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Mild Mannered Reviews - Regular Superman Comics

Action Comics #881

Action Comics #881

Scheduled to arrive in stores: September 16, 2009

Cover date: November 2009

"The Hunt for Reactron" - Part 1

Writer: Greg Rucka with Sterling Gates
Penciller: Pere Perez
Inker: Pere Perez
Cover: cafu with Santiago Arcas

Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel

Click to enlarge



The seemingly endless saga continues... into another mini story arc.

Kara, Thara and Chris teleport into a Metropolis alleyway and Kara flies off the handle kicking the crap out of Thara for 'killing her dad and trying to kill her.'

Obviously if you've been keeping up it's all been a series of long drawn out elaborate illusions cast be Mirabai the moody opal eyed minion of General Lane.

But Kara blames it all on Thara losing her mind to the perils of hope and faith.

When Chris steps in to defend his lover it also dawns on her that this man Thara calls Chris is in fact her nephew Chris (Kal & Kara are cousins and their offsprings would be distant nephews/nieces... unless I'm wrong? Could a genealogist step up and clarify?)

Anyhow back to the magic...

The citizens of Metropolis are ready to take on the heroes Superman II style and suddenly we see the attack Mirabai orchestrated come to play on every video billboard in the city. With the 'murder' of Mon-El.

The city that hated and feared Mon-El decide they must avenge him. Guardian leaps in from nowhere (obviously able to evade the super-honed senses of three Kryptonians) and takes revenge (equally the man that treated Mon-El like a two year old apparently did so because he was a friend). Guardian electrocuted Kara with an electrical net he is somehow immune to and then instructs his Science Police team to attack. They do and take down Thara very quickly, Chris tries in vain to tell them it was an illusion but Guardian won't listen. Kara now free of the electric net swoops in and grabs Thara with Chris following at lightning speed. Guardian kicks himself that he couldn't apprehend the trio.

Elsewhere in 7734 Metallo and Corben are undergoing repairs. Corben sports a new skin and his cheap knock off is bitter that he must stay strapped to a gurney. Corben rubs salt in the wound that he's been given special duties by General Lane while Reactron's radiation leak undergoes investigation after Mirabai's spells causes his containment suit to rupture.

While a bored Reactron watches the live broadcasts from the 'Edge of Reason' he swears that he'll hunt down Kara.

Meanwhile in Paris, in one of Kara's many 'Fortresses' (tiny apartments scattered across the globe), Kara and Chris talk about what's been going on and when Chris admits he loves Thara, Kara decides to poison it, obviously still under the impression that had Thara not gone into the Phantom Zone to rescue 'The Voice of Nightwing' that her father would be alive.

Kara points out that Thara has always had strong religious beliefs, in particular with the legend of Flamebird and Nightwing. Chris doesn't tell Kara that he IS the voice of Nightwing nor that he saw his beloved become a flaming Phoenix... in fact he seems to completely forget it ever happened...

Kara is at a loss for words when she realizes her comments were overheard by Thara and stutters as Thara takes charge and points out that the broadcasts they saw in Metropolis were obviously faked. Kara, more than a little ashamed is silent.

In Metropolis, Lois is trying to track down her father and the newsroom is alive with banter to the degree that Perry is hunting around the newsroom crowds to find Jimmy.

Lois brushes him off after her call is a dead end and races to see Cat.

Lois tries to reason with her former rival that the anti Kryptonian stories should stop and that the video of Mon-El's death is fake. Cat points out that Lois is a minority. Right now no-one likes anything Kryptonian related and if she's not careful she'll be as hated as they are...

Chris and Thara are having a heart to heart in Kara's front room. Chris is having second thoughts about the legends, and now Kara has sowed the seeds that it might all be a falsity, he asks Thara to affirm her faith by revealing the story...

Kara steps in and on the theory Chris offered about illusions, she pieces the mystery that the two sleepers they were chasing were in fact Metallo and Reactron!

Thara and Chris ask what Kara will do when they catch up with them.

Kara says she'll force Reactron to reveal the truth before turning him over to Alura for punishment. Thara objects, Alura would execute him.

Kara throws in another nasty comment and this time Thara reacts slamming Supergirl into the Eiffel Tower!

The fight attracts all kinds of attention and by the time they realize they've blown their cover an assault of Squad K arrives to take them all down.

To Be Continued in Supergirl #45...

2Story - 2: I can't understand the issues of poor consistency.

Nothing fits anymore... characterization is off, the story line doesn't flow properly, one crossover doesn't end but segues into another... what's going on?? I'm losing faith faster than Chris Kent...

4Art - 4: The art is almost faultless - by far the strongest part of the book. Cat Grant has been at the Twinkies but otherwise stellar composition and some enjoyable sequences.

3Cover Art - 3: Hunt for Reactron - and he's nowhere to be seen... a background-less cover of what could be the beautiful Paris skyline... and a pretty weak tap for the emotionally excessive girls... is a nice cover but nice isn't what you want for the 'jumping on point' for yet another story line.


Mild Mannered Reviews

2009

Note: Month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.

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