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Steelworks #3 Steelworks #3

Steelworks #4

Scheduled to arrive in stores: September 5, 2023
Cover date: November 2023

"Steelworks - Chapter 4: Lockdown"

Writer: Michael Dorn
Artist: Sami Basri and Vicente Cifuentes
Cover: Eddy Barrows and Adriano Lucas
Variant Covers: Sanford Greene and Rafael Sarmento

Reviewed by: Craig Boehmer
Click to enlarge

Steelworks #4 John is running tests on Lana to determine why she got her powers back. They ruminate on their experiences over the last few issues. While talking, the Silver Mist breaks into the facility again and seemingly steals John's tech for clean energy. John confronts him just outside the vault, Silver Mist detonates the device and escapes. John reveals that the real device was in a different place and he and Lana leave. A cleanup crew arrives to the vault, working for rival industrialist Charles Walker III, and steals the device without anyone at Steal noticing. Superman arrives to discuss the recent events with John and Lana. Through their shared experiences they discover that the Genesis Energy is warping the cellular structure of those in close proximity to it, creating power flares for the Kryptonians. Through this John discovers that the device/orb he is holding is a fake.

4Story - 4: This issue was light on action, but had a lot of great story beats. The positives of the issue were the triple fake out between Silver Mist, John, and the cleaning crew. I also love the relationship between Lana and John, plus getting the interactions between Lana, John, and Clark is a great reminder of Pak's criminally underrated Action Comics run from the New 52. The friendship between those three shows the humanity of Clark, and they remain terribly underutilized supporting characters for the Superman books. Charles Walker III is growing on me as a villain, so far, he is kind of the cliché greedy business man archetype, but it is entertaining. The comic is definitely coming into its own, and I hope Dorn has enough leash to delve further into this world and create a world for Steal and Lana to inhabit separate from the Superfamily.

5Art - 5: The art in this issue is the best we've seen in this series. Its really dynamic and fun. The colors really pop too. The only downside is that it is such an action light issue, I would really like to see this team illustrate some big action sequences. The character design for Silver Mist is really cool.

3Cover Art - 3: The detail on the face of the Silver Mist looks a little goofy. But the overall image is a pretty cool idea.

4Variant Cover - 4: Fantastic heroic pose harkening back to the classic Tall Tale of John Henry battling the machine.

5Variant Cover - 5: This cover was my favorite, it is a very foreboding image of the face plate.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2023

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

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