The biggest draw of Mark Waid and Skylar Partidge’s Action Comics run so far is witnessing Clark Kent’s early days as Superboy. Clark’s faced teenage hurdles like the first day of school, bullies, and mastering his budding powers. Yet the one thing he isn’t prepared for? Spending time with Lana Lang, who he has an obvious crush on. There’s also the small matter of his hero life, especially the fact that the mysterious Captain Comet is plotting against him.
Waid manages to balance both the superheroic elements and personal matters in Clark’s life, making for a truly great read. I’ve always felt that a good Superman (or Superboy) story should focus as much on when Clark isn’t wearing the cape than when he is, and that’s especially true when Clark has to deal with finally talking to Lana after three issues’ worth of buildup. It’s a classic teenage problem, writ large by the fact that Clark worries that Lana’s newfound interest might be a result of his superpowers, and a twist that feels ripped right out of a certain web-slinger’s early days.
Partridge also excels at drawing those moments, especially in the opening pages, where Clark decides to test his super speed. In a series of panels, she shows him passing through the sea, the Great Wall of China, and finally skidding to a stop in Smallville, becoming little more than a red blur. It leads to an utterly hilarious moment that underlines just how far Clark is from becoming the Superman we know and love. On the teenage side, another montage of Clark trying on various clothes for his “date” with Lana is undercut by a small moment when his mother Martha encourages him to be himself. Without saying a word, Clark turns and holds up his glasses, showcasing the duality that he’s still struggling with.
DC
The back half of Action Comics #1090 once again sees Superboy fighting with Raze, the psychic terrorist Superboy first battled in Action Comics #1087. This fight is somewhat of a mixed bag; while it lets Waid and Patridge introduce a few Easter eggs from the DC Universe, including a certain element that’ll come to plague Superman in the future, Raze himself isn’t a terribly interesting villain. His motivations are fairly vague, apart from ranting about trying to save the world from technology, and the looming mystery of Captain Comet seems far more interesting.
That being said, it does lead to a great battle where the creative team is firing on all cylinders. Waid showcases how Clark adjusts to fighting an enemy whose brains can match his brawn. Patridge gets to draw an utterly cool moment where Superboy fights a runaway robot. Colorists Ivan Plascencia and Matt Herms strike a balance between Clark’s classic red and blues and the gaudy gold armor that Raze wears. Action Comics #1090 works best when it’s dealing with the duality of Clark Kent, and if the creative team keeps it up, this could be an all-timer of a Superman run.
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