New and Old Villains
Superman meets one of his first new post-Crisis villains, and also fights other people's villains.
Superman battles the Fearsome Five, but at the cost of missing Ma and Pa Ken's 49th anniversary party. Superman continues to question whether he can continue living a double life, and has a heart to heart talk with his father.
In an early display of tight continuity, we flash back to Superman's team up with the Green Lantern Corp in last month's Action Comics and his fight with Rampage in this month's issue of Superman. And yet, Marv Wolfman's run almost doesn't seem to be taking place in the same universe as John Byrne's. Rather than obsessing over Wonder Woman or Lois, Clark seems to be leaning towards Cat Grant. The Fearsome Five were a team of villains Wolfman created in his first New Teen Titans series, now with 2 new members who would later be revealed as members of "the circle", the mysterious aliens Superman has been meeting in this series.
As reporters seemed to do at this time, Clark Ken and Lois Lane (appearing in Action Comics for the first time since the reboot) tour a chemical factory and Clark accidentally falls into a giant vat of chemicals. It turns out to be the remains of Chemo, a villain who was destroyed in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Chemo absorbs some dead skin cells from the Man of Steel and acquires Superman-like powers. The mindless monster attacks the robotic Metal Men who destroy him again with the help of Superman. Tin is destroyed in the fight and their creator, Dr. Will Magnus, heartlessly refuses to re-build him.
You could be forgiven for not knowing that Chemo was originally a Metal Men villain. The Metal Men was always a silly book in the DC universe, whereas Chemo is known more for being a mass-murdering, city-destroying threat in the greater DC universe. The book flashes back to his destruction in the Crisis, referencing the now-dead multiverse and other Earths, something that editorial would start to ban as early as the very next issue. It was totally unnecessary to explain how Chemo survived the destruction of the multiverse and made his way to the new Earth anyway. Despite directly acknowledging the Crisis, this book shows the post-Crisis era is still being defined.
Superman #7
Lois Lane is covering a story at an experimental energy laboratory when there's an accident and the lab explodes. Superman rushes to the scene to encounter a brand new post-Crisis villain, Rampage! At first, Superman is told incorrectly that Lois Lane has transformed into the angry, rampaging hulk, but he soon discovers it's really one of the scientists, Dr. Kitty Faulkner, in her first appearance. Superman absorbs the energy from Kitty's body and turns her back to normal, he then disappears to safely discharge it.
Elsewhere, Golden Age detective Dan Turpin makes his first post-Crisis appearance, joining Maggie Sawyer's Special Crimes Unit. Superman is still trying to re-connect with Wonder Woman. And Clark Kent is rude to a co-worker named Alice, a supporing character who would become more prominent in the first act of the post-Crisis era when it's revealed that she's secretly homeless.
Fans who feared John Byrne "marvelizing" Superman had reason to worry with this unashamed knock-off of the Incredible Hulk. Byrne's run starts to look more like a Marvel comic, but there's still some variety to choose from in this period.
Adventures of Superman #430
In an early display of tight continuity, we flash back to Superman's team up with the Green Lantern Corp in last month's Action Comics and his fight with Rampage in this month's issue of Superman. And yet, Marv Wolfman's run almost doesn't seem to be taking place in the same universe as John Byrne's. Rather than obsessing over Wonder Woman or Lois, Clark seems to be leaning towards Cat Grant. The Fearsome Five were a team of villains Wolfman created in his first New Teen Titans series, now with 2 new members who would later be revealed as members of "the circle", the mysterious aliens Superman has been meeting in this series.
Action Comics #590
As reporters seemed to do at this time, Clark Ken and Lois Lane (appearing in Action Comics for the first time since the reboot) tour a chemical factory and Clark accidentally falls into a giant vat of chemicals. It turns out to be the remains of Chemo, a villain who was destroyed in the Crisis on Infinite Earths. Chemo absorbs some dead skin cells from the Man of Steel and acquires Superman-like powers. The mindless monster attacks the robotic Metal Men who destroy him again with the help of Superman. Tin is destroyed in the fight and their creator, Dr. Will Magnus, heartlessly refuses to re-build him.You could be forgiven for not knowing that Chemo was originally a Metal Men villain. The Metal Men was always a silly book in the DC universe, whereas Chemo is known more for being a mass-murdering, city-destroying threat in the greater DC universe. The book flashes back to his destruction in the Crisis, referencing the now-dead multiverse and other Earths, something that editorial would start to ban as early as the very next issue. It was totally unnecessary to explain how Chemo survived the destruction of the multiverse and made his way to the new Earth anyway. Despite directly acknowledging the Crisis, this book shows the post-Crisis era is still being defined.
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