Next up for the month is a character who’s been an ally and
villain to Superman: The Eradicator. The Eradicator has a long history and has
been revamped a few times in the comics, so I’m going to keep it simple. It started
out as a Kryptonian device and it was created to preserve Krypton’s culture by any means.
When Superman found it, it tried to brainwash him. Later, it created its own
body and tried to make Earth into Krypton. It wasn’t until “Reign of the
Supermen” where it started to become a hero. Since then, it’s been back and
forth between ally and villain.
The version I’m talking about today, though, is the New
52/Rebirth version. In this era, the Eradicator was an android created by
General Zod to capture law breakers and capture their life force. It first
showed up in Supergirl and how it’s in the first arc of the new Superman
series. To make the story short, the New 52 Superman died, so this Superman (a
Pre-Flashpoint version from another Earth) took his place. It’d be tough to
explain it especially since most of what I said is now irrelevant after
“Superman Reborn.” All you gotta know for now is that this Superman is married
to another Lois Lane and they have a son named Jonathan. They’re also going by
“Smith” instead of “Kent.” Confused yet?
The first six issues of Superman had its story handled by Peter
J. Tomasi and Patrick Gleason. These two aren’t strangers to superheroes with
kids since they worked on Batman and Robin a few years back. Patrick Gleason
also provided pencils for most of the issues. The other pencils were handled by
Jorge Jimenez and Doug Mahnke.
Superman #1-6
Story: Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason
Pencils: Patrick Gleason (1, 2, 4, 6), Jorge Jimenez (3),
and Doug Mahnke (5)
Inks: Mick Gray (1, 2, 4, 6), Jorge Jimenez (3), and Jamie
Mendoza (5)
Colors: John Kalisz (1,2,4,6), Alejandro Sanchez (3), and
Wil Quintana (5)
Letters: Rob Leigh
Editors: Eddie Berganza and Andrew Marino
SYNOPSIS
We start the series off the Kents/Smiths living life in
Hamilton County, just north of Metropolis. Clark is back to a red and blue
suit. Jonathan now knows the truth and is even starting to exhibit powers of
his own. Problems do occur when Jon accidentally heat visions the family
cat, Goldie. During dinner, Jon doesn’t tell his parents about it and he even
gets a little testy too. He gets sent to his room where he later sees his dad,
Batman, and Wonder Woman meeting outside. A minute later, Superman comes up to
get Jon for something.
I don't know why, but I hear some "90's Sitcom Music" in the distance.
That something is a submarine in the Arctic that needs help.
It turns out that a powerful cyber-octopus attacked it. The octopus then
attacks the Supers. Superman gets Jon to use his powers (and debut his costume)
to defeat the creature. Afterwards, Jon tells Clark about Goldie and the two
bond. They and Lois bury the cat later. All seems to go well until Jon passes
out in front of his new friend, Kathy. The Kents/Smiths realize the only place
that can really inspect Jon is the Fortress of Solitude. When they reach the
fortress, they just don’t find Krypto, they also find the Eradicator (who was
summoned during the battle) waiting for Superman.
Liking the new look, sir.
Superman knows all about the Eradicator and attacks him. The
fight does stop when the Eradicator saves Jon and Lois from debris. Clark then
decides to hear the being out. It was summoned to protect the last of Krypton.
When it scans Jon, it finds out that he’s half-human. The Eradicator’s
“douchebag mode” kicks in and believes Jon to be inferior because of his human
heritage. He tries to eradicate him like he has done to others, but Krypto gets
in the way and is eradicated. the fight begins anew and Jon is one ticked off
boy.
They both fight the Eradicator and bust its shell. This
somehow teleports them to Metropolis. It turns out that a small piece of
Kryptonite brought them there. The souls in the Eradicator are released and
they’re able to interact with Superman. It turns out they are the souls that
died when Krypton exploded. Before Superman can learn more, The Eradicator
absorbs them back in. Their fight begins once again. In order to protect the
city, Superman decides to take Lois and Jon to the Batman’s cave on the
moon… You know Batman has to have a Batcave on the Moon!
Sweet.
The family try to catch their bearings before the Eradicator
shows up. Superman tries to take him on but he ends up getting absorbed just
like Krypto. Jon does what he can and Lois uses Batman’s HellBat armor to take
it on. With the spirits’ help, Superman is able to escape the Eradicator’s body
and take spirits with him. He even gets Krypto out and this weakens the
Eradicator. After all of that, Superman is finally able to take the being down. Krypton's spirits leave as well.
In the aftermath, Superman is congratulated for keeps Metropolis safe. The whole world knows about the battle, so
they know that Superman’s back. At home, Clark talks to Jon about helping him
get accustomed to this new superhero life. Clark also brings up the always-awesome secret
identity and gives the boy some glasses. Afterwards, he takes Jon to the JL
Watchtower and introduces Batman and Wonder Woman to the new Superboy.
Batman: You idiots wrecked my cave! I know Lois looked awesome in my HellBat armor, but still! How's that reporter's salary, Kent?
OPINION
I thought this was a nice story. We get the familiar as well as some new stuff. That’s what the Rebirth phase has been all about and it’s still going strong for me. For those
who didn’t read Dan Jurgens’ Superman: Lois and Clark, this reintroduces us to
the new Kents… Whites, Smiths, whatever. The story is about family and everybody
gets their moments to shine. Of course, Superman’s doing his thing and Lois
gets to do more than be an innocent bystander. Jon Kent was also pretty cool.
He’s literally a Superboy-in-training. Even the family dog (Krypto) gets to
chime in. It does make me wonder where that other Superboy is, though. I hope
he hasn’t been forgotten about.
Yeah, it's silly and awesome at the same time.
It was pretty nice to see elements like Batman’s
MoonCave and that HellBat armor come into play. It was even nice we got Bibbo
thrown in for good measure. While he/it was a bit one-note, The Eradicator was
pretty cool here. He was pretty much in the role of the Terminator here. I hope
I’m not the only one who saw that. I liked the updated look and the updated
origin. Even though he’s a little different from his previous incarnations, its strict obedience to what it thinks Krypton should be is still there. They even connected him to another
Superman villain who got to show up this month and that was interesting.
The artwork was pretty good overall. Patrick Gleason isn’t
one of my faves, but he does put in good work. Jimenez and Mahnke also looked
pretty good with their fill-ins. The family moments look great and the action
is pretty good. The designs for Superboy and the Eradicator were also pretty
good. Even Superman’s updated suit (not missing the trunks but the red boots
are needed) looks good.
"Giant holes are what you make,
Wreckin' on the moon,
I hope your leg won't break,
Wreckin' on the moon"
There really isn’t much wrong with this one. As I said
above, the Eradicator can been pretty one-note. Also, it does kind of drag in
the middle a bit. It pretty much becomes “Fight Club” after the third issue.
That’s not a bad thing, but the fighting can get a little repetitive. Other
than that stuff and maybe a couple of nitpicks, this was good. It’s a series
that’s still going strong.
The Eradicator isn’t one of my favorite villains but he’s
not that bad. In the Post-Crisis, it had a “Make Krypton Great Again” motif
that went to the extreme. We still got that with this version. At least we did
get to see a more heroic version of the character later in the Post-Crisis era.
Well, that’s another one done. Next time will be a look at a pretty obscure
character and team from the early 2000’s: The Elite. Until then, Peace, God
Bless, and keep those 10 year-olds in line.
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