Superman Unlimited #2 came out this week, the next chapter of a new Kryptonite Everywhere storyline by Dan Slott and Rafael Alburquerque. For a second issue, this pushed the plot of the arc forward a fair bit, showing us the implications of Green K being a lot easier to get as well as Superman's new power, a riff on an old 'new' power.
I have said before that I like Dan Slott's She-Hulk and Silver Surfer books. The She-Hulk book for sure was a humor book first. The Silver Surfer book was a sort of Dr. Who-esque tour of the Marvel U, filled with romance and sentimentality but also with a healthy dollop of humor. So I wasn't surprised to see Slott insert some fun into this book. What I didn't know, and what tickled me, was that the humor would come in the form of the Creeper. I think it is well known that I love the Creeper so Jack Ryder being in Metropolis makes me happy.
Despite the humor, Slott plays the superheroics and Superman pretty standard. What is it like to be Superman when your average punk, Marty from Hob's Bay, has a Kryptonite knife. And what do you do to defend yourself? Add to that a look into El Caldero, the nation that benefited from the massive green K meteor, and you have a solid issue.
Rafael Alburquerque brings some dynamism to the action, with speed lines and stylized bodies. I think his Creeper is a little scrawny, the red shag shoulder rug a bit small. I still miss his smoother earlier style than this looser, rougher style.
On to the book.
We start by hearing that the Daily Planet was founded in June 1938, a nice little nod to Superman's first appearance. That's pretty cool.
Last issue, we learned that Imani Edge, the new CEO of the Daily Planet, wanted to make it a multimedia, multinational communication conglomeration. That has come true in short order. We see the globe in a number of places in the DCU.
A Daily Planet in Gotham ... and is Jimmy on that staff? Is he running the joint? That would be cool.
And I guess Markovia being a nation headquarters of Leviathan is a thing of the past. Pity.
But a Gorilla City Planet? That's cool.
There is even one in El Caldero. Lois is there with Ron Troupe to learn about President Castilho and a nation suddenly a world power broker because of Green K. And they aren't afraid to flaunt it. Their Daily Planet globe is made of Green K.
Their money seems to be made of Green K. The place is practically the Emerald City. When some crooks try to steal that huge Planet chunk, they are stopped by the Krypto-Knights, El Caldero's army.
Some cool stuff here. The Knights looking like old school Checkmate Knights is cool. Castilho sounding like a man of the people seems to good to be true. And Green K coins called 'Kryptos' is pretty funny.
But Castilho isn't hoarding the Green K as we learn.
Back in Metropolis, we see Jack Ryder doing a madcap talk show where he is talking to someone claiming the Kryptonite meteor has called mutations like her two-headed goat. The segment is interrupted by Clark Kent who is there as a in the moment fact checker.
Ryder as a wacky, oddball newscaster is a better take for me than the hard-core right wing guy he has been before. I do like that the Creeper talks to Ryder in his own head, winding him up too.
This is another showing of how the Daily Planet is branching out. As I have said, I do wonder if this is a semi-homage of Kryptonite Nevermore, the story where Clark became a TV news reporter. Maybe we are inching there.
But suddenly a robbery is occurring downtown and Superman intercedes.
My god ... it is a Knockout sighting. In her original costume.
I am a HUGE Knockout fan.
This alone kicks the book's grade up a notch. And Alburquerque draws her wonderfully.
Superman takes out Knockout quickly but then her non-powered gang member friends pull out guns with K-bullets and K knives and K knuckles. Superman is only able to repel them when he manifests his new power - channeling all his solar energy into this golden form which pumps him up and makes him invulnerable to Kryptonite ... but only for 200 seconds. And then, after that, he is powerless for a time.
Batman wonders if it is the solar flare power mutated. The solar flare was Superman's 'new power' a decade ago, something forgotten for a while. It never really stuck, either for Supergirl or Superman. I wonder if this will stick too.
Don't blink. This is the only Supergirl appearance in the book.
He is able to take out the Kryptonite armed crooks but just in time.
Knockout comes back and could have wiped the floor with Superman but he uses his brain to talk her down. He tells her she should just give up so he doesn't have to hurt her ... complete bluff. I really like that Superman used his brains here to defeat the villain.
I also love the little stars floating out of Superman's hand showing that his knuckles hurt after punching out the last crook as his powers faded. And like the shadows here, sort of the opposite of the golden glow power-up.
The Creeper has been skulking around watching the fight and actually gets to save Superman from one gunner he didn't see.
Again, the Creeper might be Slott's comedy device and I am here for it. 'Bonk'!
He also is unhinged ...
Because he shoots a spitball at Superman which makes Superman flinch.
And thanks to this citizen reporter, the world knows that when he depowers, he is completely vulnerable.
So a lot of Kryptonite is on Earth AND Superman becomes completely ordinary after he has his glow-up.
That is a couple of interesting wrinkles by Slott.
Were you worried that President Castilho was a closet bad guy? Yeah ... I was too.
El Caldero's power is now built on the economic thrust of Kryptonite. When a rumor is started that Kryptonite radiation can hurt humans too. Castilho cannot have that because it weakens his position. So he hires the Toyman to try and debunk it?
Seems dubious.
And this is the Superman Animated Show Toyman ... interesting.
Okay, there is a lot that happens in this issue and I love a comic with a lot of plot and progress. A Daily Planet world media enterprise with Clark as a TV reporter. A country whose economy is built on Kryptonite. A new power AND a new weakness. That's some good stuff.
But I also got The Creeper and Knockout ... two of my absolute favorites.
How can I not love this issue?
Overall grade: A-
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