romanticize more than I should, because... really, it's not all that important.

It's just that, during my late-teen years, when I was a USENET addict - trying to absorb as much as I could about "everything X", I remember sitting under the learning tree of more seasoned X-Fans... who would write at length about some "what could'a beens", and dangling plot threads, and aborted storylines.  These tales were always fascinating to me... but none more so, than that of THE TWELVE.

Of course, "The Twelve" would eventually pay off around the turn of the century... but, not in a way anyone would've expected... and, for the most part... not in a way anyone really dug.  That's probably the innate problem with "armchair plotting" these stories that might actually happen... they never wind up being anywhere near as good nor as memorable as we plan them to be in our minds!

And so, today - we're going all the way back to where the very concept of The Twelve originated - and over the course of the next little while, follow along with the handful of twists and turns that lay ahead for this topic.

I'd like to say I'll be updating this regularly... I really would... but, ya see... nuBlogger still sucks eggs, and is wildly user-unfriendly.  Wish I wasn't such a coward, so that I could just jump to a different platform!  Guess that's the problem of having already logged like two-million words on this page.  Oh well - let's kick off the coverage with X-Factor #13 (if only they started it one month earlier!)

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We open with the Master Mold slamming down into the Bering Strait from the orbiting observatory where it had been defeated.  It sinks like a stone... where it will surely just harmlessly remain, right?  From here, we shift scenes over to the X-Factor Complex in Manhattan, where some of the younger folk (and Beast) have themselves a game of... I dunno, dodge ball?  There's a ball involved, but that's really all we know.  Anyhoo, Cyclops is preparing to head out to try and reconcile with his estranged wife, Maddie Pryor... and says his goodbyes.

We follow Scott as he enters a cab, intending to swing by the hospital to check in on Warren's recovery after their Mutant Massacre run-in with the Marauders.  During the ride, he thinks a lot about everything that's happened of late... re: Maddie and Jean.  This is a man who is familiar with the sensation of regret.

At the hospital, Warren is joined by Jean, who is also talking a thing or two about regret.  She's very upset about everything going on with Scott's family... and also, she and Warren were just recently "walked in on" by Candy Southern... who assumed her beau was cheating on her with the redheaded returnee.  During this conversation, Scott approaches the door... but decides not to enter.

As luck would have it, Jean happens to peek out the window just in time to see Scott's cab pulling away.  She uses her TK to halt the rig, and heads into the parking lot to have a chat.  She gives Scott a hug and kiss... and says she's only here to say goodbye.

Once Scott's on his way, Warren is visited by Cameron Hodge who reveals that Worthington Industries is being sued due to Angel not being completely forthcoming with his finances, re: his X-Factor holdings.  Hodge pretty much tells him that he's on his own here... 

We return to Scott after he arrives back at his and Maddie's place.  He's surprised to see that the house is up for sale.  Scott can't blame her for moving on with her life, but stews about how often he's left alone all the same.  He then worries about what baby Nathan will think about him as he gets older.  Oh buddy, you just wait...

Scott tries to get inside his own home, only to find out that Maddie changed the locks.  Lucky for him, he has something of a "master key" in the form of his optic blast.  He proceeds to shoot the lock to gain access.  In so doing, however... PINGS the Master Mold, stirring it back to sentience!  And, we're looking at this book today simply because of this single panel.  Master Mold awakens... and makes the first-ever reference to the fabled Twelve!  Ya see, old Double-M is here to stop them from... well, doing whatever it was they were supposed to do!

Inside the house, Scott finds diddly and squat.  The whole joint is empty.  He decides to head over to the "Anchorage Hilton", which looks like it shares a building with Larry and Balki's apartment.  Hank calls him to check in, while the kiddos are still roughhousing.  They destroy some furniture, which gives us the opportunity to chat up another obscure mutant... the young fella known as Ape!  Ape has a close pal who shows up for a bit, but this other one's got a pretty problematic name.

Back to the Master Mold -- who has just risen from the, assumedly, cold waters of the Bering Strait.  It takes chunks of material from an oil rig, and proceeds to rebuild itself.  Oh, and apparently, this mechanical bugger is mentally "Steven Lang" now.

Later, we rejoin Scott as he checks in with the Real Estate Agent about his house being on the market.  The associate he chats with claims to have spoken to a "man named Summers" on August 5th... which, just so happens to be the same day Scott left to join X-Factor.  Our man gets a bit lippy, and so, the young lady sets off the silent alarm to have him dragged away.

Back to Master Mold... where the big bot tries out its hand blasters.  Looks like they're working just fine!

Next, Scott heads over to North Star Airlines, hoping to check in with his grandparents.  Welp, they sold out... someone came in and made 'em an offuh dey couldn't refuse... on August 5th!  Whatta coinkidink!  Oh, and what's more... the new owner fired everybody else as well!  Scott, once again gets (awkwardly) uppity (I mean, really dude - a cross-face chicken-wing)... and gets tossed.

After a stop at the bar, Scott gets an idea -- he'll head to the Anchorage Hospital where his son was born and try to dig up the records.  After breaking in and scouring the files, however, he's still got bupkis.  Worth noting, he had to use his optic blast to break into the filing cabinet... which, once again, pinged the Master Mold.  Ya see, Scott -- is one of The Twelve!

Next stop for Scott is the public library, where he checks out the ol' microfiche doohickey looking for records of Maddie's crash back on September 1st of whatever year that was.  If you recall, everybody in that crash perished... except Maddie, who walked away without a scratch.  He once again... finds nothing.  It's as though she never existed in the first place! 

Flippin' through the fiche, Scott happens across the news item for another crash on the same day... one in Jamaica Bay.  One that resulted in an apparent death of one redhead.  Scott digs into the retcon a bit more, and deduces that - hey, if the Phoenix Force could've tricked everyone into thinking it was really Jean - could it also have manifested Madeline Pryor into the world?  Scott freaks out at the notion, and rushes back to the house.

There, he's met by... Maddie and Nate!  But, he knows better.  He calls them fake, and blasts away at them.  Maddie, smiling, doesn't deny anything - but mentions how convenient it must be for Scott for her to enter his life upon Jean's "death" - and for she and baby Nathan to vanish into thin air upon her return.

She then shape-shifts from Madeline... to the Phoenix... to Jean... to Dark Phoenix, all the while taunting Scott with her fakeness.  Scott blasts her again, this time taking out a radiator in the corner of the room.  This is a radiator that Nathan would always lose his rattle behind, and - check it out, his rattle is right there!  Maddie and Nate do exist.

We wrap up with a pair of epilogues.  First, a body of a redhead is found, facedown in the drink.  The police officers wonder if this might be the same woman that weirdo with the shiny red specs was asking about.

The second, is the Master Mold... getting ever closer to his target.  Mister One-Twelfth himself: Cyclops!

--

Loved this issue!

What a great character-piece for Cyclops.  Here's a guy, who - muddled with regret - is trying to make things right with his estranged family, only to learn that - this family might never have existed at all!  Makes you wonder just who might be screwing with him like this?  For a sorta-paranoid fella like myself, this is completely up my alley.

It reminds me a bit of one of my favorite underrated television shows, Nowhere Man starring Bruce Greenwood.  In the pilot episode, Bruce's character is out for drinks with his wife - he leaves to use the restroom - and upon return, it's as though his entire life has been erased.  His wife is gone... when he returns to their house, he finds that she's married to another guy... and, in fact never even knew him.  It's a pretty wild ride... until the network (either UPN or WB) totally gave up on it.  That's the sort of story that really gets into my head... and, it manages to do so here as well.

I love how Scott was able to find Nathan's rattle.  Whoever is screwing with him, didn't do a thorough enough job cleaning things up.  Really clever way to give Scott a little bit of assurance that his family actually did exist... and weren't just manifestations of the Phoenix Force (or whatever).

We get some bubbling subplots here, which are always a delight in these 80's X-Books.  Warren getting sued, Cameron Hodge not being all that great of a help, Beast trying to keep the kids in line... really good stuff.

Then, there's the Master Mold - and the revelation that there are Twelve strong, pivotal Mutants "around which others will gather".  We haven't the slightest idea what that's all about just yet... and, we know how disappointingly it'll all wind up - but, hey... let's pretend and be blissfully optimistic!

Overall - it'd been a long while since I'd last read these early X-Factor issues.  At this very moment, I've actually got the first Essential X-Factor volume sitting on my nightstand - just waiting for me to actually pick it up and read it again.  Maybe one'a these days.  Heck, maybe one'a these days I'll figure out how to just read comics for fun again!  Fingers crossed...

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Letters Page:

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Interesting Ads:

Spider-Man and the New Mutants #1 (1990)

Spider-Man and the New Mutants #1 (1990)
"Homework for Spidey"
"Hits and Misses!"
Writers - Walter Simonson & Louise Simonson
Pencils - Alex Saviuk & Bret Blevins
Inks - Keith Williams & Bret Blevins
Letters - Janice Chiang
Colors - Evelyn Stein
Edits - Bob Budiansky
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Sponsored By - K-Mart

Now, if you've been following this site for any amount of time, you'll probably know that I've got a big-time weakness for PSA issues.  I won't bother linking to 'em here, but it's safe to say we've seen our fair share of "very special" issues here.

Today we're going to be looking at one starring Spider-Man... and some young folks.  No, it's not that Spider-Man and Young Folks PSA (though that one would almost certainly get me more hits and engagement).  We're going to check out one I never even knew existed until happening across it a few months back at a used bookstore.  Spider-Man and... Skids?  Really, Skids?  Of X-Terminators, New Mutants, and "Rusty and..." "fame"?  Well... okay then.

This one, going by the cover, has to do with child abuse... which, is a slippery slope and a subject I'm a bit nervous to cover here.  I hope I can do so with the proper respect and insight... I guess you'll all be the judge from here on in...

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Our first story opens with Spider-Man swinging by, I'm guessing, a rather unsavory neighborhood... where he happens across something of a rumble.  Two rival gangs are havin' it out in broad daylight... and it's up to our hero to shut 'em down.  Which he does, more or less just by showing up.  The gangbangers scatter... and the day is saved, or so it seems.  Amid the newfound silence, Spidey hears another scuffle goin' on nearby... this time, concerning some children!  He hops over to the playground, and this is where we meet... a kid named Billy.

Billy is beating up a kid named Junior... and Spider-Man would really like to know why.  Ya see, Junior was talking about Billy behind his back... oh no he di-in't!  And so, Billy decided to enforce some playground justice.  When Spidey presses him for his rationale, we learn that... this kid has literally had it beaten into him that "might makes right".  His teacher, Mrs. Pettigrew routinely hits Billy!

Spider-Man ain't cool with that... and thinks to himself that, this is probably what leads kids in this playground to ultimately become the gangbangers he had to break up two minutes ago.  He pulls Billy aside to have a chat... and suggests that the kid tell his parents that he's being abused in school.  Billy isn't so sure... he thinks his folks will just say he's making it all up.  Spidey suggests he try anyway... ya never know.

And so, they swing on over to Billy Maslin's house... and meet his parents, Wilson and Mary.  Billy attempts to explain the situation... which, initially doesn't go all that well.  His father figures, if the teacher is hitting him, it's probably because he'd done something to deserve it.  When Billy reveals that he'd also just gotten into another fight with Junior... Papa Wilson threatens a spanking!  Right there, in front of Spider-Man!  How embarrassing.

Spidey's all "whoa-whoa-whoa"... and suggests to Daddy that spanking might not be the most helpful approach at present.  He says what Billy needs right now is moral support... and really presses the couple to chat up Mrs. Pettigrew about the, ya know, public displays of child abuse.  Just then, Mary gets it in her head that maybe they should talk to Billy's teacher.  Don'tcha just love it when you give someone an idea... then they pretend they came up with it themselves?  Whatever the case... the Maslins are going to head to P.S. whatever the heck, to chat up the teach.

Spider-Man swings by as the Maslins are about to head inside, and pats himself on the back for facilitating this whole thing.  Did Mrs. Pettigrew stop beating up Billy?  Well... I suppose that doesn't really matter, since the story ends here.

Our second story features Skids of the New Mutants... as she's shopping for some nondescript canned goods.  Unfortunately for her, the nondescript food item she covets is all the way up on the top shelf... and when she reaches for it, she manages to topple a whole heapin' helpin' of nondescript cans all over the place!  This does give her the opportunity to show off her mutant "deflector shield" ability... so, I think we can allow it.

While she picks up the newly-dented cans... she spies a mother attempting to grocery-shop with three children, which I'm pretty sure was one of Dante's Circles of Hell.  It does not look pleasant in the slightest.

The two older kids are arguing over which form of diabetes they're going to be having for breakfast that week, and are getting pretty wound up... and wind up knocking over a whole display.  At this point... Mom's had enough.  It's spankin' time!

This sends Skids into a flashback about her earlier adolescence... when she was the regular victim of abuse at the hands of her stepfather.  It was during one of these beatings that her mutant deflector shield powers manifested.  She was so traumatized, that she remained inside her bubble for several years.

She knows she's going to have to intervene... which, I dunno about you... makes me feel pretty uncomfortable.  She uses her shield to protect the young girl who is still being thrashed by her mother.  Rather than throwing Mom into even more of a rage, this measure actually gets her to stop and consider her actions.  Skids tells the mother to finish up her shopping and that she'll help the kids pick up the knocked over display.  The mother... probably dazed out of her mind at this point, agrees.

So, we've got Skids and the kids picking up a bunch of boxes of cereal... when little brother starts acting out.  Upon seeing this, big sister goes to... you guessed it... smack the boy.  Skids stops her mid-swing, and asks her to think about what's she's about to do.  She doesn't like it when her mother hits them... and here she is, about to hit her brother.

Big sister is confused... she doesn't understand the mixed messages her mother gives her.  On one hand, she can be so nice... but, on the other... she can be abusive.  Finally, mom wraps up her shopping... just in time for a lecture from Skids.  Our Sally suggests that Mom maybe take some classes in parenting (oh no she di-in't)... and, rather than Mom hauling off and slapping her... the Mom agrees.  Unfortunately, she just doesn't have the time.  Skids then offers to watch the children for her so she can.  After all, that's what friends... and weird teen-agers you run into at the grocery store... are for.

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This... is going to be a tough one to actually analyze.  Not only do to its PSA nature, but by the arguably contentious subject matter.  I can't assume to know everybody's position on whether or not a child ever deserves to be spanked/hit... all I can do is tell ya my story, and I apologize in advance for these next several self-indulgent paragraphs.

Growing up, there were times where I'd get hit.  I mean, I hate the fact that I'm "of a certain age" nowadays where I can reflect on my childhood as a time where this was more widely socially acceptable... just makes me feel ancient.  Anyhoo, did I like it?  No.  Did I deserve it?  Maybe... maybe not.  Did it effect and modify my behavior?  Definitely.  Here's the thing though... did I learn my lesson?  Did I realize, via the punishment, why what I was doing was wrong?  No... can't say that I did.

Being a full-time student of psychology for around a decade at this point, and working on my third degree... I've taken many, many classes on child and adolescent psychology, as well as (mostly Skinnerian) behaviorism.  Spanking as punishment is ever the hot-button topic... made even more interesting by the fact that grad school is typically made up of a very diversely aged group of students.  There are people in their 60's, people my age, and... yes, people in their mid-20's.  It's very eye-opening to hear the "takes" on hitting from such a differently-aged assortment of intellectuals.

There's a saying in psychology that... the best research is me-search, which is to say... you're your own best subject, since you know your history, and have 100% access.  When discussions become heated... we're often told to look within, with an analytical eye... ya know?  Like, push aside the emotion, push aside everything but "what is".  It's basic A-B-C behaviorism (antecedent leads to behavior leads to consequence).  You break apart an action, and more or less analyze it by its component parts.

It's not often I change my mind on things... especially things I grew up accepting as fact.  So, initially... when the concept of spanking was introduced to conversation, I looked at it as just something that "happened", ya know?  "I got smacked, and I turned out okay!"  That sort of thing.  But... there's this thing called cognitive dissonance.  It's when you hold a position, but also many cognitions that fly in the face of that position.  While I got hit... and was okay with it, it wouldn't be something I would do if/when I had children of my own.  Now, why is that?

Well, in reflecting and breaking down the A-B-C's... I came to the conclusion that spanking, yes... did result in a change of behavior.  At the same time, however, it didn't tell me why what I was doing that elicited the smack was wrong, ya dig?  I stopped "misbehaving" not because I actually learned anything... it was simply to avoid reprisal.  It was this realization that... well, it caused me to become a bit more "fluid" with my personal position on the subject.

I didn't mean to waste the last few minutes of your day on that paragraph... that became a short essay, but... ehh, we're already here.  What does all my gobbledygook have to do with the stories we just read?  Well, rather than simply viewing them as a black and white issues... it causes the hamster on the wheel in my head to start spinning out a bit.

Let's start with the second story, as it's one that I can better wrap my head around.  This feels like something you could see in any Walmart on any day of the week... and, it's weird.  If we see this going down, and the parent does nothing... we judge them.  Conversely, if this happens and the parent(s) get slap-happy... we also judge them.  Can't win fer losin'... so, what's the right answer?

Putting ourselves in the shoes of a tired mother dragging three children to the grocery store... two of whom are whirling dervishes... what would we do?  Not being a parent, it's easy for me to say "tell the children to behave" and be done with it.  That's... unfortunately, not realistic, is it?  So, what would we do?  I don't have an easy answer.

Going by the A-B-C approach... we can suggest that perhaps the cereal aisle is a "trigger" for the tots... and, so... maybe mom should just avoid it?  Also, let's check out the consequences... hitting... which, is also, attention.  These are three kids with an overworked and overtired mother... could the attention they get from being hit be something of a positive reinforcer?  Ya see, I'm thinking far too hard about this, haha.  I've been on semester break for all of a week at this point, maybe I just miss grad school.

One more step though before we shift gears.  Skinnerian behaviorism involves something called "extinction"... which posits (very simply) that any attention, good or bad, can serve as  reinforcing a behavior.  Anything from rewards to a beating... can reinforce a behavior in a given situation.  Extinction is, more or less, ignoring the behavior... not giving any reaction... and, in so doing (or not doing), removing any possible reinforcement from it.  So, those parents in Walmart not doing anything about their screaming kids?  They might just be practicing Skinnerian behaviorism!  No, they're probably not...

As a story... it was okay.  I do feel like Sally was sorta-kinda taking her life into her own hands in a) intervening, and b) suggesting mom take parenting classes.  I don't know that I'd suggest anyone actually do that... unless you're cool with getting beaten up yourself!

Now, the first story... corporal punishment in schools.  Hmm... this feels like something out of the 1950's, but... it ain't!  In fact, on one of the "et-cetera" pages I've included below, we learn that as of 1990, two-thirds of schools still allowed teachers to swat the tots with a paddle!  Whaaa?

I wanna say, having Billy's father be quick to swat... maybe confused the issue a bit?  I get that we're really trying to press the issue of spanking here, but... this just felt like a step too far.  Kinda pulled me out of the story... unless we're supposed to think that poor Billy's just constantly getting beaten up, whether at school or at home.  I think we could'a just done with one or the other.

Also, the quick turnaround and non-ending didn't do all that much for me.  Out of the two stories, this one felt like an "assignment", whereas the New Mutants chapter actually had some of that trademark Louise Simonson "heart".  The back half, as heavy-handed as it was, could very easily have been fitted into a back-up slot in a New Mutants Annual or something... where the Spidey strip... ehh... it was cashin' a check, and not much more.

Overall... I thought this was fine.  Some top talent were involved in this... and, at least the back-half, didn't feel like a "throwaway".  Worth a peek if you happen across it in the cheap-o bins!

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Et-Cetera:

Legacy of... The Guardian...?

Legacy of Superman #1 (Guardian)
"The Guardians of Metropolis!"
Writer - Karl Kesel
Art - Walter Simonson
Letters - John Workman
Colors - Glenn Whitmore
Assistant Editor - Jennifer Frank
Editor - Mike Carlin

With our Bonus Books coverage firmly in the rear-view (at least for now... ya never know when we might find another "extra" we'll want to take a look at), and with the my chosen topic for the most recent Super-Blog Team-Up still occupying my short-term memory, I've decided to devote these next five or six days to a book that I bought when it came out... and never actually read!

I'm sure most people reading this already know, but during the time between Funeral for a Friend and Reign of the Supermen, the Super-Books went on a three-month hiatus... which is to say, there were no Superman books on the racks... except this one (and a Supergirl and Team Luthor special... but I didn't care about that one, even back then!).

I snagged it, still hungry for more of the Super-story... and upon opening it, I was faced with a whooooole bunch of characters I had no experience with nor interest in.  I quickly closed the thing, and tossed it into my modest, at the time, DC Comics stack.  I've attempted to give it a solid "go" in the years since... but, truth be told, I've just never been able to get the job done.

Well, we're going to fix that this week.  We've got five chapters... five days, with a good ol'-fashioned "compilation post" on the sixth.  That'll end us off on January 29... only two days before this place celebrates FOUR SOLID YEARS of daily discussions!

Let's start this little party with... The Guardian!

--

We open at Cadmus, where a gaggle of geeks are attempting to scrape some Super-cells off of Superman's corpse.  This is proving to be rather a daunting, if not completely impossible, task.  That fact does not please Director Paul Westfield.  He and the Guardian are checking on the progress of this project... when, suddenly... the Newsboys burst in the place to tawk ol' New Yawk and generally make nuisances of themselves.  Westfield's ticked that they're in a Classified Area (Classified... area?  Do you mean "Restricted"?).  Anyhoo, all that does is make me wonder why doors at Cadmus don't seem to have locks?

While the sassiness commences, some scientists rush in with the news that... they did it!  They've managed to, via approximations and estimations, replicated the D.N.A. code of Superman!  Westfield is overjoyed... and demands they hand the data disc over.

Well, not so fast there, kemosabe... they still need to run tests on the stuff before declaring it a complete success.  Kinda begs the question... why in all hells did they burst into the lab to share the good news, if the thing ain't done yet?  C'mon guys.  The Guardian, who hasn't said anything just yet, pipes in with the suggestion that they just clone him!  An army of Guardians should suffice in keeping Metropolis safe until such a time where they can effectively clone another Superman.  The Newsboys chime in with their ideas on how the Guardian might be diversified... and somewhere, Axel Alonso weeps.

This suggestion reminds Westfield that he's got something he wants to show off.  He takes the Science Team down to Sub-Level Four... Toppest of Top Secret.  He informs the Newsboys that they ain't welcome down there... though, we all know they'll find a way.  Now, down at Sub-Level Four, Director Westfield introduces his team to... Auron!

No, wait... that doesn't look right at all.  Let's try again.  Director Westfield introduces his team to... Auron!

That's the ticket.  This Auron is a "Super-Soldier of the Future"... which, I think accounts for about half the characters introduced into comics during this era.  He packs a bad-ass jet-pak, which is cybernetically linked with his mind... so, like, whatever he can think... he can do.  Pretty cool, right?  The Guardian notices that this Auron has a very familiar voice... and there's a good reason for that, ya see... Auron... like the Guardian himself, is a clone of Jim Harper!  Wha-a-a-a-a?

Westfield commands Auron to snag that Superman D.N.A. Data-Disc by initiating "Sanction Blue".  Auron belts The Guardian, however, before he can procure the disc... the Newsboys slide in and steal it first!

The kids rush into a nearby (and wildly convenient) subway car to make their getaway.  Auron gives chase... after punching the Guardian again one more time for good measure.  The Newsboys reach their weird sewer hideout, and attempt to lock Auron out long enough for them to load into the Whiz Wagon.  Auron is hot on their heels... however, is slowed by a Mental Jolt from Dubbilex, who just happened to be in his path.

The Newsboys floor it like a Lightning Racer and attempt to escape the facility and reach the remains of Habitat.  If you recall, the battle between Superman and Doomsday kinda wrecked that place.  Since the Whiz Wagon ain't all that great at turning on a dime, Auron is able to catch up pretty quick.  He grabs the rig by it's spoiler, and sends it crashing to the ground below.  It's here that the Newsboys devise a plan to appeal to Auron's inner Jim Harper by... dog-piling him?  Really?

Auron easily wipes the floor with the kids, and procures the Data Disc.  Director Westfield arrives on the scene and requests he hand over the information.  Instead, Auron crushes the disc in his hand!  Ya see, the Newsboys were, in fact, able to appeal to his inner-Harper.  He knows that, in the wrong hands, Superman's D.N.A. would be a very dangerous weapon.  He tells Guardian that the information is safe inside his computer-mind, and he will leave the planet in order to protect it.

We wrap up with a bit of a soliloquy from The Guardian, reminding us how Superman was the true Guardian of Metropolis... and it's up to them to preserve his Legacy.

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This was alright!  Didn't bore me nearly as much as it did when I was a kid!  I'm sure having a better-rounded familiarity with the characters was a big help in that.  Not sure what I was thinking snagging this off the rack when I was a kid... I should've at least flipped through the thing before plunkin' my ten-quarters on the counter.  Maybe I was subconsciously speculating?!  I mean, this was the first (of three) appearance of... the Legendary Auron!

The story itself was... ehhh... nothin' all that special, though, it did continue the thread of Cadmus trying to clone Superman... which is important going forward into The Reign.  Auron's introduction, I dunno... he's made to look really important, right?  Like, a character who would (and should) show up from time to time going forward.  I mean, he's got Superman's D.N.A. uploaded into himself... stands to reason, he'd be something of a "player" from this point on, no?  Fact is, he doesn't wind up doing a whole heckuva lot after this.

It was neat seeing the Newsboys... it usually is.  They can be a bit "one note", so it's a good thing that it's a fun note.  They don't overstay their welcome.  The Guardian... kind of a background player here, though I suppose he was a necessary presence to play off the other Harper clone... and to make an inspiring speech at the end.

The art?  I know it's an unpopular stance, but I'm not the biggest Simonson fan.  There's plenty of Walter's work that I do like... but, I think, if I'm being honest, I run like 50/50 with him.  Here... well, this story kind of embodies my hot and cold take on his art.  There were some panels here that looked pretty great... and others that came across like a blocky, scratchy mess.  Nothing worth getting mad at, but still, worth mentioning.

Overall... this was okay.  Not likely to rock any socks... but, also, unlikely to offend.

Tomorrow: Every Rose has its... well, you know