Credits: Written by Roger Stern, art by Jackson Guice and Denis Rodier and edited by Mike Carlin.
Cast: Guardian, Dubbilex, Lex Luthor II, Sydney Happerson, Matrix/Supergirl, Maggie Sawyer, Inspector Henderson, Paul Westfield, Dan ‘Terrible’ Turpin, Lois Lane, Lana Lang, Jonathan and Martha Kent.
Plot: The Guardian (security chief at Cadmus and clone of the WWII mystery man of the same name) is chasing a stolen van, full of guns and is able to stop the van and violently apprehend the thieves. He then calls the police and hands them over, together with the footage from his motorbike’s cameras. He’s then summoned back to Project Cadmus by the telepathic DNAlien Dubbilex. His bike races past an expensive looking town car and inside Lex Luthor II complains to his aide Happerson about the loss of Superman’s body. He is convinced that Superman may have cheated death, just as he had. We then get a flashback about his rebirth. Lex Luthor was dying. The radiation from the kryptonite ring he wore had slowly caused cancer. He was dying. He then faked his death and had another body cloned for him around his brain, giving him new life through a body that was younger, more virile and with a thick mop of red hair. He won’t be convinced Superman is back, till they get that body back. Lex then meets Supergirl and the police at the site of the previous issue’s events. Lex explains the tunnel as being initially part of a time capsule project that was converted into the final resting place of Superman.
Back at Cadmus, Dubbilex, Guardian and several other Cadmus staff (formerly the Newsboy Legion who knew the original Guardian) force their way into the secure lab and find the body of Superman. It was Cadmus who stole the body, Westfield having the idea that they can clone Superman, recreating him the same way they did Guardian. Everyone is horrified by this act of desecration. Now that it’s been done, it’s hard to undo it, so Guardian informs Westfield that the other scientists are to be involved and it needs to be an official research project and done by the book. This is agreed by all, but the problem is that even dead, Superman’s body is as invulnerable as ever.
Back in the tunnels under the tomb, Supergirl, Happerson, Luthor and the police are looking through the tunnels, then Luthor notices a bomb, which we see has a Cadmus logo on it. The resulting explosion punches a hole into the tunnel wall that leaves to the river and a flood removes any evidence and puts the search party in danger. Supergirl saves them all and they all leave. As they regroup outside of the memorial, they notice a group of figures in blue robes that have the Superman S-shield on the front, chanting about how he will return to save us all. The police then come along to Luthor’s thinking that no can tell them that the body is still missing. The group splits up, Lex and Happerson go one way, Sawyer and Turpin another and both of those pairings acknowledge that the most likely people behind this is Cadmus, in particular Westfield.
The issue ends with Lana Lang and the Kents flying back home to Kansas and Lois being left alone to grieve. They promise to keep in touch, united in their varied love for Clark, the real person behind Superman.
Notes: When I first read these issues, the biggest problem I had with Luthor was his being the original evil Luthor in a younger body, manipulating Supergirl. Now I look back and think it’s a disturbing relationship. For one, there’s the age gap (bigger than the physical one) and it’s also the lies and beyond that it’s creepy. He manipulates her, infantilises her and in general looks like he’s having a very unequal relationship.
That’s the stuff that sticks, the rest of the issue is rather a damp squib. It expands the grave robbing story, but doesn’t really add anything to it. It feels like padding, a way to end this era on a round number. This issue could have been an e-mail, sort of thing. It’s nice to see the Guardian and I do enjoy the odd-looking Dubbilex as a character, but other the the touching moment between the loves of Clark Kent’s life, there isn’t a lot going on here. I keep expecting more, mostly because of how strong this era is in general, but it’s a lack lustre issue in between better stories.
Verdict: Writing 2 out of 5 – It’s not Stern’s fault, it’s a weak issue plot wise and only some good character work makes it hold together. Everyone has a distinct voice and all that, but we’re treading water.
Art: 3 out of 5 – It’s not Guice and Rodier’s best work, but it still works to a great extent. Their facial work is really solid and the small action pages at the start are very well realised and it all looks enough like the other titles to offer a Super-title house style.
Overall: 5 out of 5 – It’s an okay episode that is helping build towards Adventures 500 and on pure momentum alone, it does the job, we need better issues, but I have the feeling they’re coming.
NEXT TIME: Things start heating up as WetWorks enter the fray.
My Marvel Life 