Superman #36
"Laugh...I Thought I'd DIE!"
story/pencils: Jerry Ordway
inks: Dennis Janke
colors: Glenn Whitmore
letters: John Costanza
assoc. editor: Jon Peterson
editor: Mike Carlin
grade: C-
Sheesh. At this point in Superman history, if I'm going to get a lousy story to sit through, I at least expect to be able to enjoy George Perez art. No such luck.
It really is disheartening that, well over a year after Bryne's departure, this franchise still hasn't quite found its stride yet. The continuity is very strong, and they're finally really starting to "get" Superman's characterization in a way that I appreciate, but there are significant struggles that are impeding my enjoyment all the same.
Let's walk through the positives first...
Superman's characterizationIn the wake of his Gangbuster fiasco and subsequent soul-searching in space, Superman has found himself again as the superhero ideal he'd always strived for. I love how this issue opens, with Superman volunteering to clean up after a major battle. The media tries to find problems with what he's doing, but the comic just won't allow his good nature to be dominated and drowned out.
And that attitude extends into his life as Clark. He is both dorky and clueless, and also a good natured hero as an everyday Joe, best illustrated here when he is able to persuade Cat Grant not to revert back into being an alcoholic when things get rough (though she's too proud to admit it to him):
But it's therefore upsetting that the whole Gangbuster thing is being dredged up
once again when we thought Superman had resolved it for the third time:
In a way, you could look at both Superman's doubts and Cat Grant's struggles in this issue and see a larger theme about the fear of relapsing after a hard climb out of the abyss, but we've patiently waited for over a year now for the new creative teams to get Superman's sh*t together, so it's a little upsetting to see the progress he's made get threatened once again. I can't handle another half a year of Superman brooding in space.
Continuity:In addition to opening with Superman clearing the wreckage from a previous battle (I have lost track of what past adventure is being alluded to that involved "some robot or something that destroyed the Edgewater Parking Plaza" -- did they mean the battle with Matrix in
Action #644?), continues with Superman clearing the air with The Guardian in regard to what transpired between them while Superman was doubling as Gangbuster back in
Adventures of Superman #450, explores the final fall-out of Cat Grant being the one to expose Morgan Edge's ties to Intergang, brings back The Prankster and his reasons for having a grudge against Edge, returns to Project Cadmus (
Superman Annual #2), reminds us of Jimmy Olsen's life-threatening battle stemming from
Adventures of Superman #458, addresses the fact that Clark went from having the brain of a child (while replaced by Matrix) to being himself again with no explanation offered to the staff of The Daily Planet, and possibly nods back to Superman's last encounter with Brainiac (though this part was a bit enigmatic). That's a lot of material to cover in one 22 page story.
The weird part, though, was the absence of Lois in this story. I guess she's not always going to be walking the halls of The Planet. One
unresolved plot point I really want to see them get back to is the issue of her mother's failing health and Luthor's using her medical treatments as barter for Lois not writing anything against Lexcorp. How has this been backburned for so long now?
Now, the negatives...
The Supporting Cast:I don't care what's happening with Jimmy and am not asked to care in this story, where his current problems are mentioned and then glossed over.
Lois isn't in this issue.
I still don't care about Cat Grant, nor do I understand her plight. Morgan Edge fires her, but hasn't she been working for Perry and The Daily Planet again? We just saw her doing a yoga class with the rest of the crew to start their day at The Planet in
Adventures of Superman #458 last month, right?
Heck, even Clark seems confused about this:
But, worse than that, I find nothing likable about her personality. Yes, it's great that she has stopped drinking and is trying to respect herself more, but removing the negatives doesn't necessary make me like or care about her. Plus, her son proves to be an absolute snot in this issue, concerned only with whether he gets to keep all the toys Edge bought him while his father is trying to save his mother's life.
Speaking of which, this moment with Cat's ex-husband was actually darn cool:
I like that he's not just an asshole evil antagonist to Cat's custody concerns.
Finally, there's the return of Jerry White. I get that Ordway is trying to show he's changed, much like Cat, but also as with Cat, making him no longer a trouble-making whiny teenager doesn't necessarily make him likable; you've just removed the things that made me
dislike him. In fact, he's still kind of obnoxious and whiny here, just in a different way:
And, while Perry doesn't get much characterization in this story, it was cool to see him accept and be open to his son dating a black woman who wants to work for Lexcorp, after getting past both initial shocks.
PlotThis story was terrible. I was never a fan of Byrne dredging up old campy villains from the Silver Age, but this story was excessively pointless and lacking in fun with its execution to boot. There was nothing
funny about The Prankster's return. I guess Ordway was trying to comment on what passes for entertainment in the modern 1980s, but it was hardly incisive or well done, even with its nods to Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Motel Hell:
and I really had a hard time with how flippant Supes was about the whole thing at the end.
Classic Superman might pull out that sh*t-eating grin at the end over a bungled attempt at a crime that had no substantial consequence, but pages earlier this guy was holding a chainsaw to Morgan Edge's face while the dude was lying half-dead in a hospital. NOT COOL.
Finally, what was with this twist ending? I honestly don't understand whether or not I was supposed to understand what was being hinted at:
So, while there are some good things happening over at the Superman office right now, this issue was a true stinker that makes me wonder how long it's going to take for Carlin and the team to finally get their acts together. We're still half a year away from when I started reading as a kid, but I'm reasonably sure things were running well by that point.
Plot synopsis:
Superman is assisting in the cleanup of wreckage from a previous battle and ends up meeting up with The Guardian, who takes him to Project Cadmus in order to further explore what caused his Gangbuster Double-Identity. This ends up causing Superman to worry that he may not be cured after all. Meanwhile, Cat Grant's ex-husband pays Morgan Edge a visit, threatening to kill him if he tries to kill Cat for exposing his ties to Intergang. Afterwards, The Prankster shows up for revenge against Edge while Perry and Alice White meet Jerry's new girlfriend, throwing off Jerry's expectations by not having a problem with her being black. Cat Grant also learns she has been fired by Morgan Edge, goes to her old drinking hole to drown her sorrows, and is interrupted by Clark, who talks her out of reverting to alcoholism. He then learns about The Prankster and intervenes as Superman, discovering that The Prankster's only real motive was to be in the limelight again. He also appears to still have some trick up his sleeve.
