We
begin with Superboy Prime having a private moment by the
grave/memorial of Bart Allen/The Flash. He mentions, in
regard to Bart, that "He never stopped being a boy." We get
right there that Superboy Prime now believes he himself has
become a man.
Without
any further ado the now-Superman Prime is ambushed (I
use the term, but he actually indicates "I've been waiting
to see you again" and doesn't seem the least bit wary) by
the combined forces of the JLA, JSA, Outsiders, Titans...
yeah, pretty much the whole DCU.
We get
fragments of what's going on here and there in this DCU vs.
Superman Prime sequence. In one, Wally West and Jay Garrick
take him on and Prime reminds us, "I d-don't like
speedsters." In one panel we also see Fire and Ice reunited
in battle, cutting loose on the villain.
In one
humorous moment (and in saying "humorous," does this say
something about pop culture and perhaps my upbringing?),
Superman Prime rips the remaining arm off of Risk, whom he'd
originally ripped the other arm off of during Infinite
Crisis.
Like the
Cyborg Superman special, this one takes us back in time to
Superman Prime's humble beginnings. First we see bits of his
childhood on Earth Prime, reading comics -- and actual comic
books... we see young Superboy Prime holding Green Lantern,
Vol. 2 #163 in his hands, also copies of The Flash and
Action Comics. Earth Prime is (well, was... it went blooie
in the original Crisis, and as far as we know isn't among
the new 52 universes) pretty much meant to be our Earth...
on this planet, Superman, the JLA, the Green Lantern Corps
aren't buzzing around the skies, but rather can be found in
comic books and mainstream entertainment.
No
superheroes, that is, except for Superman Prime. Geoff Johns
does a good job of taking the origin story from "DC Comics
Presents" #87 from 1985 while adding bits to it that we
didn't get back then. The only continuity alarm that goes
off -- and it's probably picking at nits (and it seems like
it was done on purpose, for symmetry with the end of the
issue where he's also shirtless, which is reasonable) -- is
on Superboy Prime's original flight, he's wearing his full
Superboy costume in the "DC Comics Presents" story... here
he's shirtless.
More
importantly, we learn Superman Prime's agenda, and why he's
cool with the Anti-Monitor suddenly. I'd been under the
assumption that the Anti-Monitor in the Sinestro Corps was
actually a new Anti-Monitor borne of the coming of the 52...
so Superman Prime wouldn't have a problem with him, since it
wasn't this Anti-Monitor that destroyed his world. As
it turns out, though, it's the same Anti-Monitor, and in a
visually awesome scene we even see his new armor/suit
getting built by Henshaw's Manhunters.
"I wanted
to tear him apart then and there for what he'd done, but
this was my chance to get back at Earth," we learn. "And
when the Sinestro Corps rules it all, when the
Anti-Monitor's dreams are about to come true like mine
were -- I'll make him bow to me."
So there
you have it. It's as good of an explanation as any, and
consistent with Superman Prime's general teen angst-ish
modus operandi.
Another
humorous scene in the present with Supergirl and Power Girl
directing their heat vision near his crotch. Power Girl
remarks, "... I'll use my heat vision to turn you into Supergirl-Prime."
One thing
that was disappointing was what potentially could be the
last we see of the Cyborg Superman being thrown down,
defeated by an unseen enemy. I hope this is only an
indicator of a proper fight we'll see in a future issue.
As the
mob of superheroes continue to try and subdue
Superman Prime as the clock nears closer and closer to
sunrise, at which time Superman Prime will become exposed to
the yellow sunlight and become repowered to full strength
and pretty much unstoppable. It's to no avail... sunrise
hits his reaching hand and he's back. Shooting into the sky
above New York... as we end the issue on the events of the
last page of Green Lantern Corps #17, with Superman Prime
about to take on Sodam Yat/Ion.
Very
entertaining issue and gives us exactly what we were waiting
for with Superman Prime action, which is served up here in
good doses. There's also the mandatory retelling of Superboy
Prime's origin, but here Johns did manage to not just
recreate it but also add his own touch to it and take us
back even further than the DC Comics Presents story took us.
Real pleased with this.
