Next up for the month is another lady who was once a love
interest for Clark: Catherine ‘Cat’ Grant. I thought I was done with this
section, but nah! I even got another love coming in a couple of days. Anyway,
Cat Grant first appeared in The Adventures of Superman #424. She was the gossip columnist at the Daily Planet. She and Clark even dated in those days, but they
only stayed as friends. She would be a supporting character in the books for
years. She even had a son named Adam, who unfortunately met his fate at the
hands of Toyman. Yeah, they killed one of Superman’s supporting character’s child in the 90’s.
Cat did disappear from the books in the 2000’s for a bit.
She was brought back during Geoff Johns’ run of Action Comics and even featured
in Supergirl at that time. She’s been retooled in the New 52 and the Rebirth
era. As for other media, Cat was in the first season of Lois and Clark: the New
Adventures of Superman… eh. Then, she appeared in the last season of Smallville
for a couple of episodes… eh. Lately, she was a supporting character on the TV
show, Supergirl… well, the third time’s the charm! Yeah, Cat hasn’t been done
well when it comes to live-action. As for the animated side, she’s been seen
here and there but only in spots.
Today’s issue won’t be her first appearance, but it will be
the first issue that centered on her. It’s The Adventures of Superman #429. The
writer is Marv Wolfman. Alongside John Byrne, he helped shape what the
post-Crisis Superman would be like even though he wasn’t around for long (about
13 issues). Jerry Ordway handled the pencils and inks. So, what happens when
Clark and Cat go on a weekend getaway?
The Adventures of Superman #429
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Art: Jerry Ordway
Colors: Albert DeGuzman
Letters: Tom Ziuko
Editor: Andy Helfer and Mike Carlin
“Old Ties”
It’s a sunny day in Metropolis but you know things aren’t
all that great. An airplane containing 195 passengers is about to crash into
the city, so Superman has to do his thing and save everyone. Luckily, he’s able
to get the plane to crash safely into the bay. Meanwhile, an group known as The
Circle is meeting in a building. They have a big hate for Superman since his
actions led to the death of someone named Prana (check out ADV #427 for that). One
of the members, Sthula, decides to be the first to go after Superman. He ends
up calling himself Concussion and the Circle disperses into the city disguised
as humans.
Judging by this image, it looks like the Gray Hulk has gone to the Middle East to find Allah.
Meanwhile, Superman makes it home to his apartment where
finds Cat Grant packing up some things. Since she’s wanting a break from it
all, she’s roped Clark into going out of town to the mountains. They start out
having a nice time and they even get a kiss in. Unfortunately, things do sour
when Cat hears about her ex-husband, Joe Morgan, on TV. It turns out that they
share a kid together. Unfortunately, he’s a big-wig in Hollywood and she hasn’t
been able to see Adam because of a custody battle. Later, Clark decides to visit
Hollywood on the behalf of Cat as Superman.
Cat, where did you find that Bill Cosby sweater for Clark at?
He flies to Hollywood and finds Joe and Adam. Unfortunately,
Concussion (in disguise) also sees Superman and follows him. Superman tries to
talk some sense into Joe, but he ain’t budging. Suddenly, Concussion attacks the
room and hurts Joe. While Superman tries to fight Concussion and help Joe, Adam’s
blaming him for his dad being hurt. Superman gets Concussion out of the
apartment and is able to beat him. Since Adam won’t let him touch Joe, he calls
for help. Superman takes the concussed (had to say it) Concussion to be locked
up. The story ends with Cat going to visit Adam in the hospital. Joe let her
see Adam and she introduces herself to him while Superman looks in on them from
outside.
Kid, I get that you're scared and that Superman maybe shouldn't have come here, but Grimac's older brother is the problem here!
………………………………………………………….
I thought that this was a fine story. We end up getting some
information Cat Grant who was just introduced in the book. We find out that she
had a shady past but Clark sees that she may be trying to turn a leaf. Clark
ends up doing something that even he has misgivings about. I’ll talk about that
later, though. We end up getting introduced to Joe Morgan and Adam. They will
be back especially Adam. The stuff about the Circle was okay. I don’t remember
how that subplot ultimately ended, but the fight between Superman and
Concussion was nice.
The artwork was good for the most part. While Jerry Ordway’s
pencils aren’t as good as they’ll ultimately be, it’s still good artwork. He’s
able to make the action scenes and the small, character scenes work. It does get
a little wonky here and there (I think Superman’s been working those neck
muscles too much), but it’s still good work. As for the negatives, I don’t know
how I feel with Superman butting into a family affair. I get that it’s for a
friend, but it feels weird. I do like that even he doesn’t know if he should
interfere. Also, “Concussion” is kind of a lousy name. Other than those things
and small nitpicks, this was pretty good.
Overall, it was nice to see who Cat Grant started out as. As
for the character herself, I do like her in the comics. She’s not like most of
Clark’s supporting female characters. She has some stuff to sort through, but
she’s still nice. There are times where writers didn’t know what to do with
her. You can look at more modern interpretations of the character. I did like
her on Supergirl, though. Unfortunately, that version is the only good
live-action version around. Well, It’s time to move on to some more allies.
Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.
NEXT TIME: SUPERBOY VS. SUPERBOY???
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