Tony Black reviews Action Comics #958…
Luthor and Superman must put aside their differences and face the common threat of Doomsday, as Jimmy Olsen and the Planet staff try to uncover the truth: who is the man claiming to be Clark Kent?
SEE ALSO: Check out a preview of Action Comics #958
In the previous issue of Action Comics, everything had started to get a little weird. Metropolis was under siege from a revived Doomsday, there appeared to be two Superman’s knocking about, and Lex Luthor was claiming to be the man of steel. ‘Path of Doom’ part two continues this unusual story by following up on the inevitable, Metropolis-levelling smackdown between Supes & the beastie, while Dan Jurgens’ story attempts to make sense at what appears to be blurring timelines and deja vu events.
The open question of why Clark Kent appears to be alive, the Clark presumably of this universe who seemingly died, is addressed but left on the table, while our alternate-universe Superman who just outed himself as the Man of Steel has to try and figure out why Doomsday has risen now, after seemingly being destroyed previously, and if this is all some kind of illusion. Of course there’s a master plan at work, thanks to a mysterious cloaked villain pulling certain strings, but Jurgens is more concerned with keeping the sprightly narrative moving with lots of action, filled with explosive colour. We do get solid character work along the way too – with Superman wondering if he can trust this Luthor, as he seems to be genuinely heroic, and Lois at home with a fascinating, confused Jon terrified at watching a battle she’s seen before unfold again.
By the end, the action is left hanging with the fate of Metropolis in the balance, and a genuinely concerning development involving Jon pushing the powers we’ve seen him struggling with in Superman #1 lately, and you have brewing a story which could have major consequences on all of our main characters. Strong writing from Jurgens and fine artwork from Patrick Zircher make this a consistently epic and thrilling plot to follow.
Tony Black is a freelance film/TV writer & podcaster & would love you to follow him on Twitter.
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Originally published July 4, 2016. Updated November 14, 2019.
