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Mild Mannered Reviews - Superboy Comics

Superboy #3

Superboy #3

Scheduled to arrive in stores: November 9, 2011

Cover date: January 2012

"Free at Last, Free at Last"

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Penciller: R. B. Silva
Inker: Rob Lean

Reviewed by: Adam Dechanel

Click to enlarge


Across the city two lovers, evidently murderous metahumans, have robbed a gas station and burnt the faces off of all the staff and customers to the bone. Hopping into a stolen police car, the lovers head east.

Back to Superboy and we find his extensive internal monologue. His TTK has kicked in crushing the prison facility and sending it on a crash course for the Earth's core. Trying to escape, Superboy is puzzled when he unexpectedly burns his hand on molten rock but falling backwards he prepares to be hurt, landing waist deep in lava, completely unharmed.

Superboy realizes his power is connected to him willing it to happen, not expecting it to work with instinct. That realization helps him fly through the rubble back to the surface but as he does a woman prisoner sees a path to freedom provided by the boy that almost buried her alive.

Above ground in the drop ship Zaniel admits that he was too hasty and that he should have heeded Red's warning. Rose and Red banter with one another revealing (only to us the readers) that they have psionic abilities. The banter also reveals that both Red and Rose are hiding secrets about their abilities; more specifically that Red is a far more powerful woman than anyone at N.O.W.H.E.R.E realizes.

On the outskirts of Middlehope two lovers (not the same lovers as earlier) are making out when Superboy explodes from the ground and interrupts them. With the Teen of Steel sporting an 'S' they immediately distrust him and worry he is about to kill them. Alison's boyfriend Tony sneaks up on Superboy and smashes him in the head with a tire iron.

The tire iron does some serious damage, for a few moments at least, reinforcing Superboy's discovery that if he is unaware of danger he can't be invulnerable to it. Tony hides behind his truck leaving Alison with Superboy when he realizes all he did was make him angry. Superboy is not prepared for real freedom, unlike the simulations real life is very complicated.

Superboy asks Alison why she feared him and she points out he is a meta, they are just frail humans. Confused and still acclimatizing, Superboy offers Alison a ride home, his good deed backfires. Alison begins to vomit from the motion sickness and turns on Superboy, branding him a freak. Superboy realizes he has been naive about his powers and the limitations of the human body. Apologizing, Superboy is suddenly blindsided as the street unfurls and begins to restrain him. At first he assumes it was a knee-jerk reaction similar to when he murdered the lab staff at N.O.W.H.E.R.E or more recently when he sunk Pen 51 deep into the earth's core. He is surprised to find that he was followed to the surface by the girl that had been inside Pen 51.

The prisoner tells her foe that she detects Superboy is both human and part Kryptonian. Superboy is stunned, admitting he was built as a weapon, but believes he is human to the core, not 'some alien'. The prisoner tries to tell him that N.O.W.H.E.R.E is lying to him and is about to reveal the truth when suddenly she screams and dissolves right before his eyes. Superboy again doubts his control over his super powers. Did he kill again or was it someone else trying to prevent him learning the truth?

Superboy looks up from the burning liquid corpse and sees that civilians have been watching his public debut. Racing away Superboy instinctively arrives back at N.O.W.H.E.R.E and sneaks into Red's quarters. Superboy threatens Red and demands to know the truth about his beginnings.

Red flips and her rubber suit explodes off of her body, now clad in just her underwear she pins Superboy against the wall rippling with muscles all over and three times the size she was previously.

Superboy begins gasping for breath.

To Be Continued...

4Story - 4: A decent exploration into Superboy and his powers. I'm glad they instilled a specific vulnerability for him. I am really not enjoying Red, Rose or N.O.W.H.E.R.E. they seem to be hogging a lot of the story. So much in fact that Superboy seems more like a secondary character. I am now liking his character a little more, itis just annoying that three months in and it's only now his personality as an individual is just coming through.

5Art - 5: Aside from the girls looking more and more like Power Girl wannabe's I am really enjoying the book's art style. It could have easily gone down the mean moody avenue. I think the style gives a real injection of character and atmosphere. If I had any critique it would be to tone the girls down a little.

5Cover Art - 5: The cover is awesome! Reflects the self doubt and instinct problems Superboy was having inside and really conveys the peril he was facing when Pen 51 was sent into the depths of lava. Just great but maybe a little less focus on the Tron effects.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2012

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

January 2012

February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012

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