Action Comics #1095 is a noticeable departure from the current flow of Mark Waid’s run, particularly because it doesn’t focus on Clark Kent at all. This time, the spotlight is put on Clark’s childhood friend, Pete Ross. There’s a good reason for this: At the end of the previous issue, Pete accidentally witnessed Clark changing into Superboy during a camping trip. Now he has to deal with the fact that his best friend kept such a massive secret from him…and how it affects their friendship, if that friendship is still a thing.
Pete Ross is one of the more interesting characters in the Superman mythos. He’s someone that Clark can confide in, other than his parents, Lois Lane, or Batman; he provides another tether to humanity for Clark, especially in his teenage years; and he represents the kind of people who populate Smallville, and helped shape Clark into the Superman fans know and love. Yet no one’s ever been sure what to do with him – his tenure as Vice President under Lex Luthor was uneventful, Smallville wrote his character off after a few seasons, and he’s barely appeared in the modern era. Action Comics #1095 seems to be written to showcase that a Pete Ross story can be just as interesting as a Clark Kent one.
I give Waid credit for exploring all the different feelings Pete is cycling through. At first, he lies awake, his mind racing with the info that his best friend’s a superhero. Next is anger, which feels reasonable given the magnitude of this secret. There’s also Pete’s rumination on how Clark got his powers (including a sequence that’s either hilarious in hindsight or a Captain America shoutout, take your pick.) Waid has a gift for writing the messy world of adolescence, and blending it well with the usual superheroic tropes.
DC
Once again, Patricio Delpeche joins the book on art duties, and his work matches the emotional wavelengths of Waid’s script. Most of Delpeche’s panels are close up of Pete’s eyes, showcasing the emotions dancing among them. The opening features him in a wide-eyed stare, the look of someone who’s trying to process a massive revelation.
Later on, a series of panels feature Pete’s eyes dancing around in confusion and indecision, before finally setting on cold rage as he walks away from Clark. The only character who exceeds Pete’s expressions is Lana Lang, as her face lights up when she’s playing a trick on her friend or scrunched up in anger when a group of thugs try to pressure her into giving up Superboy’s secret identity. Delpeche also utilizes plenty of blue within the issue: blue in the captions from Steve Wands, blue in Pete’s clothing, and a dark blue to represent the night skies.
Action Comics #1095 shifts gears to focus on Pete Ross and shows why he’s an important part of Clark Kent’s life. Hopefully, other Superman writers will find a way to bring Pete back into Clark’s life because that’s a dynamic begging to be explored.
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