Warning! This review contains explicit spoilers for the story of “Action Comics” #975! If you have not read the issue and you still do not know the identity of the mystery Clark Kent, do not read any further.
Unless you don’t mind being spoiled, then go right ahead and read about who Dan Jurgens and Doug Mahnke just created one of the best superhero comics of the year so far.
Written by Dan Jurgens & Paul Dini
Illustrated by Doug Mahnke & Ian Churchill
“SUPERMAN REBORN” part two! Celebrating our 975th issue with a supersize special as another layer of the Superman/Clark Kent mystery is exposed! And in a backup story written by Paul Dini with art by Ian Churchill, learn what it all means for the Son of Superman, who is the prize in a deadly game!
It’s been a mystery that has plagued Superman since the Rebirth of the DC Universe: Who is Clark Kent? Now, if you’ve somehow missed this storyline in “Action Comics”, that sentence must be wild to read. For the uninitiated (which, I don’t know why you’d find out first here in a review for the second part of a crossover, but whatever), ever since Rebirth the Superman that’s been running around is actually the same Superman from before “Flashpoint” thanks to his survival in “Convergence”. He has been living as Clark Smith along with his wife, Lois, and son, Jon, who both survived their original universe being wiped in “Flashpoint”. Thing is, there’s also been a Clark Kent running around Metropolis who has no superpowers, isn’t even Kryptonian and was never Superman.
So what gives? Who is this mystery Clark Kent? Well, his true identity is finally peeled back in this second part of the “Superman: Reborn” crossover by Dan Jurgens and Doug Mahnke. This issue is a perfect reveal issue, designed and paced to slowly let all the pieces fall into place as you get that one crucial piece of the puzzle that was hidden from you as a reader all this time. It’s a pure, eccentric superhero story that emphasises the strengths of both Dan Jurgens and Doug Mahnke as storytellers.
Here’s the rub, though: DC already told you who it is. Now, I don’t want this review to be about how dumb this move was or how it undermines perfectly good storytelling on the parts of Jurgens and Mahnke or what this move symbolises in terms of comics journalism and the industry as a whole. I just want to point out that it was dumb, but that it shouldn’t take away from the craftsmanship on display in this issue.
Let’s get something out of the way, in case you didn’t click that link there: Clark Kent is Mr. Mxyzptlk. I’m sorry for outright spoiling the issue, but DC beat me to it and you were adequately warned. How this came to be is revealed in more detail in a backup story by Paul and Ian Churchill (more on that in a sec), but it’s clear that this is in service of a larger story at play that will unfold beyond this issue. What I want to dig into here if how effectively paced and structured this reveal is in this issue.
Doug Mahnke is the real star of the show here and this issue is perfectly suited to his strengths. Backed up by Jaime Mendoza on inks and Wil Quintana on colours, Mahnke brings this issue to life and crafts a journey that slowly takes the reader down a rabbit hole of Superman mythology. The issue starts off at breakneck speed, with Superman flying Lois through Metropolis at night. Between the first page, a close up of Superman and Lois with background blurred with speed lines, to the double page splash that follows, Mahnke emphasises the urgency of the story to follow while allowing Jurgens to fill in the blanks for the reader.
This is pure copacetic storytelling, both artist and writer using their tools to tell one story by complementing their roles. From there, the issue slows down to an eerie pace as Superman and Lois explore Clark Kent’s deserted apartment. It’s only a couple of pages, but it slows things down enough that Jurgens and Mahnke can set up the mystery proper, throw a couple of new twists to keep the reader guess before the walls of reality come crumbling down.
Continued belowThis is where Mahnke really comes into his own and where Jurgens’ writing is in clear service to his artwork. After a page in which Superman confronts Clark Kent and Mahnke subtly starts shifting the backgrounds, bright colours appearing to contrast the previous dark and neutral palette thanks to Wil Quintana, and a row of vertical panels becoming increasing cramped to accompany the extreme close up shots, Mahnke pulls back for a series of full page panels to highlight some of Superman’s classic villains. The reality shifting nature of the backgrounds combined with the explosion of pastel colours and candy pretty much gives the goat away from the first page, but the gauntlet of villains Mxyzptlk goes through, each more physically intimidating than the last, as well as the constant taunting of Superman to say his name shows this as a much more deadly and threatening Mxyzptlk than we’ve ever seen before.
It’s a masterful showcase in how to structure a reveal that the reader might figure out right from the moment the candy canes start bursting out of the walls, but uses every panel on every page to effectively communicate what this reveal means and how it shapes the rest of the story. It’s hard to get a feel for how the rest of “Superman: Reborn” will play, but this is a huge moment for “Action Comics” and the story being told therein and the reveal, while somewhat jeopardised by DC’s PR, played out like a master stroke.
Dan Jurgens can get a lot of flack for his writing, but I think that this issue proves that when Jurgens writes for an artist and their storytelling syncs up just right and supports each other, he can still make some damn good comics. While the build up to this moment might not have worked all together, this issue, I believe, made it worth it and the strength of storytelling on display shows an earnestness that is very intriguing going into the rest of this crossover and “Action Comics” beyond this.
The main story of this issue is backed up by a short by Paul Dini and Ian Churchill that expands upon the reveal of the main story and gives some context and background as what has changed for Mxyzptlk to bring us to this point. It’s a welcome addition because otherwise the sudden cliffhanger of the main story would have made things feel pretty slight. Thankfully, Dini and Churchill are able to vibe off the weird and wonderful reality warping stuff as well as delve deep into the continuity of the character to provide a lot of excellent context to the reveal of the main story.
All in all, this is a really solid issue. It’s not going to change the world, but it is a showcase of the great craftsmanship going on in “Action Comics” to make this storyline and this reveal in particular work with such effectiveness. While “Superman” gets all the praise for being a more personal, family focused book, Dan Jurgens and a team of great artists have been working away to create a book that embodies the bombast and pure superheroics worthy of the title “Action Comics”.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – This is what superhero comics is all about. Drama, suspense, emotion from earnest storytellers without compromising on fun or silliness.
