Fairchild, Huh? Sneaky, Lobdell. Sneaky.
It is a complete reboot for the character of Superboy as Scott Lobdell and R.B. Silva go all the way back to the test tube with the character. The reimagining of Superboy's origin is a creative one, but it really remains to be seen if this new Superboy will have the same appeal as previous incarnations of the character.
Much of this issue is spent inside Superboy's head with his internal narration, and that is the only sense we get of his personally. Or what exists of it. It is understandable that the character, who was essentially born yesterday, would not have much of a personality developed yet. The thing is that what we mainly have to characterize him by is this seemingly hyper-intelligent quality that is rather starkly unlike previous versions of the character. This leads to a Superboy that may seem off-putting and bland to his usual fans. However, it is also entirely possible that in future issues his personality will change dramatically when he begins actually interacting with people.
It seems like a strange and ill-advised to decision to have Project Cadmus replaced here with the more ridiculously named Project N.O.W.H.E.R.E. given that Cadmus is a generally more iconic institution in Superman's mythos. I'm really not sure how to take an acronym like N.O.W.H.E.R.E. seriously. I know we generally forgive things like S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D., but... N.O.W.H.E.R.E.? Really?
Interestingly enough, Rose Wilson and Caitlin Fairchild are incorporated into Superboy's new origin rather significantly. This does, unfortunately, feel like a step down for Rose from her popular role as Ravager, but this new role has the potential to be interesting in its own right at least. I am left confused about their ages, though. Are both still supposed to be teenage characters? It sure doesn't seem that way and will be really hard to believe if so, especially with Caitlin Fairchild. She is portrayed as being far to high up the ladder of her chosen profession to even be believable as a young genius.
The truth is that a lot of this is actually done rather well. Even if it does feel like a dramatic departure from the Superboy we are used to, Lobdell writes the perspective of someone who has just been artificially cloned and aged in a secret lab really well. It is very easy to empathize with and understand Superboy's perspective, even the more disturbing parts of his characterization like an apparent lack of empathy.
The art, while not at all bad, does kind of a disservice to the story. It's a rather light-hearted style that really doesn't suit the tone of the story at all. This is a story that includes a lab full of fellow scientists being killed in a accident right before Caitlin Fairchild's eyes, and the art simply doesn't portray the weight of that at all. This issue is an awkward mismatch of writing and art. On top of that, Eric Canete's style is really not ideal for covers.
Superboy's reinvention of its title character is well done in the writing department but leaves a lot of questions about the appeal of this new Superboy as well as the appeal of certain new members of his supporting cast in their roles. And while understandable, the direct tie-in to the new Teen Titans at the end of this issue doesn't quite sit well, especially not when we have yet to read the first issue of that series. All that is really made clear with this issue is that it is going to take more than just one to come to a conclusion about DC's new take on Superboy.
