Action Comics #3 Annotations

ACTION COMICS #3

World Against Superman

Written by GRANT MORRISON ; Art by RAGS MORALES, BRENT ANDERSON and RICK BRYANT; Cover by RAGS MORALES; 1:25 Variant cover by MIKE CHOI; 1:200 B&W Variant cover by RAGS MORALES

"Superman, Go Home!" In a startling tale only Grant Morrison could bring you, the people of Metropolis turn on their new champion! But why? Plus, shocking secrets from Krypton revealed!

DC Comics, January 2012, Color, 32pgs, $3.99

Commentary

As promised in last months bonus material, this issue sees a return to Krypton for the revitalized Action Comics, with the added bonus of a variant cover and some stunning interior art by an unsolicited Gene Ha.  Three issues in and I'm still enjoying it, and general consensus seems to be that Morrison is producing one of the best of DC's New 52.  But I can't help feeling that things are somehow much less... thrilling than the work we were seeing in Batman Incorporated.  Still, at least its on time and that seems to be very important to DC editorial at the moment for some reason. 

After reading the 'older, wiser' Superman of Geoff Johns' Justice League and, more pointedly, George Perez's Superman, I'm finding it more and more difficult to convince myself that Morrison will stick with the title once the higher ups insist that he move the story into the 'present day', though the solicits show no sign of propelling Morrison's story into overly-fussy armoured super-suits and nehru collars just yet. 

Thanks to the annotators' best friend, Davide Giurlando, for sending me some interview quotes (all of which can be found in this Newsarama interview) concerning some of Grant's unused All-Star Superman ideas and how they're feeding into what's happening in Action.  How's about this?

"And I wanted to do a story of Superman’s first year in Metropolis when he wasn’t so powerful and he was a bit more of a liberal activist. And to do that kind of Superman, the big heavy guy who can only pick up trucks and be killed by an exploding shell, you can kind of do that as the first year and see the differences between that guy and the incredibly powerful, self-assured man-god in the main All Star Superman book."

Grant also mentions in those interviews from back in the day a story of Superman's first meeting with the Legion of Super Heroes (already teased in issue one and coming up in issue five if the solicits are accurate, which they usually aren't), his preference for the animated series Brainaic over the traditional comic book version (more of that this issue); and, more intriguingly - 

...“Son of Superman” with an All-Star re-imagining of the Super-Sons concept. [There’s also] “Men of Tomorrow,” which is a huge, generational Superman Squad cosmic epic, and an idea for a flashback story to the All-Star Superman’s first year in Metropolis called “Superman vs. Satan!”

Satan?  Wonder if there's any connection to that curious little man from issue one.  Anyhow, sounds awesome.  Bring on the Super-Sons!

Annotations

Cover - Business as usual for Morales on the standard cover - a good but not great piece accurately reflecting the overarching theme from the solicit (if not the issue itself), "Superman go home!". Florida's A Comic Shop repurposed it as an Occupy Wall Street-inspired ad for their store, rewording the signage to read "Occupy Metropolis" and "Make Luthor Pay".  Amusingly, they also managed to get DC to fund 75% of it under their advertising co-op programme.  

Gene Ha's dynamic Krypton redesigns are showcased on the variant, with the new Jor-El cutting a distinctly Chaykin-esque action man figure, accompanied by a vicious looking Krypto.

Page 1 - Teased by Morrison in an interview conducted in the run up to Action's release, these first pages give us a snapshot of Kryptonian societal and social norms - baby Kal-El plays on a precarious ledge while his mother Lara talks science and mathematics with her sister and mother; an indication of trust rather than negligence in this intellectually-charged environment.

The green star reflected in Kal-El's eyes in the first panel and next to Lara's head in the last is presumably some sort of avatar of Brainiac.  His ship maybe?

The Eoeo, whatever it may be, was mentioned by Superman's rocket last issue.

Zar-La and Professor Lon-Zo are both new additions to the Kryptonian community and don't seem to be references to any obscure old comics, unlike Lyra Lerrol, who appeared in Jerry Seigel's classic 'Superman's Return to Krypton' from 1960 Superman #141, featuring art by Wayne Boring.  Superman, trapped on Krypton thanks to a time travel accident, falls in love with beautiful actress Lyra and resolves to marry her, resiging himself to death alongside her in the planet's imminent destruction.  Thanks to a second unlikely accident, Superman is saved and propelled away from the doomed planet, but the memory of Lyra haunted him intermittently during the pre-Crisis age.  'Superman's Return to Krypton' has been reprinted many times, including in the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told v2 and Superman in the Sixties collections. 

Lyla also popped up in , 'For the Man Who Has Everything', Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' love letter to the Silver and Bronze Age Superman from 1985's Superman Annual #11.  After being poisoned by the Black Mercy flower, Superman mentally experiences his heart's desire, happily maried to Lyla on a Krypton that escaped destruction.  'For the Man Who Has Everything' is another well-reprinted tale, appearing in both versions of the first volume of the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told and in its own 'Deluxe Hardcover' alongside Moore and Curt Swan's similarly iconic 'Whatever Happened to the Man of Steel'.

"The Fall of the House of Lor" a Kryptonian version of Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, might feature the ancestors of Superman's mother, Lara Lor-Van

Page 2 - A deep engagement with super-science pervades all of Krypton, from dashing action-man scientists like Jor-El to gossipy old ladies like Lara's mum.  Dal-Vo appears to be another new addition to the Kryptonian science set, though offhand comments about his Tectonic Theory could be in reference to the fringe-science beginnings of real world Plate Tectonics, now accepted as the basis of modern geology but largely thought to be a crank until the early 1970's

Gene Ha's Kryptonian designs are fabulous, managing to evoke all of the previous versions of Krypton and unifying them into a cohesive whole.  We have the Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon deco sci-fi of the original Krypton, the crystalline Richard Donner movie Krypton and Byrne's cold science society all blended together and illuminated by Brad Anderson and Art Lyon's effervescent colouring.

Morrison's Kal-El, like Siegel's original, was born on Krypton and rocketed away as a baby/toddler.  John Byrne, in an effort to humanize the Man of Steel, had Kal-El placed in a birthing matrix on Krypton and then rocketed to Earth, with his 'birth effectively happening when the Kents retrieved his rocket from the field.

Reports of Krypto's demise seem to have been greatly exaggerated, as the Dog of Steel is re-introduced here more fierce than ever.  It was strongly hinted at the DC New 52 panel at October's New York Comics Convention that the dead space goat we saw in issue two was Krypto, a sort of Laika-style forerunner of Krypton's astronaut programme.  Unless Ha's version is seriously off-model compared to Morales, that thankfully doesn't seem to be the case.  Even if Krypto doesn't make it off Krypton before it blows, at least Superman isn't going to fall about laughing at the sight of his corpse...

Kandor, the sometimes capital city of Krypton, is of course notorious for being shrunk and bottled by the malevolent alien intelligence Brainiac.  It first appeared in 1958's Action Comics #242, which also featured the first appearance of its evil robotic owner.  Brainiac and Kandor were both created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.

Page 3 - In a nod to Bruce Timm and co.'s Kirby-infused Brainiac from Superman: The Animated Series, Brainiac first manifests in the computer systems of Krypton.  The animated Brainiac, whom Morrison has expressed a fondness for over the sometimes hokey comic book original, effectively was the computer system of Krypton gone rogue. 

Its interesting that Lara's sister Zora would refer to Jor-El as an '8th Level Genius'.  The original (pre-Crisis) Brainiac was an android who hailed from the advanced alien world Colu, who measured their intelligence in 'levels'.  Brainiac's 30th century descendant Brainiac 5, a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes and one of the most intelligent beings in the universe, is described as a 'Twelfth Level Intelligence'.

The telebands presumably explain everyone on Krypton's penchant for exotic headwear as they seem to facilitate telepathic communication.

As hinted at in the closing scene of last issue, Brainiac seems to hone in on the premier scientific minds of world's he intends to destroy, seking out Lex Luthor on Earth as he does Jor-El here.

Page 4 - The Terminauts, crude intelligences that 'possess' and usurp mechanical hardware, are a new addition to Brainiac's menagerie, though its entirely possible that Morrison has borrowed their name from his compadre Gerard Way, whose first Umbrella Academy series with Gabriel Ba also featured a group of villainous robots of the same name.

"Dwarf star lensing" is a concept borrowed from the Silver Age Atom, created by Gardner Fox and Gil Kane.  Physicist Dr. Ray Palmer fashions a lens to harness the power of  White Dwarf star matter and uses it to first shrink objects and then himself, encapsulating the device in his belt and using it to become the diminutive costumed crimefighter The Atom.  Brainiac's application of the technology is decidedly more nefarious.

Page 5 - As in the Silver Age, Kal-El now remembers both his parents and the destruction of Krypton, though it may be only subconciously at the moment.

Page 6-7 - Kandor is 'bottled'.  Does this somehow lead directly into Krypton's destruction? 

Page 8 - As his only relic of Krypton, Clark's cape doubles up as his security blanket.

Clark's kit bag has a Smallville Crows logo on it (there's a better view on page 10).  The Crows are Smallville High School's football team from the Smallville TV show.

Page 9 - The return of Inspector Blake and Sergeant Casey from issue one.  Blake is flicking thorugh Clark's copy of Walter Tevis' The Man Who Fell to Earth.  Probably better known these days through the David Bowie movie, The Man Who Fell To Earth is the tale of Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien from the planet Anthea who crashes on Earth and uses his super intelligence to patent advanced inventions and start a business that makes him rich.  Originally coming to Earth to facilitate the transport of the small remaining population of his home planet away from their dehydrated and war-ravaged planet, Newton falls foul of alcoholism, the CIA and American politics, and by the end of the story is blind and cut-off forever from the doomed Antheans.  Nicolas Roeg directed the 1976 film version starring David Bowie, doing otherworldly like it ain't no thing at the height of his coke-addled Thin White Duke phase.

The conversation between Blake, Clark and Clark's landlady Mrs. Nyxly sounds more like Blake is accusing Clark of being a serial killer than Superman, "An outsider with a grudge against the whole world" - "...a decent, quiet young man who pays his bills."

Page 10 - Clark crashing to Earth in Kansas, the breadbasket of America, is a surprisingly modern addition to the Superman mythos, largely inspired by the Richard Donner movie and cemented in comics lore by John Byrne post-Crisis on Inifinite Earths.

The "weaponized steroids" and Superman-as-urban-folklore comments both recall Morrison's soon-to-conclude Batman run, where Bruce was hepped up on weaponized PCP through much of the 'R.I.P.' storyline, and is using the Denny O'Neill "Batman as urban myth" trope to deflect attention away from the link between Bruce Wayne and Batman in Batman Incorporated.

Page 11 - 10622, the number of Clark's apartment building, was also the number of Jery Siegel's house in Kimberley Avenue, Cleveland, where Superman was conceived.

Surely the Mrs Nyxly storyline will touch on that nutty Ferlin Nyxly Bronze Age issue somewhere (details in the annotations for issue one, fact fans)? That's not a name that you just pull out of a hat...

Page 12 - Glen Glenmorgan, who was on the receiving end of some Super-justice in issue one, is here on the TV screen.  He's been released without charge and smelling of roses as we'll soon see.

Why do Jimmy and Clark have such lame haircuts? It's no wonder everyone thinks they're nerds...

Page 13 - Though it comes out of nowhere here at the bottom of the page, as one of the Mindless Ones has already pointed out, this last panel ("There's a ghost watching over you.  There's a white dog") is the best and most Morrisonian bit of the series so far, conjuring up a simultaneously disturbuing and hopeful re-imagining of the Phantom Zone in two lines of dialogue.  Shades of 'Batman R.I.P' again and Bruce's mysterious spirit guide, Honor Jackson, as well as the homeless New Gods in Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle. 

Page 14 - "Streets" Bowman - There's a Bowman Street in Glasgow, a reference maybe?

The Planet's headline - "Supermonster", along with its self-righteous owner crusading against the costumed menace, is very Spider-Man-esque.

Clark's secret informer "Icarus" is doubly interesting given that we have a villainous 'Daedelus' over in Batman Incorporated...  Any guesses on the identity behind the mystery voice?  Is it Grant Morrison himself channeling through the comic to spell out explicitly what was happening with the train at the end of issue one, for the benefit of all those readers that got themselves confused?

Page 15 - More nails in the coffin of Rich Johnson's credibility, as yet again we're treated to Superman rescuing a kitten from a tree.

Curious pacing over these last three pages; some (most?) writers would stretch these important beats (Lois and Jimmy bonding with Clark, the 'man in the street's uprising against Superman) into the driving force behind the issue.  Morrison cuts away from the Lois/Jimmy/Clark scene before Lois sits down and is done with the riot in one panel, despite its cover presence and dominance of the solicit.

Page 16 - Once again Ma and Pa Kent seem to have bitten the big one before Clark takes up the Superman mantle.  Byrne's 80's reboot successfully restored Ma and Pa Kent to life, though Pa had his fair share of brushes with death over the years.  Given what he's said in interviews about his current Superman run, and that one of his best issues of All-Star Superman was about the death of Clark's adoptive father while still a teenager, it seems pretty obvious that Morrison feels the character is enrichened by trying to live up to the memory of his Earthbound parents, rather than their day-to-day expectations.

Page 17 - Corrupt industrialist Mr. Tide and his Factory of Tomorrow, manufacturing the robotic subway for Glenmorgan that 'Icarus' was talking about on page 14.  We're firmly back in 1930's Siegel and Shuster territory here.

Tide's design is very post-Crisis Lex Luthor-esque

Page 19 - Steel Soldier is the military exo-skeleton programme hinted at in previous issues, Metal-Zero the code name of the suit maybe?.  Corben seems to have gotten rid of his spiv 'tache after last issue's rejection by Lois.  The diodes plugging in to Corben's skull are very much like the one's sported by Brainiac.  His exploded heart clears the way for its replacement at some point with a kryptonite proxy, completing his transformation into the villainous Metallo.

Page 20 - The Collector of Worlds is, of course, Brainiac.  As we saw last issue, Lex has been in clandestine communication with him/it for some time now.

And then there's some adverts for other Super-family titles that DC publish that I'm not very intersted in.  Hmmm...  DC are really pushing it with this extra dollar's worth of content.  Problem is I can't see either them dropping the price or Morrison pushing the story back out to 32 pages a month without it getting at least a little bit late (certainly not with Batman: Leviathan on the table too), so it looks like the puff pieces, occassionally worthy extra content and second-tier back-ups are here to stay.

See you all next time for 'Superman and the Men of Steel!"

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