The Birth of Lena Luthor
This month was the "death" of Mr. Mxyzptlk and the birth of Lex Luthor's daughter, Lena.
In a comical spoof of the death of Superman, Mr. Mxyzptlk has existential questions about the human experience of death. He magically creates a duplicate of Doomsday to fight the new Superman, but after voluntarily relinquishing his powers in this experiment, he is killed by Doomsday and breaks the 4th wall to briefly meet the "supreme being", then-editor Mike Carlin.
The cover and gatefold last page are both a spoof of Superman #75. Of course, Mr. Mxyzptlk doesn't really die in this issue, but he's also not really seen again in continuity until the Reign of Emperor Joker in the year 2000. This issue was Jon Bodganove's return to the series after 6 months way. I felt this issue squandered a milestone 75th issue for a story in which nothing eventful really happens.
Lex Luthor misses the birth of his child to orchestrate an assassination of Mayor Berkowitz at a press conference. Luthor also arranges for the U.S. Navy to call on Superman to retrieve a fallen LexCorp satellite from the ocean so he won't be around to save the mayor.
In this issue we can a backstory for Lex that would be forgotten in just a few years. Though Lex came from a poor, abusive family, his parents died in an automobile accident and they somehow had $300,000 in life insurance for him to inherit. He was taken in by foster parents who had a daughter named Lena, the only person he ever seemed to truly care about. His foster parents killed Lena when they were trying to use her to force Lex to sign over his inheritance to them. In the end, Luthor keeps the Contessa sedated after she gives birth and names his daughter Lena.
This origin story didn't really make much sense, and it would be abandoned in a few years to align with Luthor's origin on Smallville. Luthor's daughter Lena would eventually be written out of the comics within a couple years, and Lena would go back to having been Luthor's biological sister like she was in pre-Crisis continuity.
Lex Luthor proudly shows his new daughter to Superman, bragging that there will always be a Luthor in Metropolis even after the last Kryptonian is dead. While worrying about his own daughter, Dirk Armstrong tells Clark he doesn't understand him because he's not a father, which also makes Clark feel bad that Superman may never have children. Superman and S.T.A.R. LABS director Burton Thompson hunt for the villain Ripper in the sewers of Metropolis. Superman wants to make sense of the creature's motives, but "the hunter" Burton ends up getting it killed by the Metropolis SCU instead, stating that was the only way it could have ended. At LexCorp, Luthor keeps his wife comatose and regains sole control of his company once again.
Lex Luthor reads his daughter a cautionary tale from Chaucer about the rooster Chanticler and the fox. Like a good villain, Luthor sees himself as the hero and Superman as the fox.
Superman helps the time-lost Legionnaires stop a new version of C.O.M.P.U.T.O, created when Brainiac 5 linked a Mother Box from New Genesis to a responsometer from the Metal Men. Superman asks the Legion of Superheroes if they've ever heard of Lex Luthor, his family, or his accomplishments in the 30th Century, and they admit they have not. The Legion leaves and will actually return to their own time in the 100th issue of their series the following month. After C.O.M.P.U.T.O. conveniently destroys evidence linking Luthor to a crime, he gloats to his daughter Lena that their family name will be revered for centuries.
Jimmy Olsen is still wandering aimlessly with Scorn, Ashbury, and Misa. And Mayor Berkowitz's daughters reconnect after their father's assassination, the first we've really seen of the mayor's family since way back in Action Comics #594.
In the late 90's, DC started a Secret Files & Origins line for the main titles. While originally intended to be annuals, their publication would be sporadic over the years. Four issues of Superman: Secret Files and Origins would be published in 1998, 1999, 2004, and 2006.
The main story leads the reader to believe that Clark's college roommate is close to figuring out Superman's secret identity, and goes to visit the Kents in Smallville to be certain. It turns out, this was really just Batman in disguise trying to find out how and from whom Superman got his values. At the end, Clark and Bruce sit down to discuss their differences over tea in the Bat Cave.
We get a back-up story of some apparently discarded pages of the Justice League fighting crime in Metropolis while Superman was on his honeymoon. Then we get a one-page gag of the Kents on their honeymoon that's just panel after panel of the "do not disturb" sign on their hotel door in between their arrival and departure. A similar gag was used in an issue of the Incredible Hulk when Rick Jones was on his honeymoon. The rest of the book is the usual format of these Secret Files issues, which were mostly character biographies. We also get a post-Crisis chronology of events, and a preview of the Millennium Giants. Artwork from next month's Superman Red/Superman Blue story is featured without any context.
Superman: The Man of Steel #75
The cover and gatefold last page are both a spoof of Superman #75. Of course, Mr. Mxyzptlk doesn't really die in this issue, but he's also not really seen again in continuity until the Reign of Emperor Joker in the year 2000. This issue was Jon Bodganove's return to the series after 6 months way. I felt this issue squandered a milestone 75th issue for a story in which nothing eventful really happens.
Superman #131
In this issue we can a backstory for Lex that would be forgotten in just a few years. Though Lex came from a poor, abusive family, his parents died in an automobile accident and they somehow had $300,000 in life insurance for him to inherit. He was taken in by foster parents who had a daughter named Lena, the only person he ever seemed to truly care about. His foster parents killed Lena when they were trying to use her to force Lex to sign over his inheritance to them. In the end, Luthor keeps the Contessa sedated after she gives birth and names his daughter Lena.
This origin story didn't really make much sense, and it would be abandoned in a few years to align with Luthor's origin on Smallville. Luthor's daughter Lena would eventually be written out of the comics within a couple years, and Lena would go back to having been Luthor's biological sister like she was in pre-Crisis continuity.
Adventures of Superman #554
Action Comics #741
Superman helps the time-lost Legionnaires stop a new version of C.O.M.P.U.T.O, created when Brainiac 5 linked a Mother Box from New Genesis to a responsometer from the Metal Men. Superman asks the Legion of Superheroes if they've ever heard of Lex Luthor, his family, or his accomplishments in the 30th Century, and they admit they have not. The Legion leaves and will actually return to their own time in the 100th issue of their series the following month. After C.O.M.P.U.T.O. conveniently destroys evidence linking Luthor to a crime, he gloats to his daughter Lena that their family name will be revered for centuries.
Jimmy Olsen is still wandering aimlessly with Scorn, Ashbury, and Misa. And Mayor Berkowitz's daughters reconnect after their father's assassination, the first we've really seen of the mayor's family since way back in Action Comics #594.
Superman: Secret Files & Origins #1
The main story leads the reader to believe that Clark's college roommate is close to figuring out Superman's secret identity, and goes to visit the Kents in Smallville to be certain. It turns out, this was really just Batman in disguise trying to find out how and from whom Superman got his values. At the end, Clark and Bruce sit down to discuss their differences over tea in the Bat Cave.
We get a back-up story of some apparently discarded pages of the Justice League fighting crime in Metropolis while Superman was on his honeymoon. Then we get a one-page gag of the Kents on their honeymoon that's just panel after panel of the "do not disturb" sign on their hotel door in between their arrival and departure. A similar gag was used in an issue of the Incredible Hulk when Rick Jones was on his honeymoon. The rest of the book is the usual format of these Secret Files issues, which were mostly character biographies. We also get a post-Crisis chronology of events, and a preview of the Millennium Giants. Artwork from next month's Superman Red/Superman Blue story is featured without any context.
Comments
Post a Comment