Time-travel stories in comics are a tricky thing to nail down. Sometimes you’ll craft a story that has ripple effects for decades, like the iconic “Days of Future Past” storyline in Uncanny X-Men. Other times, you can use it as a metaphor for the way life changes, particularly Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang’s Paper Girls. In Action Comics #1097, time travel is used to explore the anxieties we have about our future – and to bring a young Clark Kent into contact with his future teammates in the Justice League.
Picking up immediately after the cliffhanger from Action Comics #1096, Clark finds himself battling Epoch, the self-proclaimed “Lord of Time”. Epoch’s currently locked in battle with a Justice League team consisting of Martian Manhunter, Mary Marvel, and Booster Gold; the trio was searching for an adult Superman, but their battle pulled them into Clark’s past. Now faced with a brief glimpse of his future, Clark is wrestling with questions about the future, and it turns out he’s not the only one.
Mark Waid has plenty of fun scripting the dynamic between a young Clark and the Justice League, especially considering what he’s been through in previous issues. He’s had to hide his identity as Superman from his friends, and has rarely encountered other people with powers, so he’d naturally gravitate toward others. The trio of Leaguers that Waid has picked also makes great foils to Clark. Martian Manhunter, like him, is the last of an alien race. Mary is his own age, and one of the few people who can talk to him as a peer. Booster, despite his usual grandstanding, is also struggling with his own inner turmoil due to the things he went through in DC All In and DC K.O. What’s made Waid one of the best comic book writers in the business is how he puts character first and foremost, no matter the project.
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Skylar Patridge also ups her game, particularly on the action front. Action Comics #1097 opens with Clark being thrown through the air, immediately sparking questions: what’s powerful enough to throw him for a loop, and how does it involve the Justice League? The answers appear on a two-page spread featuring the League and Epoch locked in combat. Epoch is a menacing figure, his golden armor carrying a militaristic edge courtesy of Patridge, while Ivan Plascenscia gives it a golden sheen that looks far more menacing than you’d expect.
In fact, Plascencia’s color work creates strong contrasts between characters. Martian Manhunter immediately draws the eye thanks to his bright green skin and glowing red eyes, while Booster Gold’s classic blue and yellow suit is far more pleasing to the eye than Epoch’s armor. Even the scenery is a study in opposites, as the starry night skies of Smallville give way to a shining golden daybreak. The fact that a sunrise is just as compelling as a fight scene speaks to the detail that Patridge and Plascencia put into their art.
Action Comics #1097 has plenty of fun with its time-travel elements, introducing new dynamics and a new mystery involving the Justice League. It looks like the “Reign of the Superboys” is finally kicking into high gear.
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