ACTION COMICS #902

Reign Of The Doomsdays, Part 2

August 2011

Written by Paul Cornell

Art by Kenneth Rocafort and Axel Gimenez

Covers by Kenneth Rocafort and Jon Bogdanove

Synopsis

The Doomslayer has just killed the Eradicator.  He then attempts to kill the original Doomsday.  Superman saves Doomsday.  No one dies today.  Doomslayer says it doesn’t matter; the ship they are on is on a collision course with Earth.  Then, all knowledge of Doomsday will end.  On Earth, Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane watch the ship coming nearer.  Lois believe Superman will save them.  On the ship, Superman, Steel, Superboy, and Supergirl head outside the ship.  With all of their might, they push back on the ship and slow it down.  When they close to Earth, the others leave Superman alone to help with clean up efforts.  The ship land’s in the waters of Hob’s Bay.  It causes a tidal wave, but Steel, Superboy, and Supergirl keep it from hitting Metropolis.  Then, Superman emerges from the water, triumphant, but weakened.  Just then Doomslayer appears and says the Doomsday clones will finish the job!

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

There is so much to like about this…yet so much to not like about it, as well.  My overall impression is that maybe Cornell came up with this interesting idea of Superman acting all heroic to save the Earth (and I gotta admit it is the type of effort that I associate with Superman) and then crafted a story around that idea.  It should be the other around.  This issue shows the inherent problem, because it is full of problems, those little niggly-piggly things that make you scratch your head and wonder about it.  Like Steel suddenly coming up with a way for everyone to speak while in the vacuum of space.  It certainly is convenient.  Speaking of which, why is it Steel is able to suddenly find a way to leave the ship, which they couldn’t leave last issue.  Yes, I understand there is a vague reference to the end-of-level boss (gamer code for Doomslayer) providing a way, but (again) it seems very convenient.  Still, despite these problems, I liked the characterization of the Super family and the way Cornell showed them responding to the falling ship and then to the tidal wave.  I also loved Lois’ optimism that her beloved would save the day and then her joy when she appears on the scene as a reporter.  I loved that little wink to her husband.  So, I can’t really complain.  The events were remarkably heroic and majestic, even if some of the finer points were a little weak.

When, exactly, did Doomslayer appear on the ship? And how? It is a minor question but it does lead to a lot of other questions, such as:  if Doomslayer was there for some time, why didn’t he kill Doomsday when he was tied up?  You know, before the Super family arrived to stop him.  If he just go there, how the hell did he know to get there (if that makes sense).  The ship was hidden from sensors, cloaked from being seen.  Yes, Superman found it, but he kinda knew it was there.  How the hell would Doomslayer know where to look?

Speaking of which, why is it when Superman slows down the ship, Doomslayer is suddenly concerned for his welfare.  Are you trying to tell me that hitting Earth at full speed is less dangerous that hitting Earth at half speed?  Does that makes sense?

Interesting to note that the creators of Doomsday are also given a credit.  In this case, it is 5 people, which is a little odd.  Doomsday first appeared in Superman: The Man of Steel, issue #18 (December 1992), written by Louise Simonson with art by Jon Bogdanove and Dennis Janke.  Only Simonson is given credit as the creator of the character.  The others are the people listed as the "creator" are associated with the “Death Of Superman” story in which Doomsday had a big role:  Dan Jurgens (writer/penciler for Superman), Brett Breeding (inker for Superman), Roger Stern (writer for Action Comics), and Jerry Ordway (writer for Adventures of Superman).  Not sure why Breeding gets credit when the penciler and inkers for the other titles don’t. 

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