Regardless of whether they made a porno together or not, that story is trash and Byrne should be ashamed of it (true to form, of course, he isn't).

Action Comics #672 (December 1991)



"All This... And Lex Luthor II"

Script: Roger Stern
Pencils: Bob McLeod
Inks: Denis Rodier
Colors: Glenn Whitmore
Letters: Bill Oakley

Grade: A

At some point, there'd been a plan for "1991", this epic storyline sweeping across all three (and later four) Superman titles for an entire year. It likely involved exploring the power vacuum left in Luthor's wake and the ultimate rise of Lex Luthor II. Whether you chalk it up to creative team reshufflings, a last minute change in plans for the Time and Time Again storyline, Jurgens' unexpected commitments to Armageddon 2001 and its last minute re-write, the addition of a fourth title on almost no notice, or that title being helmed by a writer who was new to this office and didn't perfectly jibe with the groupthink, "1991" failed to launch and certainly wasn't the bold experiment it had promised to be.

And yet, this issue feels like Stern's attempt to compensate for that; an effort to compress what should have been a gradual story about the rise of Lex Luthor II, told across months worth of stories, into 22 pages. Surprisingly, it works pretty well, even if it would have worked better in a more drawn-out fashion.

We've got the new Luthor winning over the public's trust:



(man, that happened pretty quickly! He first arrived in Metropolis last issue. When did he have time to develop Team Luthor?)

The reader is then asked to put aside all of our own sneaking suspicions about Luthor and wonder if, just maybe, he's a good guy after all:



Though it comes immediately after, it would have been nice to more gradually discover that Junior is as ruthless as his father, but using those killer instincts for the good of Metroplis:



Superman (of course) takes the high rode with Lex II, demonstrating a full willingness to trust Luthor because it is unfair to judge the son based upon the actions of the father. Supes, Lois, and Perry White all get a chance to talk with him one on one, and none can find fault with the man, no matter how much they want to.



Perry White's reaction is perhaps the most significant, as it offers a direct challenge to the readers: if you can't accept this new Luthor as a good guy despite all he has done and all the "tests" he has passed, then what does that say about you as a person?



It's so rare in a 1990s mainstream superhero comic to still see characters being so wholesome and good. Even when they are ultimately proven wrong:



the fact that they gave this snake the trust he begged for makes me respect and root for them all the more. Cleverness versus integrity, that's the true battle being set up for 1992.

You'd better believe I can't wait to be there, reading it along with you good folks!


Important Details:

- Luthor II was allegedly raised on a farm by two parents who were ultimately revealed to be employees of Luthor Sr. Luthor II allegedly met Luthor Sr. only once.



I only kind of remember hearing about how this ultimately plays out. I think I remember hearing that Luthor II is

Minor Details:

- We're still seeing intertitle continuity gaffes as of this issue. This time around, the very scene we saw play out between Luthor and Perry White two weeks back, in which Perry is reluctant to trust Luthor but ultimately does so, happens for the second time.

- Also, this issue begins as if Superman just arrived back in Metropolis "not a moment too soon":



...but he actually arrived last issue and then spent a good deal of time at Professor Hamilton's place, reactivating his lost memories before moving on to this scene.


- Lois is too accomplished a reporter to be this sloppy with her emotions when first meeting the most powerful man in Metropolis:



Also interesting that, with all the wrongs she lists in her tirade, she fails to mention that Luthor was controlling the cure to her mother's mysterious life-threatening disease as a means of controlling Lois herself. Somehow, Stern forgot this little slight that should have been the most significant thing Luthor did to Lois' world.


- I enjoy each time we're introduced to a new informant that Clark uses in his reporting. Meet Maureen, Clark's connection at the Australian intelligence agency.




- I was right. Prisoners did escape from Stryker's Island during the Blackout event.



Why wasn't more attention given to this there instead of focusing on Superman and Mr. Z goofing around in a lost land with half-naked women?


---------


My final thoughts for "1991": Lex Luthor was the true heart of the Post-Crisis Superman franchise up thru 1990. He drove nearly every great storyline and pushed Superman's characterization and integrity to the limit. Hopefully, Lex Luthor II will present an even greater challenge, as he is doing a far better job of fooling everyone. Now we just need this office to get back on the same page and keep their titles/continuities aligned.

"1992" has the potential to be one amazing ride, even before it takes an abrupt turn and ends with possibly the most hyped comic event of all time.

You're not wrong. In fact, when Luthor first crafts the Kryptonite ring, he explains that the very first thing he did was have his best people ensure that it posed no danger to his health, so the idea that it later costs him his hand and (even later) kills him is a bit surprising. I guess even science can get it wrong sometimes, but that isn't even really acknowledged in the books.

However, the death of Luthor utterly blew me away when it happened. There was no advance promotion for the issue that I was aware of. I read the thing, thinking it was some ordinary issue, and then BAM. That this happened right after Lois and Clark shared their first kiss, got engaged, and Jerry White had died, and was soon followed by the "Secret's Out" issue you mentioned, was totally thrilling to me. So much was happening so quickly in the Superman books. Of course, that also helped to make 1991 feel lame in contrast. They pulled every stunt they could muster in the span of only a few months; where do you go from there?

And yes, I do think the office was very much aware that it was overly reliant on Luthor. Killing him off really didn't seem to fix that, though. When the best they could give us was Mr. Z in his place, I'm jumping for joy at the return of a Luthor to Metropolis.

A comment by chadwilliam in this thread got me thinking about something.


The revamped Superman of 1986 seems to have an inherent contradiction going on. One one hand, Marv Wolfman seemed to be channeling the Golden Age Superman for the most part. Although my familiarity with 40s Superman is somewhat limited, to me it appears that early issues strongly resembled the early comics and the 40s cartoons: mechanical monsters, mad scientists, noir influences, a much less powerful Superman and so on. This was mixed in with some of Wolfman's own 80s stylistic techniques and preferences. Having Jerry Ordway on art added to the 40s feel, as Ordway had recently come off of All-Star Squadron, set in the World War II and where he often drew a Golden Age style Superman.

By comparison, after the first several issues, Byrne seemed to be moving into a sort of Silver Age-influenced territory. Yes, a lot of Byrne's Superman work seemed like "80s Marvel does Superman," but his Superman art was clearly influenced by Wayne Boring, and he did stories featuring characters like the Prankster and Mr. Myxyzptlk with their Silver Age looks. They were "updated" to be somewhat darker and edgier, but the basic story structure was very Silver Age.

I have to wonder if these apparently mismatched approaches contributed to the increasing degeneration of Wolfman's work on Superman, culminating with his departure. I do know Wolfman stated editors rewrote parts of his stories, and Shaxper has pointed out how Wolfman, the man who invented the modern version of Lex Luthor, barely got to use the character.

Any thoughts on this?
classiccomics.org/post/446836/thread

It's Mxyzptlk....

pronounced "Throat-wobbler-mangrove"....

A lot of us grew up confused about the pronunciation of the name because the Superfriends cartoon pronounced it "Mixelplik."

I remember seeing it in print for the first time and thinking "how did they get Mixelplik from that?" It wasn't until years later it occurred to me that they were probably simplifying it for the intended viewing audience.