Action Comics #1033: The Rising Storm

The past few issues of Action Comics have brought the world to a dangerous place, as a Warzoon ship harboring Warworld slaves crashed on Earth… and into the ocean. The passengers, escaped slaves, were injured and brought to the Fortress of Solitude to recover. Meanwhile, the ship’s ruins were claimed by Atlantis… despite the objections of the US Military.

That conflict continues in Action Comics 1033. As “Warwold Rising Part 4” opens, two agents of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X sneak onto the submerged ship to investigate its mysterious power source, called a Genesis Fragment. This trespass sparks hostilities between Atlantis and the US Government, bringing the two nations to the brink of an armed conflict.

It’s an awkward situation for the Justice League to find themselves drawn into the center of, and each member’s different personalities and priorities make this an even more complicated nut to crack…

But that’s just the beginning. Because one of the refugees, Thao-La, has developed Kryptonian-like abilities – abilities that could make her dangerous as she wrestles with confusion, culture shock… and something else.

It’s not an exaggeration to say Action Comics is currently one of the best titles running. The book itself feels like one of those days when a massive storm is brewing, and the sky is cloudy and grey, but the air feels thick and eerily still. And you can hear thunder in the distance – if you look up at the right time, there are flashes of lightning hidden deep inside the clouds. You’re getting weather alerts, and the animals are starting to hide, but the storm hasn’t hit yet so you’re still hoping it will pass by before it finally breaks open, but every moment you’re more aware that it almost certainly won’t.

This issue, the thunder is closer, and the lightning is starting to break free from those clouds. By the end, the rain is rolling in… but the darkest clouds are still ahead, and you can only hope that, in the end, the winds won’t blow your house away.

From writing and art to coloring, lettering, and beyond there’s not a sour note to be found. I keep saying this, but I’d love to see Johnson take on a team title one day. It’s all too easy to fall into a trap with teams where the characters blend and lose their individuality, but I just don’t anticipate that ever happening with Johnson. But that’s a wish for another day.

Daniel Sampere is just the ideal interpreter for this story – his work is epic, graceful, and just beautiful. I can’t say enough about the majesty he brings to these larger-than-life characters – I’ve raved about his Clark in particular in the past but I’m going to do it again because Sampere’s Clark just embodies the essence of “Superman.” He is this godlike figure but despite his power and stature, he radiates calm. There is a moment where Thao-La describes Superman which I will not quote because you should read it for yourself in context, but that bit – her perception of Clark – is reflected to perfection in Sampere’s interpretation.

Adriano Lucas’s contributions can’t be underestimated or overstated here, either – the cool, subtle tones lend an air of serenity to much of the issue, but it can shift just as easily to oppressive reds and golds that spark like embers. But it’s not just about the large strokes – the epic of it all. The aforementioned Thao-La sequence is intensely emotional, delicate, and heartbreaking.

My heart is broken and I blame this team.

Moving on, we return to the Midnighter backup by the usual (and wonderful) suspects, Cloonan, Conrad, and Oeming. When last we were here, increasingly unhinged tech billionaire cyborg Andrej Trojan (2021 version) had ordered Shiloh Norman, the new Mr. Miracle, executed. Meanwhile, Midnighter (internally accompanied by Andrej Trojan – 2030ish version) has been working to prevent Trojan from achieving his goal of turning humanity into machines… and hopefully to free himself from a causal loop that has been plaguing him since the first backup issue.

Now, this is a fairly complicated story and if I’m being honest, it can be a bit difficult to keep track of at a rate of 10 pages per month. So, I decided to reread the entire story starting in FS: Superman Worlds of War and going through the backups to date. Now that I feel situated, I have concluded that Andrej Trojan is a self-created sociopath. By largely eliminating his human emotions he has manufactured his own madness.

Interestingly, Midnighter himself is part AI. What differentiates him from Trojan, however, is that he has chosen to prioritize the retention of his humanity, his emotions, his empathy (such as it is). This part of him, often represented here by his bond with Apollo, has been endangered by his flirtation with Trojan’s technology as Trojan continuously tests and calls it into question. Trojan is a bit of a “there but for the grace of God go I” style villain for Midnighter, basically – a reminder of how far astray he could go if he allowed his humanity to be consumed.

It’s interesting stuff, but unfortunately, Trojan’s rapidly escalating monstrousness hasn’t stopped me from finding him oddly adorable as depicted by Michael Avon Oeming. I don’t know, he just has an adorable face, don’t question it, let me live!

We’re rapidly approaching the concluding chapter of this series – the full-sized annual. I can’t wait, but I’d also love to see the same team have a go at a longer, more expansive story with a higher page count where they can really stretch. Midnighter (and Apollo) deserve a long-term home, my friends, and this team deserves the chance to bring it to them.