Review: Action Comics #21

The New 52 has been surprisingly inconsistent when it comes to its flagship character. In Justice League, Superman is making booty calls and having casual hook ups with Wonder Woman. In Superman, he just seems boring. And in Action Comics, he’s been… all over the place. Literally. Grant Morrison’s ambitious run on the series featured a brand-new Superman – wearing jeans, talking smack, and fighting corporate crime. Then we saw President Superman in another world, an evil corporate Superman from yet another world, Superman older on Mars, Superman younger again in the present, then older again after dying twice… it was scattered. While this could have been intentional, opinions are divided as to whether it actually worked. Then Andy Diggle came along. From the beginning, Diggle’s Action Comics was wonderful. Lois Lane was a character again – sassy, fierce, and sparkling. Clark Kent also made more impact – flirting with Lois, seeming far less bumbling and goofy. Lex Luthor was chilling and maniacal in all the right ways. But then Diggle left.

Immediately, the series floundered, with clunky dialogue, plot that didn’t seem fully developed, and overall just not living up to the promise of the previous issue. Unfortunately, issue #21 does nothing to remedy that. The Hybrid seems little more than a C-list villain of the week, neither showing any personality or posing much of a threat. Indeed, Superman largely dispatches it within four pages with… water. Just… water. Dr. Veritas makes a brief holographic reappearance, ultimately just underscoring the confusion as to why she was there at all. Lex Luthor also returns, not with subtle machinations, cold ruthlessness, or backup plans for his backup plans. Instead, he’s simply in his super-suit, punching Superman. Is that really the best idea the world’s greatest mind could come up with?

To his credit, writer/artist Tony Daniel does get quite a few things right. For one, the art remains gorgeous. Simply put, this is how Superman is supposed to look – majestic, imposing, kind, iconic (but still somewhat modern as well). There is some really beautiful art going on in this book, especially considering the man was juggling art and script. Further, Lois continues to be dynamic, not really needing Superman to save her. She ventures into danger, always putting the story – the truth – above her own safety and comfort. Jimmy and Clark also get their moments – the latter pining, the former commiserating. Meanwhile, the backup feature focusing on Lara and Jor-El’s youth was surprisingly entertaining. Let’s just say Superman is not just his father’s son, because Lara is a certifiable badass. Philip Tan’s art, while a little muddled and messy at times, is generally fantastic, showcasing both emotion and energy very well.

Long story short, this is probably the last review of Action Comics this author will be doing for a while. It’s unfortunate to see so much promise fizzle out, but hopefully a new author will be able to tap into what Diggle was able to so briefly bring out.