Mild Mannered Reviews - Regular Superman Comics

Superman #147

Superman #147

Scheduled to arrive in stores: June 23, 1998

Cover date: August 1999

1999 Triangle No. 32

Writer: Ron Marz
Penciller: Tom Grindberg
Inker: Bill Anderson

"Secret Origins Part One: The Knight"

Michael (George) O'Connor Reviewed by: Michael O'Connor



Kal-El exercises on Oa by destroying robotic foes with his fists. Much to the disapproval of the elders, Kal takes out all the robots without using his Green Lantern ring. Eventually finishing his work-out, he changes into Green Lantern in order to meet up with a Guardian of the Universe who informs him that Sinestro is on the loose with an antimatter missile with enough power to wipe out a galaxy. Kal is joined by Hal Jordan of Earth as they set off to find the sinister Sinestro and put an end to his evil plot.

Back in reality, the Justice League stops a prison break at Stryker's Island but find themselves short a few members. Besides Batman, Orion and Barda, the JLA can't help but wonder whatever happened to Superman who has, all of a sudden, disappeared. They immediately decide upon a search team comprised of Martian Manhunter, Flash, Green Lantern and Steel.

Flying through space, Kal explains to Hal all about how the rocket that sped him away from Krypton ended up landing on Oa. Before long, both Hal and Kal find Sinestro's battle ship. Kal's physical powers allow him to break through the yellow barriers as they attack the villains inside. Sinestro, upon seeing the two, immediately sends his missile towards the sun. Kal chases after it while Hal cleans up the rest of the villains inside the ship and confronts Sinestro who reveals that his plan was to just get rid of Kal by making the hero sacrifice himself for the galaxy.

Near the sun, Kal attempts to contain the impact of the missile only to be rocketed backwards. Not dead yet, however, and with the help of Hal who has just joined him, they both use their rings to contain the blast and save the day.

Jor-El ends the program, allowing him to ponder what would happen to his young son if the boy were sent to Oa. He realizes that sending Kal to Oa would mean Kal would be too self-sacrificing and become withdrawn and distant.

Another figure interrupts the "cortex field" allowing himself to ponder as he looks over Superman's unconscious body, wondering how he will find out what makes Superman be Superman.

4Story - 4: Well it was certainly a fun story, even if things are a tad blurry. I'm just hoping that the masked guy will NOT turn out to be a) Dominus or b) the Cyborg. If neither of them is the mystery villain guest star of the week, than I'll probably be happy. I certainly have no earthly idea what in the world is going on here, but I enjoyed the team-up with Hal and Kal. The dialogue was great even if the story was overall fairly simple.

4Art - 4: Nice! I like Grindberg's stuff. It really is very realistic looking but at the same time it also has a great sci-fi feel to it. Especially that last page... I really enjoyed seeing his art again and it was interesting to see him portray the Justice League in action. He certainly made the action much more graceful than Porter or any of the other JLA artists do.

4Cover - 4: Rounding off a fairly good issue is a classic Walt Simonson cover... with an interesting twist. I know I've seen this cover before, but Supes was in his traditional blue and red duds. The mixture of fiery orange and emerald green really catches the eye and should please both Supes and Green Lantern fans alike.


Mild Mannered Reviews

1999

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic was on sale.

June 1999

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