Throughout the “Prime Time” arc of Superman, Superboy-Prime has been struggling to live up to Superman’s boots. Part of that involves finding a life outside of Superman duties, but apart from his job at the comic shop, Prime doesn’t really have a life. That changes in Superman #38, when he stumbles upon the cute redheaded girl he met in the previous issue. She’s no mere mortal, though…she is Rebecca Carstairs, the spellcaster known as Witchfire. Witchfire and Prime end up joining forces to battle a legion of demons hiding underneath Metropolis, and sparks fly between the pair – metaphorically and literally.
By bringing Witchfire into Superman #38, Joshua Williamson pulls off two things. First, he tackles another magic-themed story, which I’ve always felt more Superman writers should do. While Superman is weakened by magic, that doesn’t mean he can’t fight a magic villain or have magic allies; Williamson proved this during the Absolute Power tie-ins that saw Superman and Zatanna working together. Secondly, Williamson proves that much like Prime, he carries a knowledge of all things DC as Witchfire previously appeared in Kurt Busiek’s Power Company and has even gone toe to toe with Wonder Woman.
Williamson’s script really shines when it focuses on the dynamic between Prime and Witchfire, which evolves as the story progresses. At first, she thought she could use him for a spell since she needed an innocent soul; anyone who knows Prime’s past deeds could have told her that it wasn’t going to work out. Things get even more awkward when Prime meets the rest of Witchfire’s coven, and bumps into Jimmy Olsen at a goth club. But by the story’s end, the duo has fought off enough demons to potentially share a kiss before Prime is pulled into another reality. More on that later.
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While Dan Mora has probably received enough praise for two lifetimes, I cannot get over how incredible his artwork is in this issue. Since this is a story dealing with magic and demons, we get to see plenty of monsters, including pitch-perfect replicas of the Universal Monsters and a legion of demonic forces. In what’s perhaps one of the most hilarious moments, an editor’s note reveals that Prime can dismember demons as he puts his fist through one of the monsters. And in one of the more epic moments, when Witchfire summons the full force of her power, she takes on a fiery, angelic form that could give the Dark Phoenix a run for its money. Special kudos should also go to Alejandro Sanchez for playing on the balance between dark and light to create the horror atmosphere for these scenes.
This all culminates in the major reveal: the return of Manchester Black’s ghost. It also results in yet another fourth-wall-breaking moment where Superboy literally flies through a page and lands on a blank sketch page, coming face-to-face with Black. Mora once again draws the hell out of this, along with a final page that will have fans wanting to pick up the next issue immediately.
Superman #38 is a potent mix of magic, romance, and metafictional chaos. It also lays the groundwork for Prime’s greatest test yet, as he faces a truly terrifying foe in Manchester Black.
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