The double-edged sword of superhero comics is that the heroes’ foes will almost always return to torment them. Part of this is due to the cardboard nature of some prisons – I, and others, have joked that Arkham Asylum is less a prison and more of a revolving door. But there’s also the “why doesn’t a hero just kill their villains?” question. The answer to that tends to be twofold: the hero, being a hero, operates on a higher level of morality, and from a story perspective, if you kill off the good villains, you don’t have conflict.
Superman #22 presents such a conflict for the Man of Steel: after their date night, Clark Kent and Lois Lane are confronted by a massive fleet of warships in Metropolis. This armada is called the Aftermath, the last survivors of a world that Doomsday ravaged, and they have a proposition for Superman and Superwoman. Give the Aftermath Doomsday, and they will eliminate his threat once and for all. Fail, and the Earth is forfeit.
Since they’re now four issues in, I can safely say that Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora are proving to be a hell of a creative team. Mora feels like he’s going for broke with every issue; the opening pages feature a massive spread with the Aftermath’s ships hovering over Metropolis, hinting at both the force these invaders command and the destruction that Doomsday was capable of. The Aftermath’s leader Radiant is also a sight to behold; Mora draws him as a pulsating being of energy, with Alejandro Sanchez supplying bluish-white light that nearly fills the entire page.
DC Comics
But if it’s Mora’s artwork that draws in readers, it’s Williamson’s writing that keeps them there. Not only does Williamson depict his deep knowledge of DC Comics history – Radiant and the Aftermath spring from the Superman/Doomsday: Hunter/Prey miniseries by Dan Jurgens – but he keeps finding new ways to depict the Clark/Lois dynamic. While Clark, being Superman, is able to have a conversation with Radiant, Lois uses her greatest superpower of all (a reporter’s instincts) to hone in on the fact that he’s being less than truthful with them. I appreciate a writer who’s willing to try new things but also understands what makes these characters work.
Superman #22 also touches on a few running subplots. Some, like Jimmy Olsen trying to get a picture of Superwoman, feel designed to push the plot forward. Others, like the budding romance between Lex Luthor and Mercy Graves, fall into Williamson’s wheelhouse of pushing a character forward in an unexpected direction. But it’s the end that calls back to that age old question of having a villain at your mercy…and also “what would you do if you had Superman’s powers?”
Superman #22 puts the Man of Steel at a crossroads, while Joshua Williamson and Dan Mora continue to solidify one of the most unique creative partnerships in modern comics. Work like this serves as a reminder that despite what certain corners of fandom might think, it is possible to craft a great Superman story.
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