DCU Comic Book Reviews

SUPERMAN:  SECRET ORIGIN #2

Book Two:  Superboy and the Legion

December 2009

Written by Geoff Johns

Pencils by Gary Frank

Inks by Jon Sibal

Covers by Gary Frank

Synopsis

In Smallville, Superboy saves a truck from falling when he crashes into a guard and off the side of the road.  Superboy deposits the car and the driver at the police station.  Chief Parker then calls the driver’s son, Lex Luthor, who is angry at the miracle that saved his father.  The next day, Lex meets Clark Kent at the library.  Lex tells him that he is getting out of Smallville to go to Metropolis, where he will change the world.  Later, Clark complains to Lana that since he accidently broke Pete’s arm, not one asks to play with him.  He overhears others think he is afraid of contact.  Just then, he encounters Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad, and Saturn Girl, members of the Legion of Superheroes form the 30the Century.  The Legion then take Superboy to the future, where he is soon caught in battle with human supremacists.  Brainiac 5 tells the other Legion members bringing Superboy to the future was a bad idea.  When Superboy returns to the present, he tells his father of his adventures.  Just then a rocket falls to Earth.  Inside his Krypto the dog.  Elsewhere, Lex Luthor’s father is taken away, dead due to heart failure.  Now, Lex can cash in the insurance money and leave Smallville. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This was another fantastic issue.  Johns is telling an iconic story of an iconic character.  There is a lot of familiar ground in the story (Clark and Lana’s relationship, Clark and the Legion, the beginning of the feud with Lex), but it is being told in a vibrant and exciting way that it seems fresh and new.  I am loving so much of this story so far.  I can’t wait for the next issue. 

One of the things that never made sense in the Byrne-era revamp after the first Crisis is the way Clark developed his abilities late in life and then somehow was able to harness all of that in a relatively quick way to become the hero he would become.  While it mad sense to dump Superboy (which as always a cheesy idea), it doesn’t seem plausible that he could adapt to his power so easily and turn to fighting crime so quickly.  This issue corrects that little problem.  I like the fact that this version shows Clark awkwardly growing in his powers and his new role as well showing how the Legion was such an important part of his life and his maturation as a hero.  More importantly, however, Johns is able to include Superboy without making it such a big deal of it, with Clark embarrassed to be out in his underwear, thus hiding what he has been doing.  It is kinda like the best of both worlds. 

It may be me, but I don’t like the idea that Lex killed his father.  I never really considered Lex to be that ruthless of a killer.  Certainly ruthless in attaining his goals and pushing people out of the way to get what he wants, but to kill his father seems like more evil than I would attribute to Lex.  Remember, he wants to set out to save the world, not destroy it.  He is on the side of villains because he feels Superman is wrong to be considered the savior of the human race.  Plus, the entire set-up is too comfortably close to the origin story of Hush, who tired to kill his parents (but failed because of Thomas Wayne).  So, one more thing Batman and Superman have in common; they saved the parents of an enemy. 

However, what I did like was the way in which Lex turned down Clark’s offer of friendship.  It makes a lot of sense to me that Lex would have a view of himself as someone superior to the citizens of Smallville.  I think Johns is showing that side of him perfectly, the arrogant, confident, intelligent Lex who thinks he knows everything there is to know and doesn’t understand why no one else sees it.  For him to be friends with Clark, whether it is as children or adults, doesn’t make sense.  The way it plays out in this issue works perfectly. 

It is interesting to note that Rokk mentions events in Superman’s past, a few of which we haven’t seen yet, but not all of them are mentioned.  Like Superman’s death.  We get the resurrection of Doomsday, but what about Superman’s death?  Also, they don’t mention the marriage to Lois. Or Imperix.  Or his father’s death.  Or the loss of his powers.  There is a lot that Johns passes by to drop the one thing we didn’t know:  Lex’s death. 

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