Mild Mannered Reviews - Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comics

Superman #6

Superman #6

Cover date: June 1987

"The Last Five Hundred"

Writer: John Byrne
Penciller: John Byrne
Inker: Karl Kessel

Reviewed by: Kevin Hollander

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After being knocked out by the explosion, Clark is taken to one of the tents to recuperate. He wakes up on a cot, covered with a sheet. As he sits up, he sees Lois holding his Superman costume.

She is speaking to Dr. Estevez in a very detached manner, explaining that she found it compressed into a pouch attached to his leg. When she realizes that Clark is awake she informs him that he's been unconscious for two days. Based on her unusual behavior and being addressed as A'x'iar, Clark soon realizes that Lois has been possessed by some alien life form. As he puts on his costume and looks around the camp, he realizes that everyone has been mentally enslaved by the same race of aliens.

Superman asks A'x'iar directly what she plans to do. She explains that they are the last five hundred members of the H'v'ler'ni race. They arrived on Earth 500,000 years ago and created the city-state of A'r'ven. They enslaved humanity and thrived for 1,000 years. Eventually they were all but destroyed by the Earth-borne diseases carried by their slaves. Despite the purification of their city-state, most of the H'v'ler'n decided to leave Earth. Five hundred remained and following her orders, transferred their minds into a large robot named "Host". When the world created a suitable level of technology, Host was programmed to reactivate and transfer their minds back into human hosts. From that point they would be able to reclaim Earth as their own. Their current human hosts are essentially in a coma-like state within their bodies, unaware of current events. They were unable to take control of him because the device they use to switch bodies will only work with conscious minds.

When Superman decides to put a stop to their plans, he is forced to fight Host once again. He soon learns that Host's power is derived from the collected minds of the H'v'ler'ni. With some of the minds freed, he is no longer a match for Superman. The disembodied aliens insist that Host is failing his primary function. To protect the species, he forces the aliens inhabiting Lois and the others to return and increase his power base, despite their objections.

Host then leaves the campsite for a more populous area, closely followed by Superman. As they fight, Superman realizes that they are an even match. Superman takes a desperate gamble and pretends to be dazed by one of Host's punches. The H'v'ler'ni then begin to fight for the right to possess Superman. Their competition overloads Host's transfer circuits and destroys the robot along with the aliens.

Superman personally flies Lois back to Metropolis, filling her in on the details while she was out. He explains that from his observations, the H'v'ler'ni were petty individuals who refused to cooperate. He admits that he wasn't sure how or if his plan would work, but is thankful it did.

3Story - 3: A reasonable ending to this two-parter. Having a long-dormant race of aliens bent on conquering the planet makes sense. The choice to have the story alternate between past and present was annoying at times. The only thing that was missing was a sense of urgency. The pacing seemed to be a bit slower - due to the need to explain the history of the H'v'ler'ni - and it didn't translate into dramatic tension. I will admit it was a nice twist using the aliens' pettiness to defeat them.

5Art - 5: No complaints about the artwork. Byrne and Kessel do an excellent job breaking down the story and making it easy to follow. The details that are added to the fights between Superman and Host are quite impressive. The rubble looks real.

4Cover Art - 4: A considerable improvement from the previous issue. This is a perfect summation of the story. My only complaint is that this is lacking any kind of background.


Classic Post-Crisis Superman Comic Book Reviews

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