Comic Vine Review

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Action Comics #7 - Superman's Doomsday Decision; Meanwhile...

4

The fate of the bottled Metropolis is at stake, Superman gets more information about his past and more heroics from Steel.

After a little trip down memory lane, the action returns to the present...well the present continuity of ACTION COMICS, which is still in the past of other comics...

The Good

It took the abduction of Metropolis to get the authorities to accept Superman's presence. It's up to Superman to uncover the purpose of the alien invaders and attempt to save the lives of the millions of residents that have been miniaturized and placed in a bottle. We still have the younger version of Superman that feels so different from the one in JUSTICE LEAGUE and SUPERMAN. It might be because he seems to have less power but seeing him jump into the action and get a little beat up trying to save the day has been interesting. He's not all-powerful and that makes him a little more human. As he makes his way to confront the aliens and figure out what is happening, we continue to get flashes of information that builds up who Superman will become. What doesn't make sense is how such an interesting character at this state can become a bit of a bore in his other appearances in the "New 52."

It's a treat seeing Grant Morrison's story unravel. There may not be an enormous amount of new revelations here but you'll find yourself clinging on to every little detail, trying to decipher if there's more on the page than there appears to be. There's also something about Rags Morales' version of the t-shirt and jeans wearing Superman that I totally dig. I hate the thought that eventually we'll just see the current costume-wearing Superman in this series.

The back up feature by Sholly Fisch and Brad Walker has more with Steel and gets you wondering where his place in the "New 52" will be.

The Bad

The action is split between Superman trying to save Metropolis and those stuck inside. Something about the way Lex Luthor is depicted rubs me the wrong way. We assume the story is just over five years ago (sometime before the first arc in JUSTICE LEAGUE) but Lex seems older than he should be compared to how young Lois and Clark seem.

We do have some cool moments but the action is a little lighter than what we're used to. It's all building up towards a bigger showdown set for the next issue.

I did enjoy seeing more of Steel but a good back up story ended up getting a little cheesy. The bigger question is what happens to Steel from this time to the current continuity? Unless I've missed it, I don't recall any mention of him in SUPERMAN or other titles. If he's making himself out to be this big time hero in Metropolis, you would think he'd still be active or there would be some mention of him. Either something happens to him between then and now or he's locked himself away somewhere.

The Verdict

ACTION COMICS is one of the comics that sits high on my list of favorite "New 52" books. Seeing Grant Morrison write Superman's past keeps you on the edge of your seat. Even though we pretty much know where he ends up and who he becomes, Morrison makes the development of his character an interesting read. Rags Morales continues to win me over with his depiction of this younger Superman and I hate the idea that soon he'll be in his regular costume rather than what I at first thought was a silly look for Superman. The action is toned down a little as Superman tries uncovering what the aliens/attackers are doing and those trapped in the bottle are figuring out what's going on but there is still some exciting moments within.

11 Comments

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microwave25

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Edited By microwave25

Yeah I think the Steel back up story's are just there to kill pages. They really don't add anything to the story and I hope they just get rid of them altogether as they kind of break the fluidity of the comic.

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Jonny_Anonymous

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Edited By Jonny_Anonymous

Well if Steels big brake out is in this comic they cant real spoil that by having him in the other comics set in the present  

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Deranged Midget

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Edited By Deranged Midget

Good review! Always excited to read Morrison's Action Comics.

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kennybaese

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Edited By kennybaese

Can't wait to pick this up later today. Should be good times.

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kingjoeg

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Edited By kingjoeg

Brainiac's redesign was rubbish

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DrewHLMW

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Edited By DrewHLMW

Steel's backup story was nothing a glorified 'we can be heroes' advertisement.

looking forward to the finale next month

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feargalr

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Edited By feargalr

Ahh I liked Steel's backup, it was a bit cheesy sure, but a balanced diet requires some cheese. Another good issue though, but at times I'm kinda like.. what's going on... Maybe I just need to reread the first 6 issues...

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SevanGrim

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Edited By SevanGrim

Lol. "zoom vision". N52 superman is either a dork or a moron. I like everything about Steel except his crap costume. He has always been about helping his fellow man, so the back up story really played to his character. And Lex feels like he's in his late 20s or early 30s to me. I'm enjoying the random humor in this story more than anything else. I feel like this young superman I the only good thing to happen to the super family in the n52, so I'll be sad when its gone

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astrid12

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Edited By astrid12

I'm not feeling it...since Action Comics #6, these past two issues have felt distant to me. This is from someone who has never read Superman before, I really enjoyed the first three issues and liked 4 and 5 but I see all this stuff that's happening but I find no "connection" to the character like I do in other books...it all feels cold and distant...but that's just me...

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The Mighty Monarch

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Just because we haven't SEEN him in the other comics doesn't mean he's sequestered somewhere. It's not like we see every hero all the time.

And the reason Superman's so bland in his solo title is because his solo title is just terrible right now. George Perez may be a legendary artist, but if Superman is any indication, he's an absolutely awful writer.

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MinkoAk

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Edited By MinkoAk

@feargalr said:

Ahh I liked Steel's backup, it was a bit cheesy sure, but a balanced diet requires some cheese.

What else can I say to this but "awesome" ?

I figured Morrison had somehow obtained the right to do whatever he wants with Steel and we would see more of him in the main continuity in Action Comics when it gets back to the main continuity...