In his quest to become a better Superman, Superboy-Prime has faced the ire of Damian Wayne, the struggles of working at a comic book store, and potential romantic sparks with the spellcaster Witchfire. What he probably wasn’t prepared for what the psychic manipulations of Manchester Black. Though Black seemingly died during the events of Action Comics #1050, his spirit’s been tormenting Prime…and has now pulled the young Superman into his worst nightmare: the events of Infinite Crisis! That isn’t the only major storyline that Superman #39 touches on, as it sees Black dragging Prime through different worlds and even different art styles as the issue goes on.
This gives Dan Mora the chance to truly flex his artistic muscles, as he’s depicting a wide range of genres throughout Superman #39. One moment, Prime is in the stylized world of Superman: The Animated Series. The next, he’s become part of DC’s long-defunct Young Romance comics, complete with ’50s-era getups for himself and Witchfire. This artistic switch-up continues, leading to a nine panel grid which depicts everything from a manga-styled Prime to what’s essentially a He-Man and the Masters of the Universe riff and old-school sci-fi. It also leads to the best joke in Superman #39, where Prime looks around and groans “I better keep moving before Tom King gets me.”
If Mora’s art wasn’t ambitious enough, Alejandro Sanchez is more than willing to match him in colors. Whether it’s the screen turning bright red as three Flashes zoom at Prime, or the shift between black and white to vibrant colors depending on what genre Prime finds himself trapped in, Sanchez makes sure that each page feels visually distinct. The same could be said of Ariana Maher’s lettering, as Prime’s inner thoughts shift depending on the page. A horror themed page not only features Swamp Thing lurking in the background, but is packed full of the type of overwrought narration that usually can be found in dime store novels, while a shift to an over the top “edgelord” universe featuring characters in black leather and perpetual stubble carries the same lowercase bent as Marvel’s Ultimate Universe comics.
DC
It’s in Williamson’s script that things get really intense. Anyone who’s read Action Comics #775 or seen its equally amazing adaptation in Superman vs. The Elite knows that Black’s nihilistic outlook on the world is meant to counter Superman’s belief in humanity. Combined with his immense psychic power, is that really someone you’d want pulling the strings of reality? What’s worse is that Black knows how to kick Prime when he’s down, playing on his doubts about being able to truly change by making him face his worst nightmare.
Perhaps the moment that hits the hardest is when Prime comes face to face with Kal-L, the Superman of Earth-2. As Kal-L puts it, he didn’t get a second chance to make a change, so why should Prime? Williamson doesn’t pull any punches, whether it’s the emotional ones of Prime reliving the carnage he visited upon the Teen Titans, or literal as Kal-L throws an actual moon at Prime. It ends in a truly shocking finale that will have the reader reeling in more ways than one.
Superman #39 takes a wild ride through different genres as Superboy-Prime faces off against Manchester Black, suffering some emotional and physical blows in the process. It’s one of those rare comics that shows what the medium’s capable of, and one you’ll have to read for yourself to fully appreciate.
You must be logged in to post a comment.