In the finale to ‘Action Comics’ #10, the hunter Maxim Zarov was hunting down Clark Kent, believing the young lad to be Superman. However, as he gets closer to his prey, Zarov is proven wrong… when Clark Kent is killed in an explosion!
A huge splash page opens this issue with a villain called Metalek is smashing through an apartment complex, sending pedestrians fleeing in terror. Superman arrives and shuts down Metalek by ripping off his… I think it’s his head. But that means that yes… Clark Kent is dead but Superman is still around. Superman helps to rebuild the apartment building, which was the former home to Clark Kent. Then he’s off.
Next, we’re treated to scenes of a firefighter saving people (and a cat) from various burning buildings. It seems this new guy, named Johnny Clark, just joined the Metropolis Fire Department and he’s been doing a phenomenal job since then. But when he’s questioned about his past, he gives a few vague answers and turns down an offer from his fellow firefighters for some beers. It seems the guy is some kind of loner… or is he?
Superman pays a visit to Gotham City to visit the Batman to ask him to discuss his problem. He’s not sure that killing off his secret identity was such a good idea.
Back in Metropolis, Lois Lane is taking care of her niece Susie who, unbeknownst to Lois, is having some weird dreams about a spaceman and drawing odd designs on paper. From here on in, the story starts to turn Grant Morrison weird again. Superman is warned of something called “The Multitude” coming to destroy Earth, an alien appears and tells Susie that she’s part of a race destined to inherit the Earth and that this world is doomed.
Honestly, I wish Morrison would just stick with his stories of the young brash Superman trying to find his place in Metropolis but he keeps taking Superman on these otherworldly adventures that seem in complete contrast to what is happening back on Earth. The Earth stories have been brilliant but the other have been mostly weird and distracting. That fluctuation has made ‘Action Comics’ one of the most inconsistent series of the New 52.
Speaking of inconsistency, the art this issue is from two different creative teams and they’re so different that it totally pulls you out of the story every few pages when it flips between teams. I guess on some level, this makes it for a perfect match with Morrison’s flip-flopping writing style but it’s becoming quite annoying.
Verdict: Burn
ACTION COMICS #11
Story by Grant Morrison
Backup Written by Sholly Fisch
Art by Rags Morales, Bradley Walker, & Rick Bryant
Backup Art by CAFU
Cover by Rags Morales
