SUPERBOY #1
The Clone

November 2011

Written by Scott Lobdell

Pencils by R. B. Silva

Inks by Rob Lean

 

Cover by Eric Canete

Synopsis

At NOWHERE headquarters, a teenager, a clone of Superman and an earthling who is dubbed “Superboy”, has been living in a tube of amniotic fluid for the past three months.  The researchers at NOWHERE have determined the clone has registered no brain activity and decide to initiate termination protocols.  Realizing he is about to die, Superboy fights back and breaks free of the tube.  One month later, Superboy is attending school somewhere in Kansas and befriends a young woman, Rose Wilson and lives on a farm with adoptive parents.  Except in reality it is a virtual program designed to study Superboy.  Elsewhere, Doctor Umber contacts reporter Lois Lane to feed her information on NOWHERE.  The nest morning, Zaniel Templar arrives and informs Red to release Superboy.  He has a problem, several of them, and Superboy is the plan to solve that problem.

 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

What does NOWHERE stand for?

 

This issue is yet one more reboot, following on the hells of Green Arrow.  I am not really surprised, given the leaked information that the Teen Titans have been rebooted as well.  It makes sense to reboot all of the characters that are part of the team.  The key to this book is that while Lobdell has redone the Superboy origin, he manages to include enough similarities and ties to the character that we knew that this doesn’t feel too far out of left field.  It is new, but not too new, if you know what I mean. 

 

As for this issue, I really enjoyed it.  I really like the character piece, the relationship developing between Red and Superboy, and the mystery of what is going on in NOWHERE.  I liked the fact that Lobdell was willing to take the time to set up the character and delve a little bit into him and his situation before getting into the overall plot and the Teen Titans. 

 

Thinking about it later, I liked the trickery involved with the “one month later” scene of Superboy inside the virtual simulation.  Taken as part of the whole of what the researchers are trying to do, it makes a lot of sense.  I think the problem, however, is that reading it the first time, the sudden shift from lab to town seems abrupt, making the reader question what is happening before they realize something else is happening that they had expected.  If that makes sense.

 

I liked the appearance by Lois Lane.  It didn’t feel forced.  It makes sense for a number of reasons, from the obvious Supes-related cameo to her role as a reporter and detective.  Moreover, it gives the proceedings with NOWHERE a sinister edge, suggesting the experiment with Superboy is more than what it seems and they are up to no good. 

 

On the third page, the tube has a number 2 on it.  Does this mean that the “Superboy” is the second clone?  If so, what happened to the first?

 

The character of “Red” may very well be Caitlin Fairchild, who is best known as a member of Gen13 from the Wildstorm universe.  In her first appearances, she was described as a brilliant, but mousy woman.  The two characters look a lot alike, with the red hair and the glasses.  Her latent abilities eventually kicked in and she developed superhuman strength and endurance. 

 

The character of Rose Wilson is very similar to the pre-launch character of Rose Wilson, otherwise known as Ravager, the daughter of Slade Wilson (aka Deathstroke).  Both characters have white hair, bad attitudes, and talent as a mercenary.  The biggest difference is that this Rose has not yet stabbed out her eye or adopted her code name.  Oh, and there is no clue whether or not she is the daughter of Deathstroke or not. 

 

A “Mary Sue” is a reference to fictional characters that serve primarily as a wish-fulfillment fantasy (ie, stand in for the author), generally observed in fan-fiction more than anything else.

 

Strange Sighting

Page 19, top panel on the right side, watching as Templar arrives and greets Red. 

 

 

 

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