Well folks we’ve made it to the finish line, we’ve made it to the final chapter of Superman: Secret Origins. The fact that I’m doing this a mere two days before the release of Man of Steel had nothing to do with design and everything to do with my laziness. So this is where I would attempt a little bit of insight but if you’re like me you probably want to get this over and done with so let’s get to it…..oh and the Transformers movie review I promised will be up soon, promise.
So our final chapter picks up where last chapter left off with the Army led by General Sam Lane has invaded The Daily Planet to collect any and all information regarding Superman. Lane tries to play the “I’m your father so you should trust me” card with Lois Lane who fires back ed to be a bombshell by asking Lois why Superman never told her that he is an alien and by that standard: a monster. Back to the xenophobia again.
Elsewhere, Lex
Luthor has just finished his operation on Sgt. Corben after his battle with the
Last Son of Krypton, Luthor proclaims success by shouting “He’s Alive”. We then
find the Army in the sewers when they come across Superman who puts them out of
commission in about 5 seconds and then takes the fight to the streets of
Metropolis where he smacks the soldiers around like its nothing. Back at the
Planet we find that General Lane’s bombshell has had no effect on the paper’s
staff so he then tries to tell them that it’s all hopeless for them since he
has the one thing that can kill Superman, Kryptonite.
This spurs Lois
and Jimmy into action, Jimmy then blinds the soldiers with multiple camera
flashes while Lois escapes but not without General Lane noticing her ducking
out. We return then to Superman’s fight with the Army when a cab gets thrown
into him courtesy of Sgt. Corben who fresh off his life saving surgery has the
Metallo armor completely grafted onto his body. The Army stands aside to watch
Corben get his licks in but Superman quickly turns the tide back in his favor
by sending him flying into a tank.
 |
| Hey Tony Stark, I think you better call your lawyers about this one |
Corben is enraged
by this and even starts turning on his own people, it’s then that Lois enters
the picture asking Superman to leave for his own safety. She tells him that his
adversaries are willing to kill him because they’re afraid of him. Corben fires
back by saying that their not afraid but that Superman is a threat to them and
that he could change everything, I don’t have a reference book with me but I’d
say that statement is a pretty good statement of fear. Superman charges at
Corben and manages to knock off the Metallo face plate that reveals a face that
if this were a video review I’d queue up a scene of the Bride of Frankenstein
screaming in terror. By the way if you’re
keeping score that’s one Frankenstein reference for the comic and one for me.
Lois runs out
yelling “leave him alone you monster” right at Corben who in response unleashes
a green energy blast from his chest. Superman gets in the way of the shot and
has a very hard effect on him since the blast had Kryptonite in it. Superman
then launches a manhole cover into Corben’s chest and uses his heat vision to
melt it into the Metallo armor. Do they make manhole covers out of lead because
that’s the only thing that makes sense to me for why the Kryptonite doesn’t
have any effect on Supes when he’s up that close? Superman then flies Corben
into orbit where he passes out due to lack of oxygen.
General Lane then
arrives just as Corben falls at his feet, Lane orders his soldiers to arrest
Lois and Superman, but the men are hesitant to do so and when they make their
move the crowd stands up for Superman. Supes then gets between the two sides
and implores them not to take things any further, when asked what he wants he
says that he doesn’t want them to look for a savior and to use their own gifts
to make things better for everyone. I cleaned it up a bit so I could spare you
folks the cavities this kind of sweetness could create, it is an uplifting speech
but I think you should read it for yourself.
With that
situation calmed down Superman turns his attention to Lex Luthor who screams at
him that Metropolis is his and Superman can’t take it away from him. Supes
replies that it doesn’t belong to him, it never has, and that he won’t let Lex
ruin it for everyone else. We return to the Daily Planet which I suppose would
be a few days after all the action where thanks to their coverage of Superman
the paper is back on top. Lois comments on Clark’s latest story and just as she’s
about to acknowledge that Clark’s her competition she finds a note on her desk.
Lois runs up to the
rooftop to find Superman fixing the Globe on the top of the building. Supes
thanks Lois for making him feel at home and Lois talks about how his presence has
lightened his outlook…..again I’d read it for yourself because I think I’d need
to floss if I gave a blow by blow review of this moment. Just as things start
to get close Jimmy comes up and interrupts things which give Superman the
opening he needs to exit stage left.
We then see Lex
Luthor heading out for his daily ritual to find that there’s no one there
singing his praises and asking for his help. We end this issue as we began the
Metropolis arc with a new transplant looking up in the sky, but Superman had
changed things since the old lady Clark had bumped into before is not giving
the kid hell for looking up into the sky as we see the whole city looking up to
Superman flying above the Metropolis skyline. FIN
……..And that’s it,
we’re done! All in all a pretty good series, yeah it has it’s moment of cheese
and a few things about the plot that are debatable to whether they’re necessary
but it’s a really good retelling of the Superman origin and one that I give a
high recommendation to anyone interested in Superman. As great as it was to talk about this series I
think I’m going to stick with single issues for a while until I find a series
that’s worth going through as much as I’ve done here. Thanks for sticking with
me.
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