Action Comics #11

Superman holding his complete Clark Kent costume in his left hand.

You know who I miss in this comic? Anguished Fat Man. I think he'd enjoy the first page of Action Comics #11.

Oh look! He's back in the center of the action!

This Metalek wanna-be Gobot (yeah, he can't even dream of being a Transformer. He just wants to be a Gobot) is defeated by Superman in the next page or two. I guess some guy fixing up his yard with a rented Bobcat suddenly had delusions of grandeur and pimped out the Bobcat to take over Metropolis. Too bad Metropolis already has an overlord, even if he is a goody two-shoes. I don't understand why criminals don't just move to another state where there are less Supermans, Batmans, Green Lanterns, and Flashes. I don't think any super heroes are working out of Arizona. Hmm, but then you'd have to live in Arizona. Okay, okay. I see why they tempt fate by breaking laws in the livable states.

Afterword, the crowd laments being homeless. But Superman doesn't have time for all of that negative Nellie bullshit! He just looks on the bright side and tells everybody that they're housing was substandard anyway. And Metalek the Raging Bobcat just did them a favor. But at least Supes puts his muscles where his mouth is and helps them rebuild.

Extreme Kryptonian Home Makeovers.

Since I've finally been catching up on all of The New 52 books, I've started reading other people's reviews to see what people think of the various titles and how opinions may match what I've been saying. I read one guy who hated The New 52 and was trashing what they've done to Superman and what a gigantic jerk they've made him out to be. I think the guy let his negative attitude cloud his judgment because Superman has not actually been a jerk in these early issues. I guess if you're a ruthless businessman fucking over the middle class, yeah, he's been a jerk. What I think the reviewer missed was that Superman is young and idealistic. He has yet to learn that even he can't make the world perfect and, as Batman pointed out last issue, Superman needs to be careful not to become a one man authoritarian police force. He's still learning how to go about changing things for the better. He needs to learn when Clark Kent's talents are more important than Superman's although I think he's done a pretty good job mixing the two up until now. And this is the first time in my life I've really liked Superman. Instead of stories revolving around the knowledge that Superman is a good guy with heart that wants to help the helpless, he's actively doing it. He's not just beating up the bad muscles.

Oh! And this is a great example of all of that, including Batman's warning!

The people were worried about being homeless, so Superman rebuilds their homes. But they aren't owned by these people. He just built a better building for the property owners who are more than likely going to want higher rent on the refurbished apartments! Thus, the people are all probably going to still end up homeless! Supes is missing Batman's bigger picture due to his idealism and youth.

Superman has taken up a new secret identity since Clark Kent supposedly died in the explosion outside his newspaper's offices. He's now posing as Johnny Clark the Fireman! Instead of glasses as a disguise, he's now wearing a skully. Or skull cap. Or stocking cap. Or tuque. Or knit cap. Or beanie. Whatever! It's the cap that Spock always wore when he needed to hide his ears! Like in the episode, "Assignment: Earth," when the Enterprise visits 1968 Earth and to appear in one of those television pilots disguised as an episode of a pre-existing show.

The other firemen head down to Bibbo's after, in case anyone cared if Bibbo still existed in The New 52. Anyone?

Later, Superman goes to see Batman about his secret identity problem.

Superman quickly learning that Batman knows everything.

As if Batman doesn't have enough to do, he now needs to figure out how to bring Clark Kent back to life for Superman because Superman misses flirting with Lois Lane. And by flirting, I mean being brow beaten into constantly running her errands.

But even if Clark Kent had lived, he wouldn't have had to put up with that for long!

Is that birth control or blush flying out of Lois's purse?

Time for the Cliff's Notes version of the rest of the book! These Metalek guys are alien invaders trying to kill the Future Child. Lois's niece Susie is the Future Child who can read the minds of hamsters and draw weird Fibonacci shapes and turn her eyes into star maps. The reported sightings of Superman that didn't involve Superman because they were too long ago were actually of "The Spaceman" who has come to save Suzie. He needs to keep her safe since The Multitude is coming to destroy Earth. They're the invasion (or whatever!) that the Brainiac A.I. was warning Earth about and why the Brainiac A.I. had come to Earth to micronize Metropolis. Superman learns this about the Multitude from the Brainiac A.I.:

Everything that lives fears the multitude. Beautiful and numberless and without mercy. No one has ever seen them and survived. They leave in the wake of their passing the wreckage of worlds.

But Superman also learns that, somehow, Jor-el, Supes' father, repelled the Multitude even though it was declared impossible. And that Krypton's destruction wasn't because the Multitude was successful but because of simple misfortune. Maybe. Something like that!

Anyway, all the threads of the previous ten issues are coming together nicely. And that Cliff's Note section I just typed up should keep me informed on what's going on when Issue #12 comes out. Or Issue #0? Whatever, DC!

The back-up story is called "Clothes Encounter" and I think it will explain why Superman sometimes wears his jeans and sometimes wears his Kryptonian Supersuit. Like sometimes maybe one suit is being cleaned just like I speculated!

Except it's just a dumb story about every t-shirt shop in Metropolis selling "original" Superman t-shirts. Dumb.

Action Comics #11 Rating: No change. I would have given this a +1 but Batman still doesn't deserve to drop from #1. But I should remember this for later so that I don't move Wonder Woman or Aquaman up past Action Comics since Action Comics doesn't deserve to drop from #2 right now either! Stupid ratings are stupid and complicated.