by Geoff Johns (writer), Gary Frank (art), Jon Sibal (art)
The Story: The tale of Superboy’s first meeting with the 30th Century Legion of Super-Heroes is re-imagined for modern times. Meanwhile, a young Lex Luthor puts plans in motion that will lead him to his destiny.
What’s Good: Secret Origin has thankfully begun to hit its stride with this second installment. Johns expertly re-tells young Clark’s introduction to the Legion as a wish fulfillment story that will make any kid who’s ever felt like an outsider smile. Otto Binder’s original Silver Age tale focused more on the gimmick of Superboy being tested to see if he could earn his place in the 30th Century’s premiere super-team. This version smartly concentrates on the emotional impact of the event, while also taking the time to update the tale for a more sophisticated audience. Despite the changes made here, Johns still manages to retain the goofy charm of the concept of a bunch of colorfully-clad teenagers from the future traveling backward in time to meet their idol.
The script also finds the time to juxtapose Clark’s relationship with his father with that of Luthor’s. Within the first eight pages, we become aware of what will shape these classic characters into such diametrically opposed people. Added credit goes to Johns for executing this in such a way that you don’t become aware of what he’s doing until he’s already done it. That subtlety makes everything work far better than it would have under the pen of weaker writer.
Gary Frank’s art succeeds at making Johns’ script come to life. His command of facial expressions is approaching Kevin Maguire-levels here, as he really makes the characters speak without saying a word. The artist also manages to make Superboy look like the boy that he is. His gawky, lanky design for the character conveys the discomfort and awkwardness that any teenager would have running around in red underwear. Also, despite criticisms of his using actor Christopher Reeve as a strong reference for his Clark Kent, I feel it works. Perhaps it’s because Reeve has always been Superman to me, but I’m never taken out of the story due to this artistic decision.
What’s Not So Good: Despite Gary Frank’s mastery of facial expressions, his figures do tend to come off a bit stiff. He also manages to have many, if not all, of his teenagers possess a similar body-type. Superboy, the Legion, and even Lana Lang all seem to be relatively the same height and weight. I understand this isn’t meant to be real life, but some small effort to reflect teenagers’ varying builds would be welcome.
Conclusion: While some might think the last thing we need is yet another re-telling of Superman’s origin (and I was inclined to agree judging from the first issue), there does seem to be room for just such a thing. If Johns and Frank can continue to mine the rich emotional content, then Superman: Secret Origin just might turn out to be worth it.
Grade: B
-Joe Lopez
Filed under: DC Comics Tagged: | Superman, Superman, Superman: Secret Origin, Superman: Secret Origin #2, Superman: Secret Origin #2 review
