Joshua Williamson’s Superman run has taken the Man of Steel in some unique directions, not to mention his friends and foes. One of the biggest swings concerns Doomsday, best known for the classic Death of Superman storyline; Williamson would reveal that Doomsday’s constant cycle of death and rebirth transformed him into the mysterious Time Trapper. And in Superman #35, it’s Doomsday who takes center stage as DC K.O. hurtles toward its end.
With Darkseid resurrected and Lex Luthor having won the King Omega tournament (as depicted in DC K.O. #4), Lois Lane, Superboy-Prime and the last remaining Superman robot find themselves at the mercy of the Legion of Darkseid. Salvation lies with Lois, who manages to find a surprising connection with Saturn Girl. Meanwhile, Doomsday is considering running, until he learns of the message hidden in the Fortress of Solitude that Lois discovered in Superman #32.
While most of the DC K.O. tie-in issues have gone through up and downs, Superman #35 is on the strong side as Williamson focuses on character dynamics. Chief among them is Lois and Saturn Girl; despite the latter’s mental efforts to try and break her, Lois refuses to give up faith in her husband or any of the heroes who entered the KO Tournament. In turn, we see that Saturn Girl might not be the heartless soldier she’s depicted as, and it ends up setting the stage for the upcoming Legion of Super-Heroes series in DC’s “Next Level” initiative.
Eddy Barrows rises to the occasion by taking every chance he can to depict characters’ facial expressions. A fight between Superboy-Prime and Lightning Lad has the two charging at each other, faces contorted in rage; Saturn Girl’s face is frozen in fear when Lois learns her “secret; Doomsday’s head is bowed in contemplation. The inks by Eber Ferreria and Julio Ferreria add extra weight to characters’ movements, especially in the battle scenes as it feels like gods are battling among us. To top it all off, Alejandro Sanchez’s colors continue to paint the sky a reddish-orange hue, hinting at Darkseid’s influence infecting the world.
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As for the message regarding Doomsday, it’s a big reveal that utterly reshapes who he is as a character, not to mention his role in the DC Universe. If you ask me, it’s a revamp that’s been a long time coming. Doomsday, apart from being known as “The Guy Who Killed Superman”, was mostly depicted as an obstacle for the Man of Steel or other heroes to beat, and worse writers used his evolution as mere window dressing for splash page moments rather than actual development. With this reveal, he’s actually a character instead of a walking fight scene.
The end of the issue dovetails directly into next week’s DC K.O. #5, but there’s a “post credit scene” that follows Lois and Superboy-Prime as they reconnect with their loved ones. It’s more or less meant to set the stage for Prime taking center stage in next month’s issue, and by extension, launching the “Reign of the Superboys” storyline. I admit I had some reservations about Prime taking the spotlight, but the way it’s set up is actually promising; here’s hoping the future issues live up to that promise.
Superman #35 delivers some big reveals that don’t just alter Superman’s place in the DC Universe, but Doomsday. With the next stage of DC’s “All In” on the horizon, it’s a change that came just in time.
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