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Mild Mannered Reviews - "Superman Adventures" Comics

Superman Adventures #6

Cover date: April 1997

"Seonimod"

Writer: Scott McCloud
Penciller: Rick Burchett
Inker: Terry Austin

Cover: Rick Burchett and Terry Austin

It is a rainy, stormy evening in Smallville, Kansas. Clark Kent is in the kitchen of his parents Jonathan and Martha recounting his latest adventure as Superman. It all started in Metropolis when a quartet of terrorists calling themselves the Holy Brotherhood of Anarchy attacks. They have planted a bomb somewhere in the city. The Man of Steel is able to stop three of the men, but the fourth is carrying a lead box containing Kryptonite. However, as the container is opened, there is a flash of white light. The next thing Superman sees shocks him greatly. Half of downtown Metropolis has been destroyed.

Destruction and horrors assault the Man of Steel's vision. The worst of them all is the sight of Lois Lane's dead body lying in the debris of the Daily Planet building. The distraught Kryptonian cannot believe his eyes. As Superman grieves for Lois, a voice calls to him. It is Mister Mxyzptlk, and Superman believes that the imp from the Fifth Dimension is the cause of this disaster. Mxyzptlk claims that he wants to help the Man of Tomorrow despite the accusations. To prove this, Mxyzptlk makes the world run backwards. Superman may yet get a second chance to save his city and friends.

An Air Force plane, which had crashed into the hull of a natural gas tanker, has been equipped the wrong fuel tank. The commanding officer on the aircraft carrier where the ship had taken off is distracted because his wife is giving birth in a traffic jam caused by an automobile accident. The car's driver swerved and had struck a pole to avoid hitting a boy who had run into the street to get a baseball that he failed to strike with his bat. The lad had been distracted when the Holy Brotherhood of Anarchy's bomb had exploded in the old Metropolis Clock Tower. These events are all part of the domino effect Superman witnesses as the world goes into reverse for him. Mxyzptlk taunts him by telling him that he'll be too late to save Metropolis. The Man of Steel is annoyed by the imp and mispronounces his name. This angers him into saying "Mxyzptlk" forward twice. Why? The city is backwards only for Mxyzptlk and Superman. Everything around them is moving normally. "Mxyzptlk" would become "Kltpzyxm" to the crowds' ears.

Superman returns to the point in which the terrorist had opened the box of Kryptonite. At the same time, the Metropolis Clock Tower's chimes have struck twelve, the hour when the bomb is to go off. Despite his weakness, the Man of Tomorrow knocks out his foe and stops the baseball from rolling into the street. The domino effect has been stopped at the source. He was unable to prevent the clock tower's explosion, but Metropolis is once again safe thanks to Superman, even if he's the only one that knows this.

Story - 5: We seem to be back to the status quo after the previous issue's slump. Granted, Mxyzptlk's motives are not mentioned, but I don't want them explained to me. That would have ruined the story for me. It's perfect as it is. Scott McCloud got back on track with this one. It's fantastic.

Art - 5: It's good to see Rick Burchett doing the interiors after a mediocre fill-in job from Bret Blevins in issue number five. Burchett has a style that is stunning and perfect for Superman Adventures. He always makes me feel like I'm watching a lost episode of the animated series.

Cover Art - 2: Alex Ross has turned me against color saturation with his recent Superman covers, and this just has way too much red for my tastes. This ruins what could possibly be a beautiful image.