Superboy #20

Could this be the Superboy everybody has been waiting for?!

It's nice to see how much pull I finally have with DC's decision making. I wanted Tom DeFalco off of Superboy and he was replaced by Justin Jordan. Sure, there was an interim Scott Lobdell issue but I think he's their go to guy for fill-ins since he doesn't waste time researching characters or bothering with writing well, so he always makes deadlines. I wanted Scott Lobdell off of Red Hood and the Outlaws. I trashed his writing month after month! And finally he's been replaced by James Tynion IV! During Death of the Family, I mentioned how The Joker was like a drunk uncle at a family reunion who puts his dick in the potato salad and then Gail Simone had The Joker refer to Batgirl as "his little potato salad"! That was before Gail Simone (or her husband, I suspect!) was following me but I'm sure that was a sly wink to me! Midway through reading the first Larfleeze back-up story, I claimed I wanted a Larfleeze comic book. And now I'm getting a Larfleeze comic book!

Anybody want to see any changes? I'm taking requests! I can start flexing my blogger muscle and we'll get some shit done!

Wow, you guys may have thought I was an arrogant bastard before. Now check me out pumped full of imaginary power! I'm going to be a monster!

So I pick up Superboy and two panels into the comic, I'm laughing out loud.

Thank you, Justin Jordan. You're my new hero.

With one beautifully inserted "moist", Justin Jordan destroys the lazy, bullshit, boring, overdone, horrible opening that Scott Lobdell and Tom DeFalco have been coasting on for nineteen issues. Maybe it hasn't been that many but it certainly has been too long. "My name is Superboy and I'm a clone created by N.O.W.H.E.R.E and designed to be a living weapon." I just typed that from memory and checking on the actual phrase, it looks like I almost nailed it. I missed the "an organization called" just before N.O.W.H.E.R.E. I hope I never have to see that phrase ever again.

A voice commands Krypto to heel and Krypto keels over. Then the person behind the blue fonted voice responds to Superboy's Narration Boxes (so I guess they're simply thought bubbles here) and punches Superboy in the head. Superboy's powers have been taken, so he's easily knocked unconscious. And then the title mentions H.I.V.E. Dr. Psycho from the previous issues was running from H.I.V.E. And now Superboy seems to have been picked up by their radar. And Superboy is suddenly hanging out with Krypto for some reason! This calls for a flashback!

Probably 24 hours earlier since that seems to be the favorite amount of time to flash back, Superboy was on the phone with his favorite date, Bunker, letting him know he was about to turn himself in for bank robbery.

I've been saying both of those were Superboy's problem for twenty issues now! His other problem was being written by Tott Dedell. But he doesn't have that excuse anymore!

Before Superboy can turn himself in, a small guy with with scars on the top of his bald head and a mask to cover his nose and mouth stops him. I think this is Doctor Psycho because who else is that short! He claims he knows Conner is Superboy and that he knows where Superboy came from. This gets Superboy mad and he telekinetically throws the Doctor into the street. It might save his life since somebody else suddenly throws a car directly into Superboy's face. That somebody else is a creature named Dreadnought. And he's somehow getting stronger while fighting Superboy. Doctor Psycho decides to astrally investigate.

Does this count as an Endless reference?!

While Superboy continues to trade punches with Dreadnought, Doctor Psycho decides to have a psychic battle with Psiphon.

That's cheating!

It seems Doctor Psycho knows better than to go psychic toe to psychic toe with Psiphon, so he pummels him with his fists. He may be a little guy but Psiphon's alien skin must be really soft and tender. He goes down pretty quickly and calls for Dreadnought to save him. Dreadnought is distracted by his little buddy's cry for help and Superboy knocks him into the bay. Then he knocks out Psiphon. Doctor Psycho convinces Superboy that H.I.V.E. wasn't just after him but after Superboy as well. I'm pretty sure that's a lie and Doctor Psycho is just using the current circumstances to enlist Superboy's help to save himself from H.I.V.E. Hell, Doctor Psycho might not even be interested in destroying H.I.V.E. This might be one of those situations where Doctor Psycho believes that if he gives H.I.V.E. a better prisoner for their psionic program, they'll let him go free.

When does Krypto come into this?

Well, Krypto doesn't show up by the final page. But Jocelyn Lure, Timecop, does! And all of her futuristic stuff in her lab is suddenly disappearing. It's like Back to the Future! Somebody must have gone to prom with their mother and fucked up all time! I bet it was Jesus.

Superboy #20 Rating: +2 Ranking. Now, this actually wasn't my favorite comic book. It would normally get a No Change rating since it was mostly a big fight with a few slight reveals. But it's doing something Superboy has had trouble doing for the last 19 issues and that's continuing to tell the story that was being told in previous issues! Plus it wasn't written by Tott Dedell, so that's a huge relief. And Justin Jordan destroyed that God-Awful My Name is Superman opening! Rest in peace, motherfucker!