Action Comics #1053: Death to the House of El!

Action #1053 – Main Story

Action Comics has taken on a Herculean task with its current status quo.

For starters, the book is an all-encompassing Super-family title, giving it an extensive roster and very little time to develop every member of the Super-Family equally. It has the job of reintroducing Steelworks, exploring the relationship between Clark, Lois, John, and the Super-Twins, building upon the world and lore of Metropolis, staying in line with the rest of the Superman line, and designing a narrative that is both bombastic as well as socially relevant with its use of a once hokey-supervillain, Metallo. The first two issues of this new status-quo for Action have done a great job of juggling all of this with cohesion, utilizing every page to tell a character-focused story packed with narrative weight and emotional resonance. With this in mind, it’s shocking that Action Comics #1053 manages to exceed a standard of quality that was already golden.

This issue opens with John Henry Irons, A.K.A Steel, writing up his nightly ‘Steelworks Log’ as he heads home from work. He was subsequently ambushed by members of Blue Earth, who had been abducted by Metallo and transformed into monstrous drones that he now pilots. This action seen is momentous and action-packed. While the Super-Family successfully stops them, it’s not without sacrifice. Kara (Supergirl) is injured, and Metallo declares war on the Super family. From there, the plot jumps between Clark and Lex, Metallo, Jon Kent, and the Super Twins to interweave significant plot and character developments together without stretching the story thin.

Starting with the art, Rafa Sandoval is leaving a stamp on Superman with his art that blends the realistic with the fantastical in beautiful ways. His ‘face’ work is super expressive, bringing the script to life alongside form and background work that instantly imbues the story with a grounded atmosphere. Metallo’s monstrous new form but deeply human bodily expressions bring so much to the story that I couldn’t imagine anyone but Sandoval illustrating this story. Matt Herms is also on fire with his coloring work.

Due to the number of characters in this book, the pages are choked with either a lot of panels or a small number of panels with a lot going on in them, and in both instances, the pages are easily readable and clear. In a sea of books with enough stilted panel work, floating heads, and blank panels, Sandoval should be commended for how much work goes into saving time with his creative page layouts and commitment to scenery and backgrounds.

This book has some significant plot upsets, diving into the mystery behind whom Metallo is truly taking orders from. His character’s relationship with violence and his relationship with his sister is also momentarily fleshed out. His growing insanity, coupled with his new body-horror approach, has made for a villain that is both sympathetic and downright terrifying.

Almost simultaneously, from a plot perspective, Clark blasts over to pay Lex a visit in prison to get some answers on Metallo’s streak of violence. The scene provides a neat continuity between this title and the plot happening in Superman. This scene also fleshes out the kinks in their new kind of work partner, the status quo. While going into the story reveals would contain spoilers too big to ruin, the fact that they all stem directly from the characters and their dynamics makes Kennedy’s run on Superman so superb. He gets the importance of morality and philosophy relative to one’s humanity as an essential factor in making the big blue boy scout so enjoyable.

Action Comics #1053 is rife with that level of narrative care, especially in its big ending salvo with Jon and The Super-Twins. Kennedy is doing significant work to mature Jon’s relationship with his lost childhood. A conversation between him and Osul-Ra happens when he catches on to the less-than-subtle resentment he holds for the Twins about them having the childhood he never had. However, his mature recognition of what this means for him as an older brother was astoundingly written and heartfelt. It’s reconnecting Jon to his family, and while we may not be seeing the child’s return, Jon, anytime soon, maturing and giving him this new role within his family is the next best choice.

This issue ends on a massive cliffhanger that promises to drive the arc’s themes about the root and morality of extremism. This series continues to be a perfect storm of bombastic superhero action, beautiful art, and poignant characterization.

The Backups

Both backups have been doing an excellent job in what they are trying to accomplish, but both have their limits in one way or another.

While the third entry into Dan Jurgen’s retroactive story ‘Home Again’ is well constructed and wonderfully rendered by the art duo of Lee Weeks and Elizabeth Breitweiser, its narrative isn’t working well with its slim page count for every issue. It’s nearly detrimental to the core plot. Each chapter, including this one, hasn’t had enough in them to make each one feel rewarding or full of substance. That being said, there is a lot to enjoy about this backup series. From seeing younger Jon again to the art, it’s a warm revisit to a bygone era.

On the other hand, the Powergirl backup, ‘Head like a Whole Part 3,‘ is designed to be a backup; each chapter is written with enough substance to stand on its while still working in a serialized format but is certainly niche with its plot about her developing new abilities and using them to explore the minds of fellow DC members and heal their mental wounds. Leah Williams & Marguerite Sauvage are doing a bang-up job in giving Power Girl something new and different to do in a universe full of characters with the same stereotype.

Both backups have audiences that aren’t for me but, to the book’s credit, offer a diverse selection of Super-family stories.