2nd All-New Issue
The second month of post-Crisis Superman, and things really start to take off.
The secret revealed! Clark Kent is Superman!
To today's readers, Superman #2's pixilated cover doesn't seem that modern. The teaser cover showing Lex Luthor discovering Superman's secret identity seems more like the kind of thing that was prevalent in pre-Crisis stories, but the interior was definitely a depiction of Luthor that hadn't been seen before. The cover wants you to think that this issue is a game changer in the relationship between Superman and Lex Luthor, and it is.
After abducting Metallo in the previous issue, Lex Luthor heartlessly removes his kryptonite heart. This Lex is ruthless, going to any lengths in his quest to destroy the Man of Steel. Acting on his suspicion about a connection between Clark Kent and Superman, he sends henchmen to Smallville to rob the Kent's house, and kidnaps and tortures Lana Lang. An enraged Superman bursts into Luthor's office only to discover Lex now protects himself with a ring made of kryptonite. Post-Crisis Lex Luthor takes evil to a new level, bragging about the things he's done, not caring if Superman knows, and gloating that Superman can't convict him. After Superman leaves, Lex goes over the data from Ma Kent's stolen scrapbook (an item we would see more of later), yet when confronted with the logical conclusion that Clark Kent is likely Superman, he dismisses it completely. Lex reasons that a being possessing that much power would never pretend to be a mere human, and his arrogance prevents him from revisiting this possibility for the rest of the post-Crisis era.
This issue was reprinted in the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told volume 2, but it could easily be the greatest Lex Luthor story ever told. Luthor had seen many different interpretations over the years, but this took him beyond ordinary comic book villainy. Pre-Crisis Luthor was routinely arrested after a failed heist or scheme and would have to break out of jail for the next episode. Post-Crisis Luthor acted with impunity, seriously threatening Superman's loved ones and making the reader question if a god-like being had met his match in an ordinary mortal empowered solely by his moral depravity. Pre-Crisis Luthor's aspirations of world domination were unrelatable to most people, but the way this Donald Trump-like Luthor casually mistreats people without remorse is too close to the capacity for evil lurking in all of us. Superman is the perfect model of goodness that nobody could ever hope to be, but Lex Luthor is the absolute evil that anybody could easily become.
Superman defeats the Freedom League's machines, but the entire crew kills themselves in the fight so he learns nothing about them or their motives. The main focus on this issue is on the sad story of Professor Emil Hamilton, who was swindled out of his invention by Lex Luthor and just wants to show it to the world. Luthor secretly funds Hamilton's research through a subsidiary, just so he can frame the inventor for a death when he's testing his force field generator on a human. The story kind of goes off the rails when Professor Hamilton decides to take an innocent woman hostage so he can prove his devices in a fight with the Man of Steel. The mad scientists is, of course, sent to jail at the end of the story where, as throughout the issue, nobody will listen to his story.
After this incident, it seems strange that Professor Hamilton would become a semi-regular cast member, not as a villain but as an ally to the Man of Steel. Unfortunately, the more interesting sub-plot of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor isn't picked up again in this issue.
This issue is a straight-forward, albeit forgettable, team-up with the Phantom Stranger. The timing is a little odd because the Phantom Stranger is a major player in the Legends cross-over going on in the DC universe at this same time, yet there's no mention of any of that here. Unlike the previous issue, this one does set a precedent for post-Crisis Superman by giving him his first exposure to one of his lesser-known weaknesses, magic. None of Superman's supporting cast appears at all.
A lot was happening in DC comics right now. George Perez just released Wonder Woman #1 and Frank Miller was just starting Batman: Year One this same month. The Justice League of America was nearing its last days and would see a new post-Legends team and series in a couple months. The Legends crossover was still raging throughout the DC universe and would hit the Superman titles next month.
Superman #2
To today's readers, Superman #2's pixilated cover doesn't seem that modern. The teaser cover showing Lex Luthor discovering Superman's secret identity seems more like the kind of thing that was prevalent in pre-Crisis stories, but the interior was definitely a depiction of Luthor that hadn't been seen before. The cover wants you to think that this issue is a game changer in the relationship between Superman and Lex Luthor, and it is.
After abducting Metallo in the previous issue, Lex Luthor heartlessly removes his kryptonite heart. This Lex is ruthless, going to any lengths in his quest to destroy the Man of Steel. Acting on his suspicion about a connection between Clark Kent and Superman, he sends henchmen to Smallville to rob the Kent's house, and kidnaps and tortures Lana Lang. An enraged Superman bursts into Luthor's office only to discover Lex now protects himself with a ring made of kryptonite. Post-Crisis Lex Luthor takes evil to a new level, bragging about the things he's done, not caring if Superman knows, and gloating that Superman can't convict him. After Superman leaves, Lex goes over the data from Ma Kent's stolen scrapbook (an item we would see more of later), yet when confronted with the logical conclusion that Clark Kent is likely Superman, he dismisses it completely. Lex reasons that a being possessing that much power would never pretend to be a mere human, and his arrogance prevents him from revisiting this possibility for the rest of the post-Crisis era.
This issue was reprinted in the Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told volume 2, but it could easily be the greatest Lex Luthor story ever told. Luthor had seen many different interpretations over the years, but this took him beyond ordinary comic book villainy. Pre-Crisis Luthor was routinely arrested after a failed heist or scheme and would have to break out of jail for the next episode. Post-Crisis Luthor acted with impunity, seriously threatening Superman's loved ones and making the reader question if a god-like being had met his match in an ordinary mortal empowered solely by his moral depravity. Pre-Crisis Luthor's aspirations of world domination were unrelatable to most people, but the way this Donald Trump-like Luthor casually mistreats people without remorse is too close to the capacity for evil lurking in all of us. Superman is the perfect model of goodness that nobody could ever hope to be, but Lex Luthor is the absolute evil that anybody could easily become.
Adventures of Superman #425
After this incident, it seems strange that Professor Hamilton would become a semi-regular cast member, not as a villain but as an ally to the Man of Steel. Unfortunately, the more interesting sub-plot of Lois Lane and Lex Luthor isn't picked up again in this issue.
Action Comics #585
A lot was happening in DC comics right now. George Perez just released Wonder Woman #1 and Frank Miller was just starting Batman: Year One this same month. The Justice League of America was nearing its last days and would see a new post-Legends team and series in a couple months. The Legends crossover was still raging throughout the DC universe and would hit the Superman titles next month.
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