Mild Mannered Reviews - Regular Superman Comics

Superman Y2K

Superman Y2K

Scheduled to arrive in stores: December 29, 1999

Cover date: February 2000

2000 Triangle No. 7

Writer: Joe Kelly
Penciller: Butch Guice
Inker: Kevin Conrad, Mark Propst, and Richard Bonk

"The End"

Reviewed by: Nick Newman (Nnewman8283@yahoo.com)



December 31, 1620. Two groups of men, one Indian and the other European, come together in conflict. Before the battle can really begin, fire from the sky begins to strike the ground all around them. Afterwards the two groups unite and make amends.

December 31, 1999. Lex Luthor wields a hatchet as two Amazon women bear down on him. The three battle until Luthor's aide mentions Superman. The name breaks Lex's concentration and he concedes defeat. After dismissing Mercy and Hope, Luthor contemplates the New Years preparations he has made.

Off of the Florida Keys Superman grabs El Piton, a small time criminal, from his ship filled with brainwashed passengers. Superman crashes through the hull of the ship and water begins to flow in, bringing the passengers back to their senses. Then hoisting the ship above his head, he begins to fly back to their homeland.

In Smallville, Clark finds his parents and his wife working in the kitchen. Clark talks with his father for a minute about the significance of Y2K, but when he brings up the Smallville First Night Celebration the room gets very quiet. Lois suggests to her husband that the group try a change of pace for this New Year.

In a Lexcorp facility, two scientists test satellites in orbit with the "Y2Kompliance" program. They both notice a spike, but later figure it to be just a glitch. High in orbit, aboard the very same satellite, an insectoid creature crawls off of the structure and begins to fall to Earth. On top of Lexcorp tower the creature crashes shortly later. Two men, after finding the intruder, begin to call for help but are soon stopped by a creature still cloaked in the shadows.

Lois' change of pace involved the whole family going to Metropolis for the celebration. As Clark struggles to remain in control and ever watchful, Lois and the Kents attempt to enjoy themselves as the humanoid creature wreaks havoc throughout Lexcorp tower.

As the clock outside counts down to zero and a huge "L" ascends the side of the Newstime building the crowd begins to chant the numbers. And as the clock strikes zero the city goes completely black. Clark zooms away, transforming into Superman as the crowd begins to panic. Inside the tower Luthor demands to know what has caused the problem. He is greeted by Brainiac 2.5. Brainiac admits to having destroyed everything electronic on the planet.

As Superman stops the bullet train in Japan, J'onn finally contacts him. The rest of the league is busy with their cities, but Superman has a bigger problem. The nuclear missiles have launched.

Lex comes to his senses lying outside of Lexcorp. The guests at his private party suddenly pour out of the doors, pursued by silvery spiders. Luthor suddenly realizes that he doesn't know where Lena is. Across town Lena's caretaker fights her way through the crowd with the baby in tow. She runs up to anyone for help, and finds Lois Lane.

In space over two thousand missiles surround Superman and his newest recruit Green Lantern. They struggle to stop all of the missiles while Brainiac begins to count down to their detonation. Superman and Green Lantern combine their wills and attempt to contain the awesome power of the dozens of nuclear explosions. As the bombs erupt with energy an alien beam rushes past them and into Earth's atmosphere. The beam strikes Lexcorp tower and suddenly Brainiac is no longer in control. He is receiving information from the future.

Out on the streets the strange beam strikes Jimmy's camera. After it has passed Jimmy's camera has changed, becoming more high-tech.

Out in orbit Superman is suddenly confronted by legions of robots, taken over by Brainiac. He fights carefully, not wishing to harm his friends when suddenly Platinum of the Metal Men contacts him with Morse code. She tells him that all robots have been overwhelmed with a signal, but that the real problem is in Metropolis.

Back in the big Apricot Lois struggles to keep Lena safe. As one of the giant spiders closes in Lex drives a car into the beast, destroying it. He reclaims his child from Lois.

Brainiac begins to be upgraded by the beam of energy.

Suddenly Superman arrives on the site, grabbing Luthor and demanding to know what has happened. Lois tells Clark that she doesn't think it is Luthor's doing. As soon as Superman and Lois leave, Luthor composes himself. He pulls a small disk from Lena's head and attaches it to a floppy disc that he was carrying in his safe. In the tower Brainiac begins his final upgrade.

Above Metropolis a huge robot appears out of nowhere. Brainiac 13.

4Story - 4: It was a decent story, but this issue was heralded as the new Metropolis. All we saw was a glimpse of Brainiac and a new Lextower. The return of Brainiac was cool, and the conversations between Lois and Clark were wonderful. A good start to a crossover story, but not as good as it could have been.

4Art - 4: Okay art, but it was much too dark for Superman. Still, most of the pictures were good and you could always tell what was happening. Not the best artist for the job (especially when guys like McKone are out there), but still adequate.

3Cover Art - 3: The cover really doesn't do anything for me. While it is the first melding of hand-drawn and CGI art, it is not that good. Superman is way too dark and barely any of Brainiac is shown in the picture.



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