Review – Superman: Action Comics #1086 – Battle in the Frost
Superman: Action Comics #1086 cover, via DC Comics.
Ray: Superman: Superstars wraps up this month, with Mark Waid and Skylar Partridge taking us back to Smallville for a new era next month. But before that, G. Willow Wilson and Gavin Guidry are giving us a throwback story as Superman heads to the Arctic to take on a villain we haven't seen in a very long time – the sinister AI Kilg%ore, a killer robot with a deep contempt for humanity but a much more opportunistic approach to things than Brainiac usually has. He's been attacking the research base Clark Kent is visiting for an assignment, with mind-controlled polar bears leading the charge. And as Superman confronts the villain, Kilg%re tries to get him on board for an unlikely plan – to take advantage of climate change to profit on it, and turn the entire polar region into a new base for the evil robot's new power base. Well, it's an original plan, but I can't say he's really thought through his recruitment plan much. Standoff. Via DC Comics.
This is very much a retro tale, even though it takes place relatively close to modern continuity. That's partially because of the very campy villain, but it's also characterization-based – it's been a long time since we saw a story run so heavily on the trope of Clark Kent as a milquetoast weakling who is disregarded by everyone around him. It's definitely funny in a few places, and makes it easier for Clark to sneak around unnoticed, but it feels a bit like a relic of the silver age. The dialogue is also a bit oddly casual in places, such as Superman making a snarky comment about rooting for orcas to sink yachts. The old-school style has some fun elements, though – where else could you see mind-controlled orcas taking down the polar ice caps? It's a fun, quick read, but it doesn't quite have the ambition of the other Superstars arcs. Still, as someone who grew up during the Triangle Era of Superman comics, it was a lot of fun to see some of these plot threads again.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Dad
5 days ago
- Geek Dad
Review – Green Lantern #23: Specters of the Past
Green Lantern #23 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: The Green Lantern Corps have been going around the universe, but now they're in a completely new setting – Hell, where the worst creatures of the DCU dwell for all eternity. Hal is accompanied by Zauriel and Phantom Stranger for a mission relating to his old days as The Spectre, but he soon picks up another unexpected ally – G'nort, the iconic worst Green Lantern ever. What's he doing in Hell? It's not clear, but he seems mostly unfazed by the horrors around him. While Hal seeks out an old enemy of his, Kyle and his crew are having a much lighter adventure – traveling through space with Odyssey, Superboy, and new recruit Dan Garrett – who was thought to be dead for decades. Of course, just because they're not dealing with any existential horrors, it doesn't mean they're having it easy – this issue has them blasting their way out from a giant carnivorous space squid with a taste for spaceships. Dog days. Via DC Comics. One of the most impressive things about this run is how Jeremy Adams is obviously pulling in some deep cuts. Geoff Johns built a huge mythology for the character, but I can't imagine him hinging an arc on something Hal did as The Spectre years earlier. One of the most famous arcs of the book featured a truly vile villain who Hal sealed away with a key artifact – one that could fend off the Starbreaker Corps now. Of course, there's one problem with this heist – The Spectre is still guarding this prisoner, even if Hal isn't one with him anymore. With Jim Corrigan having passed on, The Spectre is now all rage without a humanizing touch, and he wants Hal back. The battle that closes this issue is one of the most exciting of the series so far, and it makes me wonder if the story of the Spectre's new host is being planned as we speak. The scale of this title keeps on building, and this issue is another big winner. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
5 days ago
- Geek Dad
Review – Superman #26: Superman Red
Superman #26 cover, via DC Comics. Ray: After last issue's brutal battle with the deranged clone X-El, the status quo Josh Williamson has built is in shambles. Lex Luthor is back in prison, blamed for the attack and covering for Mercy. His trust with Superman is shattered after he executed the evil clone. Mercy is free, but has lost her alliance with Superman and her control over Supercorp. Lena Luthor is ready to wash her hands of both her father and her mentor, and has headed off to greener pastures – Midvale, where she'll be hanging out with Supergirl (much to the excitement of those who like another kind of Supercorp, no doubt). And Lois Lane has lost her Superwoman powers, burning them out after using her Solar Flare. But unlike with Superman, it seems to have purged the powers from her system entirely – and while she insists she's fine with going back to normal, no one else is so sure. And then there's General Zod in the cosmos, looking for answers. Time bomb. Via DC Comics. At least Superman is okay, right? Well, no – anything but. He's been acting erratically over the last few issues, and it seems the source is Red Kryptonite poisoning from back in the first arc of this series, when he went up against Pharm and Graft. The deranged brothers are now locked up in Strykers alongside Luthor. When Superman arrives at Stryker to confront Luthor, he's ready to end their partnership entirely, but Luthor proposes a deal to try to help Lois. This only makes Superman angrier – and that sends him spiraling out of control. This is a side of Superman we very rarely see, and it's an intriguing choice to make him essentially the main threat of this arc – enough to bring another mysterious hero in to stop him. This issue is chaotic, with a lot of plots coming in and out, but I think it delivers. Only one week after Dan Slott raised the bar for the Superman line yet again, Josh Williamson continues to prove the old guard is just as good. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
Geek Dad
5 days ago
- Geek Dad
Review – The Flash #21: Army of the Flash
The Flash #21 – Simon Spurrier, Writer; Vasco Georgiev, Artist; Matt Herms, Colorist Ray – 9/10 Ray: 'Dark Moon Rising', the current Flash crossover, definitely continues the strange and surreal tone of this series under Simon Spurrier – but it also escalates that to a cosmic level, with Eclipso having taken over the moon and launched a massive war on reality. The only thing standing in his way – the Flash, or rather all the Flashes. This not only includes the whole team, but Wally West has taken full advantage of his new ability to split himself into multiple copies and built an army of his duplicates – sending them in massive waves to take on the enemy, no matter how many of them get killed off. This has made him more than a little unhinged, and is wearing on his relationships with his friends and family. It's worrying them enough that they call in some extra backup for an intervention – Barry Allen, who lost his powers during Absolute Power and has been adjusting to life as a normie ever since. This is an interesting issue that's been dealt with extensively with the character of Multiple Man over at the competition – the idea of when exactly these 'dupes' become their own person. Most of them don't make it past the first wave of attack, and those that do are quickly absorbed back into Wally Prime. Wally's cavalier attitude clearly disturbs Barry, as he thinks the Flashes were never meant to be soldiers. But when a thought-dead Wally shows up, having gotten further into Eclipso's base than anyone else, things taken an interesting new turn. Wally wants to quickly absorb what this leftover has to share, but it's been so long since they were one and the same that this character is ready to go 'rogue'. There are some very interesting elements in this issue, including a close-up look at some of the villains, but what makes this issue work is how it still manages to make this very cosmic topic feel human. To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week. GeekDad received this comic for review purposes. Liked it? Take a second to support GeekDad and GeekMom on Patreon!
